Cooperative Lesson

Kara Horras

EDP 621     Spring 2004

 

Lesson Title: The Biggest House in the World

 

Age: kindergarten- 2nd grade

 

Objective: After spending several lessons learning about houses and homes, students will work in teams to create big houses like snail’s house.

 

Materials: junk sculpture materials (egg cartons, cardboard, toilet paper rolls, tongue depressors, milk cartons, juice cans, pipe cleaners, fabric, wallpaper, construction paper), glue, paint, and paint brushes

 

Time: 3 days, 45 minutes- 1 hour each day

 

Background: This lesson is included in a unit on houses and homes. Students will be learning all about homes for people and homes for animals. They will be making books about homes, graphing favorite homes, and hearing stories about homes. The unit takes two or three weeks to cover.

 

Procedure:

  1. Read the story The Biggest House in the World by Leo Lionni. In this story a

snail tells his father he wants to have the biggest house in the world when he grows up. His father tells him that some things are better small. Then his father tells him a story of a snail with a shell to heavy to move.

 

Use discussion questions after the story:

 

  1. Tell students that they are going to build “the biggest house in the world.” The   students will be working in teams. The teams will be pre-selected by the teacher and will be grouped heterogeneously. Each team will be given the exact same materials and may not get any additional supplies. Each team will be supplied with:

       * 1 egg carton                               * 1 juice can

       * 1 box                                         * 3 toilet paper rolls

       * 8 tongue depressors                  * 2 milk cartons

       * 10 pipe cleaners                                    * 4 pieces of fabric

       * 3 pieces of wallpaper                * 5 pieces of construction paper

       * paint                                          * paintbrushes

       * glue

 

  1. Teams may use all or some of the supplies but may not get more. Teams may also alter the supplies in any way. Teams have to work together to make the house. Each team member has to be able to share how he/ she contributed to the project.

 

  1. After creations are dry (the following day), teams may finish up their houses by       painting them. As teams finish up the painting process, they need to begin to put together their presentation.

 

  1. In the presentations (which happen on the third day), each team needs to be able to present a house created by that team. Each member needs to be able to share how they contributed to the final product. Each member also needs to compliment another member’s contribution to the final product. These presentations show the group’s interdependence and make each team member accountable for the final result.

 

*Note: In younger grades, especially kindergarten, teacher will guide the presentations by asking the individual group members questions. The students will not be required to have a memorized speech.

 

*Student’s will be assessed based on their ability to work in a team and their creativity overall in their final project.

 

 

Cooperative Lesson Elements

 

Positive Interdependence: Students interact with each other in a small group and as a class. Students need to work together to create something they are proud of.

 

Individual Accountability: Everyone participates in their small groups and in whole class discussions. Each student will be accountable for his/ her own actions, contributions, and behavior.

 

Social Skills: Students will need to use appropriate social skills to their group’s structure, as well as participate in whole class discussions. Using the appropriate social skills will reduce conflict and increase creativity.

 

Face-to-Face interaction: Students will work face-to-face to complete their structures. Students will need to work together and have successful interaction to complete their goal.

 

Heterogeneous Grouping: Students will be chosen for the groups by counting off. Groups will have 3 or 4 students each.

 

Group Processing: After the activity groups will present their structures to the class. The teacher will have a discussion with the students about what went well in their project and what didn’t go well. The teacher will also have each group member rate, or compliment, another group member on their contribution.

 

Evaluation: Students will be evaluated on their personal contributions to the group, their ability to work as a team, and the overall creativity of their structure.

 

Trust: Students need to trust each other and feel safe to express their ideas and contribute freely to the project.

 

Expectations: The teacher will set the expectations for the groups and the project. The group will set its expectations for its members. The expectations will be academic, social, and behavior.

 

Friendship: An optimal goal for this lesson would be to have students working with different students. By placing students randomly in groups, they will get to work with students they are not as close with and hopefully develop new relationships.