Stephanie Brown

Science (Grade 3 Curriculum)

Toothpick Structures

CSSI (Grades 1-6)

Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Overview
Students will learn that engineers use different types of joining materials when constructing structures. Through a guided class
activity students will use toothpicks, and three different types of connective materials (mini marshmallows, puffed cereal, and
plasticine) in order to test which connector supported the largest amount of weight.

Objectives
Guiding questions:

Will toothpick cubes joined with different connectors support the same mass?
Which type of connector will support the greatest mass?
Which type of connector will support the smallest mass?
Why do structures need to be made out of strong materials in order to be safe?
Why are some connectors stronger than other connectors?

Curriculum Connections

SLE 1: Recognize that functional structures must be sufficiently strong and stable and the unstable or weak structures are
often unsafe to use.
SLE 3: Describe the properties of some common solids such as wood, paper, and plastic that make then suitable for use as
building materials.
SLE 6: Apply procedures to test the strength of different methods of joining

Activities
Procedure:
1.
2.
3.
4.

Students will make predictions about what connective material they think will hold the most weight.
Students will construct 3 toothpick cubes using mini marshmallow, puffed cereal, and plasticine.
Students will then test the strength of each connective material by placing differently weighted objects on top of each cube.
As a class we will record the results of each test, and discuss our observations in order to determine which connective
material held the greatest mass, and which connective material held the smallest amount of mass.

Toothpick Structures

Materials

Toothpicks

Mini marshmallows

Puffed cereal

Plasticine

Cardboard (to place on cubes)

Differently weighted objects

Adaptations

Student 1 will be able to construct each of the structures with minimal assistance. Student 1 will also be able to verbally
answer questions about the procedure, our observations, and the results of our experiment.
Student 2 will be able to construct each of the structures with minimal assistance. Student 2 will also be able to verbally
answer questions about the procedure, our observations, and the results of our experiment.
Student 3 will be able to construct each of the structures with minimal assistance. Student 3 will also be able to verbally
answer questions about the procedure, our observations, and the results of our experiment.
Student 4 will be able to construct each of the structures with assistance from a teacher. Student 4 will also be able to
verbally answer questions about the procedure, our observations, and the results.
Student 5 will be able to construct each of the structures with assistance from a teacher. Student 5 will also be able to
point and gesture to which structure he though would be the strongest and the weakest structure.
Student 6 will be able to construct each of the structures with assistance from a teacher. Student 6 will also be able to
point and gesture to which structure he though would be the strongest and the weakest structure.

Assessment

Students will be able to construct a cube using toothpicks and a variety of connective materials (assess gross motor skills).
Students will be able to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of the concept by answering questions about the
procedure and the results of our observations.

Toothpick Structures

Notes and Reflections

Toothpick Structures