A Sticky Situation: Designing Walls

Book excerpt: Wood, stone, metal, plastic . . . if you want to build something, materials matter! Different materials have different properties: they may be more useful for one purpose and less useful for another. This unit explores earth materials, including clay, sand, and soil, as they’re used in mortar to build a stone wall. The storybook Yi Min’s Great Wall sets the scene; Yi Min uses her knowledge of earth materials to design a rabbit-proof wall to protect the school vegetable garden. Drawing on their knowledge of the properties of earth materials, students will plan, build, test, and improve walls of their own.