The wheels were in motion now and all three sections of my seventh grade math classes were hard at work on their respective components of the benchwork. In addition to the attention that they gave to their own parts of the project they were of course very interested in what the other sections were doing. Since everything took place in the same room it was natural for them to examine each other’s works in progress and think about how the various parts would come together. A very stimulating balance of mild competition and collaborating towards a common goal emerged.

With only two different components besides screws and a simple rectangular configuration the first panel frame was an ideal learning vehicle. I made a quick sketch under the document camera to help the students locate pilot hole locations and we went through many of the same steps the L-girder team encountered for attempting, then improving, measuring and marking techniques.

While the leg team and the L-girder team were wrestling with their components, my third class of seventh graders would construct the frames that sit on top of the L-girders. Four removable layout sections, three at 8’ and the fourth somewhat shorter to fit into a niche behind the main entry door. The design of each of the frames was based on a simple rectangle with cross pieces 16” o.c. but to accommodate the undulations and protuberances of the track plan no two frames were exactly alike.

(I apologize that I don’t have a photo to accompany this post. I don’t have a journalist’s reflexes so missed many key moments, but I’m determined to do better this year and maintaining this blog will help).

I post an agenda for every class on my blackboard. I’d had to revise my plans for the week substantially because I naively expected to finish all six L-girders in a single session, and here we were starting the third session with zero completed L-girders. This day’s agenda looked something like this: