Friends Across the River

In this lesson, children will work together to cross the flooding river as it grows wider and wider.

This lesson will help children meet the following educational standards:

Demonstrate curiosity about the world and begin to use the practices of science and engineering to answer questions and solve problems
Explore concepts and information about the physical, earth and life sciences
Understand important connections and concepts in science and engineering

After this lesson, children should be more proficient at:

Developing and using models to represent their ideas, observations and explanations through approaches such as drawing or building
Expressing wonder and curiosity about their world by asking questions, solving problems and designing things
Making meaning from experience and information by describing, talking and thinking about what happened during an investigation
Using nonstandard and standard scientific tools for investigation

Jump ropes or sticks to create two river banks
Rocks, stepping stones, throw-down bases, and other loose parts to add to the storyline and give children the tools they need to engage in creative problem-solving as the river grows wider
Optional: A parachute can be used to represent the river

Share the legend with your students. Say: "The legend is that our home has been separated from our farm by torrential rainfall. A river divides the house and farm into two areas on opposite sides of the river. We must cross the river to get food and supplies and cross the river again to bring them back to our homes and families."
Say: "Each night as we fall asleep, the rains return and our river continues to get wider and wider."
Explain: "We must think creatively to figure out how to cross the river each morning."
Ask: "How can we possibly cross the river?"
Encourage the children to brainstorm with their classmates and think like engineers.

Create the river by collecting sticks or laying jump ropes parallel to each other but far enough apart to require the children "jump over" the river.
Each day, the children must figure out how to cross the river to get food and then return home to feed their families.
As the rain continues to fall each night, and the river grows ever wider, support the children as they engage in the engineering design process—making plans and designs, testing new ideas, and building on those ideas to solve the river problem.

This is a great outdoor activity that provides additional opportunities for creative problem-solving as the children forage for natural materials that will help them cross the river.

Engineering Explorers