Subject:
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Legos as a Function of Applied History
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lugnet.edu
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Date:
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Tue, 27 Jun 2000 22:52:05 GMT
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LEGO® products as a Function of Applied History...
As a history teacher, I find it exciting that we can explore the history
with Legos! In my
experience at the PCS Centers, I have had students model ancient
structures, ancient machines,
or model the inventions of some of history's great thinkers.
Modelling ancient structures has been a common activity at PCS. My first
memories of teaching
include a scale model of Stonehenge, Durham Cathedral ( built entirely
of yellow and white
elements ) and Dover Castle. These student creations led to natural
discussions of
archaeology, architecture and military innovations.
The Lego Stonehenge model was built the week before a field trip to the
PCS archaeological reserve
on the Snake River. Pat McShane and the students were documenting the
petroglyphs and
authoring a CD of lifeways for the area. Looking at the model got
students thinking about
the placement of things...and they documented how the "Star" petroglyph
at Celebration Park
lines up with the sun rise and set positions on the solstice. The model
was a great learning tool
that allowed the students to make the essential connections. I have had
similar experiences
with cathedral and castle projects...by modelling a subject, students
develop a greater
understanding of that subject. Legos are an easily manipulated construct
that allows younger
students to build.
Another great success was a table sized replica of the Acropolis. It
included every building
and it was to scale as much as possible, using white or grey bricks. The
Lab had a toga party
on the night it was declared finished, and students gave a presentation
to their parents. That
group of students had many new insights into classical Greece. There
have been other great
modelling experiments...students have built a scale versions of the Taj
Majal, Notre Dame,
the Colluseum. ( This student won an award in a National Lego builder's
contest ), and
Ankgor Wat ( a winner in the 1998 Ancient Times Building Contest--
--http://itsa.ucsf.edu/~erikred/brick/classic/ancient.html ).
A similar subject is the history of machines. It is one thing to talk
about machines ( why do
we insist on teaching by lecturing? ), it is another to build the
machine. I recently watched
a student identify all the levers that go into a piano key ( he built a
model out of the
New Way Things Work ). Another student and I spent months developing a
whole series of
calculating machines as a project. Trebuchets and ballistas abound in my
Lab!
It is a lot of fun to build models of the inventions of a great thinker.
I experienced
a great deal of joy when I constructed a model of Archimede's Shipp
Tippler! One of my
most popular summer camps was the Da Vinci Camp, where students built
the machines
of Leonardo Da Vinci. I have had students build the machines of
al-Jazari, Buckminster
Fuller ( which may someday become its own summer camp! ) and the
buildings of Frank Lloyd
Wright.
The use of LEGO® products is a very rich and exciting way to study
History.
One suggestion is to start with the machines of an era/nation and then
research
into the reasons for such inventions.
Richard
rwright@pcsedu.com
www.weirdrichard.com
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