All Aboard? It's a Board Game Bonanza!

My Students

"If the challenge exists, so must the solution". This year, the theme for my students is exploration and innovation. My students will walk in the shoes of an engineer and learn the engineering design process through science, technology, engineering, art, and math (STEAM). All A-Board? Let's go!

I teach at a Title I public charter school in Hawaii.

Our students come from a challenged socioeconomic area whereby approximately 85% of our student population are on free/reduce lunch. The challenges that our students face are daunting, but there is always hope. Hope for change, hope for a brighter future. Despite the challenges that my students may have, I provide them with structure, safety, support, and learning outcomes using 21st century skills. My students look forward to learning new things like exploration and innovation in the classroom and be able to share it with their families. My students are the future engineers of tomorrow.

My Project

My students will be engineers this year and learn the engineering and design process. They will be given TEAM building tasks/problems to communicate and collaborate in groups to come up with a solution, design a model to solve their problem, and engineer it. Once they test it out, reflect upon it, and collaborate again, they will redesign their model to make the modifications needed for improvement. Learning these skills well and building upon the ideas of others, they will design and construct their very own board game. The presentation boards, rulers, markers, clips, fasteners, a computer, and a digital camera will aid the students in constructing this board game that will demonstrate their deep understanding of the engineering and design process. They will engineer a game that is fun and creative utilizing 2D and 3D figures. Midway into their project, they will collaborate with their parents and peers to make improvements.

Funding this project will help embed 21st century skills like communication and collaboration, critical thinking, and problem solving through the engineering and design process of constructing a board game.

The children will enjoy creating an original game and have lots of fun playing their games, too. They will even have an opportunity to play their games with other classes. This board game project will create a fun, learning environment week after week. All A-Board? Let's go!