Can LEGO Enhance Student Learning? | Ontario Teachers' Federation

Resources Used

“LEGO Education StoryStarter makes literacy tangible and creates confident and engaged storytellers and writers. As our core platform for language arts learning, the StoryStarter solution meets Common Core Standards and supports elementary teachers with a unique combination of the LEGO bricks, curriculum, easy-to-use software, and professional guidance and inspiration. Educators can encourage students to be engaged and confident writers and storytellers – enabling all students to succeed within language arts.”

https://education.lego.com/en-us/elementary/explore/language-arts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upfB8-2YaCc

“The LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® Method is a facilitated meeting, communication and problem-solving process in which participants are led through a series of questions, probing deeper and deeper into the subject. Each participant builds his or her own 3D LEGO® model in response to the facilitator´s questions using specially selected LEGO® elements. These 3D models serve as a basis for group discussion, knowledge sharing, problem-solving and decision-making.”

https://www.lego.com/en-us/seriousplay

Building a Better Business Using the LEGO Serious Play Method by Per Kristiansen and Robert Rasmussen

https://www.amazon.ca/Building-Better-Business-Serious-Method/dp/1118832450

Creative Explorations: New Approaches to Identities and Audiences by David Gauntlett

https://www.amazon.ca/Creative-Explorations-Approaches-Identities-Audiences/dp/041539659X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1495033573&sr=1-1&keywords=creative+explorations

Resources Created

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The Curious Garden by Peter Brown

"One boy's quest for a greener world... one garden at a time. While out exploring one day, a little boy named Liam discovers a struggling garden and decides to take care of it. As time passes, the garden spreads throughout the dark, gray city, transforming it into a lush, green world. This is an enchanting tale with environmental themes and breathtaking illustrations that become more vibrant as the garden blooms. Red-headed Liam can also be spotted on every page, adding a clever seek-and-find element to this captivating picture book."

Stewards of the Earth Anchor Chart

An anchor chart that shows students' thinking when responding to the question: What does it mean to be a steward of the Earth?

Student LEGO Build

An example of a student's LEGO build responding to the question: How can you be a steward of the Earth?

Student Samples for Stewards of the Earth Lesson

A pre- and post-LEGO build student sample of writing

Beginning-Middle Anchor Chart

An anchor chart created with students to record what happened at the beginning of the story, as well as what happened in the middle of the story

Advantages and Disadvantages of Sharing

Each student was given two sticky notes to list the advantages and disadvantages of "sharing"

Milo and the Magical Stones by Marcus Pfister

"Milo, a mouse who lives on a small mountain island, finds a glowing rock that provides both light and warmth on a cold winter night. Partway through the story, after a warning from wise Balthazar that if the mice take something from the island, they must return something, the book's pages are cut in half giving the story two different endings, one happy and one sad."

LEGO StoryStarter Kit

"StoryStarter is a hands-on tool that inspires pupils to collaborate while creating and communicating stories using LEGO® bricks as their tools. It is an innovative way of teaching a wide range of essential skills. This set contains enough elements to build a five scene story, and the supporting curriculum pack offers 'getting started' tasks and hands-on classroom activities covering a range of topics."

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