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Welcome to Engineering: Building a Race Car Track – Today we become engineers – Engineering: Creating cool stuff! – Engineers build things like bridges, robots, and even race car tracks! – Engineers solve problems – They think about what people need and make it happen – Designing our own race tracks – We’ll use our creativity to make amazing tracks for toy cars | This slide introduces first graders to the concept of engineering within the context of a fun and relatable project: designing a race car track. Begin by explaining that engineering is all about creating and building things that can solve problems or make life more fun. Emphasize that engineers use their skills to design a wide range of things, from everyday objects to complex structures. Encourage the children to think like engineers and use their imagination to design their own race car tracks. Discuss the importance of planning and creativity in engineering. The activity will involve drawing their designs on paper, thinking about the shape of the track, and what features it might have, such as tunnels or bridges. This will set the stage for a hands-on project where they can apply these concepts.

Exploring Race Car Tracks – What’s a race car track? – A special road built just for racing cars. – Features of a track – They have curves, straights, and hills. – Viewing real tracks Let’s see some famous tracks and their shapes! – Designing our own track | This slide introduces students to the concept of a race car track, which is a fundamental part of racing and engineering. Explain that a race car track is much like the roads they see every day but designed specifically for cars to race on. Highlight the different parts of a track, such as curves for turning, straight paths for speeding up, and hills for added challenge. Show pictures or videos of real race car tracks to give them a visual understanding. Finally, get them excited about designing their own track by discussing what features they might include in their design. This activity will help develop their understanding of engineering practices and creative thinking.

Designing Our Race Car Track – Engineers plan before building – Let’s draw our track designs – Use your imagination and creativity – Consider fun and safety factors – Think about turns, hills, and space for cars – Share your track ideas with the class | This slide introduces the concept of planning and designing before construction, a key engineering practice. Encourage the students to think like engineers by drawing their race car track ideas on paper. Emphasize the importance of making the track both fun, with elements like turns and hills, and safe, ensuring enough space for the cars to race without accidents. Allow the children to be creative and use their imagination. After they have drawn their tracks, create an opportunity for each student to present their design to the class, fostering a sense of sharing and collaboration.

Building Our Race Car Track – Use cardboard for the track – Plastic tubes for tunnels and bridges – Tape to hold our track together – Test tracks with toy cars – See how cars move on the track we build | This slide is meant to inspire creativity and resourcefulness among the students as they embark on the project of designing their own race car track. Emphasize the importance of using available materials such as cardboard, plastic tubes, and tape to construct their tracks. Encourage them to think about how these materials can be used innovatively to create tunnels, bridges, and turns. Highlight the fun aspect of testing the tracks with toy cars, which will also serve as a practical demonstration of their engineering skills. Ask the students to brainstorm additional materials that could be used for the track and discuss the properties that would make them suitable or unsuitable for construction. This activity will help students understand basic engineering concepts and the process of design and testing.

Building Our Race Car Track – Turn drawings into a model track – Include space for cars to race – Two cars should fit next to each other – Add a start and a finish line – Mark where the race begins and ends – Use creativity and have fun | This slide is for a class activity where students will apply their understanding of engineering practices to build a model race car track. Provide students with materials like cardboard, markers, and toy cars. Encourage them to refer to their drawings and think about the width of the track to allow two cars to race side by side. Emphasize the importance of having a clear start and finish line for the race. Allow students to be creative with their designs and ensure they have fun while learning about engineering concepts. Possible activities include decorating the track, creating obstacles, or making signs.

Testing Our Tracks – Test tracks with toy cars – Check if cars move smoothly – Does it glide or get stuck? – Can tracks fit more cars? – Try racing two cars side by side – Observe and note the results – Write down what happens during the test | This slide is focused on the class activity of testing the race car tracks that the students have built. The objective is to understand the practical aspects of their designs and to learn through observation and testing. Encourage the students to gently place their toy cars at the start line and let go to see if the car moves smoothly. Ask them to consider if their track design allows for more than one car to race at a time without causing any crashes or traffic jams. Provide them with a worksheet to record their observations about what works well and what could be improved. Possible activities include testing different car sizes, adding obstacles, or creating pit stops. This hands-on experience will help them grasp basic engineering concepts and the importance of testing and iteration.

Improving Our Race Car Track Design – It’s okay if our track isn’t perfect – Engineers redo designs to improve – Like fixing a toy, we can fix our track – Think of ways to make tracks better – Can we make it longer, wider, or add turns? – Share ideas to help our track | This slide encourages students to understand that designing is a process that often involves trial and error. Emphasize that it’s perfectly fine if their first design isn’t perfect and that even professional engineers have to make changes to their designs. Encourage them to think critically about what could make their race car tracks better, such as making them longer, wider, adding more turns, or creating obstacles. Promote a collaborative environment where students can share their ideas and learn from each other. This will help them embrace the iterative nature of engineering and learn the value of persistence and teamwork.

Sharing Our Race Car Tracks – Present your track to the class – Explain your track design Why did you choose that shape or those features? – Share the fun part of building Was it making turns, hills, or decorating? – Discuss what you learned What new things did you find out while creating? | This slide is for a class activity where students will present the race car tracks they have designed. Encourage each student to speak about their track and explain the reasoning behind their design choices, such as the shape of the track or any special features they included. Ask them to reflect on the most enjoyable part of the building process, which could be anything from crafting turns and hills to decorating their track. Finally, prompt a discussion on what they learned during the project, like concepts of speed and motion, or how different designs can affect the race outcome. This activity will help students practice public speaking and give them a chance to showcase their creativity and understanding of basic engineering principles.

Race Day Fun! – Race with your toy cars – Enjoy building and racing – Building tracks teaches us about engineering – Learning is key – Remember, winning isn t everything – Ready, set, go! | This slide is for a class activity where students will engage in a fun and educational race using the tracks they’ve built. The activity is designed to reinforce concepts of engineering and physics in a practical and enjoyable way. Encourage the students to focus on the fun of participating and the experience they gain from testing their tracks. Emphasize that the goal is to learn and understand how their design choices affect their car’s performance. Possible activities include: racing in pairs, timing each race, discussing what design features made some cars faster, and what improvements could be made for next time.

Class Activity: Build Your Own Track – Be an engineer for the day – Use materials to build a track – Cardboard, tubes, tape, and toy cars – Test your race car on the track – Make sure the car can roll down – Share your track with the class | This activity is designed to introduce students to basic engineering concepts by allowing them to build their own race car tracks. Provide a variety of materials such as cardboard, paper tubes, tape, and toy cars. Encourage creativity and problem-solving as they construct their tracks. Once the tracks are built, have each student test their car on their track and make any necessary adjustments. Finally, allow students to present their tracks to the class, explaining their design choices and the challenges they faced. Possible variations of the activity could include working in teams, incorporating obstacles, or setting a time limit for an added challenge.