Righty tighty, lefty loosey.
Can you remember the moment you 'learned' that turning screws clockwise tightens them? I cannot! Somehow though, I did learn this essential – if minuscule – life lesson. Maybe I've heard the “righty tighty, lefty loosey” adage so many times that it stuck. More likely, I learned this the way most of us learn things: through repeated experience or – better yet – failure. I can imagine my child-self going about the house, screwdriver in hand, 'fixing' things … a hand blender out of the corner cabinet, the hinges of a bedroom door, an electrical outlet cover (thanks mom and dad for keeping me alive!). As an older child I'd walk my bicycle home with a flat tire, hopeful that I could get it repaired quickly so I could get back to riding around the neighborhood. Those axle nuts always seemed to be SO TIGHT! No, wait ... they turn the other way to loosen.
On day-one of disassembly, a 6th grade “engineering” teams made this same discovery: “turn screws to the left to take them out”. They recorded this discovery under the “What did you learn” section of their Design Journal. This year, Ms. Kut's 6th grade S.T.E.A.M. class is Deconstruction Zone in which teams of “engineers” are carefully taking apart mechanical toys and small machines. Over the course of the 45 day marking period, they disassemble, study, and document these mechanical systems. They will produce a technical “Assembly Instructions” document to accompany their container of parts. Can a peer rebuild this toy/machine from the instructions?
Through this process students discover and use new hand tools. They think about design, design intent, and function. They gain insight into the simple mechanics that have been hidden just beyond the surface of common toys and machines. It turns out that it's not magic … it's engineering! They will practice deliberate observation and careful record keeping. They will practice good communication with a new tool: technical writing. And they will traverse the ups and downs of teamwork, again, learning from experience. Wow! Who knew that there was so much learning to be found in a child's toy from a second-hand store.