Unit Plan

Title: Machine Skills and Safety

Unit Length: 3 weeks

Written by: Jim Roland

Subject/Grade: 8th Grade Technology

Standard 5: Students will apply technological knowledge and skills to design, construct, use, and evaluate products and systems to satisfy human and environmental needs.

Performance Indicators:

4: Develop plans and construct a model of the solution.5: Test a solution, present and evaluate results, and describe how it may be modified.6: Choose and use resources for a particular purpose.7: Use a variety of hand tools and machines.8: Produce, market, and distribute a product.24: Manage resources in a technological project.25: Describe products that are well designed and made. 26: Assume leadership responsibilities.

Rationale: To promote Technological Literacy, PLTW has justified the importance of machine skills. Students will learn the content of this curriculum while strengthening skills of literacy to become better learners. The application of content learned will be the greatest learning experience for students through several activities.

Launch: Introduce students to the need for safety around machinery. Begin with the "Saw-Stop" video and other informational materials from the power tool institute. Share machine safety stories with students.

Essential Question: What are the categories of machines and how are they used safely?

Critical Thinking Skill: Classifying, ,

Sub Skills: Comparing, Induction,

Assessments: Formative: Daily Bell Ringer, Quizzes, Homework, Activity Participation, Daily Participation

Summative: Dragster Testing

Vocabulary: NYS Test: Elaborate, Best Describes, Associated, Cause and Effect, Primary Reason, Conclusion

Unit Vocab: Machine, prototype, model, tool, safety, safety guard, airbrush, saw, sander, disk sander, spindle sander, band saw, scroll saw, drill press, chuck, clutch, key, teeth, flute, drill bit, table, safety glasses, finishing, preparing

Guiding Questions: Explain how can we avoid personal injury. Utilize the proper guard for each machine. What can be done to minimize the danger of machines? When do we decide to wear safety glasses? Identify each machine. Determine how each machine functions. Rule on why must we sand and prepare a surface before finishing. Compare what type of cuts each machine makes? If someone is in danger, what would choose to do? Locate the emergency stop switches.

Student Engagement: participation in activities, observation throughout direct instruction, accountability by asking all students for answers randomly, answer individual questions, include students throughout instruction as helpers or assisting teachers, teamwork

Meaningful Use (real world application): Students will apply measurements and scale drawings to produce a working prototype "No Air Dragster". This dragster will represent the drawings they created throughout the prior unit. Students will encounter problems such as friction, balance, and aerodynamics.

Materials/Resources: dragster blanks, dragster wheels, axles, rulers, glue stick, dragster plans, graphite, launcher, hot glue, thumb tacks

How did it go?: Students were very weary at the start and were scared to use any of the machinery. After much encouragement and many safety demonstrations and lessons, students were able to successfully use the machines with ease and safety. Students were able to model dragsters that they never believed they could create. The unit went well and it was great to see such success. I enjoyed observing the students' creativity since this was an "open class race". This meant the design was entirely up to them and the final products certainly showed their different imaginations.

What changes?: Next time this unit is presented, I plan to include a challenge with some parameters to the dragster design. One challenges might include a dragster that goes the furthest up an incline.

Why different?: I would like to make this addition to further challenge students and their creativity. By altering the design challenge, students must again, think outside of what is known and a greater learning curve will be achieved.