A Taste for Bridges

In this Teachers TV programme, teacher Irene Harrison makes use of the local area to inspire her Year Five and Six class to think about the design of bridges and then to build their own bridges using food. Children use an interactive online activity to design their own bridges then with the help of parent governor and bridge engineer Nigel Fletcher they learn about different bridge designs. Working in small groups, children are challenged to think about the load bearing properties of the different foods available and how these may be utilised to construct their original bridge designs. This programme demonstrates the use of teacher as facilitator of a practical activity prompting and guiding learning through questioning. It also allows children to think about their own thinking and reflect upon how they worked in their groups. Though the interactive activity used in the film is no longer available, a similar resource could be found online or the practical activities in this programme could be used alone as a lesson idea.