Halloween Creature Catcher

2nd Grade (can be expanded through 6th grade)

Math Concept: Geometry

1. Integrated Thematic Topic:

Technology Concept:

Standards:

Halloween Creature Catcher

Standards:

Geometry 2.G

2. Essential Questions:

4.Innocative Designer- Students use a variety

of technologies within a design process to
identify and solve problems by creating new,
useful or imaginative solutions.

Reason with shapes and their attributes

What are arachnids?

2G.1: Recognize and draw shapes having

specified attributes, such as a given number
of angles or a given number of equal faces.1
Identify triangles, quadrilaterals, pentagons,
hexagons, and cubes.

What do arachnids use to help

them consume food?

Tasks:
-Sort materials by their like attributes (color,
object, length, etc)

How can we use these household

items to create a creature catcher?

3. Essential Academic Terms:

-Draw a plan using various shapes to create

the design to for the creature catcher.

Arachnids

-Create various shapes to help complete the

task of the creature catcher

Creatures

Web

Consume

4d. Students exhibit a tolerance for

ambiguity, perseverance and the capacity to
work with open-ended problems.
6.Creative Communicator-Students
communicate clearly and express themselves
creatively for a variety of purposes using the
platforms, tools, styles, formats, and digital
media appropriate to their goals.
6b. Students create original works or
responsibly repurpose or remix digital
resources into new creations.

Tasks:

DRAFT VERSION (Powell, 2015)

Insects

4. Learning Outcomes/Objectives:

-Brainstorm ways to create a new figure from

materials provided
-Work within teams to create the figure and
how to utilize the materials provided.

When given the set of materials students will

work in their challenge groups to brainstorm
a plan for their creature catcher. (Technology)

Science Concept:
Standards:

Given paper and pencil the students will use a

planning sheet to create a drawing of their
Engineering Concept:
creature catcher. (Technology)

Inquiry & Process Skills

Given a set of materials students will sort the

objects with like attributes. (Math)

Communicating giving oral and written

explanations or graphic representations of
observations

When given the set of materials students will

use their design to construct a figure within
their challenge groups (Engineering)

Creating models displaying information,

using multisensory representations

Given a graphic organizer students will

analyze their creature catchers ability to
successfully or unsuccessfully collect
creatures. (Science and Math)

Manipulating materials handling or

treating materials and equipment safely,
skillfully, and effectively
Standard 7- Interdisciplinary Problem
Solving
Key Idea 2: Solving interdisciplinary

DRAFT VERSION (Powell, 2015)

Standards:
Key idea: Engineering design is an iterative
process involving modeling and optimization
used to develop technological solutions to
problems within given constraints.
Elementary Performance Indicators:
Student(s) will:

5. Assessment:
-Students will complete a planning
sheet (individually and as a group.)
-Students will construct a device to
catch the spiders within the space

describe objects, imaginary or real,

that might be modeled or made
differently and suggest ways in which
the objects can be changed, fixed, or
improved
investigate prior solutions and ideas
from books, magazines, family,
friends, neighbors, and community

problems involves a variety of skills and

strategies, including effective work habits;
gathering and processing information;
generating and analyzing ideas; realizing
ideas; making connections among the
common themes of mathematics, science, and
technology; and presenting results.
work effectively
gather and process information

provided using only construction

paper, pipe cleaners, yarn or string
and spiders.

members

generate ideas for possible solutions,

individually and through group
activity; apply age-appropriate
mathematics and science skills;
evaluate the ideas and determine the
best solution; and explain reasons for
the choices

plan and build, under supervision, a

model of the solution using familiar
materials, processes, and hand tools

discuss how best to test the solution;

perform the test under teacher
supervision; record and portray results
through numerical and graphic means;
discuss orally why things worked or
didn't work; and summarize results in
writing, suggesting ways to make the
solution better

-Students will discuss their

completed catchers with their
classmates.
-Students will record the steps
taken to complete their construction
of the creature catcher.

generate and analyze ideas

observe common themes
realize ideas
present results
NGSS:
K-2-ETS1-1: Ask questions, make
observations, and gather information about a
situation people want to change to define a
simple problem that can be solved through
the development of a new or improved object
or tool.

Tasks:
-Construct a figure, only using pipe cleaners,
yarn, construction paper, and creatures.

Task:
Classification
-Sort the materials by like attributes

DRAFT VERSION (Powell, 2015)

-Recall the steps taken to construct their new

figure

-Name their creature catcher

Guiding Questions for Project-Based or Inquiry-Based Activities:

What is the problem (question) that needs to be solved (answered)? How can we use the materials provided to create a creature
catcher?

Who has the problem (question)? The teachers and students

Why is this problem (question) important to solve (answer)? Exploring the engineering of a figure with limited materials is
important because it can help a student understand that they can create and build many different versions of one item as well
as create more than just one item from a small set of materials.

DRAFT VERSION (Powell, 2015)