April 12th was International Day of Human Space Flight. One of my classes was just finishing up a unit with the theme of science and technology, and I decided to have them test out a project I'd been wanting to try. It's an adapted NASA STEM challenge (STEM = science, technology, engineering, math) that challenges teens to design and build a space lander out of paper, index cards, straws, cups, ice cream sticks, lots of masking tape, and marshmallows.
I showed my group a dramatic video about the challenges of landing a spacecraft on Mars. I paused it at 1:35 on the words "game over," and asked them to explain why the title is "7 Minutes of Terror." (It's because it takes only 7 minutes to enter the Martian atmosphere and land on the surface, but it takes 14 minutes for the notifying signal to reach Earth. It's a terrifying wait, as there is absolutely no margin for error.)
And then I introduced the challenge. Using the materials provided, working in groups of their choice, they had to design, construct and test a Mars lander that would allow two marshmallow "astronauts" to land safely inside their "spacecraft," which was a plastic cup. Reminding them to use only English in the challenge--I threatened to come around and eat their marshmallows if I heard any Portuguese.
I showed them a sample image from the source of the activity, gave them vocabulary for concepts they'd be working with, such as gravity, stability, and shock absorption, then set them loose. A buzz of excitement was proof that the students were incredibly engaged in the activity, and it was fascinating to watch them problem-solve together.
When everyone was ready, each group did a test drop. A team member held their model up in the air and let it go. Three out of five groups had a successful drop--the marshmallow astronauts stayed inside. For the next round, we dropped them from a higher height. We decided it would be more fair if I was the one to stand on a chair and drop each piece. So that's what I did. The same three groups' space landers survived the higher drop. Because of time constraints, I ended the competition there, congratulating them all.
To wrap up, I passed around the bag of extra marshmallows for them to eat, and showed them the rest of the video. I asked them to listen for specific challenges faced in landing a craft on Mars (such as heat from entry and a thinner atmosphere) and the different solutions developed by scientists (such as a parachute and landing rockets). Pairs shared what they learned. To bring it back to what they had been practicing in the book, I asked them to make their own predictions about humans reaching Mars using the two future tenses we'd learned:
Future continuous: "Humans will be trying new ways to land on Mars in the next 20 years."
Future perfect: "We won't have colonized Mars by 2070."
Going forward, I plan to implement this lesson into another book we teach, which has a lesson about colonizing Mars, teaching present unreal conditionals. This would replace another STEM challenge I've done with catapults. I plan to have groups do the same activity with the space landers, but at the end, reflect on it using the second conditional:
"If the marshmallows were human, they would die."
"The gravity would be different if we tried this on Mars."
What I love best about bringing the maker movement to English language classes, besides the excitement and motivation it brings, is that it makes people work together to problem solve. Youth who would never consider themselves creative are placed in a situation where they must come up with solutions to unforeseen challenges, collaborating with their peers. These skills are essential in the 21st Century, and all the more valuable when developed in English. I'll never be an astronaut, but I sure can feel like a superhero making these things happen.
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