Maker Monday: Pulling Interest Along a Zip Line

I recently taught a unit about outdoor adventure activities, which prompted a lot of questions in the present perfect--"Have you ever gone hiking/rafting/climbing," etc...? When the answer was often, "No, I haven't," I brought up one that wasn't in the book, "Have you ever gone on a zip line?" This one hit closer to home. There are many places in the mountains surrounding the Paraíba Valley that have a tirolesa, or zip line, where tourists can simultaneously confront their fear of heights and take in a great view while sliding down a cable, safely harnessed onto a pulley. This new term came up a few times during the unit, drawing interest each time, and so I decided it might be cool to make our own.

I had a few pins on Pinterest with various ideas for simple zip lines for kids to build. (A quick search there or on Google Images of "zip line STEM" brings up plenty of easily-doable options.) Using them for inspiration, I brought in any materials I could find that looked useful. I didn't want to have step-by-step instructions to make a particular model, but rather, my aim was to engage interest, show a few options, and let the student make the decisions, learning while building. I was there to provide moral support and help guide the making process.

In the end, the student decided on a simple model using binder clips. After a few tries, he figured out how to thread the string through the clips so that it would slide easily down the string. Satisfied that the question, "Have you ever made a zip line?" could now be answered with an affirmative, we ended that class by sending a piece of candy down the zip line to take home.

Making is a process, and it's great when time allows us to build on something learned in class, taking it a little further. The following class, the student was greeted by two long strings tied to the highest place in the classroom that we could feasibly send a zip line down. The mission was now to send two zip lines to different destinations, and to put time expressions that go with the words since vs. for (since March, for three weeks, etc.) in a carrier labeled accordingly. The experience from the previous class made the decision-making process easy for making two zip lines. It then took a little bit of engineering and trial and error to figure out how to send two zip lines in a small classroom without them crashing into each other. The end result, however, was beautifully smooth, and the physical task of separating time expressions was different from writing them in the book; hopefully the element of fun will make them stay in the student's mind.

This was done in a private lesson, but I would love to do it with a class of young people. After a day of building and testing zip lines and reflecting on the experience, I would bring the challenge to the next level in a following class as a game. Teams would use their favorite models, labeling one "since" and the other "for." I would give teams a time limit and a colored marker to write all the time expressions they could think of used with present perfect, since vs. for, and separate them accordingly. Each team would have a chance to send theirs down the zip line to the destination, making any necessary adjustments to carry the load. At the end, we would look at the expressions in the landing zone and make sure they were correct. That's why each team should use a different color--so we know whose are whose. The team that has the highest number of expressions in the correct place (that survived the trip--if they fall out of the zip line, they don't count!) is the winner.

I could also see this being used for reported speech. Students could sort from prepared quotations, deciding which are statements: "I have to go," imperatives: "Please go now," or questions: "Where did they go?"--and then send them down the corresponding zip line. Their teammates at the other end would then transform them into reported speech: She said she had to go; He said to go now; I asked where they had gone. The physical distance adds a degree of separation, reinforcing the concept of separation from the moment the words were spoken to the moment they are reported, and thus, the change in language that needs to happen.

I suppose an activity like this could be used for any number of language transformations--even at more basic levels, such as transforming a present tense sentence to the past, or to a negative or a question, or putting irregular verbs in their past forms. It could also be used for distinguishing different pronunciation sounds, such as long and short vowels (reach vs. rich), or different sounds in regular past -ed verbs (/t/ as in walked, /d/ as in called, /ID/ as in decided). There are numerous connections to be made to just about any target language or theme.

Designing a zip line and sending down something meaningful helps young learners make all sorts of important connections. Doing it in teams develops better communication and collaboration skills. Giving students multiple options gives them autonomy and also opportunities to be creative and to problem solve. And with decision making and analyzing, critical thinking is not too far behind. All good things to teach alongside English language!

What would you send in a zip line?