Unboxing · Grade 6 studio kit
The boxes arrived. Now what?
Open one item at a time. Each one tells you what it is, how many you should have for 6 teams of 4, what to do before students arrive, and the exact minute it shows up in the lesson.
Showing the kit for 24 students in 6 teams of 4. Change the class or submit the cart →
What shipped · 11 items
Sample kit and example prices. Quantities recalculate from your class size — nothing here is a live purchase.
Opening this box
Foam board sheets (36" × 24")
Flat white sheets, 8 to a carton, shrink-wrapped. This is the levee material.
6
1 per team
ReusableStored: Flat on the counter under the window — sheets warp if stored upright.Substitute: Cafeteria cardboard (free)
PrepBefore students arrive
- Cut each sheet into strips 30 × 6 × 4 cm. You need 2 strips per team, so 12 strips total.
- Cut a second set of pre-cut strips for the Support lane so those students start building instead of measuring.
- Bundle 2 strips per team bin — 6 bundles.
Where it lands in the lesson script
- 0:12Release
Release 6 teams to the bins in wave order. Each team takes its 2 foam strips only — no extra sheets at the table.
- 0:15Build
Coaching lap 1: check each team measured before cutting. A team that cuts first loses its material budget for the day.
After the period
Open the full lesson script Uncut strips go back in the bin. Cut strips are kept until the Day 19 flood test, then recycled.
The whole kit read as one setup list for 6 teams of 4. Roughly 25 minutes the afternoon before.
- · Cut each sheet into strips 30 × 6 × 4 cm. You need 2 strips per team, so 12 strips total.
- · Cut a second set of pre-cut strips for the Support lane so those students start building instead of measuring.
- · Bundle 2 strips per team bin — 6 bundles.
- · Set out 6 pans — one per team — plus one spare at the teacher station.
- · Mark a fill line inside each pan with tape so every team floods to the same depth.
- · Lay the tarp under the testing counter before students arrive.
- · Fill 6 pitchers to 500 mL before the period so the test is identical for every team.
- · Add two drops of food coloring to each so students can see where the water goes.
- · Pre-portion sand into 6 cups, roughly two scoops each. Do not put open bags on the tables.
- · Keep the remaining bag sealed for Day 19 re-testing.
- · One roll per team bin — 6 rolls.
- · Tape a labeled name strip on each bin with the team name.
- · Tape the fill line inside the test pans.
- · Put 4 rulers in each of the 6 bins so no one shares — 24 total.
- · Check that they are metric only. Inch rulers break the volume calculation.
- · One timer per team — 6. Check the batteries; a dead timer stops the flood test cold.
- · Trees are already placed on the tabletop community model from Week 2. Do not redistribute them.
- · Keep a handful of spares — students will knock some loose during the flood test.
- · Two markers per bin — 12. Label each bin with the team name.
- · One roll open at the sink before the period starts. Towels ready is part of the safety check.
- · Pack 6 bins to the pack list — this is the single job that makes the release at 0:12 take thirty seconds instead of ten minutes.
- · Label each lid with the team name so bins come back to the right place.
What is in students' hands at each point of the period. 24 students · 6 teams of 4.
0:00
- — Point at the river bend on the model. The trees show what the greenway protects and what the levee footprint would take.
0:12
- — Release 6 teams to the bins in wave order. Each team takes its 2 foam strips only — no extra sheets at the table.
- — Release by wave. 6 teams of 4. Each team collects one bin and returns to its table.
0:15
- — Coaching lap 1: check each team measured before cutting. A team that cuts first loses its material budget for the day.
- — Sand forms the river bank behind the levee. One cup per team; refills come from the teacher station, not the bag.
- — Tape is for joining the levee sections and anchoring the base. It is not a waterproofing layer — let them discover that in the test.
- — Measure before cutting. Length, width, and height in cm — those three numbers become the volume calculation.
- — Students mark the measured cut line before cutting, and write the team name on the levee base for the evidence photo.
0:45
- — Teams carry the model to the pan, not water to the model. Run 6 tests in sequence at the sink station — about 3 minutes per team.
- — Each of the 6 teams gets exactly 500 mL. Same volume, same pour height. If a team asks for more water, that is the answer to their question — the constraint is the point.
- — Start the timer at the first pour. Stop it at the first overtopping or seepage. That elapsed time is the team's data point.
- — Wipe between teams. A wet counter is why the next team's data comes out wrong.
1:05
- — Every one of the 24 students records their own measurements. The build is the team's; the numbers are theirs.
1:10
- — Bins back on the counter in team order before the bell. Count 6 lids.