Load Busters Unit • Lesson 1 Student Worksheet Page 1 of 2
Pick the best building materials and fix a broken skyscraper design.
Part 3 & 4
Use words from the Word Bank below
🔑 Word Bank • Material Properties:
Tension Strength (Holds pulling) Compression Strength (Holds crushing) Shear Strength (Resists sliding cuts)
Job 1: Strong cables hanging a bridge or holding a tall antenna Force: Tension (Pull)
Should the engineer choose Braided Steel Cables or Rigid Clay Bricks?
I choose Braided Steel Cables because steel has great so it will not snap when pulled.
Job 2: Thick ground pillars holding up 40 stories of heavy rooms Force: Compression (Push)
Should the engineer choose Reinforced Concrete Columns or Cardboard Tubes?
I choose Reinforced Concrete Columns because concrete has high so it will not crush under weight.
Job 3: Tough steel bolts pinning floor beams to corner columns Force: Shear (Slide)
Should the engineer choose Heavy Steel Fasteners or Plastic Glue Sticks?
I choose Heavy Steel Fasteners because they resist so the joint won't slice in half.
Be a Building Detective
What happened: During a windy storm, a tall 20-story building started to sway side to side and twist like a dishcloth! The columns started bending outward because there were no diagonal supports.
1. Which force made the building twist?
A) Torsion (Twisting force) B) Tension (Pulling force)
2. How can engineers fix the wobbling?
"To stop the twisting and swaying, the engineers should add diagonal X-braces because triangles _____________________________________."
Load Busters Unit • Lesson 1 Student Worksheet Page 2 of 2
3. Testing & Analysis
Required Lab Materials & Testing Apparatus (Class of 28 • 7 Teams) Low-Cost • Highly Tactile
Force Stations: Gridded foam blocks, rubber bands, yarn, paper strips, straws, weights, card deck, brads.
Tower Build: 400 craft/balsa sticks, wood glue or low-temp glue guns, cardstock gussets, wax paper.
Crash Rig: 5-gal bucket or hanging pan, S-hook, flat 8×8 cm load plate with center eyebolt, sand/weights.
Safety & Scales: Digital gram scales (0.1 g), metric rulers, ANSI Z87.1 safety goggles for all during test.
Load Busters Engineering Curriculum • Teacher Facilitation Guide Page 1 of 2
Strategies for Lower-Level Readers, ELL Learners, Safety Protocols & Scoring Rubrics
Facilitator Playbook 2/2
1. Sentence Starters & Word Banks
All lab sheets feature embedded sentence starters (e.g., "The lines got wider because...") and visual word banks. Striving writers only need to complete the scientific rationale rather than draft full paragraphs from scratch.
2. Multimodal Assessment
Accept sketches, physical hand gestures (showing push/compression vs pull/tension), or verbal explanations for students with reading barriers. Peer pairs allow stronger readers to read station steps aloud.
3. Step-by-Step Math Support
The complex structural efficiency formula is chunked into 3 guided steps on the Crash Test Report (Step 1: Write weights → Step 2: Live ÷ Dead → Step 3: Match score to the 3-star rating scorecard).
× Misconception 1: "More glue makes the tower stronger."
Students apply heavy glue globs, thinking mass equals strength. Globs add dead weight and ruin the efficiency score.
✓ Fix: "Thin glue + paper gussets win."
Show that a thin glue smear with corner gussets holds 5× more weight while keeping dead weight under 60 g.
× Misconception 2: "Squares are good enough for towers."
Students build 4-sided boxes without diagonal members; squares immediately fold into tilted diamonds and collapse.
✓ Fix: "Triangles cannot fold."
Demonstrate that a 3-sided triangle locks rigid. Emphasize that diagonal X-braces are required on ALL 4 sides.
× Misconception 3: "A broken tower means I failed."
Students feel sad when their tower snaps, confusing destructive testing with an academic failure.
✓ Fix: "Failure is the data!"
Frame test day as a detective case. Real engineers intentionally test to failure so they know exactly what to improve.
Standardized Loading Steps
Safety Mandates
Force Lab (L1) 25%
Graded via Answer Key (10-pt rubric)
Tower Build (L2) 30%
Qualifies: ≥40 cm, ≤60 g, X-braced
Crash Report (L3) 25%
Data accuracy & failure diagnosis
Redesign (L3) 20%
Evidence-based Tower 2.0 plan
Load Busters Engineering Curriculum • Teacher Facilitation Guide Page 2 of 2
Tools: Playing card deck • Paper fasteners • Strips
What to do: Place a deck of cards flat on the desk. Put your palm on the top card and gently slide sideways. Notice how the card layers slide past each other like cards in a fan.
| Test Setup | What Action Was Done? | What Happened to the Layers? |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Free card deck | Pushed sideways | Cards slid past each other into a slope |
| 2. Strips held by 1 pin | Pulled opposite ways | Pin tilted and ripped through paper |
| 3. Strips glued with gusset | Pulled opposite ways | Reinforced joint stayed solid |
Draw Sliding Cards:
[ Draw cards slanting sideways → ]
Sentence Starter: "Shear happens when sideways forces push in opposite directions, like ____________________________________________________."
Tools: Foam beam with drawn squares • Sponge
What to do: Hold the bottom of the foam beam tightly against the table. Twist the top with your other hand. Watch how the square grid lines change into slanted diamond shapes!
| Amount of Twist | Grid Shape Change | How Did the Foam Feel? |
|---|---|---|
| Small Twist (1/4 turn) | Squares tilted a little | Gentle tightness in the middle |
| Big Twist (1/2 turn) | Squares turned into diamonds | Very tight, wanted to snap back |
Draw Twisting Diamonds:
[ Draw twisted diagonal diamonds ◊ ]
Sentence Starter: "When a structure is twisted, square frames warp into diamonds, which is why diagonal braces are needed."
Complete these two sentences to plan your tower design:
1. "The biggest force threat to our tall tower when heavy weights are placed on top is [ Tension / Compression / Torsion ]."
2. "To make our tower strong and stop it from twisting or bending, our team will add ____________________________________________________________________."
Load Busters • Lesson 1 Station Handout Page 2 of 2
Load Busters Curriculum • Master Answer Key Page 1 of 2
Answer key for Parts 3 & 4 plus quick teacher grading rubric.
Master Key 2/2
Word Bank Key
Job 1: Hanging Cables Force: Tension
Correct Selection: Braided Steel Cables • Property: Tension Strength (holds pulling without snapping).
Job 2: Ground Pillars Force: Compression
Correct Selection: Reinforced Concrete Columns • Property: Compression Strength (holds crushing downward weight).
Job 3: Fasteners & Bolts Force: Shear
Correct Selection: Heavy Steel Fasteners • Property: Shear Strength (resists sliding cuts between beam joints).
Problem Solving
Question 1: Force that made it twist
✓ Correct: A) Torsion (Twisting force)
Swirling wind puts unequal pressure on building walls, creating rotational torque.
Question 2: How to fix the wobbling
"...add diagonal X-braces because triangles cannot bend or fold without breaking, locking the corners rigid."
Formative Assessment
| Assignment Section | Points | Mastery Look-Fors |
|---|---|---|
| Part 1: 4 Force Models | 4 pts | Accurately identifies stretching, squeezing, tilting, and twisting actions. |
| Part 2: Dead vs. Live Loads | 2 pts | Correctly sorts moving contents (Live) vs permanent structure (Dead). |
| Part 3: Material Chooser | 2 pts | Matches tension strength to cables and compression strength to columns. |
| Part 4: Wobbling Solution | 2 pts | Identifies torsion and explains that triangles lock square corners rigid. |
Differentiation Note: For emerging bilingual students, accept verbal explanations or hand demonstrations of tension/compression forces during station checks.
Load Busters Curriculum • Master Answer Key Page 2 of 2
Base Width = 10 cm ← Add Diagonal Triangle Braces in Each Story → Flat Top = 8 cm
Both partners check before test day!
Height: Tower is at least 40 cm tall. Base: Base fits inside 10×10 cm square. Roof: Top is flat for the 8×8 cm plate.
Dead Weight: Weighs under 60.0 grams. Glue: Glue is dry and rock-hard (no wet spots). Bracing: All 4 sides have triangle braces.
Teacher / Inspector Sign-Off: Approved for destructive crash testing!
Inspector Signature:
Final Empty Weight: g
Load Busters • Lesson 2 Blueprint Guide Page 2 of 2
Check height (≥ 40 cm) and weight (≤ 60 g). Let dry!
Safety First: Wear safety glasses when snapping sticks • Wipe extra glue clean!
Complete the sentences to explain your new plan
1. Fixing the Weak Point:
"To stop the tower from breaking at that same spot next time, our team will change our design by ________________________________________________________________________________________________."
2. Adding Reinforcements:
"We will add [ extra X-braces / thicker bundled columns / stronger corner gussets ] because they will resist the force of ________________________________________________________________________."
3. Keeping it Light (Under 60 grams Dead Load):
"We will make sure our tower stays light by using glue carefully and only adding braces where ________________________________________________________________________________________________."
Engineering Team Redesign Approved All team members agree on the new prototype plan
Lead Builder:
Testing Specialist:
Load Busters • Lesson 3 Crash Test Report Page 2 of 2
A lighter tower that holds heavy weight gets the highest score in class!
Next Iteration
1. Weak Spot
Name the exact joint or column that failed first.
2. What to Add
Add corner gussets, lap splices, or diagonal X-braces.
3. Keep it Light
Only put braces where needed so dead weight stays low.
Now fill out Part 4 & 5 on your Crash Test Report to sketch your Tower 2.0!
