Skills Building: The Most Magnificent Thing (3-5)

Unit 13 Book - Most Magnificent Thing

Written and Illustrated by Ashley Spires

TEKS: Reading K.5(E); 1.6(E); 2.6(E); 3.6(E); 4.6(E); 5.6(E)

Pre- Reading Questions 

  1. How does your body feel when you get frustrated?
  2. Tell me about a time when you felt so frustrated that you wanted to give up.
  3. What do you do when you try something and it doesn’t work the first time?

Post- Reading Questions

  1. What happened when the girl was frustrated and ready to give up?
  2. How did her anger affect her ability to work?
  3. How can taking a break from something help motivate you to try again?
  4. What are some ways to calm down when you are frustrated?
  5. Did the girl find the solution right away? What did she learn when she came back to her project?  Were they really all wrong?

Creative Enrichment Activity: Robot Dogs

Overview

In the book The Most Magnificent Thing, the little girl works with her dog to create an invention she thinks is the most magnificent thing ever. She quickly realizes, however, that the design in her head doesn’t quite come out right. In this activity, students will use various arts and crafts supplies and some creative problem solving to make a Robot Dog sidekick.

Materials

  • Tables
  • Glue
  • Tape
  • Paper cups
  • Construction paper
  • Popsicle sticks
  • Plastic straws
  • Markers
  • Other craft objects
  • Pencils
  • White paper

Duration:30 Minutes

  • 2 minutes – Explain the activity
  • 3 minutes – Design and draw
  • 15 minutes – Create Robot Dogs
  • 2 minutes – Clean up
  • 5 minutes – Present robots
  • 3 minutes – Reflect on the activity

Instructions

  1. Before beginning the activity, set up all supplies on a separate table where students can get whatever they need for their project.
  2. Have students sit at tables with plenty of room to work.
  3. Give students instructions:
    Teacher: “In life, it’s good to have a sidekick to help us with everyday activities. Today, we are going to design and create our own robotic dog! For this activity, you may use any of the items on the supplies table to create your Robot Dog. Your robot can look however you want, but it must do something. You can make it move, hold something, pick up something or anything you want. We will first design our Robot Dogs on paper and then build them. When we are finished, we will present our Robot Dogs to our friends.”
  4. Select a student to pass out pencils and another to pass out white paper to each of their classmates.
  5. Give students five minutes to design their Robot Dogs. Younger students may want to add a string to pull their dog (this will be its “task”). While the teacher may offer students ideas, allow them to use their creative problem solving skills.
  6. Give students 15 minutes to create their Robot Dogs.
  7. If they run into problems or challenges, ask questions to encourage personal reflection rather than solve problems for them.
  8. When finished, have students clean up their space.
  9. Gather students together to share their creations.

Reflection Questions

  • What problems/challenges did you have creating your Robot Dog?

  • What was the most difficult part of this project?

  • How did you feel when something didn’t work the way you expected?

  • What did you do when you were frustrated?

  • What creative solutions did you come up with while making your Robot Dog?