9 Maker Projects for Beginner Maker Ed Teachers

Maker education (often referred to as “Maker Ed”) is a new school of educational thought that focuses on delivering constructivist, project-based learning curriculum and instructional units to students. Maker education spaces can be as large as full high school workshops with high-tech tools, or as small and low-tech as one corner of an elementary classroom. A makerspace isn’t just about the tools and equipment, but the sort of learning experience the space provides to students who are making projects.

Maker Ed places a premium on the balance between exploration and execution. Small projects lend themselves to indefinite tinkering and fiddling, while larger projects need complex, coordinated planning. Often, small projects can organically grow into larger and larger projects. This deliberate process strengthens and enriches a learner’s executive functioning skills. Additionally, communication and collaboration are two of Maker Ed’s fundamental values. Making allows learners to practice their social communication skills in a variety of groupings, whether affinity-based, role-specific or teacher-assigned. It’s important for all different groups to be present in student learning spaces so that all students can practice their social skills in multiple settings. Lastly, Making presents unique opportunities to generate flow learning and allow the teacher to leverage high-interest projects and activities and turn them into learning objectives within a curriculum.

Maker education provides space for real-life collaboration, integration across multiple disciplines, and iteration—the opportunity to fail, rework a project and find success. The benefits of a cooperative learning environment are well documented in a makerspace. If you are wondering how to connect these projects back to the Common Core Standards, check out PBL Through a Maker’s Lens and Woodshop Cowboy.

Do you want to get into Making and Maker Ed but don’t know where to start? No problem! Here are nine class-tested, teacher-approved ideas, which can be built using a few tools for K–8 students.

A great starting point for a beginning Maker teacher, this “Towers of Power” activity allows students to build towers out of paper and Scotch tape. Students can build the tallest tower with an unlimited amount of materials, constrain themselves to limited materials or introduce new materials, such as straws and paper clips. You can crush the towers with textbooks. Find out which tower holds up the most weight. This group activity can help students with teamwork, leadership and planning skills. Best of all, variations on this theme are endless — and the materials can be found in any school office.

This catapult activity is one of my favorite projects to use to introduce engineering principles, motion and fun. The catapult allows students to chase down the best launching angle and the ratio between power and arm length, as well as discuss projectile motion, gravity, physics laws and a whole host of other things. Plus, every student likes trying to smash something apart with a teacher’s permission. Little hands might pinch themselves handling the strong lever, so it’s good practice to disengage the spring for students while they make their catapults.

A great way to get into making is to give you and your students a few hours to explore the Making design process. Design challenges are a great way to get this done. Set a hard time limit, test the devices, go back and reflect the next day.

Here are a few of my favorite prompts:

Design a bridge to span a foot-long gap and hold as much weight as possible. An extension could be to build a cantilever — a bridge with only one footing. Use a set amount of craft sticks or materials in order to encourage creativity in solutions.

Design a boat that can hold the most cargo, move through the water the fastest or has the most efficient weight to cargo ratio. Find the best shape for sails, design the fastest hull and find the balance point.

Throwing eggs off something high always gets kids motivated. It’s a great way to discuss momentum and illustrate why you should always wear your seat belt.

If a teacher offers a student the opportunity to make something joyfully noisy, they usually take it. Homemade instruments come in all different sizes and types — from wood drums to coffee can shakers, to wind chimes to xylophones, it just takes a little Google search to find great ideas.

Once you—the teacher—get your “sea legs” for facilitating Maker projects, why not expand your skills? By now you’ve seen what you can do and what your kids can do. You’ve probably worked out how to efficiently manage the classroom and supplies, and document learning. Kick it up a level and unlock some achievements using electricity. Read more below for fun activities using electricity.

Electromagnets illustrate the connection between electricity and magnetism. In real life, electromagnets are the cornerstone of many common electrical devices, such as door bells, burglar alarms, car doors and electric motors. Students can fiddle with them to create small toys that can pick up ferrous objects.

Squishy circuits solve one of the biggest conundrums with younger Makers: how to build with real electronic components when the young hands have yet to develop the fine motor skills to connect relatively small parts together via grown up tools? Try using play dough! Take a piece of flour and a small collection of electronic parts (which you can find online at a low cost.)

Once the students have made a few electronic circuits, they might ask for something a bit more complicated. Give them a programmable microcontroller board, which they can use to play a banana piano, design a custom video game controller or create a dance floor that can play different songs with each tile. MakeyMakey can make it happen.

Patrick Waters a MakerEd teacher in a math/science department at a innovative therapeutic private day school for students with neurological differences. What’s MakerEd? MakerEd is a educational philosophy which celebrates the learning process which occurs when a person makes something interesting. His work involves a little of everything, which is why he teaches in The STEAMworks, a makerspace designed for young adults He doesn’t just create robots and woodcraft, he helps craft children into thinking, problem-solving, engaged adults. He regularly posts updates on his work at WoodshopCowboy, a blog at the crossroads of sawdust, maker education and technology.