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Crazy Contraptions

Crazy Contraptions

Student creativity will soar as they imagine and design crazy contraptions and write a humorous poem to go with it.

Lesson Plan

Supplies Needed

Gather all the supplies needed to bring your craft ideas to life! From paints and markers to glue and scissors, our crafts section has everything to spark creativity and make every project truly special.

  • Heavy Paper
  • Natural Materials
  • Tape

Steps

  • Step 1

    Ask students if they've ever played the game "Mousetrap." Explain that this is an example of a Rube Goldberg machine, which is a contraption named after American cartoonist Rube Goldberg. His cartoons often depicted simple tasks being done by a machine in convoluted ways. You might display an image of his "Self-Operating Napkin" or his "Automatic Sheet Music Turner."

  • Step 2

    Ask students to design a Rube Goldberg-style silly machine. Have them to draw an outline of the device and then create and cut out features of the machine. Have them assemble the cut-outs and glue them onto the outline.

  • Step 3

    Next students will write a silly poem that describes the machine. They will write their poems around the edges of their designs.

  • Step 4

    Have students present their creations and talk about how they designed them and what problems their new machines could solve.

Standards

ARTS: Speculate about processes an artist uses to create a work of art.

LA: Write, using words, numbers, and images to inform and explain, share experiences, and create narratives, either fictional or non-fictional.

LA: Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach.

Adaptations

Have students look at the art of M.C. Escher, a Dutch artist who created surreal images such as "Relativity," which depicts a scene in which gravity doesn't apply or "Ascending and Descending," which depicts a seemingly never-ending staircase.

Challenge students to think of a machine that could be invented to help them with chores. Perhaps it's a personal laundry folder or a machine that makes the bed.