A few days ago, I was perusing Pinterest, and I found this pin which led to this blog post. She used classroom supplies to build a Peep catapult! It was meant to be a STEM activity, except I'm not a STEM expert by any means. However, I love cooperative learning activities, so I decided to take that approach and and bring this gem of an idea into my classroom. And the day before Spring Break was the perfect time to do it!
![Looking for a fun, seasonal cooperative learning project? Challenge your students to make Peep Launchers! Blog post includes supplies needed AND a freebie.]( "Looking for a fun, seasonal cooperative learning project? Challenge your students to make Peep Launchers! Blog post includes supplies needed AND a freebie.")
Since my focus was on cooperative learning, I told them they were to use the supplies to create a "launcher." Here's what I had available.
![Looking for a fun, seasonal cooperative learning project? Challenge your students to make Peep Launchers! Blog post includes suggested materials and a freebie student planning sheet.]( "Looking for a fun, seasonal cooperative learning project? Challenge your students to make Peep Launchers! Blog post includes suggested materials and a freebie student planning sheet.")
I also told my students that if there was anything else they wanted, I could see if I had it in my storage cabinet. They all wanted craft sticks, but unfortunately I was out. Note to Self: Get craft sticks for next year!
I randomly put my students into groups of 2-3. They had to first plan the supplies they would use and to draw a design on this planning sheet. This process took groups anywhere from 5-10 minutes. Then they came to me to get their supplies. I gave my class about 30 minutes to work on their designs.
![Looking for a fun, seasonal cooperative learning project? Challenge your students to make Peep Launchers! Blog post includes suggested materials and a freebie student planning sheet.]( "Looking for a fun, seasonal cooperative learning project? Challenge your students to make Peep Launchers! Blog post includes suggested materials and a freebie student planning sheet.")
![Looking for a fun, seasonal cooperative learning project? Challenge your students to make Peep Launchers! Blog post includes suggested materials and a freebie student planning sheet.]( "Looking for a fun, seasonal cooperative learning project? Challenge your students to make Peep Launchers! Blog post includes suggested materials and a freebie student planning sheet.")
![Looking for a fun, seasonal cooperative learning project? Challenge your students to make Peep Launchers! Blog post includes suggested materials and a freebie student planning sheet.]( "Looking for a fun, seasonal cooperative learning project? Challenge your students to make Peep Launchers! Blog post includes suggested materials and a freebie student planning sheet.")
We did need a few a ton of reminders to fill out their planning sheet along the way; they were VERY engrossed in the building of the launchers!!
After the time was up, we all sat in a line and each group took a turn to launch their Peep. Most launchers were successful, although two Peeps did end up flying backwards! HAHA!! I wish I would have had the chance to snap a photo of all the Peeps scattered on my floor, but my kiddos were super speedy in cleaning up when we were finished. I suppose I can't really complain about that! Here is a photo, though, of all our launchers:
![Looking for a fun, seasonal cooperative learning project? Challenge your students to make Peep Launchers! Blog post includes suggested materials and a freebie student planning sheet.]( "Looking for a fun, seasonal cooperative learning project? Challenge your students to make Peep Launchers! Blog post includes suggested materials and a freebie student planning sheet.")
I hope you are able to find some time to give this a try in your classroom! And if you do, leave me a comment and let me know how it went!
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I randomly put my students into groups of 2-3. They had to first plan the supplies they would use and to draw a design on this planning sheet. This process took groups anywhere from 5-10 minutes. Then they came to me to get their supplies. I gave my class about 30 minutes to work on their designs.
After the time was up, we all sat in a line and each group took a turn to launch their Peep. Most launchers were successful, although two Peeps did end up flying backwards! HAHA!! I wish I would have had the chance to snap a photo of all the Peeps scattered on my floor, but my kiddos were super speedy in cleaning up when we were finished. I suppose I can't really complain about that! Here is a photo, though, of all our launchers:
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| These girls were SO proud of their creation! |
