The following is a guest post from Dr. Jacie Maslyk.

Whether you have a collection of building bricks or maybe a Lego wall or table, there are many ways that these can be used in the classroom. From free play to curriculum-embedded activities, designing and constructing with bricks is a great way to engage students in hands-on learning. This post will share different types of project ideas for any elementary classroom.

Free Play

Students can engage in opportunities to play and create. This can be a time when students use their imaginations and come up with any design-- a self portrait, a wacky animal, or a random design of colors and sizes. Students can use Legos to create a game, make a maze, or design an imaginary world. Free play means that the time and parameters are not structured and learners have the ability to engage in any way that they see fit.

Brainstorming, Planning, or Prototyping

A Lego wall or table is a great place for students to brainstorm ideas for an upcoming challenge or plan out an idea that they are working on. Just as we can write and sketch our ideas on paper, we can also use a Lego surface to think and map out their thinking.

Perhaps students are getting ready for an engineering design challenge and they need to try out an idea. Bricks are one way that students can build a prototype. Students can create their idea in bricks to determine size, shape, and scale of their idea. This might help to validate their prototype or send them back to the planning phase.

Curriculum Connections

There are many ways to connect creating with Legos to different subject areas. The addition of Legos or other building bricks provides a way for students to express their understanding in a hands-on way. This can be done in all core subjects including English language arts (ELA), math, science, or social studies.

English Language Arts

Lego builds can be incorporated into just about any story. Students can create the main characters in the story or build the setting where the story takes place. Add some technology to your Lego space and students can create a stop motion video to tell a story of their own!

Increase student engagement in vocabulary, grammar or spelling by writing words on your bricks. (Larger “mega blocks” are best for this but Legos can work, too.) Add Legos to your writing corner and allow students to build for some writing inspiration.

Think about the 4 ways Legos can prompt student writing:

Write the steps you took to build your Lego creation.
Create some dialogue that your Lego characters would say to each other.
Describe what your Lego structure looks like.
Draft an engaging beginning to your story, then share your Lego build with a friend and have them write what happens next.

Lego wall - science in fifth @SaraYRodrigu3z

Math

Incorporating hands-on manipulatives in math is a strategy that many teachers use. Building bricks can be another tool used to make math concepts more concrete for students.

Legos can support number sense with one to one correspondence and counting for early learners. Students can extend their thinking by creating models for addition and subtraction. Legos can also be used to construct arrays, demonstrating multiplication skills. Legos are also perfect for learning about perimeter and area.

Colors, shapes, and patterns can be explored through Legos. Can students create an ABAB pattern? How about a sequence with more than 5 items? Can students create a hexagon, a dodecagon, or a tetrahedron?

Animal habitats - Michelle Bass @teachlivelaugh

Science

Science is hands-on to begin with, but you can increase student engagement by incorporating Lego into your lessons. Learning about simple machines?

Students can construct a ramp, lever, or wheel and axle using building bricks. This might be a small prototype to a larger version that they build out of different materials.

Legos can also be used for other areas of science. To support learning in the life sciences students can create different habitats and the animals that live there.

In physical science, students can build bridges or explore the forces of push and pull by creating a Lego vehicle. For Earth and Space Science, students can create models of different landforms or the solar system.

Engineering

In many STEM classroom, we use the engineering design process to guide students through the planning, designing, and improving stages. While creating with cardboard and recyclable materials can be fun, students will also enjoy designing and building projects with bricks.

Design a catapult or construct a pyramid, these are great engineering challenges to pose to your students.

Consider the following questions to prompt enginneering with legos:

What kind of transportation can you create with 30 Lego bricks and some cardboard?
How can you incorporate light (LED and circuits needed) into your Lego build?
How tall of a structure can you create with 20 bricks and 10 plastic straws?

Lego wall - Mr. Lane the STEM Guy @KnIhT_tNeReFfId

Design Challenges

Students can use the Lego wall to complete design challenges. You can create challenges or building prompts and put them on laminated cards. Keep them close to the wall so that students can access them. These cards can be used to spark an idea for a student build or serve as a weekly or monthly task to complete.

The following are 5 ways students can use Lego Design Challenges:

Build a structure using monochromatic bricks
Design an invention that has at least one moving part
Create a home for your pet (real or imaginary)
Design a playground that has at least 3 areas/items to play in or on
Build a 3-D map of your bedroom or our classroom

Get Your Brick On!

Lego walls offer an opportunity for students to engage in using their creativity in a hands-on way. Whether embedded in the curriculum, connected to a design challenge, or simply for creative play, Legos are a fun addition to any classroom.

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Lego Wall STEM Project Ideas