Lesson Summary This learning experience will take two class periods.  The students use beams and columns in their structures, and explain why the shape of the beams and columns make their structures stronger.  Teacher Background All the students compare their structures and discuss how differences in the shape of a beam or column can affect a structure’s stability and strength.  They will learn that the shape of the beam or column can affect its strength.  Set-up/Management Tips Prepare the following materials (10 4” x 6” index cards, 50 4” x 6” index cards for session 2, 4 feet of masking tape, 40 washers, 1 pair of scissors per group) ahead of time.  Empty film plastic canisters can be used to measure, roll and wrap the tape around.  This allows the students to use the class time for building instead of counting materials. Locate and post photos of beams and columns of different shapes on the Observations of Structures bulletin board. Make copies of the Group Recording Sheet A-Shapes-Cards Columns, Group Recording Sheet B-Shapes-Card Beams, Science Notebook Page Shapes, on teacher’s manual pages 141,143, 145. Optional Home-School Homework sheet Shapes on page 147 of teacher’s manual. Make two class charts that look like the Group Recording sheets on pages 141, 143, 145 of the teacher’s manual to use in whole class discussions. Use the book What It Feels Like to Be a Building by Forrest Wilson that is included in the kit.  This book is used after the students have finished and shared their buildings.  Follow the directions on page 139 of the teacher’s manual.  This page lists discussion questions to use with this book. Use a classroom textbook as a standard weight for the columns. Set a uniform minimum distance between books to insure the card, not the books, is supporting the load.  Build on floor so when column breaks not so noisy and washers will be contained. Science notebook questions and writing suggestions for this learning experience are listed below: When students have shared the results of their one index card beam and one index card column have them respond to the writing prompts listed on page137 of the teacher’s manual. After the students have shared their second challenge structures have the students respond in writing prompts listed on page 139 of the teacher’s manual. Literacy Support Scientific Vocabulary No new vocabulary words introduced in this learning experience.