Kids can compare shapes and sizes of the same material, such as a flat piece of cardboard and a cardboard paper-towel tube. They will nd that the curved shape of the cardboard tube increases its stiffness and resistance to compression and torsion. Try the Shapes Lab . Have kids choose a material and write a paragraph from that material's point of view, explaining what it feels like to be in compression, tension, or torsion. Encourage kids to be creative and to use descriptive verbs and adjectives.
Kids can team up to read aloud and act out each other's paragraphs.
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