PLANNING TOOL

Project Planner
How to use the document: This planner offers guidance on how you might plan your daily lessons in the project calendar. Pick and choose what feels necessary to
achieve the learning outcome and advance product development for all students.

1. Project Overview
Project Title Building Bridges

Driving Question How can we redesign _*insert local bridge name here*__ bridge so that it is ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) certified?

Grade Level/ Subject 10th Grade Geometry

Time Frame 5-7 days

Project Summary Students will redesign an existing bridge, come up with a project budget, and present their plan to the city council. Students will read
laws regarding disabilities (the Americans with Disabilities Act), take measurements of the existing bridge for their calculations, and
use mathematical knowledge to design a new bridge in compliance with the ADA. Group work is a key component of this project:
students will work in groups of three with each person having a different role: bridge designer, ADA specialist, and Budgeter.
Finally, the groups will present their redesign plans to the city council to make their research public. Reflections will be conducted
along the way, as well as opportunities for feedback and revision.

Public Product(s) The product is the final report of the bridge design, the cost, and its compliance with the ADA. This is a group grade. The product’s
Individual and Team intended audience is the city council.

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PLANNING TOOL Project Planner

2. Learning Goals
Standards “Use trigonometric functions, and angle and side relationships of special right triangles (30-60-right triangles and isosceles right
triangles) to solve for an unknown length and determine distances and solve problems.” (from PBL page)

Key Vocabulary Americans with Disabilities Act

Right Triangle
Sine
Cosine
Tangent

Literacy Skills Students need literacy skills to read the ADA and its requirements, research bridge designs and costs, and present their design with
evidence of compliance in a convincing way. Good note-taking will also be essential, because there is a lot of information that must
be compiled and kept organized.

Success Skills Organization, creative problem-solving, self-management, collaboration and communication. Overall, working in a group with the
give and take which that entails is the essential success skill.

Rubric(s) http://questgarden.com/60/52/2/080227104342/evaluation.htm

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3. Project Milestones
Directions: Use this section to create a high-level overview of your project. Think of this as the broad outline of the story of your project, with the milestones
representing the significant ‘moments’ or ‘stages’ within the story. As you develop these, consider how the inquiry process is unfolding and what learning will take
place. The Project Calendar (Section 4) will allow you to build out the milestones in greater detail.

Milestone #1 Milestone #2 Milestone #3 Milestone #4 Milestone #5 Milestone #6

Public Product

Students research the Students research Students research bridge Design first draft of new Present final design to
Measuring the existing ADA budgeting designs bridge city council
bridge

Key Student Question Key Student Question Key Student Question Key Student Question Key Student Question Key Student Question

Which measurements do
we need to take?
How is the existing
bridge friendly/not
friendly to disabled
people?
Why was it designed this
way in the first place?
What are its strengths and
weaknesses?
What are the minimum
standards for the bridge's
slope and width to meet
ADA specifications?
What are examples of
other ADA certified
pedestrian bridges?
How much does a typical
bridge of this size cost?
What materials are used?
Are some materials better
than others? What are the
pros and cons of each?
Which bridge designs are How do we balance cost and How can we be
feasible in this location? design elements? convincing to our
audience?
How do we draw blueprints
How do different bridge
of bridges?
designs vary in price? Are our designs
applicable to the real
How do our measurements
from the first bridge factor world?
in?
What mathematical
knowledge do we need to
use to calculate
measurements of the bridge?

Class discussion Write up of research Write up of research Write up of research Rough draft plan Evaluation of design
and presentation

Fill in any gaps of

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information.
Compare research notes Compare research notes Compare research notes Compare rough drafts Vote on whether each
among the students among the students among the students among the students presentation gave a
feasible answer.

4. Project Calendar

Driving Question How does one design a bridge?

Week # 1

Project Milestone Compile notes for ADA requirements, budgeting constraints, and bridge designs.

Key Student Question(s) What information do I need to design a bridge?

Where can I find this information?
What are reputable sources in this field?

Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5

Read the Federal ADA
requirements. Discuss the
history behind the law and who
benefits from it.
Explore these resources:
http://www.sfrc.ufl.edu/Extension/pubt
xt/Framefor5.htm
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/Environment/
fspubs/00232839/page09.htm
http://www.davehonan.com/cbgt/index.
html
Bridge design resource:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bri
dges.
Learn about budgeting a Putting it all together:
project, labor costs, material
costs, etc. Compile preliminary plan
based on research.
Contact local store for pricing
information.

Additional Notes: Scaffold student knowledge by presenting my own personal experience building a bridge.

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4. Project Calendar (continued)

Driving Question How to present effectively

Week # 2

Project Milestone Final presentation to the city council

Key Student Question(s) How does one frame an argument to stakeholders?

Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5

Peer review each preliminary Finalize design plans. Practice presentations Present to city council Class discussion about what
plan in a workshop fashion. went well/not so well with
the city council presentation.

Additional Notes: Encourage students to give helpful feedback and work together to give constructive criticism.

Lesson Planner: Supporting Resource

1. Checking Prior Knowledge
Need to know list. Students will each make a list of what they know, need to know, and wonder about.

2. Learning Outcome
Virginia SOLs for Geometry.

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PLANNING TOOL Project Planner

3. Key Vocabulary
Triangle vocabulary, words peculiar to the ADA law that students will need to understand.

4. Formative Assessment
Several write ups of research and rough drafts.

5. Major Instructional Activities

Field trips, group work, practice presentations.

6. Scaffolds
Use project wall, common google doc of helpful links and information, teacher as a resource to guide the process.

7. Reflection
Reflections about how the group is functioning, people’s strengths and weaknesses, the ethics of this bridge process, the difficulties of research, etc.

8. Student Need to Know Questions Addresses

How are public works projects designed and budgeted?

9. Tools/Resources
The internet, local hardware shop owners, construction companies.

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