My colleague, Katie Treat, once called me the “TCEA Robotics Guru.” I’ll take that title. If I count robotics as my number one specialty at TCEA, then LEGO bricks come in at a very close second.
A Bit of LEGO Trivia
The name ‘LEGO’ is an abbreviation of the two Danish words “leg godt,” meaning “play well”. The LEGO brick in its present form was launched in 1958. The interlocking principle with its tubes makes it unique and offers unlimited building possibilities. A little bit of trivia, six 2×4 LEGO bricks can be combined in 915,103,765 different ways. WOW! It’s just a matter of getting the imagination going– and letting a wealth of creative ideas emerge– through play.
LEGO Maker Cards in Action
Sarah from the website Frugal Fun for Boys and Girls has tons of LEGO activities. In fact, when we started our TCEA Makers professional development at TCEA four years ago, Sarah’s LEGO math printable challenge cards gave me the idea to create LEGO Maker Cards. There are six colorful bordered pages of eight cards each.
In the TCEA Makers’ professional development, I had a big tub of LEGOs on the Build It! table and encouraged my participants to pick a card and build! Sometimes adults (and kids) need a little spark of imagination, so the LEGO Maker Cards come in handy.
For the classroom, you could put out a colored set each month or use them to group students. Groups are formed by the color of card each student pulls. Then, as a group, they could decide which activity to build.
(Bullard Elementary School, Bullard, Texas)
If you have a LEGO wall or a table, these cards are a great way to provide creation inspiration. And in case you are looking for more ideas for makerspace, check out the TCEA ebook, Ready, Set, Make!
Have ideas for more cards? Please let me know in the comments, and I can certainly create more!
