Engineering Design Journal

Print the page and read the directions with your child: Page 1: write the problem, then draw and name three ideas. Page 2: list materials, test three times, and write changes. Afterward, talk about what they wrote or drew.

Two journal pages that follow the engineering design process. Page 1, Ask and Imagine, asks what problem the design will solve and what it must do, and has boxes to sketch three ideas and a line to choose one. Page 2 has Plan (a materials list), Create (a table for three tests and what happened) and Improve (what to change and why). The directions on the page read: Page 1: write the problem, then draw and name three ideas. Page 2: list materials, test three times, and write changes.

Yes, both. We made it for 3rd Grade engineering and design, and the page works the same whether it lands on a kitchen table or a center rotation. At home, most families go through it together and talk the answers out loud, and that talking is where most of the learning happens with the design process. In class it runs well as independent work while you pull a small group. Print one copy or thirty, whichever the day needs.

Each test shows what works and what fails. Changing one thing at a time and testing again shows which change made the design better.

1 printable worksheet, free to preview. Downloads are included with a ClassWeekly free trial, and every page prints on standard 8.5 x 11 paper.

These are written for 3rd Grade students, roughly ages 8-9. Many teachers also use them a grade up for review or a grade down as an extension, so use the preview to judge the fit for a particular child.