Daily Learning Contract
- Topic: Career Opportunities
- Objective: Students will complete the "Super Sports Manufacturing" welder activity (sketch + metal choice + weld choice + labeled welds); build a bike rack prototype with a partner and stress-test the joints.
- TEKS: d(1)(C)
- Demonstration of Learning: Bike rack sketch with labeled welds (FYF p. 206) + one tested prototype per pair.
Teacher presentation: PowerPoint file (IISD sign-in) · Make a Google Slides copy (IISD sign-in)
Lesson Overview
| Time | 50 minutes |
| Objectives | Complete the "Super Sports Manufacturing" welder activity (sketch + metal choice + weld choice + labeled welds); build a bike rack prototype with a partner and stress-test the joints |
| TEKS | d(1)(C) |
| 5E Phases | Engage: Warm-Up · Explore: Bike rack design, metal and weld choices, prototype build and strength test · Explain: Class discussion on design trade-offs · Evaluate: Exit Ticket |
| Deliverable | Bike rack sketch with labeled welds (FYF p. 206) + one tested prototype per pair |
| Materials | Day 3 teacher slides (Canvas), Find Your Future workbook pp. 204-206, popsicle sticks, straws, hot glue guns and glue sticks (one gun per pair-station), heat-safe station mats (one per station), scrap trays, scissors, craft gloves, plain paper, pencils, projector |
Warm-Up (5 min)
WARM-UP: How many bikes are in the bike rack at the front of our school? If a school district ordered 100 brand new bike racks, who would design them, who would build them, and what would they be made of?
Quick share. Bridge: "Today YOU are the welder who has to make 100 of those bike racks. The workbook gives you the order, and you have to make every design choice, then prove your design holds up."
Activity 1: "Super Sports Manufacturing" Activity (28 min)
Source: (FYF pp. 204-206: "Super Sports Manufacturing"), a Career Climb activity
Open the workbook to page 204. Read the scenario together: students are the expert welder at SuperSports Manufacturing, a company known for high-quality sports equipment, especially bikes. The local school district just ordered 100 custom bike racks for all of their schools. It is the student's job to design and build a durable, functional, weather-resistant bike rack.
Step 1: Design Your Bike Rack (10 min). Students sketch their bike rack in the workbook (p. 204). The workbook spec says it must be:
- Strong enough to hold multiple bikes without bending
- Durable in all kinds of weather
- Space-efficient enough to fit near sidewalks
The workbook tells students NOT to worry about materials yet. Focus on the design first. Students draw a top view (how it looks from above) and a side view (how it looks from the side).
Step 2: Choose Your Metal (5 min). Students review the workbook's metal table (FYF p. 205) and circle ONE choice:
| Metal | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|
| Aluminum | Lightweight, doesn't rust | Bends and dents easily |
| Stainless Steel | Very strong, doesn't rust | Heavy to move and shows imperfections |
| Carbon Steel | Very strong, affordable | Can rust if not coated, prone to chipping |
Students write 1-2 sentences explaining their metal choice.
Step 3: Choose Your Welding Method (5 min). Students review the welding methods table (FYF p. 205):
| Welding Method | Best For |
|---|---|
| Spot Weld | Connecting small points in thin metal |
| Fillet Weld | Joining metal pieces at an angle (like an "L" shape) |
| Surfacing Weld | Filling holes in metal |
| Corner Weld | Forming angles on the outside base for support |
Students circle the welding method(s) they will use and write WHY they chose it (p. 205).
Step 4: Label Your Welds (5 min). Students go back to their sketch on page 204 and clearly label where each weld will go and which method they will use (e.g., "Fillet Weld here at corner"). The label shows the name of the weld, not just an arrow.
Facilitation Tip
Most students will pick aluminum because it is "lightweight." Push them: "If a 60-pound bike falls on it 10 times a day, will aluminum hold up better than carbon steel? Why?" This forces real engineering tradeoff thinking. There is no single right answer; there are good reasons for any of the three metals.
DOK 3: What conclusions can you draw about why a welder needs to understand BOTH the design AND the materials AND the welding methods? Why can't you just pick whatever metal is cheapest?
Activity 2: Build and Test Your Bike Rack Prototype (12 min)
Source: (FYF p. 206: "Super Sports Manufacturing", Steps 5-6)
Step 5: Build Your Prototype (7 min). Students pair up, compare both bike rack sketches, and choose ONE design to build together out of popsicle sticks, straws, and hot glue. The workbook asks them to watch their connection points as they build, because strong joints keep a structure stable and balanced. Pairs cut and arrange materials to match the sketch, connect the pieces into sturdy joints, try more than one way of joining pieces, and adjust as they go if a section feels weak.
Time, Voice, Body: Post the three blocks before any glue gun is switched on. Voice 1 for build talk, hot glue guns stay on their station mat, cut straw ends go in the scrap tray, and a visible 7 minute countdown runs on the screen. Craft gloves go on before the glue does.
Glue Stations and Burn Safety
Run one glue gun per pair-station and set the number of stations by the number of working outlets, not by the number of pairs. Pairs rotate to a free station when their joints are ready to glue. Every station gets a heat-safe mat and a scrap tray, and the gun goes back on the mat the moment it leaves a student's hand. If hot glue lands on skin, run the spot under cool water and let the glue peel off on its own instead of pulling it. At the 5 minute warning, unplug every gun and leave it on its mat to cool before anyone packs it away. Supplies follow the workbook's own list (FYF p. 206: "Super Sports Manufacturing").
Step 6: Test Your Design (3 min). Pairs test the strength of the finished structure. They press gently on different sections and answer four questions: does the structure stay balanced or wobble, which joints feel strongest, which areas need reinforcement, and what would they reinforce first. If time allows, they strengthen or redesign one weak area.
Class Discussion (2 min). Use the workbook's own prompts (FYF p. 206): what challenges did you run into while designing your bike rack, and how did you solve them? What Powerskills do welders need to be successful at work? Which of your Building Blocks would help you most in a welding career?
Facilitation Tip
Pairs build ONE rack together, not two. That halves the number of glue stations you have to supervise and forces the design conversation the workbook is after. If a pair cannot agree, tell them to build the design with the clearer weld labels, since that is the one they can actually explain.
Exit Ticket (5 min)
EXIT TICKET (Ranked Justification) · Printable PDF:
You are the welder at SuperSports Manufacturing. The bike rack will sit outside all year. Rank the three metals from BEST (1) to WORST (3) for this job.
- Aluminum: rank ____
- Stainless Steel: rank ____
- Carbon Steel: rank ____
- Why is your #1 metal the best choice for a rack that stays outside? Use one PRO and one CON from the table.
- Your prototype test found one weak spot. Name it. Then name the weld you would use to make it stronger.
Weak spot: ___ Weld: ___
- Name ONE other Manufacturing career that would work on this bike rack order. Say what that person would do.
Career: _____
What they do: __________
(d(1)(C))
Differentiation
- Support: Provide a pre-drawn bike rack template students can label and modify rather than sketching from scratch. For the build, pre-cut a set of popsicle sticks and straws to length so the pair spends its 7 minutes joining rather than measuring. Sentence stem for the metal choice: "I chose _ because it , even though it __."
- Extension: Students who finish the bike rack early sketch a custom feature (built-in lock, lighted reflectors, weatherproof cover) and explain how it would be welded.
- ELL: Bilingual welding vocabulary: Soldar = To Weld, Aluminio = Aluminum, Acero inoxidable = Stainless Steel, Acero al carbono = Carbon Steel, Prototipo = Prototype. Allow students to label their bike rack diagram in Spanish.