The Strongest Link
Challenge
Questioning is the foundation of all learning.
The first step in rejecting not knowing is to ask, why?
Sweetland
The setup
Provide each student with equal amounts of materiasl and ask to make a link for a paper chain.
The challenge is to make the strongest link so it will be the last link in a tug of war competition.
After each student makes a link, the links should be connected by pieces of clothesline. As a student's link breaks, he or she is eliminated from the competition. The links are reconnected and the tug of war continues until the champion link designer is found.
Materials for the links:
For each student.
- One 21.6 X 27.9 cm piece of paper (standard 8.5 X 11 inch)
- One - 15 cm piece of light weight string
- One small rubber band
- One - 5 cm piece of masking tape
For the competition.
For each student.
- Two 30 cm pieces of rope (clothesline)
- Two 6 meter pieces of rope for the end pieces
Guidelines:
- Only the given materials can be used.
- Each link must have an opening which allows two pieces of rope to pass through.
- The rope cannot be used to make the links.
A winning link:
