Godfrey-Lee — Godfrey Elementary fifth-graders recently put their engineering and creativity skills to the test to design and build 3D paper models of their dream food-truck business.
Seasoned educator but first-year STEAM teacher Kara Jones presented her students with this project-based challenge to engage their knowledge of math and problem solving, while expanding how they think about design and construction.
Students started in small groups brainstorming ideas for their food truck’s name and logo, pulling inspiration from local food trucks and their own imagination.
“Use a lot of colors in the front design, so people want to visit your truck,” Jones said during the first day of the project. “You don’t want it to be ‘meh,’ so choose a one- or two-word name, so it’s catchy.”
Jones also reached out to Mary Martinez, owner of the local Mexican restaurant Tamales Mary, to visit the school with her food truck so students could have a tour and collect ideas for their own designs.
Inside the truck, fifth-graders noticed how many appliances and devices fit into a small space to prepare food for customers.
“There is not much space to work with inside of a food truck,” Jones said. “Think about how big the oven and fridge can be; it’s like building a tiny house.”
Martinez informed the students about the non-negotiables inside her truck, like two sinks — one for washing hands and another for dishes — windows to ventilate the small space and a fire extinguisher, larger than the one kept under a kitchen sink at home.
“I’m going to need four fridges for my ice cream,” one student concluded after the tour. “It can’t get hot or people won’t want it. I’ll have to keep it at the right temperature.”
During subsequent special classes, Jones taught about pricing and budgeting, so the students understood more about the financial side of running a profitable business.
“Your profit is the extra amount of money you earn from selling your food,” fifth-grader Kari explained. “You can use it to buy more ingredients or for yourself.”
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