Students will use their knowledge of force and motion to make working leprechaun traps.
Materials
junk (paper towel rolls, empty containers, tin foil, little boxes various shapes and sizes, scrap paper, string, sandwich bags, etc.)
tape, glue, stapler
markers
Method
About a week before doing this activity send a note home requesting junk. You'll be amazed at what parents send over. The more the better!
Have students dig through all the junk and decide what they will need for their leprechaun trap.
Students build their traps. (I'd give them a half a day to do this, and be prepared for a giant mess)
Permit students to look through the junk as they need more items.
About half way through the time that you give your students, gather back as a class and discuss the strategies that some students are using, ie: If the leprechaun comes in here...this will happen...
Point out and try to encourage the use of force and motion.
Ask students to set their traps right before they go home.
Lock the doors when all of them have left, set each trap off and deposit a chocolate gold coin under it!
