This is the question that geometry students are seeking to answer through a year-long project. The end goal will be student designs for a new outdoor classroom structure that will be built on the hillside across the river from the school.
How does a student go about answering that question? Well, go to a covered bridge of course! Covered bridges are excellent venues for learning about building design and construction because the truss systems are exposed and accessible and, well, we can't go 10 feet in Woodstock without seeing one!
Armed with rules, protractors, plumb bobs, carpenter squares, clipboards, and smart phones, students crawled like ants all over the Woodstock Middle Bridge and Taftsville Covered Bridge. They recorded lumber dimensions, angles, lengths, widths, depths, you name it! They carefully illustrated drawings of floor, wall, and roof trusses.
Mrs. Hagenbarth and Ms. Rubenstein intend to come back to these drawings throughout the year as they build understanding of geometric principles such as the strength of a triangle, parallel and transecting lines, and much, much more.
Next up for these students-a visit to the forest to see the proposed location for the structure they will design!
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