Unit 1 Lesson 3
Name(s)_______________________________________________ Period ______ Date ___________________
Activity Guide - Using the Problem Solving Process
Word Search
Overview
Working with a team, find the following words in the grid. They may be horizontal, vertical, or diagonal in any direction.
DEFINE, PREPARE, TRY, REFLECT, PROBLEM, SOLVE, COMPUTER, SCIENCE
Objective
Find and circle all 8 words as quickly as you can!
E S Q H J H R C F A X M G M U E B L N I
S R K E R E T U P M O C E C M Z T Y J C
D X A P N X Q L Y V K L S X X N C E H N
J M X P K W W O J Q B B O Q M H E A H T
B I U O E Y H K M O A R L F R D L P H A
N J H T Y R A E R C F L V M S C F A J M
T I R Y Q W P P H D X Q E Q U N E R G S
H Y R I M I X D Z K B M N G O J R B K U
P U B U E U J E G D T F B D T I M V V P
H V W S K F D G K V D M S O X Y O R S F
S C I E N C E W P Q T E O R I A S Q M U
H R G D Y V N H I J D C F G V H E M Z M
U O H H N A G X O Q K K B I G M T W O L
O P E I O Q G B A R V H P N N A Z E X V
Y I S W N R N U U W G H X H A E B O P N
L X D J X R P V Y J H U H X D Y F O I D
F U D J X V U K F C V D Q B P D Z I B D
F B R D S I W P K F K V T R D R G Y C R
Y E T Y O D M X H L L V P T J V I J C D
H E X K R O I P B W E T O Y X I B W V O
Once You’re Done
Head to the last page of the activity guide and fill in the row there for the “Word Search” in the table.
1
Redesign Your Classroom
Overview
You and your friends will be redesigning your classroom. You only have one school day to make it happen,
but otherwise how you plan it is up to you. Plan the best looking classroom that you can!
Develop Goals
Talk with your group for a few minutes. What are the most important things about the classroom? Can everyone see the
teacher? How will you move everything? Write down the goals you’ll use to decide what makes a good plan.
Goals How My Plan Helps Reach this Goal
Everyone can still see the teacher
Everyone should be able to ________.
Make a Layout
Every member of your group should separately start designing a layout. You should select what should go where
and make sure it all fits in the room. For each goal your group chose, list how your layout helps to reach it in the right
column. In the space below draw or describe your redesigned classroom.
New classroom design:
3
Share Your Layout and Get Feedback
Share the layout you developed with your teammates and explain why you think it is the best possible layout given
the goals you chose. Afterwards, record their feedback and reactions to your design in the space below. Is there
anything that needs to change? How could your layout improve?
Improve and Finalize
Using the feedback from your teammates update your layout. In the space below, write down the new design that
you and your group agreed on.
Redesign
Once You’re Done
Head to the last page of the activity guide and fill in the row there for the “Redesign Your Classroom” in the table.
4
Problem Solving Process Notes
Reflecting on Using the Process
How did you use each step of the problem solving process to solve this problem? Give examples of what each
step looked like as you were solving that problem.
Define Prepare Try Reflect
Word Search
Redesign
Your
Classroom
The Purpose of Each Step
For each step in the problem solving process, write one sentence explaining its purpose. Why is it included in
the problem solving process?
Define:_______________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Prepare: _____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Try:__________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Reflect:_______________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Defining Problems with Questions
Before starting to solve a problem it’s important that you have defined it well. What questions or strategies can you use
to better define or understand a problem? Record them in the space below.
