Lesson video

Hi, team and welcome to another lesson with me, Mrs. Garrard.

And today's lesson is all about bridges.

We're going to build a bridge at the end of our lesson.

Let me share my screen with you.

So the first thing we're going to do today is gather some resources.

Then we'll look at the features of a bridge, and finally, we'll build a bridge.

For today's lesson, you're going to need your looking eyes, your listening ears, and some construction material.

I've chosen to use Lego because that's what I have at home, but you could choose DUPLO or stickle bricks or wooden blocks, anything that you like to build with that you have at home.

Pause the video now and gather your resources.

Come back and press play once you're ready.

Great, now you're back, we can start to look at features of a bridge.

Now the first thing we need to think about is why do we use bridges? Have a look at the pictures and see if you can work out why we might use a bridge.

We use bridges to cross from one side of something to the other.

In the pictures, you can see that there's a bridge crossing over a river.

There's a bridge crossing over a road, and a bridge crossing over a ditch.

So we use bridges to cross over things, obstacles in our way, like rivers or roads, maybe train tracks, ditches.

What do you notice about these bridges? There are three pictures of bridges on your screen.

Have a look carefully and see if you can notice something about them.

Tell the screen what you notice.

Team, I notice that the different bridges are all made out of different materials.

There's a rope bridge, which is made out of rope and wood.

There's a stone bridge that's made out of stone.

And there's a metal bridge made out of metal.

The bridges in the pictures are all made out of different materials.

Team, there are different types of bridge too.

There's a suspension bridge, an arch bridge, a truss bridge, and a beam bridge.

Those are four different types of bridges.

Team, can you point to the arch bridge.

Great job.

If you're pointing to the second picture, that's the arch bridge.

You can see that it's an arch bridge because it has arches.

Team, on the screen there are three bridges that are famous.

There are famous bridges.

There's Tower Bridge.

Tower Bridge is in London and it crosses over the River Thames.

Then there's the Brooklyn Bridge.

The Brooklyn Bridge is in New York.

It crosses the East River and connects the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn.

And the last bridge, that's a bridge that's in Venice.

The Rialto Bridge is the oldest bridge in Venice.

There are four different bridges that cross the Grand Canal, and the Rialto Bridge is the oldest one of all.

So let's recap what we have learned about bridges today.

We have learned that bridges are used to cross rivers, roads, train tracks, or other obstacles such as ditches.

We've learned that bridges can be made from different materials, like rope or metal or wood or stone.

And we've learned that there are different types of bridge.

Can you remember them? There was the arch bridge, the suspension bridge, the trust bridge, and the last one starts with the beam bridge.

Now we've learned about bridges, we know what they're made of, we know what they're used for.

Let's see if we can make our very own bridge.

So, we're going to build a bridge, you'll need to watch my video and listen carefully to my instructions.

I am making my bridge out of Lego.

But remember, you can choose a different material if you'd like to.

I've laid out all of the pieces that I think I might need, so that they're close by when I need them.

I need to think really carefully when I'm building my bridge, and I modify, I change how I'm building as I go.

Let's have a look and see what I'm doing.

Right now I'm adding some.

So the green bit that I'm using is kind of the obstacle.

That's the thing that my bridge is going to cross over.

And I've connected two pieces on either side, to make kind of a pathway, pushing down to make sure they're fitted properly.

you have to have strong fingers to use Lego.

Did you know that using Lego is a really great way to make sure your fingers are super strong and your hands are strong, so that you can write beautifully.

That's a really great thing to do is to use Lego.

You see how I'm pushing the pieces.

Now I've made a mistake here.

Can you see what mistake I've made? I need to move one of the longer pieces of Lego forward so that it matches the other side.

It's really tricky to take them off though.

I'm going to realise in a moment that I need to move it.

It's in the wrong place.

No big deal.

I can just move it.

They are tricky to get off though, can you see how I'm having to use my nails to try and pull off the Lego.

Strong hands.

There we go.

Now I've made a fix.

Now it's exactly the same as the other side.

So I'm setting the foundations of my bridge right now.

And then I'm going to start to build the columns that will hold the bridge up.

They're called abutments.

Here we go, starting to build them now.

Needing to find some other pieces.

I don't have enough there.

Few more bits of path.

I'm looking to see what piece I need next.

What piece will I choose? Pushing it down to make sure it's stuck properly.

Now I'm going to make the columns, the abutments that hold up the bridge.

You see how I've put them.

I've got four in each corner.

Last two one.

Now I need to build up a bit higher.

You see how the bridge is starting to take shape.

It's starting to go over our obstacle.

It's a bit tricky to see, but it's starting to go over our obstacle.

What piece should chose next? Can you see that what I'm adding to one side I'm also adding to the other side so that the sides of the bridge are both the same.

That's important if I want the bridge to meet in the middle.

Trying to fit some pieces in little gaps.

Trying to find some pieces that I need.

There we go.

Remember I need to do the same on both sides.

So first I'll add to one side, and then I'll add to the next.

Not that bit.

It's really tricky to find the right pieces to fit in the right place.

Sometimes you have to try them.

They don't fit.

Try another brick instead.

Trial and error.

I need some little bricks, I haven't got enough.

That one doesn't fit.

See how I'm trying it in place and then when I realise it doesn't fit, I have to find another one.

That one fits.

It takes a little while to build this bridge, doesn't it? I've made the mistake, I have to take those off and try again.

See how I'm always looking to see how I can change it and make it better.

It's not so many pieces left but it's still not meeting in the middle.

Doesn't look so much like a bridge yet.

Little bit more work left today.

This little pieces are quite fiddly to put in place.

It's looking a bit more like a bridge, It's looking like it might meet in the middle soon.

Can't decide what piece I need.

It's nearly going to meet.

I think the next piece I add will make them meet in the middle.

It's broken, I'm having to fix it again.

Sometimes that happens when you're building with Lego when you try and click one piece on.

It breaks another piece off and you have to fix that one before you can add the next piece.

That's what's happened.

Now is going to meet in the middle.

To be a bit more careful when I'm adding things.

Now it's going to meet in the middle.

Put the last bits on so that it finally looks like a bridge.

Need to find some longer pieces to fit across.

See how I'm counting to see how big the pieces need to be.

There we go, the last few bits.

I found that bridge really tricky to build.

I wonder if you'll find your bridge tricky to build.

There we go.

Let me show you a picture of my bridge.

Can you see? That's my bridge.

I've built her.

What kind of bridge do you think this is? It's an arch bridge.

Can you see the arch shape? It's an arch-shaped bridge.

But what type of bridge will you build? Maybe you'll be really clever and build a suspension bridge.

I'm not sure.

I found building the big bridge tricky.

I wonder if you'll find building the bridge tricky.

Team, that's the end of our lesson today.

It's been lovely sharing this lesson with you and learning how to build a bridge.

I did find it a little bit tricky.

I hope you find it a little bit easier than I did.

It's now time for me to say goodbye.

But I'll see you again soon in another lesson.

Bye team.