1. Unit 2: Democratic Foundations
Democracy and Structure

2. What you are doing this week…
You’ll be defining and breaking apart the concept of DEMOCRACY
You’ll be analyzing the idea of STRUCTURE and the connection between DEMOCRACY AND STRUCTURE
You’ll literally be building a structure and reflecting on how that applies to the idea of DEMOCRACY

3. Democracy- a mind map Quick review of the components of a Mind Map
Let’s now build a draft Democracy Mind Map

4. Debrief of the Mind map
Take 1 min to look at the mind map… What are some conclusions you can come up with about Democracy based on our mind map? (Conclusions are statements about the idea or topic) What would you say is the most important aspect or component about Democracy? Connecting to Bigger Picture: How can structure play a role in democracy?

5. Structure of democracy
What you are doing now:
Examining how structure is important in setting up anything that you want standing for a long time
You’ll be building a structure out of spaghetti and marshmallows
You’ll be reflecting on your structure and what worked well and what didn’t
You’ll be making a connection between the importance of structure and democracy

6. Thinking before we get to work:
Before you build anything that you want to last and stay standing… What goes into building anything? (Hint- think of Skoropad and physics) What must an architect take into account when designing a structure?

7. Problems with structure…
Let’s look at some structural issues: The Bay Bridge- Connecting Oakland to San Francisco- Earthquake of 1989 Bay Bridge Collapse 1989 Earthquake Bay Bridge Reconstruction
Things to look for:
As you watch the reconstruction of the bridge…
Take notice to how the new bridge is being built
What’s in place to avoid another collapse…

8. Lets build a structure…
Purpose: To construct a structure using a limited amount of materials. Your structure will be tested by applying weight to see if it stands up
Materials:
Spaghetti
Marshmallows
Rules:
In teams of 4
You have 20 mins
Structure must BE AT LEAST 2 INCHES OFF TABLE
Make it work !

9. Debrief of structure session
Take 2 mins to think…
If your structure held the weight, what helped in your design to hold the weight?
If your structure did not, what was not present to prevent the collapse?
Let’s talk about this now…
Exit Slip:
How can we “construct” a stronger democracy? How do we protect the parts of democracy that we discussed in the beginning of this session?
Be sure to look at your mind map on democracy to guide your thinking