The Hundred Dresses
By: Eleanor Estes
The Hundred Dresses
By: Eleanor Estes
The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes is a classic children's book about bullying, empathy, and the consequences of silence, centered on Wanda Petronski, a Polish girl ridiculed for wearing the same dress daily, who claims to have one hundred dresses at home.
Students will take on the role of engineers as they design a solution to a problem faced by characters in The Hundred Dress. By using the engineering design process, students first learn about what Microelectronics are, how they use them each day, and why they are important. With this ME background, students will build and code a microbit-based device that both addresses and solves several problems encountered by the characters in the novel. Thus, students will actively experience using and building ME technology in the form of programming microbits and using Ozobots to solve the problems that the characters encounter in The Hundred Dresses. Student will deduce that Microelectronics/technology can indeed be used to solve real-world challenges.
Core Content: ELA and Computer Science
Grade Levels: Grades 3-5
Time Required: 8 class sessions
ME Career Connection: Students use the engineering design process to complete hands-on activities while exploring real-world microelectronics careers, applying problem-solving, creativity, and collaboration to design solutions and see how these skills connect to ME professions.
Authors of Curriculum Documents: Dawn Sargent and Keri Ballard