In this module, students begin to develop an understanding of some of the basic principles that answer the question, "Why do structures stand up?" They look at structures in the school neighborhood, observing the variety in size, shape, material, and function. They build their own structures, using straws, index cards, and other materials.As they build, students explore some of the basic concepts of standing structures. These include live load, dead load, tension and compression, and the role of shapes and trusses. By comparing their structures with those in their community, students learn how structure and design are influenced by function, materials, and aesthetics.Each Teacher Guide includes: Specific teaching and management strategiesDetailed teaching sequences for teaching the first three phases of the Learning Experience (Getting Started; Exploring and Discovering; and Processing For Meaning)Reproducible masters for Student Science Notebook pages, Group Recording Sheets, and Home-School WorksheetsExtension activities in science, language arts and social studiesAssessment materials (an introductory questionnaire, embedded assessments, and a final questionnaire consisting of performance and written components)Science Background (provides general science concepts as they are introduced and developed in the module) to help prepare teacherTeacher and Student Resources section (annotated lists of children's books, teacher reference books, and technological aids)