Lesson: No Snow Required

Watch a video about an artificial ski slope and discuss what might have influenced its construction.

• Share the video “CopenHill Waste-to-Energy Plant.” Ask for student reactions. Would they want to ski down this slope? Are there other thrilling things they like doing?

• Ask students where they would build a slope like this and why. What would they put in the space underneath?

Read about CopenHill and discuss engineering and construction details.

• Share the article “No Snow Required,” and give students time to examine it. Explain that this slope is located in Copenhagen, the capital of the European country of Denmark. Read the article aloud. Ask: What is under the slope? (a plant that burns trash to heat water and make electricity) What can visitors do at CopenHill? (ski, snowboard, hike, and climb)

• If time allows, watch the video again, asking students to point out details that were described in the article.

Use a graphic organizer to interpret the article’s visuals.

• Discuss the different visuals in the article, such as the globe, photos, and call-out boxes. Based on the video and article, which feature of CopenHill do students think is most interesting? Why?

• Have students use the “Interpreting Visuals” activity to analyze the article.

Complete an engineering design challenge to build something entertaining or useful out of discarded items.

• Discuss how the designers of CopenHill had to consider criteria (standards for success) and constraints (limitations). (One criterion was that the facility provide recreation, while a constraint was that it couldn’t use snow.) Discuss evidence from the text about how criteria and constraints influenced CopenHill’s design.

• Read the directions of the skills sheet “Transform Your Trash!” to the class. If you want, choose one or two constraints on non-trash materials, such as limiting the amount of tape per project. Have students complete the engineering design challenge and share their designs with their classmates. Encourage students to ask questions and provide feedback on their peers’ designs!

Show understanding with a short assessment.

• Share the article’s “Quick Quiz” with students and discuss their answers. Ask: Could your community transform a landfill into something more useful? What benefits could that provide?

⇨ Learning Journey: Create a collage showing sports and outdoor activities, including ones that you love. Share your collage with your friends and family. Ask them what their favorite sports or outdoor activities are. Could any of those sports or activities occur on top of a landfill? What problems would have to be addressed for that to be possible?