Whole Earth Curriculum WEC

Lesson 02 — Old Tool, New Tool

Learners compare an old tool and a new tool that do the same job — a mortar and pestle and an electric grinder, a needle and a sewing machine, a water jug and a pump — and say what changed: speed, power, or the need for electricity. They learn that new is not better, just different, and that old tools still work in places without electricity.

D10 P4: Contextual & Ecological Awareness D10.S1 45 minutes Draft

Objectives

Essential question

How do an old tool and a new tool do the same job, and what changed?

oldnewsamejobchangedelectricityfasterby hand

Materials

Standard materials

Low-tech / no-cost

Enriched / lab & device

Works in different contexts

Two columns compare tools for the same job of grinding grain. The old tool is a stone mortar and pestle, worked by hand and needing no power. The new tool is an electric grinder that plugs in. Both grind grain; the new one is faster but needs electricity. The note says new is not better, just different. Word labels carry the meaning so it prints in grayscale.
Two columns compare tools for the same job of grinding grain. The old tool is a stone mortar and pestle, worked by hand and needing no power. The new tool is an electric grinder that plugs in. Both grind grain; the new one is faster but needs electricity. The note says new is not better, just different. Word labels carry the meaning so it prints in grayscale.

Lesson 2 — Old Tool, New Tool

Summary

Learners compare an old tool and a new tool that do the same job and name what changed. A mortar and pestle and an electric grinder both grind grain; a needle and a sewing machine both join cloth; a water jug and a hand pump both move water. They notice that the new tool is often faster or more powerful, and often needs electricity — and that the old tool still works where there is no power. New is not better; it is just different.

Objectives

  • Compare an old tool and a new tool for the same job and say what changed. (D10.S1.02.02)

Connection

How did your family make food this morning — by hand, or with a machine? In many homes a person grinds grain by hand with a stone mortar and pestle; in others an electric grinder does it. Both do the same job. The difference is what changed: the machine is faster, but it needs electricity, and the hand tool works anywhere. That is what it means to compare an old tool and a new tool.

Materials

  • Old-and-new tool picture cards (pairs for the same job)
  • Paper and crayons

Preparation

  • Prepare or draw old-and-new pairs: mortar and pestle → electric grinder; needle → sewing machine; water jug → hand pump; hand broom → vacuum.
  • Have ready one real old tool to hold (a mortar and pestle, or a needle) if available.
  • Prepare to say, for each pair, the shared job and what changed.

Facilitator note

This lesson is written to the learner (“you”). Hold the unit’s stance carefully: teach technology with neither worship nor fear. A new tool is not “better” simply because it is new — it is often faster or more powerful, and it often needs electricity that not everyone has. An old tool is not “worse” simply because it is old — it works anywhere, never runs out of power, and people still use it every day. Both are real tools made by people to solve a problem (retrieval: link back to Lesson 1). Use examples from many places so no one home is the default: a hand water pump in a village, a mortar and pestle in a kitchen, a sewing machine in a workshop. Distinguish evidence from values: “the machine is faster” is a fact; “the machine is better” is a value judgment — and at this age we hold them apart gently. Honor every body: a learner who is blind or has low vision can feel the old tool and hear the new one described; a non-speaking learner can point to old or new and to a picture for “faster” or “needs electricity.”

Procedure

  1. Gather (5 min). Remember Lesson 1: tools solve problems. Sometimes there is an old way and a new way to solve the same problem.
  2. Meet old and new (15 min). For each pair, name the shared job first: “Both the mortar and the grinder grind grain.” Then say what changed: “The grinder is faster, and it needs electricity. The mortar works by hand, with no power.”
  3. Sort old and new (10 min). With the cards, put each tool in the “old” pile or the “new” pile. For one pair, say the job and what changed.
  4. Say it in a sentence (5 min). Finish the frame together: “The ___ and the ___ both ___. What changed is ___.”
  5. Draw one pair (8 min). Draw an old tool and a new tool for the same job, and write or say what changed.
  6. Close (2 min). New is not better and old is not worse — they are two ways to solve the same problem. Some places have electricity; some do not. Both tools matter.

Differentiation

  • Support: Compare one pair only, saying the job and one change together aloud with the frame.
  • Blind/low vision: Feel the old tool and hear the new one described; tell what changed (faster, needs electricity) by voice.
  • Deaf/hard of hearing / non-speaking: Sort cards by pointing, and signal “faster” or “needs electricity” with a sign or picture to say what changed.
  • Motor differences: Direct a partner’s hands to sort and draw while the learner says or points to the job and the change; use big, light cards.
  • Extension: Tell why the old tool still matters where there is no electricity, and name one job your family does by hand.

Assessment

  • Formative (observation): Can the learner compare one old tool and one new tool for the same job and name what changed (speed, power, or electricity)?
  • Artifact (portfolio): The “old tool, new tool” drawing with the “what changed” sentence.

Home connection

At home, find one job your family does with a tool. Ask a grown-up: how did people do this job long ago, before the new tool? Tell them what changed and which way your family uses.

Resources