The surprising story behind the popular building toy
LEGO Group © 2019
LEGO Inventor
Ole Kirk Kristiansen [KRIS-tyan-sehn]
It had been a hard year for Ole [OH-lay]. In 1931, he was a carpenter. That is someone who builds with wood. He lived in a little town in Denmark. Ole and his family did not have much money. He had three sons. His wife was going to have another baby. There was not enough food.
But Ole had plenty of wood. His village was filled with trees. He used wood to make furniture. Then he started to build toys.
A Great Idea
Ole went around selling his wooden toys. Many years passed. He made money. Ole started making plastic toys.
Ole’s son Godtfred [GAHD-fred] grew up. He worked with his dad. Godtfred wanted to make plastic blocks that snapped together. Kids could use them to build things. Ole loved the idea. They called them LEGO bricks. In 1958, they made one of the first LEGO sets. It was called Town Plan.
zaidi razak/Shutterstock.com
A Big Hit
LEGO bricks have been a big success! There are more than 400 billion LEGO bricks. There are also LEGO theme parks, movies, video games, and more.
But the idea behind LEGO bricks has stayed the same. It has been the same since Ole and his son made wooden toys. That idea is even part of the name LEGO.
The word lego comes from the Danish term leg godt. It means “play well.”
LEGO House/©2019 The LEGO Group
This dino and her eggs were made by LEGO Masters.
Would you want to get paid to play? Some grown-ups get paid to build with LEGO bricks. They are LEGO Master Model Builders. It is their job to make amazing LEGO models, like this giant dinosaur. The models go in stores, theme parks, and even museums. Some Masters also teach kids how to build with LEGO bricks.
It can take years of training to become a LEGO Master Builder. Would you want to do that job? Then keep practicing!
More About the Article
Social Studies Focus
Production, distribution, and consumption; Global connections
Next Generation Science Standard
K-2 Engineering Design
Social -Emotional Learning Focus
Innovation; Perseverance
1. Before Reading
Do a Mystery Bag Activity and Discuss (5 minutes)
Preview the first pages and set a purpose for reading (15 minutes)
2. Read the Paired Texts (15-30 minutes)
3. After Reading
ELA Focus: Comprehension/ Comparing two texts (20 minutes)
Use the adorable “A Perfect Pair!” skills sheet to compare and contrast the two nonfiction texts.
Enrich the Learning: Build a LEGO Tower (15 minutes to 1 hour)
The surprising story behind the popular building toy
It had been a hard year for Ole [OH-lay]. In 1931, he was a carpenter. That is someone who builds with wood. He lived in a little town in Denmark. Ole and his family did not have much money. He had three sons. His wife was going to have another baby. There was not enough food.
But Ole had plenty of wood. His village was filled with trees. He used wood to make furniture. Then he started to build toys.
A Great Idea
Ole went around selling his wooden toys. Many years passed. He made money. Ole started making plastic toys.
Ole’s son Godtfred [GAHD-fred] grew up. He worked with his dad. Godtfred wanted to make plastic blocks that snapped together. Kids could use them to build things. Ole loved the idea. They called them LEGO bricks. In 1958, they made one of the first LEGO sets. It was called Town Plan.
zaidi razak/Shutterstock.com
A Big Hit
LEGO bricks have been a big success! There are more than 400 billion LEGO bricks. There are also LEGO theme parks, movies, video games, and more.
But the idea behind LEGO bricks has stayed the same. It has been the same since Ole and his son made wooden toys. That idea is even part of the name LEGO.
The word lego comes from the Danish term leg godt. It means “play well.”
LEGO House/©2019 The LEGO Group
This dino and her eggs were made by LEGO Masters.
Would you want to get paid to play? Some grown-ups get paid to build with LEGO bricks. They are LEGO Master Model Builders. It is their job to make amazing LEGO models, like this giant dinosaur. The models go in stores, theme parks, and even museums. Some Masters also teach kids how to build with LEGO bricks.
It can take years of training to become a LEGO Master Builder. Would you want to do that job? Then keep practicing!
1. Cool Colors
Plan ahead. What bricks do you have? Pick cool colors.
2. Brick Trick
Do this to lock your bricks together: Put a layer of bricks going one way. Then put the next layer going the other way.
3. Wide Base
Don’t forget this part! Build a wide base. It will help keep your tower from tipping over.
More About the Article
Production, distribution, and consumption; Global connections
Next Generation Science Standard
K-2 Engineering Design
Social -Emotional Learning Focus
Innovation; Perseverance
1. Before Reading
Do a Mystery Bag Activity and Discuss (5 minutes)
Preview the first pages and set a purpose for reading (15 minutes)
2. Read the Paired Texts (15-30 minutes)
3. After Reading
ELA Focus: Comprehension/ Comparing two texts (20 minutes)
Use the adorable “A Perfect Pair!” skills sheet to compare and contrast the two nonfiction texts.
Enrich the Learning: Build a LEGO Tower (15 minutes to 1 hour)
Social Studies Focus