STEM

Happy Summer!  I hope you have a relaxing break from school and get outside to enjoy the nice weather.  Remember to continue to have an open-mind and to try new things.  If you are not successful, practice resilience and keep at it.  Let your curiosity lead you to do “STEMMY” things.  Be resourceful and build something useful with items you find.  Spend some time reflecting about how to improve your design.  Collaborate with a friend to see what new things you can do.  The world is out there to explore!

Grades 4 and 5 were challenged to make bird feeder.  Here are some a few of the pictures I received.

Last week grades K-3 were given a design challenge to complete at home.  They were simply asked to practice the design cycle and use Legos to build a symbol of spring.  Here is what some students created.

Grade 4 was given the chance to learn about woodworking and the tools a carpenter uses to honor the feast of Saint Joseph.

The second graders learned all about classifying triangles in STEM lab.  Different types and sizes of triangles were assigned point values and hung on free-standing trees.  The students needed to work collaboratively to design and build these trees and meet the multiple constraints that were given during this challenge.

The 7th graders have been working collaboratively on a series of design challenges.  Pictured here are the results of the net building challenge.  The net need to be able to hold at least 2 fish, have a handle that was six inches long, and wouldn’t hold water when used.

The kindergarten class learned about the Engineering Habit of Mind, resourcefulness, this week in STEM lab.  The define it as not wasting the stuff you have for your projects and recycling things you have to use in a new way.  They then used some of the materials in the makerspace in different ways.  They collaboratively designed an built puppets.  Some students used buttons for eyes or mouths and toilet paper tubes for puppet bodies.  Q-tips became arms and legs, and bottle caps became feet.  The students were very creative in using the materials given to them to bring their puppets to life.

In STEM lab, the 4th graders learned to make origami frogs.  These frogs were then used in a design challenge.  The students designed and build a device to attach to the frog’s back to carry a valentine (candy heart) across the pond.  The device could had a height constraint and could not have a lid to keep the valentine from falling out while hopping.

After learning in music class how to write and read the letters B, A, and G, the third graders came to STEM lab and collaboratively composed their own songs using the Xylo app.  They then coded Dash to play that song on his xylophone while moving and turning around the room.

Kindergarten has been practicing the Engineering Habits of Mind.  So far, they know about collaboration, being open-minded, and curiosity.  This week the learned all about being resilient, and not giving up if things are hard!  They practiced this skill alone, by solving a Tangram puzzle, with partners by solving a Sudoku puzzle, and as a whole group by passing a hula hoop around a circle without unclasping their neighbors hands.