Week of December 12-16

This week, the 3rd graders were given a design challenge: build a tower at least one foot tall that can support a stuffed animal cow. The only materials available were 50 index cards and 2 feet of tape! Even though not all groups met the goal, we all were successful at using the steps of the Engineering Design Process to analyze what worked well, what didn't, and ways we could improve our designs. It's all about the process, not the product!

Success feels so good!

Mission accomplished!

In 4th grade, we finished building our Lego robots and started programming them. We learned that there are different modes you can use to tell the robot what to do. For example, you can use degree mode, rotation mode, on for seconds, and more to move the robot a certain distance. We used our math skills to figure out the one rotation is equal to 360 degrees. Some groups even found the circumference of the wheel in order to figure out how to get the robot to go a certain distance!

Students watch their programs in action!

In 5th grade, our lesson focused on why people invent. We learned about Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and talked about the old proverb: "Necessity is the mother of invention." We had some heated debates about what we need for survival versus what we need for happiness. Then we created inventions to meet each level of need using only 100 popsicle sticks. I was very impressed with the students' divergent thinking and creativity!

Students make inventions out of "wood"