Our first two weeks in the STEAM Lab were filled with activities to get our creative minds thinking and practicing our teamwork skills. It's going to be a great year!
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We've been busy in the STEAM Lab, but I haven't been so good at sharing what we've been up to. Here are a few highlights ... 1st Grade - Learning about coding with Ozobots 2nd Grade - Coding with Ozobots and creating 3D cardboard animals. 3rd Grade - Building and coding with Lego kits and exploring circuitry with Snap Circuits. 4th Grade - Building robots with Cubelets and learning about circuits and conductive objects with Makey Makey's. 5th Grade - Creating Interactive posters with Makey Makey's and Scratch and designing and creating bubble wands with 3D Pens. Students in all grade levels have been busy working on coding projects in Scratch and participating in STEM Stations We are very much enjoying our new library and STEAM lab furniture! November has been a busy month of engineering challenges! 1st graders designed and built back scratchers and sailboats. 2nd graders built strong towers out of marshmallows and toothpicks and then out of index cards and paperclips. 3rd graders designed Lego mazes and then magnet mazes. 4th graders designed and built windmills with blades that spun when placed in front of a fan. 5th graders built balloon-powered cars. October has been a busy month for us! 1st graders made hoop gliders and tested different designs to see which would fly best. 2nd graders used recyclable materials to build "something useful for a classroom." They also completed the "It's NOT a spider web" creativity challenge. 3rd graders learned about different types of engineers, created devices to harvest their candy pumpkin fields, and completed the "It's NOT a pumpkin" creativity challenge. 4th graders buillt pom-pom launchers and completed the "It's NOT a candy" creativity challenge. 5th graders engineered bridges out of toothpicks and marshmallows. We also started using our new Lego Wall! All grade levels worked through their Digital Citizenship units where they learned about being safe, responsible, and respectful online. We also learned about how our library is organized and started checking out books. Our new shelf of recess games and activities was a highlight of the month!        Week #1 in the STEAM Lab was a big success! All grade levels participated in a teamwork challenge, practicing their skills of communication, collaboration, and GRIT. 1st graders built tower structures by balancing mini-cups and craft sticks. 2nd graders worked in teams to create the longest paper chain possible out of only 2 1/2 sheets of construction paper. 3rd graders built tower structures out of clothespins and pencils, quickly learning the importance of a strong base! 4th graders engineered a perch for their stuffed animal out of straws and tape. 5th graders worked together to transfer 10 marbles from one cup to another by creating a device out of only a rubber band and 4 pieces of string (no hands could touch the cups!). It sure has been a busy year. I can't believe the end is almost here! Here is a sampling of the activities we've been doing over the past few weeks ... 1st, 2nd grade, and 3rd grade participated in STEM stations (building 3D shapes, towers, and structures; coding; art). Lots of teamwork and problem-solving! 4th grade learned about Galimoto (toy vehicles made from scrap wire and other recycled materials by children in Africa). Then, they made their own Galimoto out of pipe cleaners. They also created awesome tessellation art projects. 5th grade worked in groups to create Interactive posters using Scratch (coding platform) and mini circuit boards called Makey Makey’s. Their posters have 5 touch points that they set it up so that when you touch each “button” on the poster an animation, audio file, or other action appears in their scratch project giving you additional information about their chosen topic. They rocked this activity! Just wanted to share a few fun STEAM Lab activities we've been working on before we head off for spring break! Enjoy. :) I got a bit behind on my updates ... we've been busy! 1st Grade wrapped up their coding unit by animating their own short stories in Scratch Jr. They started their robotics unit, learning how to write “just right” lines and codes for Ozobots. They are currently working on creating zoo maps for their Ozobot to explore. 2nd Grade wrapped up their coding unit by creating a “Crossy Game” in Scratch Jr. Their game themes were so creative! They started their robotics unit, learning to draw lines and codes for Ozobots. Along with the 1st graders, they are creating zoo maps for their Ozobot to explore. 3rd Grade built and coded various robots using our Lego WeDo kits. They had fun figuring out how to code their Milo bots to race the fastest! They are currently working through their maze unit. So far, they’ve practice teamwork while building Lego marble mazes and learned about the properties of magnets while creating a Magnetic Maze. More maze fun to come! 4th Grade learned about closed and open circuits while building “paper circuits” out of copper tape, a coin cell battery, and an LED light. They engineered towers to support a stack of books for Read Across America Week, and participated in STEM Stations. 5th Grade learned about conductive and nonconductive materials while also learning how to use a Makey Makey to create a controller for their computer. They completed a fun St. Patrick’s Day STEM activity where they engineered a penny bridge and participated in STEM Stations. Maker Club has continued to learn about electronic components with Arduinos, 3D printed a word in their own handwriting, and created a bristle bot! Here is a sampling of pictures from the past few months ... 4th & 5th Grade March creativity challenge: It's not a clover, it's a ... It's not a rainbow, it's a ... December went by so fast! Here is what we've been up to in the STEAM Lab ... 1st Grade - Worked in Scratch Jr to code an Under the Sea animation and practiced thinking like engineers as they built a 3-tier snowman that could balance! 2nd Grade - Practiced their coding skills with a fun "unplugged" activity and then coded a project in Scratch Jr. to show what they learned. They wrote codes/instructions for a dog to collect bones, avoid puddles, and make it to her doghouse. 3rd Grade - Started working on their Animate a Name project in Scratch and are doing awesome! 4th Grade - Explored and completed robot challenges with Cubelets. They also participated in some fun STEM stations just before the winter break. Check out THIS FUN VIDEO of the Cubelets. 5th Grade - Made and tested bubble wands with 3D Pens and also got to explore and build robots with the Cubelets. Maker Club - Made Cube Creatures with the 3D Pens and learned to use CAD software to design keychains for our 3D printer. Due to the Veteran's Day and Thanksgiving breaks, November was a short month. But, we were still busy! 1st & 2nd grade - Started working on coding projects on the iPads using the Scratch Jr. app. 1st graders used code to make characters dance, and 2nd graders used code and math to make characters race across the screen. 3rd grade - Started to explore the Scratch web application and will be jumping into their coding projects soon! 4th grade - Is learning about how computers receive input, process information, and give output. They created "binary keychains" after learning how computers only process info in 1s and 0s. They began their Cubelets unit, where they are learning to make robots that Sense, Think, and Act. 5th grade - Started their 3D Pen unit. They practiced using the 3D pen to doodle a letter. This week, they will use the engineering design process to design and doodle a working bubble wand. Afterschool Makerclub - Tinkered with Makey Makey's and conductive materials to make game controllers, and started making Cube Creatures with 3D Pens. Here are a few pictures from the month ... October flew by! Here is what we have been up to this month ... 1st & 2nd grade - Practiced their coding skills in Code.org (sequence, debugging, and repeat loops). 3rd grade - Used the engineering design process to build devices to harvest their candy pumpkin fields. Check out their pumpkin pickers in the video below! If the video below is blocked for you, use THIS LINK. 4th & 5th grade - Practiced their coding skills and created awesome projects in Scratch to wrap up our Digital Citizenship units. 4th graders used code to create an All About Me project, where they practices sharing personal, not private, information. 5th grade used code to create a project to teach others how to be safe, smart, responsible, and respectful when online. Check out their projects with the links below: 4th Grade Scratch Projects 5th Grade Scratch Projects It's so nice to be back to a close to normal routine in the media center! September was a busy month with all grade levels learning about how to be good Digital Citizens. We talked, played games, watched videos, and reflected on how we can be smart, safe, respectful and responsible when we go online. Check out the 2nd graders Digital Footprints with THIS LINK. They filled their footprints with information that is safe to share online. 4th and 5th graders are currently working on coding projects in Scratch to share what they learned in our Digital Citizenship unit. My after school, LAEF Maker Club, has been busy learning about circuits with Arduinos, as well as exploring the insides of old electronics (see images below).
It's sure been an unusual school year! But, our circumstances aren't stopping us from working hard and learning together. In September, all grade levels participated in several weeks of Digital Citizenship lessons and I am so proud of their thoughtful reflections. October and November were full of fun STEM lessons, mostly focused on engineering and science. Students watch a weekly video lesson from me and complete their activities at home. Below is a compilation of some of the amazing projects they have been working on. I'm so proud of them! If the video is blocked, try this link. The media center was being used for an assembly, so we held out class in the art room for a day. Why not use the time for a fun St. Patrick's Day Ozobot challenge? Students found different pathways to get their Ozobot to the pot of gold. Some found the shortest path, some found the longest path, and others made sure that the Ozobot would make there no matter what path it took.
Kindergarten explored Ozobots and Bee-Bots in the makerspace 1st-2nd continued their coding unit with Scratch Jr. 3rd-5th continued their coding unit with Scratch on the computers Makerclub had fun with paper circuits and Makey Makey's
 2nd graders using the Scorekeeper App they designed in Scratch Jr. Kinder continued their Lego Build challenges. 1st and 2nd grade started their coding unit using Scratch Jr. on the iPads. 4th grade learned about Binary code and made keychains with their initials in binary code. 5th grade began their coding unit using Scratch on the computers.
Kinder started their Lego build challenges in the Makerspace. Each group spins the wheel to see what their challenge will be. So far, they've built robots, animal shelters, and playgrounds. 3rd graders had fun learning, exploring, and coding with the LegoWeDo kits. Check out this video to see them in action! 4th graders have been learning about how robots work. They explored the idea that all robots Sense, Think, and Act by building their own robot creations with Cubelets. Check out this video! 5th graders continued to use their 3D Pens by designing and creating working bubble wands.
Kinders continued their build stations. 1st graders finished their Ozobot unit by creating a zoo map for the Ozobot to explore. 2nd graders engineered a device that would help their Ozobot participate in a beach clean-up. Check out this video! 3rd graders started programming with Lego WeDo (pics to come) 4th graders explored with Cubelets to learn about how robots sense, think, and act. 5th graders started designing with 3D Pens.
4th graders wrapped up their unit by creating a class poster to show how they can be "good digital citizens." Each student created a piece of the poster and when put together they look amazing on our media center wall! 5th graders created Digital Citizen Superheroes that specialize in helping kids be smart, safe, responsible, and respectful on the Internet. A few samples are below, but you can see them all here.  4th Grade "Be Your Best Digital Self" posters
This month all grade levels have been learning to be smart, safe, responsible, and respectful when on the Internet. 1st grade learned how to use websites that are safe for kids, 2nd grade made these awesome Digital Footprints to show the kind of information that is safe to share online, 3rd grade wrapped up their unit by playing a Digital Citizenship board game, and 4th and 5th grade are currently working on projects to share their knowledge of how to be smart and safe online (pics to come). Also this month ... 1st and 2nd graders started their Ozobot unit, learning to draw "just right" lines and codes for their robots to follow. Kindergartners started their Makerspace stations where they used imagination and teamwork to engineer structures with the provided building materials.
School is back in full swing and so are things in the Makerspace! As we work through our Digital Citizenship lessons during rotations, the Makerspace is a busy place to be during students' free time. Things like Coloring Club, Snap Circuits, Kindness Rocks, and our new 3D Printer are what's been keeping us busy these last few weeks!
5th graders enjoyed a little free exploration time with Legos on their last day of rotations. |
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September 2023
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