Projects, Numbers, and Fred

What a busy day! 3rd graders completed their Getting to Know Me projects, participated in stations to calculate the answers for their Numbers of Me project, and then even had time to save the adventrous worm, Fred!Check out some fun footage of the day in the video below!

Getting to know 3rd Grade

It is so fun getting to know our new 3rd graders!

If You were a Spider

Research, Interviews, & Writing - That is what 5th graders worked on this week. Students did a great job researching a creepy critter. However they soon realized that they were now experts on a topic that they wouldn't be using for their project. Students learned about formal interviewing and writing strong open-ended questions. Then they conducted interviews with an arachnologist. The video below shows some great shots of how serious they took the interviews! Very professional! The next step students did is turn the info gathered from the interview into a creative story in 2nd person. What would life be like if YOU were a spider? The stories are awesome!

Skyscraper Scale Drawings

Students have been learning about scale factor. Today they saw the real power in scale as skyscrapers from around the world were able to be placed in the same skyline with a scale of 100ft=10cm. Ever wonder how Idaho's tallest building compares to other sky high buildings? Think the Space Needle is tall - well check out the scaled skyline for a real comparison.

Fred's Perch

Oh, Fred! He is such a curious worm! He doesn't want to miss a moment of the day! 3rd graders designed and built a tall perch for him. This task was not as easy as it sounds - the materials and time were limited! Take a peek at the teamwork on this first day of GT.

Pipecleaner Problems!

Today 4th grade experienced some real-life issues - budget cutbacks! Cuts in materials, limited shared language, and even layoffs were present during this hand-on lesson. Watch the short video to see students struggle through the challenges encountered.

Skyscrapers!

Ever wonder what the largest building is, or how quickly the fastest elevator moves? You can find out some pretty amazing facts in the following student documentaries about skyscrapers.

Coaster Thrills

As we continue with our Thrills and Chills unit, students enjoyed an opportunity to design the most "thrilling"coaster as possible while considering coaster physics - potential energy, kinetic energy, and momentum. Banked curves, loops, and corkscrews were all worth points if they could get the marble to run through! Watch this thrilling activity below.

Skyscraper vs. Hurricane

Fourth graders put their engineering skills to the test today as they learned what the essentials are for a skyscraper and attemped to design one that could withstand forces of nature - heavy winds. Check out our exciting day in the video below.

Tug-Twist-Push-O-War

4th Grade examined the strength of building materials today in a materials lab. They rated the tension, compression, and torsion of several items. It was fun to see them working hard while laughing! Take a peek:

Overcoming Obstacles & Reaching Goals

5th graders talked about goals - long and short term and considered possible obstacles to those goals. With this theme for the day, students created their own video games using Scratch. What an amazing day! Students worked hard! When games are finished, I will add links to the GT website. Take a peek at our day in the video:

GT Achievement & Mindset Exemplor Awards

G.A.M.E. On! 4th grade students have been busy creating criteria for a meaningful achievement award. After filling out an application to make the award official, they met with the class to get feedback, and then used free CAD software to design a medal that can be printed on the 3D printer! What a great way to build community and start our engineering unit using design thinking and the design process.