We engineered hibernation dens for dixie cup animals. Our dens had to hold at least 3 animals and they had to have lots of insulation. To celebrate, we wore pajamas, brought stuffed animals, and made dens with our desks.This week we are engineering sledding ramps and measuring the distance our sled travels. We are improving by adding height and length to our ramps to get our sleds to go a longer distance.We engineered gingerbread models of a rural community in groups of 4 students. Each farm was different and very detailed. We had so much fun, especially improving our designs!
This week, we will read one of our most loved books, The Colors of Us by Karen Katz. This book tells the story of Lena, a little girl who has a creative and loving way of describing shades of skin. In the book, Lena engineers her exact skin color shade using paint colors red, yellow, black, and white in the right combination.
Like Lena, we are going to engineer our exact skin color using paint colors red, yellow, black, and white. We are going to ask, "How much of each color should I use to make my shade?" We are going to imagine the color combination possibilities. We are going to plan our paint quantities in our STEM notebook. We are going to create and improve our skin shade paint until we get the right color for each of us. We are going to proudly display "the colors of us" in our classroom and hallway. We are going to engineer virtual models of apartment buildings. We will begin our project on Monday, March 9 by reading a "letter" from Raleigh mayor Nancy McFarlane addressed to the kindergartners at Brentwood Elementary. The letter requests the kindergarten engineers' help in designing a new housing structure for downtown Raleigh, because so many new families want to move to Raleigh but there is limited space to build new homes. The constraints of the project are that the building must be large enough to hold at least 10 families and the structure needs to take up minimal space on the ground. The kindergarten engineers have to ASK - what kind of building can I design that will fit these constraints? They will IMAGINE design possibilities by researching different types of housing structures from around the world. The engineers will PLAN their structure in their STEM notebooks. To CREATE, the students will build virtual models of the structure they planned in their notebook. We will be using Build with Chrome to build our virtual models. To IMPROVE, the engineers will collaborate in small groups to discuss improvements and make revisions in order to make the buildings hold more than 10 families. Check out the slideshow below to see some of our creations.
We engineered Valentine's Mail Boxes using cardboard boxes, masking tape, construction paper, stickers, doilies, glue, and crayons. We will use them to collect our Valentine's on Friday, February 13. Please excuse our off-center picture. Our photographer was a kindergartener. Ask: How can we make a Valentine's mail box with the given materials? Imagine: What will my Valentine's mail box look like? How will I make it look this way? Plan: I can plan my mail box by drawing and labeling a plan to make it. Create: Working independently, students create mail boxes with given materials. Improve: How can I make my Valentine's mail box more detailed?
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We teach engineering through the engineering design process: ask, imagine, plan, create and improve. We create solutions to problems and test our creations.Archives
March 2016
AuthorMrs. Carter is a second grade teacher at Brentwood Magnet Elementary School of Engineering. Categories |