Engineering Part 2
11/23/2019
Engineering challenges are engaging opportunities for students to practice skills they will use the rest of their lives. These challenges require creativity, lots of collaboration, critical thinking, time management, and reflecting. Last week’s challenge was to design a prototype that would act as a barrier to protect a city from rising water. They worked hard brainstorming and building. This week, third graders were able to put their designs to the test! This challenge was harder than they thought! Part of the design process is going back to the drawing board after testing. Is there a way to improve the design to have better results? How can we look at the problem from a different angle? They looked at their materials again and tried to use them in different ways. Because materials were limited, they made sure they agreed on a plan before building. Before undergoing test #2, each group presented to the class how their designs changed and how they worked together as a team. Later as a class, we wrote reflections about how well everyone collaborated and improved their designs. Great job, Third Grade! On a different note, we had a fun impromptu opportunity to look at a moose heart and to see what it looks like on the inside. There is never a dull moment on the third floor! The Engineering Design Process
11/16/2019
Natural disasters and weather related hazards affect the way we live. Because we don’t have a way to prevent natural disasters from happening, we must find ways to adapt and prepare for them. Oftentimes, flooding occurs as a result of a storm and can cause property damage and even loss of life. Students engaged in the design process by being challenged to create a prototype that would act as a barrier to protect a city from rising water. One of the third grade earth and science standards is to make a claim about the merit of a design solution that reduces the impacts of a weather-related hazard. Before building, each group worked together to sketch each member’s idea and to consider the materials. Just like the real world has a budget and limited materials, two of the constraints of the challenge were to use only the materials given and to have some materials left over. The engineering design process is a way to break down a larger project into more manageable pieces. Going throughout each step as a team gives students the needed time to brainstorm, record each member’s ideas, and collaborate on a final plan before jumping into the materials. The design process also involves discussing, reflecting, and redesigning once the group’s original design is tested. Groups will use a rubric to assess their final product and their collaboration skills. We are looking forward to testing and reflecting on our designs next week!
Graphing Weather
11/9/2019
After looking at the Pacific Ring of Fire that runs along the coast last week, we explored temperature and rainfall patterns in different areas of Alaska. Students had an opportunity to apply their graphing skills from math as they created bar graphs of temperature and rainfall data of different cities. Along the way, they learned the locations of Ketchikan, Juneau, Anchorage, Cold Bay, Utqiagvik, Nome, and Fairbanks as they posted their data. After we organized and displayed our data alongside our map, we were able to make observations and see patterns. An important skill that isn’t traditionally taught explicitly is how to ask good questions. “Thinking keys” are different lenses we can use to form different types of questions. Students were challenged to create questions that would fall in each of these categories Asking good questions as a learner opens the door to seeing data through different perspectives and fosters curiosity.
Earthquakes
11/2/2019
Third graders are exploring our driving question in science. Can we can design structures that can withstand different natural disasters and weather hazards? Throughout this unit, we will be inquiring into weather patterns and natural disasters that we prepare for in Alaska. On Thursday and Friday, students were challenged to design a building that could survive an earthquake with minimal damage. Because we are located on the Pacific Ring of Fire, architects have to keep earthquakes in mind when they design buildings. This learning activity required lots of collaboration as they planned how they were going to use their materials. Before their structure was “earthquake tested" on jello, they first explained to their peers some of their design decisions. Reflection is a key component in the learning process. Everyone took a step back and celebrated what worked and what didn’t. Each group rated themselves on how well they worked together and wrote about what part of their designs worked. During our closing circle, it was great hearing students compliment other teams about what they liked about their plans and ending our week on a positive note! We are looking forward to another week of exploring earthquakes and weather hazards that we experience in Alaska! Happy Halloween! |
Jessica GrahamMs. Graham graduated from the University of Alabama with a BS in Early Childhood/Elementary Education, and is currently working on her master's in reading. She enjoys hiking, traveling, arts & crafts, and playing the ukulele. Archives
April 2021
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