STEM Friday

Each Friday for the rest of our Second Grade year, we will be completing a task rich in science, technology, engineering and math.  These challenges will encourage the learners to - above all- become problem solvers. 
 The first task was to create a 'pipeline' to transport a natural resource from one place to another without spills.  The only materials allowed were styrofoam cups, straws, and duct tape.  They were given 30 minutes to complete the job. 
The room was filled with chatter discussing the most effective way to work as a team.  Then they grabbed the materials and began to test ideas. They tried (and failed) several times before they hit on an idea that actually worked.

We learned some invaluable lessons.  Here are some quotes from our budding engineers.  "The problem seemed so simple, but it really took a lot of work." "When oil spills happen, they are mostly just accidents." and "If I become an engineer when I grow up, I know not to fix an oil leak with duct tape!"

 

Discovering Area

It is always amazing to me how learners make connections with things we are learning in class.  We learned how to find area using squares and square units.  Since then, they have pointed out the word 'area' at least a dozen times in other contexts, too.  

We first viewed something of great interest to my class - Minecraft characters.  We noticed how they are all made of squares, which make them perfect for our study of area.  Next, our mathematicians  created Minecraft characters of their own using grid paper.  







The next step was to write questions for a fellow classmate to answer about the area of the character they created.

 We also had shapes taped off in the hallway to practice using square units.

I can say for certain, that our learners have a deeper understanding of this concept.

We're Going on a Plant Hunt!

We searched the VAES campus grounds to see what types of plants we could find.  We were amazed at what we were able to observe in our own front yard.

We continued learning about plants and of course, planted something of our own.  To be honest, it has been a challenge since we have no window in our classroom.  I have a special lamp that is supposed to help, but nothing else works quite like the sun.

Measuring Like Royalty

We learned how people have been measuring for thousands of years.  We read a couple of great books called The Foot Book and How Tall, How Short, How far Away.  We were fascinated to know that the length of one foot was really... a king's foot!  We measured to see what 3 of our feet looked like and each measurement was unique.