Past projects 2
Gravitytrax and Chain Reactions - Full STEAM Ahead !
Funded Aug 29, 2021Thank you for your donations to the Gravitrax project. The students have loved using the new Gravitrax to learn about gravity, inclined planes, force, motion, speed, and problem solving. As they built, I loved hearing them say things like, "I don't think it(marble) has enough energy. Maybe we should lift the track higher." "How can we get it to go faster?" "What if we used a shorter track?" They also asked, "Can you keep my track together?", "Can we work on this tomorrow?" Students really love it.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Strazz
We All Want to Build and Create!
Funded Aug 4, 2020Thank you for the materials. We were able to put popsicle sticks and tape in plastic bags to safely pass out materials to each student. First we talked about what a structure is and how to make a structure strong and stable. Then we asked students to plan, design and build a 12 inch tower that would hold weight without swaying or collapsing.
The students were also given the choice to add straws or pipe cleaners to their forts.
As they built we asked students many questions like, why are you using more than one stick? Why did you overlap the sticks? What can you do to keep the legs of the tower more stable? This allowed for a lot of student discourse. Students would give their reasons and others would agree/disagree/add on or ask clarifying questions. As teachers, we love when students can carrying on thoughtful conversations about their learning.
Some students made changes to their designs along the way. Others only changed their design after their tower swayed or fell when weight was added. They were so excited when they made improvements and it WORKED!! Then of course there was some competition about whose tower could hold the most!!
It was such a great learning experience!! Thanks!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Strazz