This week, I introduced the Design Process to my K5 classes.  Given a box of materials, the students were asked to design a snowman that could stand on its own and not fall over when blown with wind (a hair dryer).  We talked about the need to create a plan, try it out, and then revise or start all over if needed.  The students did a great job of using the materials in different ways to build a snowman.  Most of their snowmen even withstood the wind from my hairdryer!  The groups that did need to revise or start all over did have some difficulty finishing.  This lesson was a great reminder for me that my students need more time than I think (or plan) to make mistakes, learn from them, design a new plan, and then have time to try their new design out.

This...

was the highlight of my day.  Last week, many of our students at Summit participated in the Hour of Code.  During their Library/ Tech class, I had my K5 students work on the Level 1 tutorials.  The student on the left in this picture stated school in September not knowing any English.  There are still many language barriers for him in school.  Following directions and knowing what to do is a continual struggle for this English language learner.  However, he totally got the language of computer coding!!  When a student next to him needed help, he voluntarily showed her what to do.  The smiles on both of their faces was absolutely priceless.  I was amazed at how engaged all of my students were during this lesson.  I am really glad we used the Hour of Code website for our coding lessons and will definitely do so again in the future.      

Attention SE WI teachers

We are starting a school/library makerspace networking groups for fellow teachers in Southeastern Wisconsin.  If you'd like to be included, please fill out this form

Looking forward to sharing ideas and hearing what other schools and libraries are doing with Makerspaces!

Coffee Cart

A recent new sight in the Summit halls is our Tuesday morning Coffee Cart.  Mrs. Judkins and Mrs. Olsen worked with Mr. Schnoor's class to develop the idea and the logistics of how the cart will run, Ms. Jens and Mrs. Olsen coordinated purchasing the necessary materials, and each week, Mr. Schnoor's students, with Mrs. Judkins' help, take orders from the staff for freshly made hot coffee, chocolate, or tea, and deliver them to classrooms around the building.

All proceeds from the coffee cart are going to the makerspace, and Mr. Schnoor's class has been tasked with the challenge of coming up with projects in the makerspace to expand or develop the coffee cart - some ideas so far have been to sew aprons, build a "snack bar" or a more permanent coffee cart, and to create cup insulators to keep the coffee warmer.  It will be fun to watch this project develop as the year goes on. Almost as fun as it is to get a freshly made hot cup of coffee handed to me every Tuesday morning!!
    

The school year is already flying by!  I can hardly believe that it is November already.  The Lego We Do projects and circuit building kits took a little bit longer than expected.  We also have worked on some computer skills so far this year.  We had to get in the Maker Space again and try a STEM challenge to celebrate Thanksgiving.  The challenge was to build a boat (like the Mayflower) out of one piece of paper, Popsicle sticks, and aluminum foil.  The students then added pennies to their boat to see how buoyant it was.  One group was able to put 80 pennies on their boat before it sank!  The students really enjoyed this activity.  The experimented with different ways to build their boat and really worked well as a group.  I will definitely do this again next year.

"Making" Math

This year we've started a school wide implementation of "PIE" time - Practice, Intervention, Enrichment.  We call it our "Husky Power Time".  I am fortunate enough to get an opportunity to work with 3 grade levels during their Husky Power Time on math enrichment.  With this 30 minutes a day, 4 days a week, I have time to really get into some of the fun STEM applications of math that we haven't had enough time to do before.  And with that taking place in the Makerspace, I am taking full advantage of this time block.

This week my first grade Husky Power group has been working on missing addend word problems like the following: Matt has some sticks.  He collects 27 more.  Now Matt's stick collection is 68 sticks.  How many sticks did Matt have at the beginning?  We have worked through interpreting these problems and representing them with a number sentence.  Today they are working on representing them with Legos as well.  Though many of the students chose one to show after they had solved it, some students realized that the Legos would be a valuable tool to help them figure out the answers as well.  I love watching them so totally engaged as they work with a "toy" to help them organize their thinking!

My fourth graders gifted kids are working through the Khan Academy Pixar in a Box curriculum, which teachers kids the math and science concepts they use at Pixar to make their animations lifelike.  After watching tutorial videos and trying a simulation on the computer, they have a hands on component.  This week, they are making parabolic curves with cardstock and needle and thread.  What a valuable way to reteach and assess learning through these hands on activities.  

My fourth grade Husky Power group is doing a home design project, where they have certain requirements for their house, they have a budget, and they are drawing the plans.  Later this week, as they finish their plans, they will create a model of their home, in whatever way they choose, to show their design.  I have a student using an app called Home Design 3D to create a blueprint, I have a child who is electing do use Legos, I have another who is designing in Tinkercad.  I can't wait to see what the end results look like!

Maker Carts in Action

Check out these pictures of our Maker carts in use all over the building!  The kids are so excited to have them!