EARTHQUAKE!!!!!

One goal of mine for the school year is to add in as many engineering design challenges as possible. However, I don't want to do the challenges just for the sake of doing them. This is ok sometimes and certainly has a purpose, but I want to integrate the engineering design activities into the science curriculum that I am teaching. One of my topics this fall has been natural disasters. We are looking at not only what causes events such as earthquakes and volcanos but also have humans can prepare for and mitigate the effects of them.

We started the unit with an engineering design challenge to build a "earthquake-proof" structure, the catch was it had to be built out of marshmallows and toothpicks. We added extra challenges and looked for who could build the tallest structure and who could support a large marshmallow on the top.

This was a quick activity, we spent only 15 minutes on the building after I had discussed the challenge. The best part was seeing all of my students get involved. Even the pair of boys who initially wanted nothing to do with this task got into it and ended up be very successful.

To test out the structures we placed them on a sand table and manually shook them for 30 seconds. I have seen activities that suggest using a pan of jello to place structures on for this type of activity but I have not personally given that a try yet.

Following reflecting on the design choices that made for successful structures we jumped right into discussing the motions of the earth that can cause earthquakes. Towards the end of the unit, students will have a chance to research features that are actually used in buildings to help them survive an earthquake. Based on their understanding of plate tectonics and their research they will then make recommendations about which parts of the world should invest in this type of building structure and which places are safe to not have these features added in.

Overall this was a fun and engaging start to the unit. It was great to see students working together to problem-solve and seeing reluctant learners getting into this was a huge win. Oh, and it was quick and inexpensive so that was a plus too!

Problem Solving Bonanza

Foil boats problem solving challenge

Yep - there is a kiddie pool set up in my classroom. Yes, we flooded the room trying to dump it out in the sink.

Other than the water catastrophe, this project was a great success. This was the kick-off to unit 1 of the Computer Science Discoveries from Code.org. Students worked in pairs or groups of three to design a foil boat that could hold the most weight. I gave them a limited amount of foil and a small strip of tape. They had only 15 minutes to plan and build their boats before testing began.

So what does a foil boat have to do with computer science? The problem-solving process! In computer science we are constantly solving problems, and learning to do so effectively is one of the keys to success. Before starting their boats I shared a graphic showing the 4 steps to the problem-solving process: Define, Plan, Try, Reflect; and simply asked my students to try to recognize when they were doing these things during the activity.

As a beginning of the year activity, this was a great chance for me to walk the room and get a feeling for how different students worked together. I purposely tried not to help with boat design other than to clarify any questions about expectations or requirements. After 15 minutes were up we tested our boats in the aforementioned classroom-flooding kiddie pool. Student groups took turns adding pennies to the boat to see how much weight they could support.

By the time testing was over we were about out of time for class. As a wrap up we had a big group discussion, no written reflection on this one. Students first shared what worked well in their designs and what they thought they might do differently if given the chance to redesign. Then we came back to the problem-solving process and they shared out how they had used each of the stages. I had to coax this part a bit and I jumped in a few times to point out observations I had made while they were working.

Then we attempted to clean-up....dumped water all over the floor....then I remembered that the last time the kiddie pool was used we bailed water out BEFORE trying to dump it. Hindsight really is 20/20!

I know someone will ask how I graded this. Truthfully, I didn't. This was an introductory activity, I will have plenty of chances to assess them using the problem-solving process later on. In a future post I'll share a checklist that I often use to assess problem-solving and other cooperative skills during labs and group work.

STEM Fridays

The first 90 minutes of my day is spent with middle schoolers. I teach a combined 7/8 science class for 45 minutes which is immediately followed by math with the same students. This has been an awesome schedule because of the flexibility it offers me. If we have a lab for science I can easily steal 10 minutes (or 30) from math time. It balances out because then if we have a math project or an activity that we need more time for another day we can do that.

Friday is different though. Friday is STEM day! I launched this experiment last year to allow me a dedicated time for focusing on technology and engineering, computer coding, robotics, and other integrated projects. Last year we focused mostly on the computer science component using curriculum from Googles CS-First program. These are great tutorials that are perfect for teachers that don't have a ton of coding experience because the lesson is all built for you. We also did some 3D printing and some engineering design challenges. I'll be honest it didn't happen every Friday. Some weeks we were just behind and needed the time to finish up something from science or math, other weeks interruptions from the dreaded standardized testing kept us off track, or student absences or you name it. But despite the scheduling challenges, I felt it was really a worthwhile use of our time. So we are at it again.

This year my plans include:

Computer Science Discoveries - this is an awesome program from Code.org and I was lucky enough to be selected to participate in professional development over the summer to learn how to implement the curriculum. My goal is to complete units 1-3 of this.

More 3D printing - we didn't have as much time as I would have liked to get into this last year. I hope to utilize Tinkercad for at least a couple of projects so that students can really get a feel for 3D design and how they can use the 3D printer and the problem-solving process.

Robotics - We are starting out working with Ozobots. They will be learning to use the color codes first and then moving on to block coding with them. I am hoping to add some other robotics options if funding comes through.

Circuits - We will be using paper circuits along with Makey Makey kits for a couple of projects this year. I will introduce these with some fun activities during our STEM Fridays and then they will use them later in the year for science "museum display" projects.

I am sure I will add more to this list. I am constantly searching for ideas and learning more from other great teachers out there. Have a suggestion for an activity or a tool I should add to my STEM Friday plans? Let me know in the comments.