博客

On Friday, March 18, elementary parents were invited to our annual S.T.E.A.M. 展示, which was facilitated virtually this year, with teachers providing classroom tours and their S.T.E.A.M. (science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics) projects via the web. Each grade level learned about the engineering design process, which includes the following steps: ask, 想象一下, 计划, 创建, 测试, 和改善. Using the curriculum from Engineering is 小学, a curriculum developed by the Museum of Science in Boston, students solved real-world problems connected to stories of students around the world.

Transitional 幼儿园

Our transitional kindergartners designed a house for various environments, utilizing the names and characteristics of shapes they had learned together in class. They first 计划ned their house using a variety of materials such as blocks, 橡皮筋, Unifix立方体, 和积木, then 创建d structures for the environment of their choice, such as the beach or mountains. The structures were 测试ed for strength and whether they provided shelter from the environment of that region.

幼儿园

The concept of habits was the focus for our kindergartners, whose engineering project included creating animals with UV-light-sensitive beads, then creating habitats for their critters. The 测试 portion of the project saw the students bringing their habitats outside mid-day to see if the UV beads changed colors. If not, their animal was in a safe environment!

1级

First graders explored insects and 计划ts and applied agricultural engineering to solve a pollination problem. The unit begins with the storybook Mariana Becomes a Butterfly, in which a girl living in the Dominican Republic explores the field of agricultural engineering to determine why her ohelo 计划t won’t make berries. Over the course of the unit, students learned about agricultural pest management, the life cycles of 计划ts, and the interdependence of insect pollinators and 计划ts. 像马里亚纳, students then followed the steps of the engineering design process to 想象一下, 计划, 创建, 和改善 their own hand pollinators.

2级

Students in second grade learned how engineers use their knowledge of energy transfer to design solutions for using energy without harming the environment. The unit begins with the storybook Lerato Cooks Up a Plan, in which a girl in Botswana uses her knowledge of green engineering to build a solar oven to cook food for her family. Students explore the life cycles and environmental impact of products, then collect and analyze data to compare how different materials perform as thermal insulators and conductors. 

三年级

In third grade, students explored magnetism and its applications in engineering. The unit begins with the storybook 光的玩具麻烦, in which a boy in Japan applies his knowledge of transportation engineering to design a special attraction for his family’s struggling toy store. Over the course of the unit, students analyze the design of transportation systems, investigate the properties of magnets, and build model toys that use magnets.

4级

Fourth graders explored electricity and its use in everyday technologies. The unit begins with the storybook 给艾米丽的提醒, in which a girl living on a ranch in Australia learns about electrical engineering to build a system that alerts her when she needs to fill the sheep’s water trough. Over the course of the unit, students explore energy and electricity, investigate closed and open circuits, and 创建 diagrams of circuits.

五年级

Students in fifth grade explored organisms and recognized how engineering can help provide for the needs of a small animal. The unit begins with the storybook Juan Daniel’s Fútbol Frog, in which a boy in El Salvador uses bioengineering to design a safe environment for his fútbol (足球) team’s mascot, 一只小青蛙. Over the course of the unit, students explored the concepts of biomimicry, 保护, 和生物技术, and 测试ed how quickly or slowly water passes through different materials.