4th Grade Architecture Update

 Students have been very engaged in their architecture unit this quarter. 

After learning about many different architectural features, students taught their peers about a particular style of architecture in history and created a 3D model to represent their style.

Students had to note particular features, find buildings both in the world and around St. Louis in that style, and create a quiz for their peers to give at the end of the presentation.  

After learning about architectural features and styles, students learned that architects and engineers work together to create stable, safe structures.  Many different types of engineers work with architects.  Students tried their hand at civil engineering by planning a two-level parking garage that had to hold 8 toy cars safely, an on/off ramp, entrance, exit, and parking spaces.  

Our prototypes consisted of wooden Keva planks, but students learned that steel and concrete would most likely be used to hold the weight of many vehicles. Students learned about the requirements and constraints that many architects and engineers must face. 

Recently, students took a field trip to the Missouri History Museum and participated in a hands-on experience called Building Brick City. 

Students discussed the past and the present of St. Louis architecture with the guidance of history museum docents.

There were many interesting St. Louis artifacts to see and read about.

The students learned about the design process and the making of the St. Louis Arch. If our present design had not won the concept, see what might have been in place of the St. Louis Arch (below). Many agreed that we like the look of the present Arch and its symbolism the best.

We also saw and read about interesting trivia related to St. Louis architecture.  If this interests you, I highly suggest taking the family there for a visit.  It's free, and it's part of the Color STL exhibit which is also really fun for all ages.  

The second part of the field trip involved a hands-on experiment and design challenge.  
Challenge: Design a home that can withstand a common St. Louis problem (flooding). 
Experiment first with materials to find the best material for your home's design.  
Students worked in teams to complete the experiment first and then worked individually on a home design.  

We have really enjoyed learning about architecture.  As you take a drive around the St. Louis area, I hope the students take note of what we've learned and share their knowledge with you.  There are so many wonderful architectural features and styles in our city. 

Students also learned about some of the mathematic components of architectural design when having to design a bedroom, bathroom, closet of their dreams using specific area and perimeter design specifications.  
Students presented their dream rooms to their peers.

We are finding ourselves at the end of our unit! The semester has flown by!  Students are now working on their final architecture project.
The project includes designing an architectural structure for the future. Designs must include features for accessibility and sustainability. Presently, students are creating a 3D rendering using TinkerCad. They are also creating a 3D rendering of one interior room using a digital tool called Floorplanner.

 Seriously... look at these hard-working, curious kids! 

I will sincerely miss this group when they leave Spoede Elementary! 

1st Grade Update

 This quarter we've taken the opportunity to learn more about our earth's biomes after being exposed to biodiversity during our Green Schools Quest adventure. Students chose a biome to research, find out about the climate, flora, and fauna that is found there, and any other interesting facts that they wanted to share.  After researching, students tried to make biomes come to life by creating their own 3D versions.

We tried our hand at stop-motion animation and created videos that would teach others about our biomes. Stop motion animation is a filmmaking technique where objects are physically manipulated in small increments between photographed frames, creating the illusion of movement when the frames are played back.

Proud of the students' hard work! 
 It takes a steady hand and a lot of patience to try this technique. In addition to our scientific and film-making projects, we have continued to learn about the different types of thinking (like our P.E.T.S. characters). Students have become divergent thinkers and have immersed themselves in the creative process. A fun way we tried divergent thinking was to create our own memes to go with various photos. 
Thank you for your support in our Green Schools Quest project. We had such a good turn out at the culminating event. Students seemed ecstatic to be a part of the whole thing! 
We will continue to take care of our bird restoration area-- maybe even adding on in our future years in Idea Lab. If you are willing to come up and help feed the birds during the summer, please let me know. We can try and create a schedule of volunteers. 
Love seeing these first graders bloom!

This is a great group of curious, diligent kids. We have enjoyed our time together.

We will continue to learn about our P.E.T.S. characters from now until the end of the school year-- finishing up with some analytical thinking, evaluative thinking, and some fun games that will help us with both! 

1st Grade Update: Green Schools Quest Project & Biodiversity Unit

Click HERE to see a video about our Avian Restoration project.

Presently students are learning about several other biomes and their biodiversity. They are creating 3D dioramas of a biome of their choice. After creating the biome, the students will create a character that will move in a stop-motion animation video. In this video, students will teach others about the characteristics of the biome they chose and include plants and animals that are found there. 
Stay tuned... to hear more about this project in the upcoming weeks ahead. 

2nd Grade Update: Cardboard Arcade Challenge

 Our Idea Lab second graders would like to share our Cardboard Arcade games with you.   

Please click HERE to view. 

We really enjoyed this hands-on engineering design unit! We were able to practice the engineering design process in a fun and practical way with our peers. 

1st Grade Update: Divergent Thinking & The Green Schools Quest Project

 Divergent thinking is the creative process of coming up with original ideas and new possibilities. Divergent thinking is really an exercise in creativity.  

1st grade Idea Lab students got their creative juices flowing recently when they SCAMPERed a Donut.  You might be thinking what do you mean by SCAMPER?

SCAMPER is a brainstorming strategy. SCAMPER is an acronym for Substitute, Combine, Adapt, Modify/Magnify, Purpose, Eliminate/Minimize and Rearrange/Reverse

Inventors may SCAMPER when creating a product. We also practiced Divergent Thinking by creating captions for memes. 
We had some funny memes and some serious ones too!
Students made their own tangram creations-- it was fun creating our own! 
We created some pretty awesome masterpieces around a few squiggles.
We are also wrapping up our Green Schools Quest project for Avian Restoration.  
The students have been waiting to decorate their bird feeders and nesting boxes!!!

We are working on a video for our final submission. We will share it with you when it is ready. 

Proud of the effort and commitment the students have displayed in Idea Lab this quarter!

Keep up the amazing work, 1st graders!

2nd Grade Cardboard Challenge Update

 Second grade has been actively engaged with a Cardboard Arcade Challenge! 

Inspired by Caine's Arcade, students were challenged to create their own arcade games by upcycling items like cardboard, paper towel rolls, plastic cups/bowls, cartons, etc. 

We began with inquiry: What makes a game interesting to play? What makes you want to play a game over and over again? What are things every game needs to have? What is your favorite arcade game? Why?

Students then began brainstorming ideas with a partner and presented their ideas to their peers. Peers asked questions to get students thinking about their game and design.  Students discussed game titles, rules/instructions for the game, and construction ideas.

After examining scoring guides for the games, students learned about the
 Engineering Design Process and began creating their rough drafts. 

Part of the Engineering Design Process includes testing, evaluating, and redesigning. Partner groups helped other partner groups with the testing. 

Improvements and redesign have been key to making the games the best they can be.

Once the construction is complete, students will add typed game instructions, catchy game titles, design flair and color, and prize ticket amounts. 

We hope to invite you to come and see our Cardboard Arcade soon. 

Should be fun! 

I caught students hard at work in Idea Lab recently. CLICK HERE to check them out!