Maury Engineers!

Maury students have taken the role of Engineers in the past few weeks, culminating with multiple events this week and "Introduce a Girl to Engineering" activities and guest speakers, the students at Maury have truly become young Engineers!

All classes have learned about and utilized the Engineer Design Process.

The motto, "Enginneers Turn Dreams into Reality" is especially relevent to the Maury students in grades K-2 because  their designs WILL become reality! As you may be aware, we have a variety of grants to support a Schoolyard Improvment plan to completely revamp our "ocean of asphalt" in the back and create amazing oportunities for students at recess and for outdoor classroom space.

While a team of Maury staff have been working to develope what we would like to see, it was important for us to hear from your children. In Think Tank, K-2 students used the Engineer Design Process to share their dreams for our new space. Their designs, along with blueprints for the new space are in the front lobby for all to see.  In addition, students in Ms. Scott and Ms. Hanni's class built models of their designs to bring their ideas even more to life!

Through the process, students have truly dreampt up some wonderful additions to our outdoors space... that we can actually use! How thrilling for our students!

Engineer Week was not only a time for playground design but each grade level completed Engineering challenges or had special guest speakers.

PreSchool and PreK students used the " build, test and evaluate, redesign" portion of the process to sink boats and determine which objects would float or sink.

3rd Graders had an exciting visit from Erik Donald, an Electrical Engineer who works with the Navy and Nasa to build satalites. Students had incredible questions and were excited to touch REAL materials used in space. If you havea 3rd grader, make sure to ask them about this great presenation!

Interested 3rd, 4th and 5th graders became "Lunchtime Engineers" choosing to spend their lunch period learning from Liz Twozag, a Navy engineer who works on weather satalites.

Stay tuned for more soon!
-Mrs. Ford

What do Magical Water Play, Magnificent Catapults, Hidden Graphed Pictures and the International Space Station have in common?

They are all being used as Think Tank studies! As the interests of different classes continue to develop, so do the diverse array of Think Tank Challenges. In many classes, we are wrapping up our study of simple machines using Legos (for now!) and transfering our knowledge to challenges using the same concept. For example, 3rd -5th grade students used the Scientific Method to determine which catapult would send Lego Mrs. Ford the farthest. Would it be C1 or C2?

They then recorded data, drew conclusion and then used their conclusions to design their own catapult based on a "dessert island scenerio". 

Meanwhile, Pre-School and Pre-K students are studying water. In Think Tank, these students are conducting science experiments using different markers. First students write a "secret message" ( aka their name" in permenant marker.

Then, they cover their writing completely with a regular (water soluble) marker. From there they made predictions about what would happen when their work was placed in water. Would the message reappear? What would happen to the water? Why did some marker stay on the paper and other marker wash away? Why do they think their parents don't want them coloring every day with permanent makers now that they have experimented with them? Check out their experiment results on the hallway bulliten board soon!

Finally, K-1 classes are using their math, picture and people smarts as well as the Habit of Mind "Work collaboratively as a group and inspire teamwork" to complete a hidden picture graph. Using coordinates is new to many in this age group but they have done a wonderful job supporting eachother and coming up with strategies to make sure their work is accurate and precise!

AT HOME BALANCE CHALLENGE!

Recently, students in grades K-3 created Lego based see-saw models. As part of this inquiry, they determined that position and weigt determined how well a see-saw stayed balanced. They identified the fulcrum and were able to explain how weights should be placed to keep the plank balanced.

From there, some classes completed a see-saw challenge. They used paper towel rolls, pennies and craft sticks to apply the skills they learned from their Lego exploration. Would you like to try it at home? You can! I took this specific actitivity from one of my favorite scientific dogs, Ruff Ruffman! Even teachers can take an idea or two from PBSKids!

                                                                            

WHAT TO DO

1. Get what you need:
   • Seesaw platform (e.g., ruler, paint stirrer, large craft stick, or yardstick)
   • Tape
   • Toilet-paper tube
   • Weights (e.g., pennies or metal washers)
                           

2. Build your seesaw: Tape the toilet-paper tube to the table as shown in the illustration. This is your fulcrum, the point where your platform rests. Then balance your seesaw platform on top. Adjust the platform until it's parallel to the tabletop.

                                                                

1. Try these challenges: The goal of each challenge is to have the platform be level, sitting parallel to the tabletop. Once it's level, we say it's balancing. Before you start, here are three hints.
   1. It's okay to have the platform touch the table while you're working on a challenge.
   2. It's okay to move the platform and change where it touches the fulcrum.
   3. The weights don't have to be stacked or placed together on the platform.
   Challenge 1: Put three weights on each end of the platform.
   
   Challenge 2: Put three weights on one side of the platform and six weights on the other.
   
   Challenge 3: Set the platform so one end sticks out twice as far beyond the fulcrum as the other end. Add weights until the platform is level.
   
   Challenge 4: Put ten weights on one end of the platform and NONE on the other end.

TOPICS TO DISCUSS WITH YOUR CHILDREN:

With balancing, it's not just weight that matters. Position matters, too. Two things help keep your seesaw balanced: weight and distance. Weight is how much weight there is on each side of the fulcrum. Distance is how far each weight is from the fulcrum. Together, weight and distance create leverage. That's why, with your seesaw, you can balance a stack of pennies close to the fulcrum on one side with just one penny far from the fulcrum on the other side. Even though the single penny has only a little weight, it's far from the fulcrum, giving it a large amount of leverage.

DIG DEEPER!

• Make a multi-platform seesaw. See what kind of wacky balance systems you can make by adjusting the positions of the platforms and the number of weights.

• Make a mobile using string, pencils, and small objects. Adjust the weights and position of the strings so that the pencils hang parallel to the floor.

Support Think Tank with your holiday/birthday/just because purchases!

A few weeks ago I sent home a flier with information on a few companies that make many great, inquiry-based learning toys. Fat Brain toys was one of these. This morning I recieved confirmation that we are now able to recieve 6% commission on any purchases you make when you access Fat Brain Toys through the clickable link on the right side this blog! All  money raised will go to support Think Tank or other inquiry-based initiatives at Maury! Every little bit helps as we work to build this great program at Maury!

Thank you for all of your continued support as we grow our Think Tank!

-Mrs. Ford

Make it MOVE!

Although it has been a few weeks since my last entry, I hope you have heard from your children about the exciting Lego based Think Tanks that have been happening! At this point, all students have had the opportunity to explore the Lego Simple Machines or Early Simple Machines kits, figure out how to use their components and complete a few challenges. The next step in the Lego unit is for them to build specific simple machines and complete a series of tests to determine how and why they work so well!

Lego Education uses a 4C approach: Connect, Construct, Contemplate and Continue

CONNECT: This is a story that places two Lego characters in real-life situations that most students will recognize  ( ie: on a see-saw). I read this aloud to the students. There is also a picture that goes with the story for students to analyze.

CONSTRUCT: Using building diagrams, students build models covering the concepts related to the simple machine focus.

CONTEMPLATE: This stage involves investigating the models they constructed. Through these investigations, students will learn to observe and compare results from tests that they make, and to report on their observations.

CONTINUE:  Students are asked to extend their learning, add and change features and investigate the content further. This phase encourages students to experiment and apply their knowledge creatively.

So far this unit has been a huge success! Students are exploring, being creative, problem solving and using many of their "smarts"! Please take a look at the bulletin boards on the first floor for the your child's work!

And now for more pictures:)

As always if you have any questions, comments or concerns, feel free to find me!

Until next time....

Mrs. Ford