Wednesday, March 5, 2014

4th Grade Architects!

Students draw the classroom to 1/2 scale ( 1 ft = .5in)
Our 4th graders are incredibly lucky to once again be part of the District Architecture Center's "Architects in the Schools" program. We are now half way through our partnershis and our amazing architects from HKS Inc. have provided meaningful, exciting lessons to our students. So far, our amazing architecture team is made up of Abigail Howard, Matthew Noe, Sara Sepanski and Mindy Goodroe. Over the course of 8 sessions, our budding 4th grade architects will design  DREAM classroom for our youngest learners, the preschool and prekindergarten students!

Students have been using their sketchbooks during and between classes to keep their ideas!
Lesson One: What is Architecture? What do our clients need and want?
To get to know the wants and needs of our students, we began with interviews! Listen to the great ideas our youngest Maury learners.

                                 
   
During the first lesson, "our" HKS architects introduced the project to the students: creating a DREAM classroom for our early childhood students! Each team would be in charge of designing one center (blocks, dramatic play, table toys, animals or library).

                                 

Not only did our budding architects listen to what their clients had to say, but they also observed them playing to get ideas. They took copious notes in their AIS program provided sketchbooks and began thinking about what could be included in this project.





Lesson 2: Scale!
This lesson introduced the students to the idea of drawing to scale. Using varying sized chairs as models and going on a measuring scavenger hunt, students gained a deeper understanding of the importance of the relationships between items in a classroom.
Students sit in three chairs to experience their relationship to scale.
Students then took their measurements and translated them into a drawing that was created at half scale! This task challenged them to use their picture, math and people smarts.

Students measure each chair to see how the dimensions change as they get larger.
HKS Architect Matthew, helps students draw the room to half scale.

Measuring the door to help understand scale.
  
Measuring the table and shelves during our scale lesson.





Lesson 3: Plan, Elevation and Section
 Did you know that architects must be able to draw and create models of things from multiple perspectives?
Student looks at what Mrs. Ford would look like in PLAN view. (Plan is birdseye!)
 Our great architects came ready to teach students all about how to look at things and draw them from varying perspectives. 
Student drawings of each of the  cups in PLAN view.
Using cups cut in different ways, actual models and examples of their every day work, students learned that there are very specific ways that architects relay their ideas to others. Other topics introduced included architectural symbols and line weight.
HKS Architects Abigail and Matthew give examples of their own work to inspire students!
Students draw the three cups in plan, elevation and section.
Lesson 4: Using our 5 senses to inspire design!
Have you ever thought that when designing a space you'd need to take into account how things would smell? How about how they sound? These are important considerations for architects! Students had mystery bags that held their "sense". They then collected inspiration related to that sense around the classroom and presented their ideas to the class. For example, those with "sound", found things such as marbles could be included in a room to provide our client with fun sounds. One group was inspired to make a "scratch and sniff" wall by exploring the smells that could be included in their space.
Students find items in the classroom that represent their ideas for what they could "SEE" in a dream early childhood class. Other students make notes in their sketch books about the items they chose to represent their ideas for "TOUCH". These included soft items, bumpy items and round items.
Students work with HKS Architect Abigail Howard discussing how to draw their ideas "in plan" versus " in elevation".
Using inspiration from their senses activity, students get to work sketching some of their new ideas for their space. These students considered creating a "dragon table" that would feel smooth, look interesting and could be used in the "table toys" center.

Over the next 5 weeks students will take all they have learned, each of their pieces of inspiration and apply it to creating models! Stay tuned for their work and their evidence of their learning!

Special thanks again to the District Architecture Center and our HKS Volunteers!!!
-Mrs. Ford

Saturday, February 1, 2014

MOVEMENT MADNESS

                                 While hard to record while moving, the kids love our new song!

Our youngest STEM levers at Maury have been exploring the ways that things move in the world around them. From hula hoops to musical instruments, gears to ramps, PS-1st grade are delving into "MOVEMENT".
 
Kindergarten students observe how musical instruments move to make sound and recording results.

Based on their age and developmental stages, each grade level is taking on different aspects of movement, including how they observe, discuss and record their observations. This unit has been a great chance to use so many of our SMARTS while practicing important Habits of Mind like "Look Carefully", " Wonder, Explore and Ask Questions", "Gathering Data Through All Senses" and more!



PK 4 year old students use Lego gears to explore movement.

Preschool 3 year olds "crash and bash" as this center with a variety of cars and balls.

Kindergartners record their observations about the way their Lego creations move using words and diagrams.




While planning this unit, I had a dream of creating a pendulum where students could see the path the pendulum followed when swinging. Our amazing art teacher Lauren Bomba has embraced bringing science into her art units and this inspired me to do the reverse... infuse ART into Think Tank!
(Check out Maury Studio and the incredible work Ms. Bomba does on her blog at http://studiomaury.wordpress.com ). I put out a call to parents in the Maury Community who could take on a challenge and two Maury dad's jumped at the chance! Over the past week they came in each morning to plan and test their creation and the result was AMAZING! Check this out!

Subrat Biswal drills holes in cups, looking for just the right one!

Sand was the choice material to use so Robert Pohl and Subrat Biswal came prepared to Think Tank.

Using sand from our sandbox necessitated a little sifting so small pebbles wouldn't clog the cup!


It worked!!!
 Once the amazing pendulum was created, I made it a center choice for our youngest students. They picked crayons and drew what they saw. They were mesermized.... and so was I!


                                           

3 year old records her observations!




Kindergarten and 1st grade students took their exploration of the pendulum to a deeper level. They made predictions, completed a few different tests and communicated their findings to each other verbally and by sharing their written observations. In addition, I encouraged them to view the path of the pendulum from more than one perspective and see if that changes anything they saw.
1st Grader making his prediction about the path the pendulum will take.

 1st grade class recording their observations after first rial.

Recording after our second trial.
Making observations from different perspectives.
Stay tuned for more images of our explorations and learning in Think Tank and images of student work!

Until next time!
-Vanessa Ford
@maurythinktank








Sunday, January 26, 2014

STEM EXPO IN REVIEW!

Over 400 visitors attended this year's Expo!
                              The  3rd Annual Think Tank and STEM Expo Math Problem:

What do you get when you mix 44 scientists, engineers, educators and professionals from national leading STEM organizations with 40 volunteers, then add in 200 excited elementary learners and 250 (just as excited )adults?  You end up with ONE amazing night of THINKING AND LEARNING!

AEOP brought their night vision lab! How cool! They also gave away waterproof notepads.
The cold and snow didn't slow this event one bit! Words can't possibly begin to explain this year's event so I'll rely on the pictures to tell the story!While not every table is represented in the pictures below, many are! As more pictures come in, I'll be sure to add them!

(For a more detailed description of the event, visit The Hill is Home for a post by a visitor!) 

3-D Printer at work. Special case even created by engineer Erik Donald so kids could get up close and personal!
Erik Donald shows off the model rocket his printer printed during the Expo... and a lucky student took home!

Families start to stream in, kids have their "swag bags" in hand. This area held Metro Warriors STEM Robotics!
4th Grade student  helps PK student "fix" a remote control car he built!
Maury Librarian and Technology guru focused on helping students learn how to code with www.code.org !

The District Architecture Center table was hit!

Anacostia Watershed Society's engages families in activities about our own back "yard"


During the Expo there were three presentations in the my classroom from amazing raptor expert Jo Santiago from Flying Higher LLC's! Thanks to the National Forest Service for bringing this amazing presentation


One of 3 packed houses for the hawks and owls.




STEM "Wizard" learns through CAPSDC

Volunteers from 5 Divisions of National Institutes of Health share their work with students!

Toby Ratcliffe from National Defense Education Program and Engineering is Elementary for her awesome submersible experiments with students!
Toni Burnham with DC Beekeepers  shares her expertise with future beekeepers!

The National Forest Service team had one popular (and messy) station! Students made "milkweed mud balls" allowing them to take home seeds to start their own Monarch waystations!

DC Department of Environment's Dan Rauch, Laura Washington, Michelle Lewis and Teresa Rodriguez led nearly 100 students in making their own bird feeders, examining live amphibians and sharing the many resources DDoE's Aquatic Resource Center has to offer!

Lindsey Williams from NOAA shares "shoebox nautical charting" with interested students.
Labyrinth Games and Puzzles Owner Kathleen Donahue welcomes early visitors to the ever popular game tables. These games stimulate problem solving, spacial skills and more!

Master Astronomer Guy Brandenburg from National Capital Astronomers braved 3 hours in the single digits to allow visitors a clear view of Jupiter and it's 4 moons! He MADE that telescope himself! You were lucky to catch it without a long line, even in the cold!
NOAA's Center for Atmospheric Sciences at Howard University allowed students the chance to become young chemists!
 
Living Classrooms had awesome bridge building activities for students.





DC Water's LaDawne White and "Wendy the Water Drop" get students excited about water conservation!




NOAA and National Science Foundation prepare their station all about fresh and salt water!


TuVa Labs showed students how to find real life data using their great online platform!


Thank you to Camsie McAdams, Senior Advisor on STEM Education at the US Department of Education for visiting our event! She brought along colleague Marisa Bold (not pictured) and I loved seeing them engaging with students and families.
Thanks to Maya Garcia, Director of STEM Education at OSSE, Mary Lord, DC Board of Education and Brian Pick, Chief of Teaching and Learning for DCPS for visiting our Expo and engaging with students and families!



Many thanks to ALL involved, to my amazing principal for valuing the Think Tank program and my initiatives and to each and every visitor for making this night a success.

Now Maury families get ready.... your children are about to embark on huge engineering units in all grades! Info coming soon:)

-Vanessa Ford