The Big Finale!

We celebrated our last day together with some fun culminating activities.  Students competed in a QuizetLive review game to earn first pick at supplies for the edible car challenge.  We then had fun racing our cucumbermobiles and rice crispy cruisers.

 

 

 

We also spent some time developing our own number system based on elements of those we haves studied this year.  Students shared the ideas and let their friends attempt to decode their own personal "Moli Stones".

Students had fun reflecting and completing an ALERT Top 5 to celebrate their accomplishments this year.

I will certainly miss this wonderful group!  I am so proud of all they have accomplished, their love of learning, and the community they have built with each other.

Kinetic Contraptions!

Spontaneous Problem: Name things that cause motion.
Boundary Breaker: Explain this quote: "A design isn't finished until somebody is using it." -Brenda Laurel

Today we began looking at models and design in the development of the automobile.  Students read the article " Early Autos" to learn the history of their development.  They then began the design of their own free rolling go carts that they were able to revise and test for distance.  We also did research on "What Makes Things Move?" and tried tweaking our designs to include a self-propelled factor.

Our Habit of Mind focus today was on thinking flexibly and figuring out some challenging riddles. Try this one: Put a coin in a bottle and then stop the opening with a cork.  How can you get the coin out of the bottle without pulling out the cork or breaking the bottle?

For math, we took a look at the Chinese expanded notation system. This system  brought us back to the mysterious writing on the Moli Stone that we were finally able to crack!

Discovery Place

We had an amazing day with this great crew at Discovery Place!  We began with a computer programming class where students set their robots to accomplish various challenges and follow their commands!  In our catapults class, we learned about the laws of motion and got to design our own launching devices.  Exploring the museum, students were able to explore many simple machines in the Cool Stuff lab.  They also had the chance to experience virtual reality, learn some ancient history, and get their hands wet in the aquarium.  They were all impressed with the IMAX experience which fit perfectly with our archaeology focus from earlier in the year.  They also enjoyed the live performance of "Zapped"  where they got to meet Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla and learn about their inventions in the field of electric current.

 

Take 17

Spontaneous Problem:  Name things that make work easier.
Boundary Breaker: What is something that you think will not exist in 20 years?  Why will it be unnecessary and what will take its place?

Today student took their conceptual black box models and built them into physical models to test. As they gathered more information from their prototypes, they drafted new versions of the model to build. They collaborated and compared models with classmates, honed their senses as observers, and demonstrated persistence on their many attempts!

In math we used Egyptian hieroglyphics to calculate sums and differences and explored difficulties stemming from a system that does not have a symbol for zero.

We finished by challenging our brains with some pentamino puzzlers!

Black Boxes

Spontaneous Problem: Name things that go back and forth
Boundary Breaker:  Students watched a short video about predictions for technology in the future. They responded with any potential problems they saw for the devices or society as a whole adapting to the new developments.

We practiced the Habit of Mind Listening to Other with Understanding and Empathy by using the video to discuss the coolest/most important technology shown.  Groups took up roles as speaker, listener, and evaluator as they practice whole body listening and received feedback.

Next we reviewed our observations and inferences lesson from last week as students collected qualitative and quantitative data for our dancing raisin experiment.  Students then made inferences about the objects them selves and their interactions.  They used prior knowledge to conclude that the wrinkled brown objects were raisins being lifted by the bubbles in the carbonation until they popped and sunk again.

We also went back to our discussion of models as students looked at their actual black boxes and drew they conceptional models for what they thought was inside.  Groups with the same boxes then paired to share ideas and update their designs as they found new information.  They will continue on this investigation as they turn their conceptual models into physical ones and continue to update their theories and designs.  We also read the article "Scientists and Models" and were able to discuss how the same process was and is being used to continually revise our understanding of the black box that is the solar system.

Students enjoyed a little time for students to dive into some brain stretchers of their choice.

For math, we jumped in to exploring the Egyptian numeration system.  Students discussed the use of symbols and got to work decoding amounts with their knowledge of hieroglyphics.  They compared our place value system with that of the Egyptians where the order of symbols does not effect the value of the number.

Models and Design

Spontaneous Problem: Write scientific observations about this object.
Boundary Breaker: Make an inference about what the object is and how it came to be in our classroom.

We used our Morphic Thinking this morning to lead us into some discussion and activities highlighting the difference between observations and inferences in science.  Students learned the observations are made with the five senses and simply describe.  We classified our observations as qualitative or quantitative and defined each term.  Then we looked at inferences as connections your brain makes when you mix your observations with prior knowledge.  Inferences are theories explaining the world around you.  We used several prompts and images to practice distinguishing between the two.

Next we started our investigation of the use of models in discovery.  We read the article, "Everyday Mysteries" highlighting black boxes as the term for systems that are hard to see and explain.  Models are tools used to show explanations of these mysterious inner workings. Students also read The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins and learned how models develop over time and change with new information.  Students were then introduced to their own black boxes.  In future weeks, they will be working to observe these hidden systems and create their own models explaining what is happening inside the box. Just like scientists don't have a cheat sheet that can be checked at the end of the day, students will prove or disprove their hypothesis just from comparing models and never actually open the box! 

We finished with some great student presentations and had fun practicing critical thinking with a mix of brain stretchers.