Grade 3 STEM: An Amazing Eggsperiment

This ablative shield experiment demonstrates what happens when astronauts re-enter our atmosphere and how NASA engineers had to create a heat shield on their aircrafts to withstand the heat of re-entry. Third grade students were tasked to create to a very thin heat shield to protect an egg using a budget and small supply of materials.

 

Cybercat Robotics and Robotics Teacher of the Year

 

Grade 1 Math: Number Talk With Mrs. Danforth

The math rack was created to reflect the natural intuitions and informal strategies that children bring to the study of mathematics. A math rack is a powerful tool that helps students move from counting numbers to the process of grouping numbers and organizing them in efficient ways.  It is composed of 5 red beads and 5 white beads on two rods.  This arrangement helps students see the structure of five and tens in our base-ten system.  In the video, students are working on building their facts to 12. Students are moving from a counting-on strategy to seeing relationships with facts. For example, students see that five red beads on top and five on the bottom represent 5+ 5.  If I add one white bead, students begin visualizing  5 + 5 +1 or 5 +6 or they may see 10 + 1= 11.  Over time, students begin seeing relationships among facts.

Preschool: Thrust, Lift, Drag, and Weight

Our preschool students became very excited when they heard a low-flying aircraft outside!  They began to speculate whether it was an airplane or a helicopter.  Next they shared stories about times they have flown on airplanes.  As they seemed very excited about the subject, we asked them if they would like to learn more about airplanes, helicopters, and other aircraft.  The answer was a resounding, “YES!”  So, we began our study by introducing two very important people in aviation history: the Wright brothers!  After learning about the Wright brothers, we were interested in learning how airplanes can fly.   According to NASA, there are four forces of flight that help an airplane fly: thrust, lift, drag, and weight.  We used two preschool-friendly, developmentally appropriate resources to experience these four forces: a Frisbee and our Wind Tunnel!  

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