FIRST GRADE l Literacy I Engineering Design Practices I Building Models
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Lab Happenings
Essential Questions
What do engineers do? How can I learn how to think like an engineer? How can I learn how to work like an engineer?
Project Time!
The Activity Book Begins!
Investigations
Fieldwork
- We have been designing our pages for the tide pool activity book!
- We brainstormed the different pages that we could make to represent engineering for the activity book. Students picked the page they wanted to design and publish.
Investigations
- We were quite surprised after testing the strength of our sucker creatures in the surge tank. Our creatures may have lost pipe cleaner antenna and googley eyes but most of them really did hold on!
- This week we met the clingfish who has amazing sucking powers (even in rough and wet conditions) that engineers are trying hard to imitate. In our Sucker Science Lab we made games and challenges for pop-up toys. We explored suction with straws, pipettes, and turkey basters! And lastly, we made sucker creatures to test out in the surge tank.
- Barnacles and mussels can stick like GLUE! Their glues stick to any surface, under any conditions. Even under water! We decided to test the stickiness of some everyday adhesives- masking tape, white glue, and Mod Podge in our homemade surge tank. Ask your engineer which adhesive survived our wicked waves!
- What can we find at the Carlsbad tide pools? What do we see the most of? What didn't we see?
- How do scientists estimate the number of a species in an area? Sampling! Using hula hoop quadrats, students prepared for next week's fieldwork by collecting data at our model tide pool!
- Tidal Zones: Which creatures live in which zone? What happens to each zone during high tide? Low tide? What happens to the creatures at these times? What adaptations do they have to help them survive these extremes?
- Sea Star Studies
- THE SEA STAR CHALLENGE: Can you design a maze for your Hexbug that is at least 24 inches long, has a starting line, a finish line, and at least 4 obstacles? (Here is a video link for inspiration! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gB-WPeQxzsU)
- The Pull of the Moon: We have started to think a little more about gravitational pull. We made a model to simulate the bulge that happens at Spring Tide and Neap Tide.
- Lunatics: We made paper models to explain and demonstrate the moon's pathway around the earth and the earth's pathway around the sun.
- Moonstruck! Today we danced out the orbits, played a reflection game with mirrors and flashlights, did some waxing and waning air-guitar, and started to build a paper model to use at our exhibition.
Fieldwork
- We tightened up our science sampling this week at Swami's and collected some great data!
- Carlsbad tide pooling and science sampling was terrific fun!
- Our exploration continued at the tide pools in Point Loma! We saw anemones, barnacles, chiton, sea stars, sculpin, a sea hen, and more! I agree with Alex. She said, "There are just so many things I love about this day!" Thank you drivers for making it happen!
- Our project begins! We spent the day at Birch Acquarium! We loved our hands-on lab exploring tide pool animals and their adaptations.
Novel Engineering: Great Literature with an Engineering Twist
- Jimmy Zangwow and the Great Moon-Pie Adventure by Tony DiTerlizzi
- CHALLENGE: Can you design a safe lunar landing system for Jimmy Zangow? Your mission is to try and keep the 2 "astronauts" (large marshmallows) in the cup when dropped from 3 feet!
- Iggy Peck Architect by Andrea Beaty and What Do You Do with an Idea? by Kobi Yamada
- CHALLENGE: Can you build something using only one material like Iggy Peck?
- Twenty-one Elephants And Still Standing by April Jones Prince
- CHALLENGE: Can you design a bridge that can hold 21 somethings?
Ask Your Engineer
- How do sea stars sense their world? (eye spots on the tips of their arms and temperature sensitive tube feet called "podia") What inventions do we use that have sensors like the sea star? (sinks, hand dryers, grocery store doors, credit card readers, porch lights, alarm systems, etc.)
- What is one idea about how we ended up having a moon? (asteroid collision) When we look at the moon, are we seeing moonlight? (no. the moon is reflecting sunlight) How long does it take for the moon to orbit the earth? How long does it take for the earth to orbit the sun?
- What is challenging about landing on the moon? Did your lunar lander work? What were the constraints? What did your prototype look like? Did you have to go back and make changes?
- Tell me about the story Iggy Peck Architect! What did you design? What material did you use?
- What did you use to build your bridge for 21 somethings?
- (While doing your daily reading together or watching a movie...) So, what problems do you see? What could we do as engineers to help?
Ideas for Engineering at Home
- Has your engineer been excited about typing? Here is my favorite place for fun typing instruction and practice! http://www.typinginstructorkids.com
- I love the idea of setting out a building material at night with a building challenge card for the early rising engineer! You can download some great challenge cards here! http://picklebums.com/building-challenge-cards/
- The perfect gift for your engineer? Here are some things to consider: marbles, masking tape, rain gutters (Home Depot), a stop watch, and the quintessential carboard box!
- Build a fort! Can you make one with mutiple rooms? Can you create a skylight?
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Can You Help?
Folks often ask me, "How can I help?" If you are interested in supporting the Engineering Lab through donating your time or materials, please shoot me an email ([email protected]). As our projects get fleshed out, I'll also post a wish list. In the meantime, if you're looking to donate, we always need toilet paper rolls, sharpies, and masking tape. LOTS AND LOTS OF MASKING TAPE. Thanks!
Folks often ask me, "How can I help?" If you are interested in supporting the Engineering Lab through donating your time or materials, please shoot me an email ([email protected]). As our projects get fleshed out, I'll also post a wish list. In the meantime, if you're looking to donate, we always need toilet paper rolls, sharpies, and masking tape. LOTS AND LOTS OF MASKING TAPE. Thanks!