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 looking at the Chinese expanded form number system which helped us fill in the missing pieces we needed to finally unravel the mystery of the Moli Stone!  Next we started developing our own number system based on elements of those we haves studied this year.  Students shared their ideas and let their friends attempt to decode their own personal "Moli Stones".

We also squeezed in a game of Blokus which has been a fan favorite all 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

Math was a big focus for today as we considered the number system of Ancient Egypt and their use of hieroglyphics. Students did some decoding, adding, and subtracting with the symbols and made comparisons between that system and ours.  They discovered that without place value, it is a lot more work to write most Egyptian numbers than our own.

We also revisited our design work from our short time together last week, and used new materials to create a free rolling cart.  Students got to test their work in a downhill race and brainstorm solutions to any difficulties their carts encountered.   We then read 'What Makes Things Move?" and groups were able to begin adding a self-propelled feature!

 

Our Habit of Mind focus today was on Applying Past Knowledge to New Situations.  Students read the poem, "Too Long at the Park" and used it to make their own poems showing connection to circumstances where they have discovered lessons they could apply to future experiences.

Go Carts!

Spontaneous Problem: Name things you would want a robot to do for you.
Boundary Breaker: Interpret the meaning of this quote: "The best way to predict the future is to invent it" - Allan Kay

Today we wrapped up our black box investigation by answering reflection questions and comparing group models to help us land on a scientific consensus.  We then moved to 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 will revise and race in coming weeks.

Our Habit of Mind focus today was on striving for accuracy and precision.  Students followed detailed steps to complete a calculator magic trick landing them on the digits of their birthday.

For math, we practiced subtraction and regrouping in base 3 as well as how to read numbers and covert between systems!

We also got to spend some time reflecting on our field study experiences and practicing in our brain stretcher packet.

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!

We took some time for self reflection and goal setting and also review expectations and details for our upcoming Discovery Place field study.

Math time was spent visiting the Land of Treble where they use a base 3 number system. Students practiced making trades among their place values and played a dice game to be the first player to reach 1 Trickle!

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.

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 talked about idioms and pulled out our brain stretcher packets to solve some plexer puzzles.


We finished with some final student presentations and had fun practicing the Habit of Mind, Persisting with the Penny Balance Challenge.