S.T.E.M.

Our class joined Mrs. Sorenson's 3rd graders in a fun S.T.E.M. challenge on Thursday.  We had 10 teams of 1st and 3rd graders combined.  The students brainstormed ideas on how to start their challenge. Click here to read their challenge.  They recorded their initial design on individual sticky notes and then shared them with their team.  Students gathered their materials and got right to work.  The level of conversation and respect for everyone's ideas was AMAZING!  I was proud of the 1st graders for being brave and taking a risk with learners older than them and more experienced and I was also proud of the 3rd graders for their specific praise, questioning that pushed thinking and willingness to share their own thinking.  Every group tried their project starting at 6 inches and adding additional height in 6 inch increments.  Be sure to ask your child about their project, how high could they drop Humpty, what was challenging for them, what would they do if they tried it again?  

Students ended this experience by either completing an independent reflection sheet of their learning and sharing that with their group or reflecting as a group with just one recorder.  A huge thank you to Mrs. Sorenson and her awesome class of learners for working with us.  We cannot wait to do another challenge in the spring.