DCS STEM Class

 It has been another busy week in STEM class!  Our fourth graders had an authentic opportunity to explore one of our STEM class mindsets -- Embrace Challenges -- by taking on a tangram puzzle challenge. After reading the book Perfect Square , students attempted to solve the ancient Chinese puzzle by using the seven pieces to create a square. The task took a lot of perseverance! After successfully solving the square puzzle, students were then able to use their pieces to design their own shapes and designs out of the tangram pieces or a square sheet of paper. If you'd like to try out some tangram puzzles yourself, you can find a digital version of the puzzle here:  https://www.gieson.com/Library/projects/games/matter/

  This week, our kindergarten students met our STEM class mascot -- Q -- and officially became "Curious Creators." During their second class of the week, students used a variety of materials to create a house or a school where Q could do his learning. By creating their own designs and viewing those of their classmates, students explored the potential uses of each of the materials and discovered that they could be combined in many different ways. Second grade students spent the week completing activities related to Peter Reynolds' book The Dot . One of their tasks was working to create the tallest tower possible using only index cards and dot stickers. Students demonstrated perseverance as they tried to add more levels to their towers while working against an afternoon breeze!  

This week featured an exciting return to school, with students engaging in STEM projects in our new outdoor learning spaces. Rather than having a different special each day, we've modified the schedule this year so that each class gets to spend a week at a time in each of the special content areas. This change allowed the first groups in STEM to dive right into engineering and design challenges this week!  First grade engineers explored buoyancy as they tried to create rafts using apple pieces and toothpicks. During this challenge, students practiced brainstorming several ideas, persistence, and analyzing designs for successes and possible revisions. Take a look at some of their creations in the photos below. Third grade students also began the year with a challenge that required creating multiple iterations of a design. Given several sheets of paper, students folded and tested several paper airplanes, evaluating their strengths and weaknesses after each flight. Once students creat