Skip to main content

5th & 6th


5th & 6th Grade Google Classroom

STEM Class: 5th & 6th Grade Curricular Goals

In years seven and eight of STEM class, the focus is on analyzing the interactions between people and systems, connecting design challenges to real-world constraints such as cost and resource availability, and using increasingly refined criteria to evaluate potential solutions to engineering problems.

Design Sensitivity and Maker Empowerment
Looking Closely Exploring Complexities Finding Opportunity for Making
I can analyze a system by looking at parts, people, and interactions. I can analyze an object’s place within a system by considering the why, how, and for whom of the object. I can describe a modification for a system in my home or community.


Engineering Design Standards
Defining Engineering Problems Generating and Modeling Ideas Testing and Evaluating Ideas Refining Ideas
I can define a problem that can be solved by engineering. I can identify and list specific criteria for success and constraints in cost, time, and materials.. I can generate multiple solution ideas and create a system for evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of each idea in relation to defined success criteria and constraints. I can create a fair test for assessing ideas that holds multiple variables constant. I can analyze outcomes of tests. I can use collected data and information about failure points to modify a design. I can explain how information from a fair test influenced the type of modification made.


Computer Science
Computer Programming Computational Thinking and Computer Literacy
I can make decisions about when to use loops, events, conditionals, and functions when programming a computer or a robot.
I can decompose a complex programming task into smaller, manageable pieces.

I can debug code.


STEM Class Principles
Imagine Possibilities Dig Into Mistakes Embrace Challenges Ask Questions Share and Show Kindness

5th & 6th Grade Projects 2019-2020:

  • Lego Robot Kit Creation
  • Olympic Village Design
  • Introduction to Python Programming
  • 3D Printed Keychain
  • Sewable Circuits

Turtle Art Links:
Turtle Art
Turtle Art Resources


Popular posts from this blog

7th & 8th Graders Showcase Automata!

  Several times each year, our school specialist team works together to create integrated units of study, where students explore a common theme through each of our content areas -- art, music, library/multimedia, PE, and STEM. Our 7th and 8th graders recently completed a Winter Carnival themed unit, where they worked on creating products or performances to showcase during a special carnival event for students in grades PK-2. In STEM class, students designed, built, and improved automata, which are mechanical devices that generate motion through a series of spinning cams, axles, and cam followers. Image Source: Adafruit The following success criteria guided the work for our 7th & 8th grade students: The automata must have a winter theme. The automata must feature at least one element that spins, goes up or down, or moves side to side. The automata design must include at least 10 different materials. Additionally, students were challenged to create a...

Technology Club: Scratch

For the past two months, second and third grade students participating in our after school Technology Club have been using the block-based coding tools in Scratch to create animations. In the club, students tinkered with graphic design, sound, and coding to bring their ideas to life. Check out some photos of their designs!

7th & 8th Graders Code In Python

In their first computer science project of the year, our 7th and 8th graders took a big step in their journeys as programmers -- moving from block-based to text-based coding. In previous STEM projects, students have used tools that allow them to snap together code "blocks" to make things happen. In this unit, they were responsible for typing commands to tell the computer how to execute actions. The image below shows the difference between text-based coding and block-based coding. While there are many different text-based coding languages, our 7th & 8th graders learned skills in Python, due to its beginner-friendly nature. Still, making this transition is not easy, so students were provided with resources and modules to work through that allowed them to have some starting directions and then challenged them to stretch their thinking by generating their own additions and modifications. Here's a look at a project, called "Turtle Race," in action:  https:...