1st Graders Make A Splash!

Over the past few weeks 1st graders have been learning about sounds and vibrations and we have finally been able to SEE, FEEL, and HEAR them! To start our lesson students were introduced to tuning forks and made educated guesses as to what they are used for. We then made predictions as to which tuning fork would make the loudest/biggest vibration based on their size. Once predictions were made, students set out to investigate!

Mrs. Dunleavy's Scientists

Mrs. Wetson's Scientists

Mrs. Wetson's Scientists

While investigating students were able to see sound through vibrations in the water, hear sound by causing the tuning fork to vibrate and then holding it up to their ear, and feel sound by touching the tuning fork while it was vibrating! 

STUDENT OBSERVATIONS:

Ask your 1st grader about their "Making a Splash" experiment!

-Mrs. Henderson

5th Grade Engineering: Recycled Simple-Machine Playgrounds

This week in STEM, 5th graders worked in small groups to review simple machines by engineering "Recycled Simple-Machine Playgrounds".  To begin our lesson students reviewed how each simple machine works and gave examples of each. The library was set up with an endless amount of recycled materials for students to use. Each student was responsible for creating one simple machine playground structure for their playground.

For our first lesson students were not given any examples or ideas. I wanted them to be as innovative and creative as possible. I find that when a model is given that students tend to limit themselves to recreating that specific design. Without seeing any examples students got to work in their teams! Here is a preview of our work this week:

Ask your 5th grader which simple machine they were responsible for!

Check back in to see what our 5th grader engineers do next with their simple machine playgrounds!

-Mrs. Henderson

2nd grade: What is technology?

This week 2nd graders brainstormed all different types of technology they use in their daily lives. In every class there was one major factor that seemed to be present in all four 2rd grade classes. Every item they listed required a cord, batteries, or some type of electricity to work. After our first brainstorming session students came up with a definition of technology.

Original definition of technology:

Electric or battery powered items that people use for fun or to get places.

Mrs. Kacamburas' 1st graders work

I then placed students in 5 different groups and gave each group a brown paper bag with a piece of technology in it. All of the student were very excited to see what electronic I had placed into their bag, but little did they know they were going to open it to find common everyday items like a pencil or a fork.

Mystery Technology Bags

Technology: Fork, Pencil, Clothespin, Rubberband, and a Straw

Once students had opened their bags they were prompted to figure out what problem these items solved! We then regrouped and shared our items and the possible ways they may be used to help people. After sharing we watched a quick video about technology and what it is. Check it out here: What is technology?

Students were so excited to share their new ideas on what technology was, so we did another quick brainstorm and shared our new items and what problems they solve!

Here is our new definition of technology:

Something manmade that is used to help people or solve a problem.

Ask your 2nd grader about their favorite piece of technology and why they think it was invented!

-Mrs. Henderson

3rd Grade Falling Objects Gravity Experiment

Today 3rd graders investigated gravity through an experiment called "Falling Objects". To begin our lesson students participated in a group brainstorm to share their knowledge and wonders about gravity.

Each student was given a worksheet to record their predictions and data for their experiment

After students made their individual predictions we created a chart on the board to see each others predictions. Our results were:

Predictions: 
* Golf Ball: 15
* Ping Pong Ball: 4
* Same Time: 0

Without seeing a demonstration students were put into groups to experiment and record their trials. If students were having trouble deciding which hit first, I recorded a member of their group and played the video back to them on repeat so they could see the trial several times. After everyone completed their trials, recorded their data, and reported their findings we came back together to share. Boy did our data change! Not one student saw the ping pong ball hit first, but many still felt that the golf ball hit first! To bring a clearer view to the situation I demonstrated the experiment before the whole class and we watched School House Rock: Gravity. Finally we agreed that no matter the mass of the object, both items will fall to the ground at the same rate of speed.

TRIALS:

CHALLENGE: But what about on the moon!? If I were to drop a feather and a hammer on the moon what would happen? After allowing students to make predictions and turn and talk with their peers we watched a video of Neil Armstrong demonstrating the feather/hammer drop on the moon. Again we found that the two objects landed at the same time. It became clear that the acceleration an object feels due to gravity does not depend on its mass, density, composition, color, shape, or anything else.  Check it out: Feather Vs. Hammer

Ask your 3rd grader to tell you what they learned about gravity! : )

-Mrs. Henderson

Caution! 4th Grade engineers at work

Throughout our past few classes 4th grade students have been exploring energy and how it is related to motion. We started our lessons by accessing our schema to see what we already knew about energy:

Each 4th grade class contributed to our brainstorm 

After we brainstormed students were told about their next task. In teams of 3 or 4, without seeing the supplies, students had to come up with a design for a clothespin car that would roll down an incline plane and move a tree at the bottom of it. 

4th graders materials list

Without seeing these materials or an example students began their designing. It was interesting to see students thought process! Many students designed cars that resembled the vehicles they came to school in. When asked what part of the clothespin they planned on making the roof or doors designs began to alter. After allowing groups to brainstorm without any assistance, they were then allowed to access the internet to research clothespin cars. Once they came to an agreement on their design a representative for each group came to me with their finalized car and they were given their materials. 

4th grade team brainstorm

Energy Challenge Worksheet

All 4th grade classes are now in the building phase of their clothespin cars. Here is a sneak peek of some of the designs:

Check back soon to see our finished clothespin cars. We can't wait to test them out and see how energy and motion are related!

-Mrs. Henderson 

1st graders exploration into sound continues with PowerPoint

Today 1st graders were introduced to PowerPoint where they learned how to create a slide, choose a background design, and save their work! Mrs. Smith's tech savvy 1st graders dove right in with no fear and shared some of the things they liked or have learned about sound. Take a peek:

Great job on your first day using PowerPoint 1st graders! If you have access to a computer at home have your child show you how to change the slide design or to save their work!  : )

-Mrs. Henderson

3rd Grade Balanced and Unbalanced Forces

Over the past two weeks third grade students have been investigating Newtons 1st law:

An object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force. 

To start off our exploration students brainstormed in small groups about movement and force. We then created a class web on an anchor chart to use as a reference throughout our lesson. When we thought of anything new, we added to it!

After students got their wheels turning about force and how things move I placed a long rope in the center of our classroom. Students were asked if the rope was moving or not and to provide evidence as to why they thought that way. While we experimented ways to move the rope we came to the conclusion that the rope only moved when the push or pull (force) was unbalanced. To reinforce this idea, we then used tug-of-war and tested out students predictions.

Scenario Examples:

• Taller students exert more force than shorter students.
• Older students exert more force than younger students.
• One teacher exerts more force than two 3rd grade students.

Throughout this activity students questioned, predicted, and problem solved. As a challenge students were asked how to alter specific scenarios to create a balanced force. Ask your child what their favorite scenario was!

Check back soon to see what 3rd graders will be doing next as they continue to explore forces!

-Mrs. Henderson

1st Grade Sounds and Vibrations

This week in STEM Mrs. Smith's 1st grade class engineered their own kazoos to explore sounds and vibrations. Before we began our lesson students made predictions as to what materials would create the loudest/clearest sound. Tin foil, saran wrap, or wax paper? Students were allowed to express their creative side by decorating their kazoos! Ask your child to play a song for you on their new recycled musical instrument.

Here is our workstation before the 1st grade engineers got to work!

We will continue our exploration of sounds and vibrations in the coming weeks. In the meantime, ask your child how sounds are made or to sing our sound song (it's pretty catchy, so don't be surprised if you find yourself singing it on your own). 

-Mrs. Henderson : )

Welcome to Mrs. Henderson's STEM blog!

My name is Kasey Henderson and I am your child's new STEM teacher here at Cove Elementary School. I am a graduate of Salem State University with a bachelor of science in Criminal Justice Forensics and a masters degree in Elementary Education. I am extremely excited to be working with your children in hopes of instilling my love of science in them. I plan to integrate science into everything we do in both STEM and media classes so their exposure to science will increase tremendously this year! If you have any questions please feel free to email me @ KHenderson@beverlyschools.org. I have also created a Twitter account to post quick updates and share any interesting STEM articles or sites I may find. Please feel free to follow me, my username is @Cove_STEM. Cheers to a wonderful year in STEM!

A peek into our ever-evolving workspace! : )

-Mrs. Henderson