1st grade: The students finished their third building challenge this week. They used LEGOS to construct a city block. This challenge was done independently, and each student was tasked with achieving the project goals while working on their own. Building without a guide, the students had to use creative and critical thinking to make their ideas become tangible structures. They did a commendable job and they are excited to take on more intense building challenges next week.
2nd grade: The focus of the week has been finalizing the rules and directions for the board game that the students are making. After putting their ideas onto paper the students used the computer lab to make the final drafts. They learned a lot about using a mouse and a desktop computer to add style and creativity to their work. Next week we will work more on the game boards and pieces.
3rd grade: This group consistently shows what cooperation and teamwork can produce. After accomplishing the goal of building The Scrambler, the students were faced with the important task of choosing their next project. Given three choices, each student voted for their favorite. The majority vote went to the most difficult project of all - The Roller Coaster! The cuties are incredibly excited to take on this big challenge starting next week.
4th grade: The Kicking Machines are amazing feats of engineering, problem solving, and creative thinking. Each group took great strides towards perfecting their machines this week. The Engineering Design Process has been most helpful to the students as they attempt to make a machine that will kick a ping pong ball into a cup. They are very open minded about changes that their machines require as they build, test, and improve these creations.
5th grade: We took a break from The Decades Project in order to add some flair to the upcoming musical. The GT cuties helped to incorporate technology by planning, designing, and shooting two scenes. These scenes used a green screen for the background. The students drew or found pictures for the backgrounds and used an app to combine the acting with the background. The results of their group effort will be seen during next week's musical.