6th grade students integrate science, math, engineering in this 8 week long STEAM project. Weeks 1-3: Students are “mining” through the birdseed to find valuable “minerals” (plastic beads) at 3 different “sites”. After they have mined the site, they must calculate how much money they made. Week 4-8: After mining three different sites, students will calculate profits, calculate expenses and determine which site is the most profitable. Students will then create a report that documents their findings. Students will then design a blueprint for a device that could improve the efficiency of their mining. They will then build and test the device. They will then mine the most profitable site (from report) and see if their device improved their profits. Students will then write a reflection on how well their design worked and how they might improve upon it.
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Squeeze Machines for SID/PIDStudents in the seventh grade Engineering & Technology classes worked with the teachers, students, and paraprofessionals in the severe and profound intellectual disability unit (SID/PID) at Simpson to fill an actual classroom need. Students in the SID/PID unit benefit from the judicial use of sensory input in the form of squeezes and pressure. When the SID/PID teachers identified the need for a squeeze machine/chair to offer those sensory inputs, an opportunity for a real-worl learning experience emerged. Students in the E&T classes interviewed the students and teachers from the SID/PID unit to determine their specific needs. They then conducted research, brainstormed, planned, designed, and built prototypes for squeeze machines to fit those needs. For the penultimate step, the SID/PID class chose the machines that would be of most use to them, and through granst and parent donations, the E&T students are in the process of producing full-size, durable, everyday-usable versions of those machines. 8th grade STEM students learned the basics of Python coding language from the The Coder School coaches. The Coder school is based out of Silicone Valley and its goal is to encourage the pathway of computer science in the younger generations. Art students created tiles to represent silt redistribution. They discussed the impacts on weathering on the environment and the real life effect of silt redistribution on our waterways, sewer systems, and construction zones. Unit Rate Cake ContestStudents practiced and learned the importance of unit rate conversion through a baking contest.
Creating solutions for traumatic brain injuries (TBI).Students collaboratively worked through the Engineer Design Process while researching and designing solutions to improve the quality of life for people who have suffered TBI. Creating Therapeutic Toys for Children with Cerebral PalsyStudents worked through the Engineer Design Process and learned about the effects and challenges of Cerebral Palsy. Art students observed the life cycle of a butterfly and created a sequence of observational sketches.
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