2nd Grade

During our first week of STEM, 2nd grade students focused on taking on a specific role as part of a team, communication skills, and becoming an effective collaborator.  We participated in a challenge called the "Looker, Talker, Builder" challenge.  In teams of three, one partner only (the Looker) is allowed to look at the tower behind Mrs. McKibben's desk. They must then communicate with their team about how to build a matching tower using the materials available to them. One partner, the Talker, is in charge of discussions between their group and Mrs. McKibben and their group and other groups. This partner becomes quickly aware that they do not have all of the materials they need, and they must begin talking with other groups to "trade" materials. The third partner, the Builder, is the only team member allowed to touch the materials in order to build the tower.  They must become effective listeners and follow directions from their Looker while also communicating to their talker that they do not have enough materials.  We come to the final conclusion once all towers are built, that not only did we have to collaborate as teams of three but also as a whole class - hooray for teamwork! Take a peek at our process below: this was a fun one! 

After reading The Most Magnificent Thing and learning about the design process, second grade students got to work trying the process out! We learned that the design process is a set of five steps (Ask, Imagine, Plan, Create, Test/Improve), that can be repeated - sometimes up to 409 times!? Students were tasked with helping Izzy Gizmo build a new pair of wings for the crow who cannot fly. I love watching our students use their creativity and now the design process to come up with something brand new! 

Second graders read The Dot, where Vashti, our main character, became very frustrated by her self-perceived inability to draw. However, with some inspiration from her art teacher and a mindset switch, Vashti is able to become a star artist at the art show! We discussed the difference between a fixed mindset and a growth mindset, and students were able to try a task two weeks in a row. The first time with minimal guidance, and the second time after our discussion about mindset and some affirmations to keep in mind while working "I am smart. I am capable. I can do difficult things." Take a look at some towers and the measurements collected from week one to week two.

Week 1

Week 2

We started on some of our digital literacy skills this October! Google Slides is a useful tool that students will begin to use to present their learning and share ideas on various topics. We used a "Build a Jack-O-Lantern" activity to introduce Google Slides and demonstrate some of its features! We learned how to "copy" and "paste", how to insert shapes and change their color, and how to type capital letters, put spaces between words, and add punctuation! 

Balloons Over Broadway by Melissa Sweet is a personal favorite of mine - as is this fantastic design process project! Inspired by the true story of Tony Sarg, Balloons Over Broadway recaps the start of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City. We read the story, watched last year's parade, and began to design our own floats for our school parade. However, no STEM project would be complete without a problem! Mrs. McKibben forgot the helium - how will our balloons float high so our classmates can see them?!  We learned about the five step design process a few months back and have been practicing ever since.  Students identified the problem, brainstormed and planned a way to solve it, then they built their devices to hold up the float. We then tested our devices in a school-wide Macy's parade!  

The students were making me so proud as they were working. I heard one student tell another:  "Just remember to tell yourself 'I am smart. I am capable. I can do difficult things.'" (Our affirmations from our growth mindset unit a few weeks back.)  They were encouraging each other, sharing ideas, and working so hard. Everything that STEM is all about! Check out a few designs and a video of our parade (11/27) below.

We have been hard at work learning about digital citizenship - how to be responsible, kind, and safe on the internet! We also have been working at some Google skills so we decided to mash these two ideas together with our Trusted Adults Project. We recently discussed that if something makes us sad, scared, or confused while we're using the internet, we can tell a trusted adult in our life, and they will help us solve the problem! Then we decided to share this information using Google Slides. Check out some of our trusted adults below: