Today, the 4th graders had an engineering day! We started by reviewing the Engineering Design Process and making connections to past times they have used the process. Then they started in, following each of the steps, and eventually meeting up with a team to plan and create. The Success Criteria I set out for them was simply to be able to identify which step of the process the E/D Process they were in when asked and to be able to implement effective strategies when their group encountered disagreement and disappointment. The groups were also able to add some of their own Success Criteria such as a design goal. The science words they practiced working into their discussions were: gravity, momentum, inertia, friction, and energy.

The students added photos and videos of their work as well as answered self-reflection questions in their Book Creator Portfolios. I recommend that families have their student lead them through their portfolios once per quarter since GATE does not have report cards.

I am excited to see the 4th graders back after the winter break!