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Mrs. Byerly received her undergraduate degree from UNCG where she graduated Magna Cum Laude. She received her Master’s Degree in Elementary Education from NC A&T in 2015, where she graduated Summa Cum Laude and completed an action research project at Blessed Sacrament School.
She returned to Blessed Sacrament in 2018 and is our Kindergarten teacher. Mrs. Byerly strongly believes in the value of the faith component of education after teaching in the public sector.
Mrs. Byerly resides in Burlington with her husband, Chris, and daughter, Grace. When she isn’t teaching, you will find her running, hiking, biking, or walking her dog, Bella.
The goal of the kindergarten program is to grow students spiritually, physically, academically, and emotionally within the framework of Catholic/Christian values. This program is designed to ignite a love of learning in a warm and safe environment. Our academic focus is in the areas of reading, math, social studies, science, and religion.
One of the best parts of our school year is working with our middle school STREAM Buddies! These 6th graders work closely with our students with planning, designing, and creating our many STREAM projects throughout the year. One example of this is...
One of the best parts of our school year is working with our middle school STREAM Buddies! These 6th graders work closely with our students with planning, designing, and creating our many STREAM projects throughout the year. One example of this is...
Kindergarten Catapults
Kindergarten Catapults
Materials Needed
Worksheets for brainstorming and recording
10 small/large Popsicle sticks
3 Rubberbands
1 pom pom
1 spoon
1 bottle cap
1 Binder Clip
Hot Glue Gun
Assessment: Pre Activity: Design a catapult on paper and decide which materials will yield the optimal catapult to launch a pom pom the furthest.
Activity: Fill out a design a catapult worksheet with partner. Review answers to see if students have a solid understanding on the problem and a pathway to solve the problem.
Post Activity: Students reflect and write about what worked well with their design and what areas could be improved. As a group, we discuss which designs were most successful and the reasons behind the success.
Investigating Questions
Did your catapult work the way you intended?
What could you change to make it better?
How far does your catapult launch the Pom Pom?
Could using different materials launch it further?
How will this lesson incorporate STEM/STREAM?
Science: We used Science to determine how far the catapults were able to launch the pom poms.
Design on paper, build with materials, test how far pom poms will launch, record, reflect on the design, make any revisions
Technology: We used technology to assist in creating our catapults.
https://engineeringchest.com/simple-popsicle-stick-catapults/
Religion: God is the master engineer, and God gives us the gift of intelligence to problem solve and create for the common good of humanity.
Engineering: We used engineering to actually build our catapults.
Vocabulary:
Launch angle
Tension
Pull Back Angle
Projectile
Arts: We used art to design, draw and color the catapults.
Math: We used math to determine the supplies needed to build the catapults. Students determine how the angle of the launch (how far back they pull the launcher, usually a spoon) affects the distance.
LESSON REFLECTIONS
Student Observations: Students observed that making a triangle with popsicle sticks and using the glue gun to glue a bottle cap onto the catapult launched the pom pom further than other designs.
What would you keep, change or add to this lesson? In the future I would have different materials to be launched to see which material would launch the furthest. You can also increase the difficulty of the challenge by limiting the amount of supplies groups can use – or placing a cost on all the materials and giving each group a budget they can spend on supplies (changing the constraints). This is possible because kindergarten has a sixth grade partner to assist them.
How will this lesson help students be better citizens in our community and, if applicable, ready for today’s work force?
The engineering process involves solving engineering challenges of design, building, testing and redesigning a product to achieve solutions that meet the objectives.
Diocese of Raleigh Academic Standards Covered
Diocese of Raleigh Academic Standards Covered
Math Standards
K.G.2.2 Model shapes in the world by: Finding and locating real world objects: triangles, rectangles, squares, pentagons, and circles; Illustrating plane shapes, triangles, rectangles, squares, pentagons, circles; Comparing plane and solid shapes to real world objects.
K.G.2.3 Compose larger shapes from simple shapes. Build using solid shapes, cubes, cones, spheres, cylinders, and pyramids
K1.1 Compare the relative position of various objects observed in the classroom and outside using position words such as: in front of, behind, between, on top of, under, above, below and beside. (K.P.1.1) 1.2 Describe the ways in which objects and organisms move: straight, zigzag, round and round, back and forth, fast and slow. (K.P.1.2)
Literacy Standards
RL.K.1 With prompting and support, demonstrate the ability to ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
Information and Technology Standards
K.TT.1.1 Use a variety of technology tools to gather data and information. (NETS.S.3.b)
K.RP.1 Understand the importance of good questions in conducting research.
Speaking and Listening
SL.K.1 Participate in collaborative conversations with various partners about kindergarten topics and texts, with peers and adults in both small and larger groups. a. Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions. b. Continue a conversation by taking turns
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