Mrs. Powell

In Kindergarten students are learning to identify and solve real-world issues that involve plants and animals, using the design thinking process, to develope a creative and innovative solution. 

 In first grade, students are using the design thinking process to identify and solve real-world issues through the bio mimicry of plants and animals, to create a new and imaginative solution.  

In second grade we are analyzing household and daily used items to determine how they were made, specifically items that come from farms in the regions of Georgia.  (Georgia agriculture Commodities). 

In 3rd grade science this nine weeks, students are learning about habitats and the effects to plants and animals when habitats are destroyed. In STEM, students are presented with a real world problem that an animal in a region of Georgia is facing, due to the destruction of their natural habitat. Students then learn about specific things that animal needs, are given materials, and asked to construct a solution using the design thinking process.

In 4th grade science this nine weeks, students are learning about day and night and why sometimes there is daylight longer in certain seasons and shorter in others, based on the rotation of the Earth around the sun. In STEM students are faced with a real world "problem", related to this and must work collaboratively, using the design thinking proces,  to come up with a solution. We are using some amazing technology and even coding as part of this solution. 

In fifth grade science, students are learning about changes to the Earth's surface through constructive and destructive processes. In STEM, students are tasked with thinking critically about how the forces that cause weathering, erosion and deposition (wind, water, earthquakes, volcanoes, etc..) affect the earth and those living on it. They are tasked with designing structutres to survive some real world "disasters", (such as sea walls) and refining their builds with each new disaster that hits, using the design thinking process to consider how surface features are caused by constructive and/or destructive processes and make changes to the Earth's surface.