Katie Smith & 4th Grade

Meet the Maker: Katie Smith

My name is Katie Smith and I am a 4th grade teacher. Maker culture is important because it allows students to be creative and express their interests and abilities in different ways.

Provocation: How can we design an environment suitable for an animal whose environment has been destroyed?

Maker Plan: (Science)

What we are making, Why we are Making, Who we are Making for:

What we are making?

Students are making an environment suitable for an animal whose environment has been destroyed

Why are we making?

We are making to provide students with the opportunity to create and design a project that expresses their interests and skill set. Students work within parameters given but have freedom to create and design what they want.

Who we are making for?

Students are designing an adaptable environment for an animal whose environment that has been destroyed.

Maker Skill Builders & Highlights

Makey Makey Paper Circuit

This paper circuit project is almost like making your own midi synthesizer but out of paper. This is a super fun way to program a piece of paper with music samples. Students needed to have background information on coding; students participated in coding through using Scratch and programming sounds or animals.

Scratch

Students took time to learn how to code in order to program a banana to become a bongo board. They were able to use their knowledge about circuitry to program an instrument to produce sounds that they programmed into Scratch.

Final Maker Champion Project

Goal: Students will be able to design an environment suitable for an animal whose environment has been destroyed.

Process: Students needed to choose an animal who was extinct or on the endangered list. Students then had to complete thorough research to understand how their animal got into harms way and then design a plan to fix the environment so it would be suitable for their animals' needs. Lastly, students had to create a pitch to "sell" their environment and explain why it was going to help their animal survive.


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Researching and Choosing an Animal

Students explaining why they chose their animal.

Crazy 8 Activity

Students had to quickly design 8 environments for their animal to survive in. The point of this activity was to get their ideas out but they did not need to be perfect.

Materials

These are materials that students could use to successfully design their animals' environment.

Pitch

Students had to "sell" their environment by creating a pitch explaining the importance of their work and how it would allow the animal to survive.

Student Product Samples

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Additional Teacher Resources & Reproducibles:

Makey Makey Paper Circuit

  • printing paper
  • foil
  • copper tape
  • scotch tape
  • Makey Makey kit
  • Scratch website account
  • computer

Bongo Bananas

  • bananas
  • Makey Makey kit
  • Scratch website account
  • computer

Animal Environment

  • hot glue gun
  • cardboard boxes
  • toilet paper tubes
  • paper towel tubes
  • tissue paper
  • popsicle sticks
  • styrofoam
  • Etc. other materials requested by students

Must know tips for Teachers:

1. Utilize digital learning team.

2. Practice coding on Scratch before teaching your students how to do it.

3. Make an example for students to see and make an example with the students as your teaching it.

4. Have materials prepped so instructions are easier for students to follow.

5. Bananas need to be fresh and not mushy.