• Third grade Gifted & Talented students started their year by learning the steps of the Engineering Design Process. Their first challenge was to create the tallest tower possible using only 15 fuzzy sticks! Engineering firms (partners) faced several challenges throughout construction, including language barriers (no talking allowed!), and a downsize in personnel (work with one hand behind your back!). It was very exciting to see how these young engineers tackeled this problem!

     

    Check out this link to learn more about the importance of STEM education:

    http://http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2011/08/29/stem-education--its-elementary

     

    The Engineering Design Process:

    Engineering Design Process

  • Pumpkin Elevators

    Just prior to Halloween, third graders were challenged to create an elevator for a haunted house that could lift a small pumpkin. They were given a limited amount of time and materials, and they rose to the challenge!

     

     Pumpkin Elevator         Pumpkin Elevators

  • Cinderella's Coach, Zip-line Contraptions, and Marble Mazes

    Third graders continued to expand upon their understanding of the Engineering Design Process with lots of STEM inquiry-based activities in the second quarter. They created wind-powered coaches for Cinderella to get to the ball a bit more efficiently, and they measured how far their coaches could travel in a specified amount of time. To culminate the activity, they learned how to create a bar graph of the data that they collected.

    Next, students created zip line contraptions for Little Red Riding Hood to arrive safely at her Grandmother’s house. During this activity, we discussed the concepts of friction, gravity, mass, and aerodynamics.

    After the holiday break, third graders were challenged to plan and create a marble maze with a distinct START and END, and then challenge their peers to solve their maze as quickly as possible without dropping the marble.

  • "Not A Box" 

    Students in Grade 3 started the mini-unit by reading and discussing the books Not A Box and What To Do With a Box. Students let their imaginations run wild as they invented devices that were made from cardboard boxes. This has been an exciting way for students to use their creativity to solve problems!