September 13, 2024

STEM Student of the Week: Willow Hardin

This week in science…

Fifth grade students began a new science unit called Web of Life. In this unit, students explore how organisms depend on one another and form an interconnected ecosystem. Students investigate food chains, food webs, and the importance of producers, consumers, and decomposers.

Fourth grade students began a new science unit called Human Machine. In this unit, students investigate structures and functions of the human body. Students explore how our bones and muscles are interconnected, how our eyes interact with light and impact our vision, and how our brain responds to stimuli in our environment.

Third Grade students began a new science unit called Animals Through Time. In this unit, students develop an understanding of how animals and their environments have changed through time. Fossils provide a window into the animals and habitats of the past. Analyzing the traits of animals that are alive today and comparing them to fossils, provides evidence of how these ancient organisms and environments of the past may have appeared.

Second grade students began a new science unit called Animal Adventures.  In this unit, students begin to develop an understanding of the world’s animal biodiversity. They explore animal classification and the traits that define each group. Students then turn their focus to habitats and how the surrounding environment affects what organisms live in a particular environment.

First grade students began a new science unit called Animal Superpowers. In this unit, students explore how the external characteristics of animals are essential for their survival. Students also make observations of parents and their offspring, determining how they are similar and how their behaviors help offspring survive.

Kindergarten students began a new science unit called Animal Secrets. In this unit, students use observations to understand the basic needs of animals. Students explore how animals need things to eat and a safe place to live, and also how animals can change their environments to meet those needs.

September 6, 2024

STEM Student of the Week: Jaz-Leigh Davis

This week in science…

Fifth, fourth, and third grade continued learning about new science tools. They all learned how to use and read a triple beam balance scale. They weighed and recorded the mass of various objects from the science lab and compared their results with each other.

First and second grade made a Curiosity Wheel to take home and use whenever they are curious and have questions. They learned that asking questions helps scientists learn even more.

Hot and cold was the topic for kindergarten this week. Students listened to a story and then did and hot and cold sort.

August 30, 2024

This week in science…

Fourth and fifth graders learned all about our microscopes. They learned the history, how they work, and the different parts on the first day. The next 2 days were for looking at different slides and drawing and labeling what they saw.

Third grade started their week with another scientific method lab. This time they made predictions on how many drops of water they could fit on a penny, nickel, dime, and quarter. They recorded their data and averaged their results. They also came up with reasons why their results may be different than those at their table. 

Kindergarten through second grade practiced with bucket balance scales. Kindergarten compared weights of objects while first and second grade counted how many cubes were equal to their objects.

August 23, 2024

STEM Student of the Week: Axel Braunagel

This week in Science…

Students reviewed the steps of the scientific method and had their first investigation lab. Fifth grade students investigated what happens to gummy worms after they are left in liquid for 24 hours. Students chose between seven different liquids and formed a hypothesis based on research. They measured height, length, width, and mass before and after the worms and recorded their data, analyzed their results, and concluded if their hypothesis was correct or proven wrong.

Fourth and third grade students had a skittles lab! They predicted which color would be the most prevalent in their bag. They collected their data, graphed their results, and found their conclusion if they had predicted correctly or not. And of course they got to eat their skittles!

August 16, 2024

STEM Student of the Week: Norah Tiernan

This week in Science students reviewed the steps of the engineering design process with their first stem challenge of the school year. Students were given 12 index cards and 20 dot stickers. They had to work together to build the tallest tower in the time limit. We talked about the idea of a growth mindset and how important that is when completing stem challenges and persevering when something doesn’t go as planned. Students took what they learned the first time and completed the challenge again. They did a great job and there were some very creative designs!