This week we finished our first Project Lead the Way science module. Project Lead the Way is our new science curriculum. Eagle Cliffs is lucky to be one of the fourteen Billings elementary schools implementing this new S.T.E.M. (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) program. Our first module has focused on light and sound. If you remember, before break we had our "spy school" to learn about sound. We conducted several experiments to study how sound travels. Since spy school, we have also been learning about light energy.
At the end of the module, the scientists had a problem to solve. We had read a story about three first graders that were on a hike. The children were separated from their hiking group. Using a list of supplies in their backpacks, they had to communicate with light or sound to contact the rest of their hiking party. Our Connected Ones set to work. They used the engineering design process to make a communication device. The items the students had to work with included a waterbottle, string, cups, a bandanna, a flashlight, tape, a mirror, and tennis ball.
The students were really applying what they had learned about light and sound. As I was walking around the classroom, I heard the students discussing their designs. They were using words like opaque, reflect, vibration, and transparent. Not only were they using their science skills but they were also having to collaborate and cooperate. When the groups were done with their projects, we went to the library to test out the creations. The library provided a larger area for light and sound to travel. As we evaluated the designs, we learned a sometimes tough engineering lesson. Not all the projects worked. It turned out to be a great lesson on perseverance and revision. We returned to our classroom to reflect. In the students' science notebooks they wrote about ways to make their design better. So much important learning! I can't wait to start our next Project Lead the Way module. Stay tuned!
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