Project Lead the Way

This week we were engineers.  We are so incredibly lucky at Eagle Cliffs Elementary to be implementing Project Lead the Way.  PLTW is an amazing science resource that focuses on developing and integrating S.T.E.M. (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) skills.  When I look ahead at our Project Lead the Way modules, I am so incredibly excited to watch our students experience these quality lessons that will encourage creativity and critical thinking.  Here is a preview of Project Lead the Way:

To help all Eagle Cliffs kindergarten through 2nd grade students kick off this year's STEM adventure we had a guest speaker/science enthusiast come speak.  Mr. Carter is also a special grandparent in our classroom. Mr. Carter really got the students excited about science.  He did an experiment to show the transfer of energy....simultaneously transferring energy for science to the audience. Then, Mr. Carter demonstrated that scientists and engineers have to work smart to make things strong and sturdy.  Using a 30 foot nylon rope, two students tried to pick Mr. Carter up.  They could not do it.  However, when 20 students were invited up to hold the rope they created more segments of structure and could easily hold the rope when Mr. Carter sat on it.  Pretty cool!  Thank you so much for taking the time today to come speak with us, Mr. Carter!  We can't wait to show you all we do with science!

After our inspirational assembly, we had a first of many STEM challenges.  We discussed the role of engineering in our lives and how an engineer studies structure and function to design things.  We also talked about the engineering design process and how engineers must persevere because sometimes things don't always work as planned.  Engineers learn from their mistakes and make adjustments.

The challenge today was to design a table using dominoes and popsicle sticks.  The table had to hold five Thanksgiving plates.  Student had to work in teams of three to create their project.  They made a blueprint, collaborated on the design, and test the plan.  All the students made adjustments to improve their designs.  Check out the engineers at work below!