Kelly VanMeter, the Eanes Elementary Instructional Partner, had the idea that at the end of our STEAM Presentation to the staff last week, all staff would put their names in the proverbial hat for a drawing. We would draw 3 names and then she and I would go into the classrooms of the lucky winners on Halloween Day and lead a Halloween Design Challenge.
The 3 lucky winners were Mrs. Leija, Mrs. Bennis and Mrs. Smith's Second Grade Class which is being led in her absence by Mrs. Byrd and Mrs. Sanders.
Kelly found a great resource for STEAM Challenge ideas on Kerry Tracy's You Tube Channel. Kerry also has a a blog that is filled with ideas and many resources on Teachers Pay Teachers. Click on the button below to go to her blog.
The 3 lucky winners were Mrs. Leija, Mrs. Bennis and Mrs. Smith's Second Grade Class which is being led in her absence by Mrs. Byrd and Mrs. Sanders.
Kelly found a great resource for STEAM Challenge ideas on Kerry Tracy's You Tube Channel. Kerry also has a a blog that is filled with ideas and many resources on Teachers Pay Teachers. Click on the button below to go to her blog.
The challenge was to build a bridge that would hold as many Trick or Treaters (Teddy Bear Counters) as possible. Each group was given a design sheet and a paper bag containing Q-tips, a coffee filter, and some tongue depressors. In addition, they could use as much masking tape as they needed.
Their first task was to design their bridge and once they had a design that all of the team members agreed upon, the team began building.
The final step was to test their design, make improvements to it and then test it again. One thing that Kelly and I noticed was a real growth in student collaboration and ability to understand the Design Process and implement it smoothly. For the last 2 years, Kelly has included a Design Challenge in grade level STEAM Day rotations and that experience has paid off in the future engineers that we worked with last Monday. Here is a brief video of our experience.
Their first task was to design their bridge and once they had a design that all of the team members agreed upon, the team began building.
The final step was to test their design, make improvements to it and then test it again. One thing that Kelly and I noticed was a real growth in student collaboration and ability to understand the Design Process and implement it smoothly. For the last 2 years, Kelly has included a Design Challenge in grade level STEAM Day rotations and that experience has paid off in the future engineers that we worked with last Monday. Here is a brief video of our experience.
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