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Archives: Projects
What’s for Dinner Stop Motion
Mrs. Corbett’s class created stop motion videos to demonstrate their understanding of food chains and webs in various habitats/biomes. Check them out below!
Students also reflected on their creations and on the Breakout Edu game they played in class. Check it out here:
FlipGrid Reflections
3rd Grade Green Screen Explorer Videos
Third Graders used a green screen to record part of their performance for PTA. Students acted, filmed, and edited their own explorer videos (using the app Green Screen by Doink) in the Makerspace for this project. If you missed the performance, you can check them out below!
Conversations with Characters
Mrs. Barger’s class has been reading Howliday Inn and Blood on the Water. They designed a 3D model of a character from one of the books, then used the app Chatterpix to animate their characters. Take a listen below!
Chester from elemitrt on Vimeo.
Harold from elemitrt on Vimeo.
Harold from elemitrt on Vimeo.
Harrison from elemitrt on Vimeo.
Readbox by Mrs. Myer’s Class
Mrs. Myer’s reading class created a “Readbox.” If you scan the QR code on the books they posted, you’ll see a student created video trailer. To create these videos, students first made characters and settings out of craft and art supplies. Then these used these with the iMovie app on the iPads to create their trailers.
Check out their videos below or in the hall outside their classroom!
First Grade Pigs and Wolves
First graders in Mrs. Mitchell’s and Mrs. Glowczynski’s classes read the Three Little Pigs. The teachers had students create adorable pigs and wolves. Then, we brought them to life using ChatterPix! The project challenged their Children’s Engineering skills as they created their characters, their writing skills as they wrote their scripts, and their oral language skills as they recorded their writing. Take a listen below!
The Art of Tinkering
I’ve spent Winter Break devouring the book, The Art of Tinkering. It was created by Tinkering Studio at the Exploratorium in San Francisco. The book description is this:
The Art of Tinkering is a celebration of a whole new way to learn by thinking with your hands, working with readily available materials, getting your hands dirty, and, yes, sometimes failing and bouncing back from getting stuck. The Art of Tinkering offers a fascinating portrait of today’s maker scene, as well as beginner activities for you to try on your own. Make circuits out of playdough, film a time-lapse movie, fuse plastics into beautiful fabric, and much, much more.
Even the book itself can be hacked!
I can’t wait to incorporate some of these activities into our Makerspace programs. If you are interesting in the Making/Tinkering movement, check it out!
Spheros
The Oak Grove faculty was introduced to the school’s Makerspace at the faculty meeting last week. The project is still in the setup and learning phase, especially with the large influx of materials coming in. Part of my role in the project is to learn to use the new equipment and to explore uses for it that align with curriculum and STEM principles. The first piece of equipment that I’d like to introduce is our set of 5 Spheros. These are robotic balls that can be controlled and programed with iPad apps. They are great for real-life application of math skills, especially problem solving. One app, Drive N’ Draw, is a very simple app that can be used by younger students (even K and 1) with ease. Another app, Macrolab, allows older students to write simple programs that make the balls move in different directions, at different speeds, and with different colors. Changing speeds and colors requires division and percentages, and creating shapes allows students to practice lines and angles and other geometric principles. There’s a lot of math involved, and is appropriate for 4th and 5th graders. You can learn more here: http://www.gosphero.com/education/
3D Printed Ornament Challenge
Fourth Graders at Oak Grove Elementary participated in the White House’s 3D Printed Ornament Challenge. Check out the description of the contest:
When you’ve got a big house to decorate for the holidays, advanced planning is wise. So naturally, the White House is already thinking about this year’s holiday decor, and we’re going to help them deck their halls. Instructables is excited to partner with the Smithsonian and the White House in this 3D Printed Ornament Challenge. Some of the winners of this challenge will have their work printed and hung in the East Wing of the White House during the holiday season. Additionally, those selected to be displayed at the White House will be featured on the Smithsonian’s state of the art 3D data platform, 3d.si.edu and will join a small collection of White House ornaments in the political history division of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.
Check out our students’ Instructables and pictures which document the process from start to finish!
Click here to see the USA Holiday Ornament Instructable
Click here to see the O’ America the Beatiful Flag Instructable
Spookely STEM Project
Kindergarteners in Mrs. Kelley’s class created pumpkins (with moving parts) after listening to the story, Spookley the Square Pumpkin. Then students used the app, Story Kit, to take their own picture and record their voices naming and describing their pumpkin.
Their final creations are below! Turn up your volume and take a listen!