Junior Research: Libraians are collaborating with English teachers to guide juniors through the research process of WISER. Students Wonder by asking questions, Investigate by locating, accessing and evaluating sources, and Synthesize by reading across texts, taking notes, and forming new understandings. Students complete a Research Journal as a way to stay organized and gather ideas. Students Express by presenting a thesis with support, and Reflect by using feedback to revise and self-assess progress.
Design Thinking in the Makerspace: Mr. Riley's Earth Science students designed a Lander (or vessel) to prevent an egg from breaking when dropped from a considerable height. Students created a sketch and then designed a prototype in the makerspace. Next, they tested their Lander to see how effective their design was in protecting the egg during the drop.
3-D Constellations: Mr. Haag's astronomy class made 3-D constellations. Students had to demonstrate that our perspective of constellations is specific to our location in the galaxy. If our location changes then our "view" of a constellation will change also. On graph paper, students drew a constellation, such as the Big Dipper, as it appears from Earth. Students figured out scaled distances from the Earth. From a "top view" and from a "side view" the constellation will look totally different.
President Wilson in the Makerspace: Students in Mr. Staffaroni's history class were learning about President Wilson, the last of the Progressive Presidents who served from 1913-1921. Student were charged with determining how to best represent President Wilson's accomplishments.
Professional Development in the Makerspace: On Professional Development day, the ICT Team took time to discuss the book Launch: Using Design Thinking to Boost Creativity and Bring Out the Maker in Every Student by educators John Spencer and A.J. Juliana. Teachers had a chance to use the makerspace to experience the launch cycle for design thinking.
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| Images used with permission from author. |
Earn those Modern Language Association (MLA) Badges to Become MLA 8 Certified: Freshman in Mrs. Brown's English class are earning their MLA 8 badges, indicating they understand how to cite a source properly.
