LS Rainforest STEAM

In conjunction with the LS Division exploration of the rainforest, LS students have been completing rainforest-inspired STEAM challenges in the Lab.

Grade 1 learned about protecting the rainforest by reducing our use of plastic.  They learned how homemade playdough can be made, how by using homemade playdough they reduce their use of plastic since store-bought playdough comes in plastic containers, and then used homemade playdough for their challenge.

Many of the students were excited to try making the playdough at home, 

so here is the link to the recipe for the playdough that was used in class:

Video on Making Playdough

Grade 4 is exploring the difference between tropical and temperate rainforests.  They learned about the difference between the trees in each type of forest and how that affects the rate of decomposition and the carbon cycle.  They were able to enjoy the nice weather this week and search for examples of vegetation that would be typical of the forests.  Over the next two weeks, they will see observe the difference in the rate of decomposition between pinecones and pine needles (temperate rainforest) and leaf and fruit matter (tropical rainforest).

 

Coding in Early Childhood

This rotation Early Childhood students were learning about coding.

Nursery 2 students learned how to code Ozobot.  Ozobot is a small robot who can sense lines.  Students were able to code a path for the robot by drawing a line. 

Nursery 3 and PreK students were able to pretend they were the robots in an unplugged coding activity.  Students picked code cards with directional arrows to code the "robot" through a maze of tiles on the floor.

Kindergarten students using the website Kodable to continue working on their coding skills.  

Students are currently working on mastering conditional if-then phrases, loops and functions.

Middle School STEAM

 Grades 6 and 8 enjoyed working on hands-on challenges this week.  

Grade 6 Bridge Building

Grade 8

Building a motorized car

Creating a stop animation video with LEGOs

Printing a Tinnkercad design on the 3D printer

Creating a logo with Adobe Illustrator