Constructing Native American Dwellings

In 5th Grade students were learning about different Native American cultures, so in STEAM they researched different dwellings used by Native Americans. They watched videos to learn how the Native Americans constructed each dwelling. They followed the Engineering & Design process (Ask, Imagine, Plan, Create, Improve) to design and build a model of a Native American Dwelling. Check out their final products below:

Meet Milo

Students in 6th and 5th Grade at Economy have been busy building and programming Milo, a robot that can be built with the Lego WeDo 2.0 Robotics Kit. First, they built and coded Milo to move forward. Students worked in groups of 3 and each person had a specialized job, to keep things running smoothly. One person was the “Picker” or the person who found the correct Legos in the kit. Another person took on the role of “Builder”. The “Picker” handed the blocks to the “Builder” who assembled the blocks. Then the “Coder” programmed the robot on the iPad.

Next, students added a motion sensor and programmed the robot to stop at a flower and play tune. Then, they added a tilt sensor to their Milo and programmed the light on their robot to change color when the tilt sensor is moved back and forth. Last, was the Collaboration Challenge, where students had to get 2 Milos to work together to pull a load. Check out this video summary of our work below. We hope that the 4th Graders, as well as the students at State Street will be using these robotics kits before the end of the school year! Be sure to check out your student’s See Saw portfolio for photos and videos of their Milo in action!

Algorithms for Algorithms

When students create a computer program they are creating an algorithm or listing the steps needed for something to happen. Students also use algorithms in mathematics; in this case the algorithms would be the steps taken to divide fractions or multiply decimals. Students were challenged to create a program in Scratch that reteaches a math concept. By elaborating on their understanding of the math by teaching the concept to others, this will help them store this skill in their long term memory!

Here are their final products: