Designing Presentations

Two example student slides so far.

The fifth grade students are in the middle of their presentations! Previously, the students have chosen a topic they are interested in (like dancing, art, stopping bullying, basketball etc.). The students have
finished researching their topic, and are now planning the design of their presentation. Over the next few class periods, the students will be creating a presentation that highlights their research.

After winter break, the students will be completing their presentations, and the presentations will be shared among the class. Students will be able to watch, and learn, from all the hard work each of them has put in to this project.

Be sure to check out our twitter (@MrHron) for more updates!

Beginning with Mechanisms

With two complex designs complete, the 8^th grade students are moving on to even more difficult, yet exciting opportunities. The 8^th grade students have just started working with mechanisms.

Over the next week, the 8^th grade students will be getting a short introduction to mechanisms, what they are, and how they work. The week before winter break, the students will begin to build simple mechanisms with starter kits, and use their new knowledge to accomplish small tasks in class.

Following winter break, the mechanism doors will be pulled wide open. Students will begin using mechanisms to build a number of different types of mechanisms, each more complex than the last. This will lead the students to building more complex machines and, eventually, robots.

Be sure to stay tuned in with twitter (@MrHron) for more updates!

Hot Air Balloons

The sixth grade students have been getting a little bit more skill practice, before beginning to work on their hot air balloons. Similar to the kite projects, the students will be split into groups, where they will begin creating their hot air balloons!

 

Previously, the focus was on collaboration within the group. However, the sixth grade students all have different levels of experience when it comes to group work. For the hot air balloons, the

students will continue working on collaboration, but another focus will be cooperative work. The scope of skills will need to be widened to accommodate the various levels of experience each student has with group work.

So far, the accommodations have been working great. The students are working hard in their groups and the hot air balloons are coming along nicely. One group has already almost completed their hot air balloon, a week ahead of schedule! They will be testing and flying their hot air balloon soon.