This week, Mrs. Melson’s students put the finishing touches on their canoes, then we tested them in the water. There were a couple of canoes that could only hold a penny or two before capsizing or sinking. Other canoes held over 50 or 75 pennies before beginning to take on water! Wow! Many students wanted to rebuild their canoes after seeing which designs were the most successful. If you have time over the Winter Break, it would be a great learning opportunity for students to rebuild their boats. They were allowed to use cardboard, popsicle sticks, tape, string, and aluminum foil.
This week, Mrs. Melson’s students had the opportunity to use logical thinking skills and deductive reasoning to solve several matrix logic puzzles. Some puzzles were fairly simple, but they increased in complexity as students progressed. Many students asked to keep working on them after our lesson, and that shows very impressive perseverance!
Students also worked on a Native American-themed engineering challenge this week. They were asked to use the given materials to construct a canoe that would not sink or capsize while holding three “passengers.” The passengers will be pennies, and the big challenge for students was to create a canoe-like structure. They planned and began building this week, so they will finish their canoes and test them in the water next week. |
Mrs. GregoryMrs. Gregory has been a teacher for 25 years. She lives in Montpelier with her husband, two daughters, and two dogs. Archives
January 2017
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