K-Save the Zoo!
Help! The zoo animals are getting too warm! Kinders will spend the first half of the week observing the sun and shade. Then we will figure out a good design for our zoo animals to keep them the most comfortable in the warmer summer months. We will use temperatures gauges to see which covering makes the most effective shade!
1-Caring Monsters
Wow, am I looking forward to a calm end of the year with first grade as we take some time to talk about how animals care for their young. Then, students will design their own monster to care for, sew it, and stuff it.
3-Beautiful Bowls and Books
It's time to get our hands "muddy" and our minds creative and build some bowls. Third graders will explore a brief history of pottery before they craft their own bowl. We will read a few different genres of pictures books relating to bowls (nonfiction, fiction, how-to), and spend time writing their own books to accompany their bowl! I can't wait!
4-OR Trail (continued)
Oh no! You need to make it across the OR trail! Students will use their week creating a wagon that will need to hold "cargo" and be pulled by a coded bot. They will have a course they are attempting to complete, and level up as needed.
https://padlet.com/langk12/4th-grade-or-trail-9cz8lv3xdy80mao4
5-Baking Soda Bottle Rockets
What a way to end the year!! 5th graders will delve into the world of chemical reactions and create their own rocket! There will be a LOT of trial and error as they try to find the correct combinatin of vinegar and baking soda, the best rocket design, and the best platform for launching!
Kinder-Design a City
Beep! Honk! Zoom! Kinders will begin their week in STEM observing the elements that make up a city. Then, groups will team up to create their own piece of the city--post office, bakery, school, the options are limitless. On Friday, we will put all the pieces of our city together and play!
First-Biomimicry
First graders will spend this week in the ilab exploring biomimicry, which is a practice that learns from and mimics the strategies found in nature to solve human design challenges. How does a whale fin inspire a propeller? How to birds inspire jets?
Third-Cardboard Arcades
Third graders will begin their week in the ilab exploring simple machines and creating a cardboard simple machine. Their challenge for the week will be to create a cardboard arcade game using a simple machine. They will be given a budget of $30 and a limited supply list to design and execute their plan! Friday will be game day!
Fourth-Oregon Trail
Oh no! You need to make it across the OR trail! Students will use their week creating a wagon that will need to hold "cargo" and be pulled by a coded bot. They will have a course they are attempting to complete, and level up as needed.
Fifth-Memory Boxes
It's that time of year! Time for the fifth graders to reflect on their time as a Wildcat and create some artifacts to symbolize their elementary experience. Students will create 4 artifacts, as well as create a video message to the rising fifth graders filled with memories, advice and anticdotes. This is a truly special project.
Kinder
Kindergarteners will explore the plant life cycle through hands-on activities and picture books. Then they will create their own book using pop-ups and other fun paper techniques. We will complete the week with planting a marigold seed in a small pot they create!
First Grade
Why did all those 3 little pig houses fall down? We will begin the week with exploration of building materials and then embark on a nature walk to collect sustainable building materials. Students will design, plan and build their own sustainable house for their own set of little pigs!
Second Grade
Spring is here and it’s time to explore pollinators in the iLab. We will begin our week together experimenting with different materials simulating a pollinator. How well does each material hold onto pollen? How well does each material also drop pollen? Then students will explore different types of flowers and engineer a pollinator for their specific flower! Can’t wait to see what these kids dream up!
Third Grade
Portland Bridges! We will spend time learning facts about each of Portland’s main bridges and then groups will choose a bridge to further explore. Students will have a variety of choices in how to display their learning and we will end our week with a museum of bridges!
Fourth Grade
A highly anticipated week in the iLab for fourth grade! Our week begins with an exploration of a cow eyeball (and a virtual dissection if preferred.) Using what they learn in the dissection, students will then engineer their own set of eyewear!
Fifth Grade
It’s always fun to engineer and design, but even more meaningful when students design for each other. After an exploration of the technology Micro Bits, groups will interview another group about what animals they enjoy. Then, the groups will go use that information to create an animal for the other group and they must incorporate their new technology! I can’t wait to see what they come up with.
Kinder-Happy Little Trees
What makes a tree happy? Air, water, sun, space, and dirt!! We spent the early week exploring tree, plant and flower needs and how these relate to what people need. Then, kinders chose between makerspace, creating a book and making a stop motion video to demonstrate their understanding!
First-Animal Adaptations
FIrst graders explored the diet, habitat and physical and behavioral adaptations of animals! What adaptations give animals the superpower to survive? Then students planned out their own NEW animal choosing their new animal's diet, habitat and physical or behavioral adaptations. Time to build! First graders chose between air dry clay and recycled materials to create their new animal.
Second-LO History & Transportation
Did you know, students used to have to take a boat to get to LO schools from Milwaukie? Did you know that trees float, but pennys sink because the ability to float is based on density, NOT weight? Now our second graders know! After learning about this interesting history, doing a couple of experiments, second graders were given the challenge to create their own boats. They needed to follow the given criteria--it must go across the "river" and keep 13 kids (pennies) dry. They were allowed to use one piece of foil, five straws, five popsicle sticks and duct tape! They could test and redesign once! Ahoy!
Third-Life Cycle Game
What does the Game of Life have to do with life cycles? Everything!! We started the week tackling the life cycle and each group chose an animal to do their research on. They found 2-3 facts for birth, growing up, adulthood and death. Then they were challenged with creating a game that would teach the player about the life cycle of their chosen animal!
Fifth-4 Spheres
It's time for fifth graders to dive into the 4 spheres: hydrosphere, geosphere, atmosphere and biosphere! Groups will choose an example to model, and then create an interactive museum display! They'll program through Scratch, and use Makey Makey to make their display interactive.
Kinder-Animal Needs and Shelters
With spring approaching, it's a perfect time to explore animals and their homes! What makes a good home for a certain type of animal? After exploration, students will make their own animal and plan and build a home for their animal using reusable building materials in the ilab!
First Grade-Phases of the Moon
This rotation first graders do a dive into the phases of the moon! We begin our week "blasting off" from earth with quick build rocket ships and then spend time understanding why the moon looks different every night. Students will then get to delve into stop motion video to demonstrate their understanding!
Second Grade-Material Magic: Build a Playground
What are the different properties of materials? We spend time exploring properties and materials and understanding why we use different types of materials for different types of things! Then, they put their knowledge of strength, flexibility, stretchiness and absorbancy to plan and build their own small playground using makerspace materials.
Third Grade- Travel OR
Third graders are spending time checking out traveloregon.com and then creating their very own brochure, ad, logo or video to promote a specific feature and activity that makes OR so desirable to visit.
Fourth Grade-Build a Toy: Automaton
Build a TOY! This rotation students will be incorporating what they know of simple machines, to create an automata.
Kinder-Sensational Seasons
Continuing our weather watcher exploration, this unit we will branch out to study the seasons! After some season learning and exploring, partners will create their own stop motion videos depicting their favorite season (or two!)
First-Penguin Adaptations and Arctic Survival
This unit we will be using science, technology, engineering and art! Our first graders will do some research on penguins, and make their own penguin feet durable enough to try to hold and pass a penguin egg using only paper plates and tape. Then we'll continue our Arctic research and learn about Inukshuks and how the natives of the Arctic use them to welcome others. We'll culminate our week with some watercolor Northern Lights paintings!
Third-Rollercoasters
This is a **thrilling** week in the iLab for third graders! Students will explore force and motion and create their own paper roller coasters across the classroom using paper and tape.
Fourth- Oregon, my Oregon
It's time for fourth graders to delve into Tinkercad and create 3D models of OR including landforms and places that are meaningful to them!
Fifth- Design a Smart Home
Fifth graders will delve into another coding experience coupled with designing a smart home. They'll be given a client who has a specific "need" for their home and groups will work together to create a "smart home feature" or a smart home. Then they will build the home and use SAM Labs to bring the feature to life!
Kinder-Weather Wonders
We will be exploring weather and seasons for the next two rotations! Students will practice every STEM session being a "weather watcher" and recording their findings on a bar graph. We will explore weather inventions and then they will plan and create their own weather invention!
1st- Shadow Puppets
Shadows are not only fun, but scientific! Students love creating shadow puppets, and that's what this week will be in the ilab! We will begin with exploring shadows using flashlights and Legos. Then, students will create their own shadow puppet characters based off of a story of their choice!
3rd-Winter Weather Shelters
This week students are going to compare the weather of Northern Alaska with that of Portland! We will investigate shelters of people in extreme conditions and then plan and build their own (mini) structure that they think will protect them from the elements!
4th-Video Mania, Part 2
We are riding our video makin' wave into round two of Video Mania! This week, students will use DoInk Green Screen, Stop Motion and Wick to create videos. First students will choose a subject to research--a famous place, a myth or legend, or a scientific process, and then use their multimedia to teach it!
5th-Make a Game
Many fifth graders enjoy video games, and this is their week to create their own, simple video game. We will delve into what makes a good video game and the elements of a successful video game.
They will use Makey Makey to create a type of controller, Scratch to code their game, and then the makerspace to build whatever they need to complete their project!
Kindergarten: Coding Rotations
Coding rotations! Each day kinders will get to explore a new coding robot or app. They will get their hands on Scratch Jr., Ozobots, Dash and Colby!
First: Colby and Scratch Jr.
First Graders will start the week exploring Colby Mouse, its functions, and will create their own challenge for Colby to complete. For the rest of our week, we will introduce Scratch Jr., an age-appropriate coding app that helps students code stories, games and more! We will read various tales of "Tacky the Penguin" and students will retell one of Tacky's stories through coding in Scratch Jr.!
Second: Clay Animals-3d printing and clay
This is a big week in second grade! Students will start with creating a model of an animal in Tinkercad. The models will be 3d printed, and then we will use them to create an impression in clay. We will glaze them and fire them and meanwhile create a story to go along with their animals!
Third: Climate Stories on Scratch
We're riding the Scratch wave into the sunset! Students will continue to build on their Scratch and coding skills, while simultaneously learning about global climates! We start our week exploring the difference between WEATHER and CLIMATE and will use Unifix cubes to graph various climates around the world. Students will then work in teams to create and code TWO climate stories on Scratch, then use our Makey Makeys to create interactive Climate Posters!
Fourth: Video Mania, pt 1
For the next 2-3 rotations, 4th graders will have the opportunity to make videos using different applications including green screens, stop motion and adobe spark! This month their videos will be about gratitude.
Fifth: Seasonal Constellations
Students will use the Stellarium website to explore the winter sky. Then they will focus on one constellation to research further and create a model using LEDs to demonstrate how their constellation moves through the winter sky or the different brightnesses of their stars.
Kindergarten
Continuing our exploration of force and motion, we will be delving into gravity. We'll culminate our week together with an Egg Drop Challenge!
First Grade
First graders will spend their week in STEM learning about lights and lasers and their project will be to create a means of communication using lights, by way of playdough circuits!
Third Grade
Third grade gets to delve into another fun set of technology this month--Makey Makey and Scratch! They will get to use what they have learned to create a musical instrument on scratch and then use their Makey Makey circuits to play them!
Fourth Grade
For the next 2-3 rotations, 4th graders will have the opportunity to make videos using different applications including green screens, stop motion and adobe spark! This month their videos will be about gratitude.
