STEM Lab 24_25 Round 3

The mobile STEM Lab rolls on... Round 3 saw the primary grades build their creative coding skills by creating projects in Scratch Jr. Meanwhile, the middle grade worked on various research projects. Second grade's final product was physical, while 3rd and 4th made Scratch projects to share their learning. The fifth graders put their creative coding skills to the test using Scratch to make a still image interactive. 

Kindergarten & First Grade

As you know, Kindergarten and 1st grade started the year with a unit of Code.org programming puzzles. Code.org is a great way to introduce students to computer programming concepts, but it is lacking in opportunities for creative self expression. Fortunately we have Scratch Jr which is a perfect creative complement to Code.org's structure.

Each lesson started with a guided coding activity allowing students to practice with the day's concept. In Kindergarten we covered different kinds of events and motions. We also used various control commands to change how fast our characters moved and to change from one scene to the next. The first graders reviewed some of the things they learned last year before moving on to events like "bump" and the messages. We also used loops to make our code more efficient. After the guided portion of the lesson, students were tasked with adding something to their project using the command or concept we had practiced. They were allowed to add whatever they wanted, so long as it included the requisite code. Once a student successfully demonstrated their code, they were allowed what we termed "creative time". During this portion of the lesson students were able to further explore and experiment in Scratch Jr. Each day I was impressed with the joyful creativity students put into their work. They drew their own characters and backgrounds and were playful engaged in creating personally meaningful projects with code.

Second Grade

In the STEM lab, 2nd grade is a year of transition. They move from lessons and projects that are geared towards practicing skills like programming and building to projects in which they have to apply those skills in the creation of a product that shares their learning or demonstrates an original application of those skills. This round's project for 2nd grade involved research on a few self-selected animals and the creation of a set of animal fact cards. The students used National Geographic Kids Animals as their main resource. They read about the animals and synthesized what they learned. For each animal they used an oversized notecard, writing facts on one side and drawing a picture of the animal on the other side. 

Another activity from this round was Skype-a-Scientist. They match classrooms with scientists from a variety of disciplines for a live meeting. The students have to opportunity to ask questions not only about the scientist's field of study, but about what it is like being a scientist. Mr. Spencer's class spoke to an entomologist studying food webs. Ms. Foley's class got to talk to an ecologist working on kelp forest habitats in southern California. Ms. Muguerza's, Ms. Elder's, and Ms. Stano's classes got to talk to a researcher studying whale and seal evolution. Each talk was a bit different as students asked their own questions which guided the discussion, but in every case we had a great time and learned so much!

Third Grade

We returned to Scratch this round in third grade and made a start on a project that will have two parts. The first part has the students selecting a 3rd grade science topic from a curated list and doing some research. They used Brain Pop and Britannica School as their main resources and took notes about their chosen topic in their journals. Once their research was complete they created a Scratch project designed to share their learning with students from a lower grade. The students learned how to add pictures to their Scratch projects and used key press events to start different parts of the program running. 

In the new year, the students will create a physical display to complement the Scratch project. This will be connected to the computer with an i/o board called Makey Makey. This makes the physical display a controller for the digital presentation. The Scratch projects can be viewed in this studio. (FYI, some of the projects are still works in progress.)

Fourth Grade

The 4th grade project for this round is similar to 3rd grade's. However, the theme is biographies rather than science. The students chose an important person from a given list of artists and scientists and researched both the "when and where" of that person's life, as well as the "what they did and why it is important" part. They used a variety of resources to inform their work and, aside from some basic requirements, had free rein over the design of the Scratch project. Like 3rd grade, in a later round they will create a physical display piece that will function as an interactive controller to run the Scratch project for a visiting class of lower grade students. The work in progress Scratch biographies can be found in this studio.

Fifth Grade

This round's 5th grade project is one of my favorites, Hacking Fine Art. Students use the image editing tools in Scratch to take a famous work of art and make it interactive. They had a Google folder with several paintings to choose from, including works by Van Gogh, Cezanne, Leger, and others. The first step is to upload the painting into Scratch as the background of the project. After selecting which parts of the painting they want to make interactive, the students uploaded their chosen image, this time as a sprite, and erased all but the part intended to be clicked on. They positioned this sprite exactly over the corresponding part of the background image, hiding it in plain sight. Using the "when this sprite clicked" event, students created a wide ranging variety of highly creative effects. The full collection is in this studio. Some of the projects are from the week that 5th grade went to camp, so those are going to be a bit less complete than the other projects the studio.

STEM Lab 24_25 Round 2

The limitations imposed by cart-based STEM Lab notwithstanding, a whole lot of great things got done in Round 2! In Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grades it was time for math stories. Third grade got started with physical computing on the micro:bit. Meanwhile, 4th and 5th grades designed video games with MakeCode Arcade and presented their work to a visiting class and administrators.

Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd Grades

I am not sure how long I have been doing the math stories unit, but literature has been part of the STEM Lab since its inception. Mostly that is because I have always loved teaching books, but a part of that is a revolt against the isolation of subjects from one another that is lamentably common in schools these days. STEM is about teaching science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in a way that helps students discover the natural connections between these disciplines. In Sinclair's lab STEM is connected with subjects like literature, history, fine arts, and anything else I can think of.

During this unit, each class starts with a book in which some math concept or another is central to the story. I read the story pausing frequently to ask the students guiding questions and to have them discuss their wonderings and ideas about the book. When the story ends students complete an activity related to the math concept of the day. Sometimes this takes the form of a number puzzle, while at other times it looks more like an art project. There are also times when it is more of a guided exploration. In any case, the goal is for students to play with the math in question without worrying about finding one right answer, or the "right way" to get to an answer.

Here are the books we read this week, by grade level:

Kindergarten: Rooster's Off To See the World, Two of Everything, Inch By Inch, Circle.

1st grade: The Greedy Triangle, How Big is a Foot?, One Gorilla, Math-terpieces.

2nd grade: Remainder of One, 100 Hungry Ants, The King's Commissioners, Perfect Square.

3rd Grade

In this round the 3rd graders were introduced to physical computing with a microcontroller called micro:bit. The students learned the difference between an input and an output. The micro:bit's inputs include buttons, an accelerometer, and sensors for light, temperature and sound. The outputs include a 5x5 LED array that can show images and scroll text, and a tiny speaker that can play sounds. It also has a set of input/output pins that allow the micro:bit to connect to other hardware. The first part of the week had short daily code-alongs followed by time for students to explore the micro:bit's capabilities and tinker with their code. At the end of the week students made a 2D model animal of their choosing and wrote a micro:bit program to make their creation interactive. We called the project "Micro:pet". When the STEM Lab was a room rather than a state of mind, this project involved a lot more cardboard, construction paper, and glue and the animals were far more elaborate. However, we adapted and the students made some wonderful things. 

4th and 5th Grades

In round 1 this year the 4th and 5th graders created games that could be played on the micro:bit using the Microsoft MakeCode language. In this unit the students built upon the skills they learned last time and used the MakeCode Arcade platform to create games of greater complexity with vastly superior graphics. Students started by choosing an introductory skillmap (collection of tutorials aimed at creating a single project) to complete. As they worked through the steps they learned how to add characters of different kinds, how to make them move, how to animate them, and used conditionals to code how they behave when they overlap with other objects on screen. The students were encouraged to tinker with the code to personalize the project and to add elements they thought would improve the game. 

With their first project complete, the students chose another skillmap to form the basis of their final product. Students were allowed to work independently or in teams of two. They worked through their chosen project guide and adapted the elements as they went. Some groups created original themes for their games or composed background music and sound effects. Most of the games ended up with a variety of power ups or more challenging enemies. I was really impressed with the creativity on display and the perseverance students showed when faced with challenges. At the end of the week the students presented their work to a visiting class and they all did a wonderful job talking about what they made. (During the 3 day week students shared their work with their peers in class.) 

STEM Lab 24_25 Round 1

Alas... this is not how I had hoped the year would start. The STEM Lab has been relegated to a cart for the foreseeable future. That puts some serious constraints on the kinds of projects we are able to do. However, we will not let the cart life keep us ,down and the year is off to a fantastic start with lots of creative coding projects across the grade levels.

Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd Grades

As usual, the primary grades started with Code.org activities this year. I have found that this is an excellent way to refresh the memories of returning students, and the best introduction to computer programming for students who are new to Sinclair. Over the course of the week students work on various coding puzzles in the online courses, as well as complete some unplugged activities, to develop their algorithmic thinking skills. In normal times Friday is usually reserved for a building challenge, but as that would require moving a whole bunch of stuff, I have changed that to a Scratch Jr coding challenge for the time being. I read the students a book and then presented them with an open-ended prompt. While Code.org serves to teach the students particular programming skills, Scratch Jr allows them to explore the creative possibilities of computer coding.

3rd Grade

At the end of 2nd grade I begin to transition the students from Scratch Jr, which is designed for emerging readers, to the full version of Scratch. At that time they worked in the offline version so that I could be certain that they stayed focused on the tasks at hand rather than getting lost in the wonderland that is the Scratch online community. At the start of third grade the students are introduced to the online version of Scratch. They log into their accounts, learn how to share projects with appropriate documentation, and they practice giving meaningful project feedback to their peers. The week's project centers on the concept of "parallelism" which is when multiple things are happening at the same time in a program. It is a simple prompt that is completely open-ended so students have a chance to be highly creative. You can check out the project studio here. 

4th and 5th Grades

This past June I attended an online workshop hosted by Chris Lovell, a brilliant computer science teacher in the UK. Mr. Lovell's specialty is creating retro games and student guides for the BBC micro:bit microcontroller. In the workshop we were guided through the process of coding these games and playing them on the micro:bit. I was honestly a bit shocked to see how easily such games could be created and knew that I wanted to try these with the students this year. I introduce our students to the micro:bit in 3rd grade, so the majority of this year's 4th and 5th graders are familiar with it. 

As expected, the students were super excited about this unit. The student coding guides Mr. Lovell has created are so accessible that even students who are new to Sinclair, and have little to no prior coding experience, have had no trouble getting started. First we made a game together, code-a-long style. When that was complete according to the game guide, I challenged the students to customize their game. They came up with with several amazing additions: increased difficulty , more obstacles, faster enemies, sound effects, game over music, and more. For the last part of the week students chose another game to create and customize from among the other guides. I really loved seeing them all start from the same place and end up with such different final products.

The guides so generously shared by Mr. Lovell can be found here. 

STEM Lab 23_24 Round 7 - Wind Whipped Edition

STEM Lab year 9 is coming to a close, and we are definitely finishing on a high note. For kindergarten and 1st grade, this round was a chance to apply their programming skills to a multi-day project. Second grade planned and programmed their first project in the full version of Scratch. In third grade we explored the connections between the fine arts and creative coding. The 4th and 5th graders had their first experiences with text-based programming using the Python language. 

As I have begun thinking about the 10th anniversary of the Sinclair STEM Lab next year, I have also been thinking about how the lab got started. When the task of creating the lab was appointed to me, I was given an extraordinary amount of freedom in terms of lessons, projects, and content. It has been a great deal of work to develop a curriculum for 7 grade levels, and there has been a fair amount of trial and error over the years. Looking back at posts here from the early years of the lab what stands out most to me is how this space has evolved and grown. Credit for that development goes in large part to the students. It is thanks to their ideas, their enthusiasm, their creativity, and their feedback that the STEM Lab is the place it is today. 

Kindergarten & First Grade

I had a number of project ideas that I was considering for this final round, but ultimately my love of incorporating literature into computer programming won out. The students used Scratch Jr to create an animated retelling of a self-selected story. First, I read the class a book and modeled how they would create their story plan. We reviewed the elements of a story, including characters, setting, and plot. Then the students chose a story and created a plan. When the plans were finished, they began working on their projects in Scratch Jr. Most of them had to use the drawing tools to create the characters and settings for their stories. Next they programmed each scene using the broadcast commands to ensure the characters spoke in turn and that the scenes advanced automatically. I was really impressed with how well the students persevered through the challenges. 

Second Grade

In round 6 the second graders made the transition from Scratch Jr to the full version of Scratch. In that round each day was its own project. The students completed a different tutorial every day selected to give them time to practice with the most commonly used commands and structures of Scratch. In this round the students applied what they learned in round 6 to the planning and creation of a multi-day Scratch project with the theme "All About Me". In the final program when the letters of the student's name are clicked the letter changes its appearance and shares a piece of information about the student. First the students made a 3 column chart to plan what each letter would change into and what it would say about them. After that they went to work in Scratch. They wrote a script that set each letter in the correct place and with the correct appearance at the beginning of the program. Then they wrote the scripts that cause the letters to react when clicked. As with the K and 1st grade project, many students needed to draw their own sprites because the thing they wanted to change into is not one of the sprites preloaded into Scratch. 

Third Grade

One of the most important parts of the STEM Lab is making connections between the elements of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, and subjects like language arts, literature, history, music, and visual art. (The siloing of subjects into individual, unrelated units is one of my greatest frustrations with the way so much of the modern school curriculum is done.)

For this unit, the 3rd graders explored the intersection of art and computer programming. As always we used Scratch. The music extension allows students to compose music, while the pen extension turns sprites into drawing tools that can be programmed to create images on the background. We started with a day of exploration for each extension. Students were provided with a brief step-by-step guide and some starter code that they were expected to tinker with until they had something original. Following that, students designed and programmed a project that included both the pen and the music extensions. I gave them a checklist with a few elements that had to be included (though these were deliberately open end to allow for individual student creativity), but they were encouraged to personalize their projects as much as possible. The studio including all the projects can be viewed here.

Fourth Grade

The 4th graders have done a fair bit of work this year building physical circuits and writing programs to control the behavior of those circuits. To wrap things up, the students were introduced to the Raspberry Pi computer. The Pi is about the size of a credit card, costs as little as $35, and was designed as a tool to make programming and physical computing accessible to all. 

We started the week building circuits with LEDs and buttons on a breadboard. For this step students powered their lights with batteries, so no programming was done. Their previous circuit building experience was evident as the students needed very little guidance to get the lights glowing. By the end of class most groups were asking for more LEDs and resistors and also wanting to know if I had larger breadboards they could use. 

The next day students started with a brief overview of the Raspberry Pi and how to connect their circuits to the input/output pins. The micro:bit used earlier this year has i/o pins as well, so the students all grasped this quite quickly. The Raspberry Pi includes a version of Scratch with a set of command blocks that can be used for physical computing. First the class used a diagram to build a simple LED circuit connected to the Pi. Next they built a short program to blink the LED at 1 second intervals. From there, the students bowled ahead adding LEDs to their circuits and additional commands to their code to create a dizzying variety of blinking patterns. The next day students continued working with their circuits, adding a button, and adapting the program to respond with blinky lights when the button was pressed. 

All of this was a lead-in to introducing the students to text-based programming. With the students feeling comfortable programming circuits in Scratch, I showed them a Python program side by side with a Scratch program with the same output: blinking an LED at 1 second intervals. We discussed which part of the Python code corresponded to the Scratch command blocks. Students returned to their computers with a packet of circuit diagrams and Python starter code. I was, as I often am, truly impressed with how quickly the students picked up on this new skill. Before long they were adapting the starter programs to blink more LEDs using more button inputs than I would have imagined.

Fifth Grade

The 5th graders finished their STEM lab careers with a full unit of text-based programming with Python on the aforementioned Raspberry Pi computer. They split their time between using the Python Turtle Art and Minecraft Pi Edition. The Turtle library is a set of tools for programming drawings and is also used to create games with Python. The Raspberry Pi used to include a version of the game Minecraft designed to be a virtual world students could manipulate with code. This feature is no longer available since Microsoft acquired Minecraft. Fortunately, it is still available to us because we are working with an older version of the Raspberry Pi operating system. As with the 4th graders, I gave the students a packet of sample programs to familiarize them with the basics, and then encouraged them to adapt, alter, and experiment with the programs to create their own unique outputs. They did not disappoint. Their screens were filled with kaleidoscopic Turtle drawings and Minecraft worlds awash in towering pixel art sculptures, lava waterfalls, and TNT produced craters. 

And then came the wind...

I had this final post about 70% written, just needing a few final notes and a few more pictures, when the storm blasted our campus. Suddenly I was back on my pandemic era cart pushing into other people's classrooms and trying to maintain at least some vague semblance of my plans. Mr. Zogg's 2nd grade class was moved to the lab and so to make room for them I was obliged to pack up the Raspberry Pi kits. Some of the projects described above I have been able to implement as planned for the most part. However, I have had to switch gears entirely for the 4th graders. The worst part has been missing out on seeing the last two 5th grade magnet groups and the awesome things I know they would have created with Python. 

It is too early to say at this point what the beginning of next year will look like. I am hopeful, and trying to be optimistic, that I will be housed in the STEM lab once more when August arrives. In a very real sense my class is the STEM Lab's physical space, and when I cannot have class there, some elements of the class are lost. (I would never have students engage the kinds of beautiful, creative chaos we get up to in the lab, with its attendant cardboard scraps and drippy glue, in another teacher's room.) Whatever the situation may be in August, we will meet it with perseverance, creativity, and playful, personally meaningful projects.

Have a wonderful, safe summer. 

STEM Lab 23_24 Round 6

As you have no doubt come to expect, the penultimate round of STEM lab for the year was awesome, just as its predecessors were. There was a great deal of programming going on this time. Kindergarten and 1st grade returned to their Code.org courses, while 2nd grade took their first steps in the full version of Scratch. The third graders had their first experiences coding the micro:bit microcontroller. Meanwhile, our 4th and 5th graders extended their micro:bit skills by incorporating the device into creative projects.

Kindergarten & 1st Grade

You may recall that the Kindergarten and 1st grade students begin the year in Code.org. The puzzle-based nature of the activities help the students develop their algorithmic thinking skills while also giving them valuable practice with programming concepts like loops and events. Most of the programming activities we do later in the year, such as Scratch Jr and Robo-mouse, have a more creative lean to them. I try to strike a balance between formal coding instruction and creative coding projects so that students not only learn the programming concepts, but also see programming as a tool they can use to express themselves and share their learning. This round was not all Code.org however, as we also did a day of Scratch Jr and completed a building challenge.

2nd Grade

The end of the year is always one of my favorite times with 2nd grade. That is when I introduce them to the full version of the Scratch programming language. Scratch was designed to have a "low floor", so even students who have not programmed before can get started with relative ease. Most of our students have been programming since Kindergarten and are very excited to start using "real" Scratch. I start each class with a code-a-long activity in which I show them some of the similarities and differences between Scratch and Scratch Jr. Following that guided tour, students have some time to explore the new coding environment and to try things out. They very quickly find that there is a lot more to Scratch than there was in Scratch Jr, and this discovery leads to some productive struggle as they work to understand how to create the movements, effects, and sounds they want for their projects. For the rest of the week students work through a set of tutorials embedded within Scratch that teaches them how to use the most common events and commands. I encourage them to put their own creative spins on the tutorials as they go. In rounds 7 the students will complete their first multi-day Scratch project and I cannot wait to see how they do.

3rd Grade

This round the 3rd grade was introduced to the wonderful world of microcontrollers with the BBC micro:bit. They learned that a microcontroller is the perfect device for when you need a computer that will only have one job, such as turning street lights on at night and off in the morning, or opening the doors at the grocery store as someone approaches them. The micro:bit has a number of inputs including buttons, an accelerometer, and sensors for light, sound, and temperature. All of these can be used to generate outputs like images or animations on the LED screen or sounds from the speaker. We spent the first few days of the week practicing with the various inputs and outputs. Thursday and Friday the students were challenged to build a model animal and to use the micro:bit to make their model interactive. The results of the Micro:pet project are always outstanding. Some groups used the device as their animal's mouth and others as its whole face. One group used animations on the micro:bit's screen as the tail of their model cat. 

4th Grade

Fourth grade used the micro:bit earlier in the year in a unit that was a kind of "next steps" continuation of the unit the 3rd graders did. They learned to use the micro:bit's input/output pins, more of the device's sensors, and generally created more complex programs. In this round the students used the micro:bit in conjunction with a breakout board kit called Crazy Circuits from Brown Dog Gadgets. The breakout board gives one easy access to the full array of pins on the micro:bit. The kit includes additional hardware like LEDs that students can connect and program. This is the first time we have used these kits in the lab so there was a bit of trail and error as we worked out the best ways to employ them. We worked it out though and at the end of the week the students used the a selection of Legos to build a scene from a story of their choosing which they then animated with the micro:bit and the breakout board components. While there was a bit of frustration at the limited Lego resources the students were given, that constraint by and large inspired creative work arounds.

5th Grade

In keeping with this round's micro:bit theme, 5th grade used a different breakout board and handful of components to create "moving masterpieces" or "animated artworks". We started the week by learning to wire LEDs and a servo motor to a breadboard. Most of the students used breadboards last year and were familiar enough with them to assist those who are new to Sinclair this year. Once the wires were all in place, students coded the LEDs to blink and the servo to rotate on a button press. They used this program as a starting point for their projects later in the week. I showed them one example project, my personal riff on Van Gogh's Sunflowers with a couple blinking LEDs and a moving butterfly, and then instructed the students to think of what they wanted to create. I made a few suggestions like book covers, scenes from movies, or some random silliness, but left the final decision to them. (I do not like to give the students too much direction for fear of stifling their creative process.) Over the next few days the students, some working independently, others with a partner created their image, mounted it to a file folder, added the LEDs, servo, and wires to the breadboard. They tweaked the original program to incorporate more LEDs or multiple servos, and to make the lights and motion fit with their vision. I was not disappointed with their work... so much impressive creativity!

STEM Lab 23-24 Round 5

It feels a bit repetitive to say so, but it was another awesome round of programming, building, and making in the STEM Lab! From origami to retro arcade games, our Sinclair Superstars created some amazing things over the last few weeks.

Kindergarten & 1st Grade

After completing a couple of units on computer programming with Robo-mouse and then Scratch Jr, we went unplugged for this round and learned some origami. I made sure to highlight the algorithmic nature of folding origami models and connected this process to the writing of programs for computers to run. Each grade level made 3 different models. Kindergarten folded cats, dogs, and flowers while 1st grade folded rabbits, fish, and frogs. In addition to the origami models, the students also learned to create 2 frame animations. These are not origami, but they are so much fun to make and the students always blow me away with their creativity. 

2nd Grade

Building with cardboard is one of the central skills required in the STEM lab, and in this round the 2nd graders began learning the carboard construction techniques in earnest. We started by looking at some different mazes and discussing what made for a good maze. Next students designed and built Lego marble mazes to challenge their classmates. Before planning and building their cardboard mazes, students were introduced to the concept of the L-brace. For this project students used single ply cardboard to make L-brace shaped walls and attached these to a base of corrugated cardboard. There was a good bit of trial and error as students discovered issues like walls being too close together and insufficiently L shaped walls. I am really proud of the perseverance the students displayed as they worked through the difficulties.

3rd Grade

The cardboard construction continued in 3rd grade this round. Students designed and built keyboards that they used along with the Makey Makey to operate Scratch projects. In the previous round students made interactive posters. In that set up, the user acted as the switch by holding the ground wire and touching the wires connected to the key presses. The keyboards we made this round used a shared ground wire running under the keys which were also made of cardboard wired and connected to the Makey Makey inputs. Pressing the cardboard key down connects the two wires and triggers the key press. I wanted the students to develop and understanding of a type of switch they could use with the Makey Makey, and they certainly did that. The best part of this project however was seeing the creative decorations they made for their keyboards. Though the projects all work the same way, each one is different, reflecting the personality and interests of the maker.

4th Grade

This round had 4th grade combining computer coding, music, and cardboard construction skills. First they created a Scratch project that used key presses to play different notes and/or percussions. Scratch has a special event block for the Makey Makey that allows a specific sequence of arrow key presses to be used as additional inputs. We called it the "cheat code block". Next students designed a musical instrument in their journals and used that plan to guide their building. When construction was complete, they connected their instrument to their Scratch project with our old friend Makey Makey. As I have come to expect, there was a dazzling array of creative expression on view. At the end of the week each class shared their work with a visiting class from 1st grade or Kindergarten, teachers, and administrators. 

5th Grade

I tried something entirely new with 5th grade in this round. Late last school year I learned about something called MakeCode Arcade. MakeCode is a free computer programming environment from Microsoft that we use to code the micro:bit. MakeCode Arcade allows students to create retro style video games in a block based code editor. I played around with it a bit over the summer and discovered that MakeCode Arcade games can be added to a variety of hardware. Thanks to the support of our Sinclair PTO and families generously buying from my Amazon wish list I was able to get a dozen of these game consoles, which brings us to this unit. The MakeCode platform has a variety of getting started tutorials that the students used to start designing their games. Within the guides students have a lot of creative freedom to alter the look and play of their games, so even started with the same tutorial end up being quite unique. As with most new units there was a bit of a learning curve to optimize the pacing and sequencing, but the end products were truly wonderful. Each 5th grade group got to share their work with a visiting group of 2nd graders who were a delighted and inquisitive audience.

STEM Lab 23_24 Round 4

 We have been having a wonderful time in the STEM lab during this rotation. There is a lot of computer programming going on these days. Kindergarten and 1st grade have been using Scratch Jr, while 2nd grade has been working on the more advanced lessons in Code.org. The third grade classes finished their interactive poster project and shared it with a visiting Kindergarten class. (One 3rd grade class will actually do this during the next round thanks to the unfortunate alignment of ice storm cancelations and me having to be out for 2 days.) Fourth grade learned to use more of the micro:bit's inputs and outputs to create programs, and 5th grade used Scratch to create "hacked" fine art images.

Kindergarten & 1st Grade

Our youngest students started the year in Code.org completing tutorials meant to introduce them to the basic concepts of computer programming. These tutorials of developing students' algorithmic thinking skills, but they are generally lacking in opportunities for creativity. The Code.org puzzle tells the students what the objective is, and while there are frequently multiple correct solutions, there is only one correct thing to do with the program. 

This is where Scratch Jr comes in. This programming language is perfect for introducing students to the idea of creative computing. In Scratch Jr, the students have the ability to choose their characters, their backgrounds, and to decide what they want their program to do. We start each day with a code along activity where I teach the students to use one or more of the command blocks. Next students are given a short independent practice task. Once they share their solution to the prompt with me, they are released to what we call "creative time". This is an opportunity for them to explore, experiment, and create personally meaningful projects.

2nd Grade

This rotation had 2nd grade return to the Code.org courses they started at the beginning of the year. Rather than having them pick up where they left off however, I selected a number of lessons to prepare them for the transition from Scratch Jr to the full version of Scratch. One of the selected lessons focused on using loops effectively, but the others had more of a focus on creative expression. My goal is for students to understand that as they work on the types of projects they will be doing in the STEM lab in the coming years that they are not just they are not just allowed to personalize their projects, but are encouraged to do so. Students too often internalize the message from their teachers that there is one right answer and one right way to get to that answer. There are of course times when is just the one correct answer, but it is important that students have classroom experiences of creative freedom. Experiences in which they have to decide what they want to make, have to figure out how to overcome the difficulties that will inevitably arise, and have to assess how well their finished product aligns with what they were attempting. 

3rd Grade

In round 3 the third graders researched an arctic animal of their choosing. They took that research and incorporated it into a Scratch project that shared what they had learned. (Studio of projects here.) The program used key press events to change background pictures and to present the facts associated with the pictures. The main goal of this project to for students to use computer programming as a tool for expressing their ideas and sharing their learning. The other part of this project is to introduce the students to physical computing, connecting a computer program to physical objects. In this case, the physical element is a poster. 

First students were introduced to the Makey Makey, a device that allows one to turn any conductive substance into a switch capable of sending commands to the computer. After learning to set up, operate, and pack the Makey Makey, students got to work creating their arctic animal poster. With that complete, they added metal fasteners as "buttons" and copper foil tape "wires" to the poster. Paired with the Makey Makey, the poster was used to trigger the key press events that control the different parts of the Scratch program. At the end of the week the students presented their interactive poster projects to a visiting class of Kindergartners. (Presenting to a visiting class of younger students is an important part of the STEM lab program. The older students have an authentic audience to share their work with, and the younger students get to see what the skills they are learning will lead them to.)

4th Grade

The BBC micro:bit is a microcontroller (like a computer, but only capable of storing and running one program at a time) with an array of inputs and output. Students were introduced to the micro:bit in 3rd grade and learned the basics of using the input event handlers to generate different outputs. We started with a review lesson which also served as an introduction for the students who are new to Sinclair this year. The we moved on to using some of the micro:bit's more advanced functions. First students constructed circuits with LEDs and wires which were then connected to the i/o pins (input/output) on the micro:bit. Next we used the light and sound sensors along with conditional statements to make the micro:bit react to loud noises and low light conditions. Students also used the micro:bit's accelerometer to play different musical notes when tilted different directions. They then had to play the tune Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star on the micro:bit. (One group impressed me by moving on from Twinkle to playing the opening notes of Smoke on the Water!) We wrapped up the week with a free choice coding activity in which students chose any 5 inputs and combined them with any 5 outputs. 

5th Grade

The "hacked art" project has become a favorite of mine the last few years. The project itself is fairly straightforward. Students select a famous painting from a selection of a dozen or so. An image of the painting is uploaded into Scratch as a background. Then the same image is added as a sprite and students erase all of the painting except one element to make interactive. This sprite blends into the background, but is programmed to react when it is clicked. Students repeat the process until they have several interactive elements along with a bit of artist biography in the project. What I love about the project is the boundless creativity the students display in their creations. No two projects are ever the same, even when the starting point is the same still image. Below are a few examples. The full studio of projects is here.