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.)
