The International Space Station will be visible in Maine this weekend in the night sky if mother nature cooperates and provides a cloud-free viewing condition!
It will only be visible for a brief amount of time---3 minutes or less, but if you are a science lover like me, and like a challenge, check out the site below for more details!
http://spotthestation.nasa.gov/sightings/view.cfm?country=United_States®ion=Maine&city=Portland#.Vtn1JH0rLIU
-Mrs. Athearn
Friday, March 4, 2016
Sunday, February 28, 2016
Leap Year, Leap Day Explained
Hello!
Tomorrow is February 29th, 2016---a leap day! A few kids have asked me what the Leap Day and Leap Year is all about, so here's a video to explain everything featuring my favorite astrophysicist and all around lover of science and the Cosmos---Neil deGrasse Tyson!
Happy Leap Day tomorrow!!
-Mrs. A
Tomorrow is February 29th, 2016---a leap day! A few kids have asked me what the Leap Day and Leap Year is all about, so here's a video to explain everything featuring my favorite astrophysicist and all around lover of science and the Cosmos---Neil deGrasse Tyson!
Happy Leap Day tomorrow!!
-Mrs. A
Friday, February 26, 2016
Update for February 26, 2016
Hi friends!
I haven't updated in a few weeks. Between snow-days, vacations, and lots of engineering projects, it has been a very busy February in the STEM classroom!
First, I want to remind everyone about the Wentworth PTA's upcoming Family STEAM Fair on Thursday, March 3rd at Wentworth School from 5:30-7:30 pm. STEAM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics! I heard that last year's event was a huge success, and I am so excited to be a part of the fun this year. Many teachers and staff members have prepared highly engaging STEAM activities for kids and families to share in the joy of learning together. I will be there showing off my new LittleBits kit, an exciting tool for inventing and makerspace activities. I will have a few different inventions for families to choose to create, but unfortunately the LittleBits cannot be taken home, as we will use these great tools again and again in STEM class for the rest of the year and beyond.
Grade 3 Update
Right before vacation, the third graders completed another challenge to create a flying technology. The kids used their knowledge of aeronautical engineering to create a flying disc that could spin in the air and create some lift before it falls to the ground. This helped us to understand design features that could overcome the force of gravity. The flying discs are serving as inspiration for a new flying technology that can take aerial photos that we began to plan out this week. The students are currently working in small groups to now take everything they've learned about flying technologies, and design their own prototype that could be created to take aerial photos of a part of the world called the Empty Quarter. The Empty Quarter is the largest sand desert on earth, and we learned that scientists at NASA are interested in studying the Empty Quarter, because it resembles the harsh conditions that they might encounter on other planets like Mars. I'll keep everyone updated on the final flying technologies the kids imagine, plan, create, and improve over the next few weeks!
Grade 5 Update
The trimester is winding down for grade 5, and sadly we only have 2 classes left before I have to say goodbye to these amazing students. I have been so impressed with these 5th graders and their ability to embrace the engineering design process and new technologies like Tinkercad in such a short period of time!
Right before vacation, we learned a new 3D modeling program called Tinkercad. Tinkercad is the program we are using to create a logo to go along with the 5th graders final aerospace engineering project. Each group is creating a final model rocket that will be launched to a specific destination in the solar system and with a specific mission to perform. For example, the mission to Pluto is to take a picture of the surface of the dwarf planet. Each group is also creating a model rover that will perform the mission on their destination. Finally, each group is also creating a logo to represent their mission team in Tinkercad. I will be 3D printing these logos during the last week of the trimester. The kids have divided their work collaboratively, and each group has a rocket, rover, and logo manager. I can't wait to see all these final projects in action during our last week together.
That's all for now! Hope to see you at STEAM night!
-Mrs. A
I haven't updated in a few weeks. Between snow-days, vacations, and lots of engineering projects, it has been a very busy February in the STEM classroom!
First, I want to remind everyone about the Wentworth PTA's upcoming Family STEAM Fair on Thursday, March 3rd at Wentworth School from 5:30-7:30 pm. STEAM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics! I heard that last year's event was a huge success, and I am so excited to be a part of the fun this year. Many teachers and staff members have prepared highly engaging STEAM activities for kids and families to share in the joy of learning together. I will be there showing off my new LittleBits kit, an exciting tool for inventing and makerspace activities. I will have a few different inventions for families to choose to create, but unfortunately the LittleBits cannot be taken home, as we will use these great tools again and again in STEM class for the rest of the year and beyond.
Grade 3 Update
Right before vacation, the third graders completed another challenge to create a flying technology. The kids used their knowledge of aeronautical engineering to create a flying disc that could spin in the air and create some lift before it falls to the ground. This helped us to understand design features that could overcome the force of gravity. The flying discs are serving as inspiration for a new flying technology that can take aerial photos that we began to plan out this week. The students are currently working in small groups to now take everything they've learned about flying technologies, and design their own prototype that could be created to take aerial photos of a part of the world called the Empty Quarter. The Empty Quarter is the largest sand desert on earth, and we learned that scientists at NASA are interested in studying the Empty Quarter, because it resembles the harsh conditions that they might encounter on other planets like Mars. I'll keep everyone updated on the final flying technologies the kids imagine, plan, create, and improve over the next few weeks!
Grade 5 Update
The trimester is winding down for grade 5, and sadly we only have 2 classes left before I have to say goodbye to these amazing students. I have been so impressed with these 5th graders and their ability to embrace the engineering design process and new technologies like Tinkercad in such a short period of time!
Right before vacation, we learned a new 3D modeling program called Tinkercad. Tinkercad is the program we are using to create a logo to go along with the 5th graders final aerospace engineering project. Each group is creating a final model rocket that will be launched to a specific destination in the solar system and with a specific mission to perform. For example, the mission to Pluto is to take a picture of the surface of the dwarf planet. Each group is also creating a model rover that will perform the mission on their destination. Finally, each group is also creating a logo to represent their mission team in Tinkercad. I will be 3D printing these logos during the last week of the trimester. The kids have divided their work collaboratively, and each group has a rocket, rover, and logo manager. I can't wait to see all these final projects in action during our last week together.
That's all for now! Hope to see you at STEAM night!
-Mrs. A
Friday, January 29, 2016
Quick update for the week of January 25, 2016
Hi friends!
We have had yet another productive week in the STEM classroom at Wentworth School! My apologies for being out this week on Thursday. I'm sorry to have missed my third grade classes on that day. I missed your final drop copter testing and improvements, but I was here at Wentworth doing some very important work. I worked all day with science and technology teachers across the district to align our essential learning standards, specifically with regard to engineering, to ensure that students are receiving the very best STEM education possible here in Scarborough!
Here's an update for each grade level or this week:
Grade 3
Third graders finished putting the final improvements on their drop copters, finalized their plans, and tested their copters to see which designs would fall the slowest. Our objective was to use the engineering design process to imagine, plan, create, and improve a drop copter that could fall as slowly as possible to take as many aerial photos as possible if a camera were attached to it. The kids discovered that copters with less weight and more surface area on the blades fell the slowest. Nice work grade 3 engineers! Next week we will use the engineering design process to create a new flying technology--a flying disc!
Grade 5
Fifth graders this week had two objectives. The first was to find out how the variables of rocket length, width, and material affected how far the rocket could travel when launched on a stomp launcher. The kids decided to all launch their rockets at a 45 degree angle so that launcher angle was held constant and would not become another variable we needed to consider. The kids did an excellent job launching their rockets---only one rocket landed on the suspended light fixture!! We won't be able to share our results until next week as rocket launching took up most of our class. The students all recorded their distance data and noted which variable they were testing. Next class, we will pool the data from each class and condense it onto one data table that we can analyze to find out which variables yielded the best results for rocket distance. This will become part of the final rocket project criteria depending on which destination in the solar system the students decide to send their rockets. Next week students will begin to plan their rovers and final rocket missions.
The second objective this week was to set-up an account on Project Ignite---a student and teacher portal for using Tinkercad! Tinkercad is a web-based 3D modeling program that the students will use to create a 3D design for a logo to accompany their final rocket and rover mission. If everything works out correctly, we will be able to print these logos in our CubePro 3D printer.
Have a great weekend everyone!
-Mrs. A :)
We have had yet another productive week in the STEM classroom at Wentworth School! My apologies for being out this week on Thursday. I'm sorry to have missed my third grade classes on that day. I missed your final drop copter testing and improvements, but I was here at Wentworth doing some very important work. I worked all day with science and technology teachers across the district to align our essential learning standards, specifically with regard to engineering, to ensure that students are receiving the very best STEM education possible here in Scarborough!
Here's an update for each grade level or this week:
Grade 3
Third graders finished putting the final improvements on their drop copters, finalized their plans, and tested their copters to see which designs would fall the slowest. Our objective was to use the engineering design process to imagine, plan, create, and improve a drop copter that could fall as slowly as possible to take as many aerial photos as possible if a camera were attached to it. The kids discovered that copters with less weight and more surface area on the blades fell the slowest. Nice work grade 3 engineers! Next week we will use the engineering design process to create a new flying technology--a flying disc!
Grade 5
Fifth graders this week had two objectives. The first was to find out how the variables of rocket length, width, and material affected how far the rocket could travel when launched on a stomp launcher. The kids decided to all launch their rockets at a 45 degree angle so that launcher angle was held constant and would not become another variable we needed to consider. The kids did an excellent job launching their rockets---only one rocket landed on the suspended light fixture!! We won't be able to share our results until next week as rocket launching took up most of our class. The students all recorded their distance data and noted which variable they were testing. Next class, we will pool the data from each class and condense it onto one data table that we can analyze to find out which variables yielded the best results for rocket distance. This will become part of the final rocket project criteria depending on which destination in the solar system the students decide to send their rockets. Next week students will begin to plan their rovers and final rocket missions.
The second objective this week was to set-up an account on Project Ignite---a student and teacher portal for using Tinkercad! Tinkercad is a web-based 3D modeling program that the students will use to create a 3D design for a logo to accompany their final rocket and rover mission. If everything works out correctly, we will be able to print these logos in our CubePro 3D printer.
Have a great weekend everyone!
-Mrs. A :)
Friday, January 22, 2016
Update for the week of January 18th, 2016
Hi Friends!
I hope everyone had a fun and productive week! The students of Wentworth and I sure did! See below for a grade specific update.
I also want to acknowledge Martin Luther King Jr. Day this past Monday by sharing a powerful quote that I keep in my journal of reflections of my teaching practice.
Grade 5 Update
This week the 5th graders continued their aerospace engineering unit by creating rockets that will be tested next week on the stomp launcher with new variables in mind. Our new objective is to find out how the variables of rocket length, width, and material will affect how far the rocket can travel. The students were split into groups of three, and each group was assigned a different variable to test. The students created rockets of small, medium, and large width and length, as well as, different materials like copy paper, transparency paper, and foam. Next week the students will launch their rockets and record their distance data. Then, as a class, we will pool our data, and see which lengths, widths, and materials flew the furthest. The goal is that this information will inform how the students will construct their final rockets that will carry a rover to a specific destination in the solar system. Nice job 5th graders!
Grade 3 Update
The third graders this week began to plan and create a new flying technology--a drop copter! First, we listened to a message from our student engineer friend Jacob. Jacob is working with a friend, April, who is an aeronautical engineer at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to develop a flying technology that Jacob can use to take aerial photos. Jacob sent us some drop copter templates to try out and modify. The students have a goal to design a drop copter that falls slowly enough to take as many aerial photos as possible! The students will use what they learned about how materials behave in an updraft last week to create their designs. We learned that lighter and wider materials fly better in an updraft last week. The students will continue this challenge next week. I can't wait to see what the kids come up with!
-Mrs. A
I hope everyone had a fun and productive week! The students of Wentworth and I sure did! See below for a grade specific update.
I also want to acknowledge Martin Luther King Jr. Day this past Monday by sharing a powerful quote that I keep in my journal of reflections of my teaching practice.
Grade 5 Update
This week the 5th graders continued their aerospace engineering unit by creating rockets that will be tested next week on the stomp launcher with new variables in mind. Our new objective is to find out how the variables of rocket length, width, and material will affect how far the rocket can travel. The students were split into groups of three, and each group was assigned a different variable to test. The students created rockets of small, medium, and large width and length, as well as, different materials like copy paper, transparency paper, and foam. Next week the students will launch their rockets and record their distance data. Then, as a class, we will pool our data, and see which lengths, widths, and materials flew the furthest. The goal is that this information will inform how the students will construct their final rockets that will carry a rover to a specific destination in the solar system. Nice job 5th graders!
Grade 3 Update
The third graders this week began to plan and create a new flying technology--a drop copter! First, we listened to a message from our student engineer friend Jacob. Jacob is working with a friend, April, who is an aeronautical engineer at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to develop a flying technology that Jacob can use to take aerial photos. Jacob sent us some drop copter templates to try out and modify. The students have a goal to design a drop copter that falls slowly enough to take as many aerial photos as possible! The students will use what they learned about how materials behave in an updraft last week to create their designs. We learned that lighter and wider materials fly better in an updraft last week. The students will continue this challenge next week. I can't wait to see what the kids come up with!
-Mrs. A
Friday, January 15, 2016
Update for the week of January 11, 2016
Hi friends!
Here is a quick update of what was happening this week in the STEM classroom! Wow, has it been a fun and exciting week! The kids and I have been so busy testing materials and launching rockets. See below for a grade specific update.
Grade 3
Third graders this week were introduced to a new testing tool that aeronautical engineers use to test their flying technologies---a vertical wind tunnel! We learned that vertical wind tunnels create an updraft (air moving up) and that objects in an updraft experience lift. The kids chose different building materials (tissue paper, cardboard, mylar, etc.) to see which materials have the greatest lift. We wanted to find out what the best building materials are to create a flying technology in the upcoming weeks. Nice job third graders!
Grade 5
Fifth graders this week were able to test the rockets that they created last week. Our objective was to find out how the variable of weight affects how far a rocket can travel. The students tested their rockets made from paper on a stomp launcher at 0, 10, and 20 weights. We used metal washers for weights. The students recorded their distance data and discovered that when the weight of the rocket increases, the distance it can travel decreases. Some students were surprised by this, and others expected this result. Next week, we will split into groups to test how other variables affect how far a rocket can travel like rocket length, width, and material. Our goal is to gather data about these different variables that will inform their creation of a final rocket that the students must plan a mission for with a certain destination in the solar system in mind, and that can also carry a rover with a specific job for exploring their destination. Way to go fifth graders! This launching procedure required much cooperation and the kids excelled!
Happy engineering!
-Mrs. A
Here is a quick update of what was happening this week in the STEM classroom! Wow, has it been a fun and exciting week! The kids and I have been so busy testing materials and launching rockets. See below for a grade specific update.
Grade 3
Third graders this week were introduced to a new testing tool that aeronautical engineers use to test their flying technologies---a vertical wind tunnel! We learned that vertical wind tunnels create an updraft (air moving up) and that objects in an updraft experience lift. The kids chose different building materials (tissue paper, cardboard, mylar, etc.) to see which materials have the greatest lift. We wanted to find out what the best building materials are to create a flying technology in the upcoming weeks. Nice job third graders!
Grade 5
Fifth graders this week were able to test the rockets that they created last week. Our objective was to find out how the variable of weight affects how far a rocket can travel. The students tested their rockets made from paper on a stomp launcher at 0, 10, and 20 weights. We used metal washers for weights. The students recorded their distance data and discovered that when the weight of the rocket increases, the distance it can travel decreases. Some students were surprised by this, and others expected this result. Next week, we will split into groups to test how other variables affect how far a rocket can travel like rocket length, width, and material. Our goal is to gather data about these different variables that will inform their creation of a final rocket that the students must plan a mission for with a certain destination in the solar system in mind, and that can also carry a rover with a specific job for exploring their destination. Way to go fifth graders! This launching procedure required much cooperation and the kids excelled!
Happy engineering!
-Mrs. A
Friday, January 8, 2016
First update for 2016!
Hi students, teachers, friends, and families,
Happy 2016! I hope everyone had a great winter vacation, found some time to enjoy friends and family, and re-charge their batteries!
Before vacation, the students at Wentworth participated in Hour of Code activities from CODE.org's Code Studio lessons. STEM class was no exception, and the students and I enjoyed creating programs that could run games, play music, and create art with drag and drop coding. The kids learned about algorithms, programs, bugs and de-bugging, sequences and loops. A great time was had by all, and we will continue with Code Studio later on in the trimester. Here's a link to Mrs. Clive's Tech Integration website where you can find a link to Wentworth's Hour of Code activities. Thanks Mrs. Clive for making this coding experience so easy and fun!
https://sites.google.com/a/scarboroughschools.org/wstechintegration/
This first of 2016, the STEM classrooms have been busy with new engineering units!
Grade 5 Update:
The 5th graders started their Aerospace engineering unit by learning about rockets, rovers, and the International Space Station. Then, the 5th graders created their paper rockets that we will launch next week using a stomp launcher. Our objective is to investigate how the variable of weight with affect the distance a rocket can travel. This will help out later on when the students plan a rocket mission to a destination in our solar system that can carry a rover that they have designed to a certain criteria. They must also design their rocket to carry this rover, so it is important to know how the weight of the rover will affect the rocket.
The kids were also excited that you can sometimes spot the International Space Station in the night sky as it is orbiting the earth. Here's a link to try this out with your family!
http://spotthestation.nasa.gov/
Grade 3 Update:
The 3rd graders are getting ready for their upcoming Aeronautical engineering unit, by learning more about technology and how engineers define technologies. The students were technology detectives this week. First we learned that technologies are objects or processes that are engineered by humans to fulfill a need and/or help solve a problem. The kids were very surprised that not all technologies have to be electronic! Then, they had to pick an object that Mrs. Athearn provided and identify if it was in fact a technology or not. Lastly, the students imagined ways to improve their technologies. I was very impressed with the improvements the students came up with. One student thought that a dry erase board eraser could be improved by adding a robotic feature so that it could automatically clean your white board kind of like a Roomba cleans floors. I would love this invention especially for the hard-to-reach places on my white board!
That's all for now!
-Mrs. A
Happy 2016! I hope everyone had a great winter vacation, found some time to enjoy friends and family, and re-charge their batteries!
Before vacation, the students at Wentworth participated in Hour of Code activities from CODE.org's Code Studio lessons. STEM class was no exception, and the students and I enjoyed creating programs that could run games, play music, and create art with drag and drop coding. The kids learned about algorithms, programs, bugs and de-bugging, sequences and loops. A great time was had by all, and we will continue with Code Studio later on in the trimester. Here's a link to Mrs. Clive's Tech Integration website where you can find a link to Wentworth's Hour of Code activities. Thanks Mrs. Clive for making this coding experience so easy and fun!
https://sites.google.com/a/scarboroughschools.org/wstechintegration/
This first of 2016, the STEM classrooms have been busy with new engineering units!
Grade 5 Update:
The 5th graders started their Aerospace engineering unit by learning about rockets, rovers, and the International Space Station. Then, the 5th graders created their paper rockets that we will launch next week using a stomp launcher. Our objective is to investigate how the variable of weight with affect the distance a rocket can travel. This will help out later on when the students plan a rocket mission to a destination in our solar system that can carry a rover that they have designed to a certain criteria. They must also design their rocket to carry this rover, so it is important to know how the weight of the rover will affect the rocket.
The kids were also excited that you can sometimes spot the International Space Station in the night sky as it is orbiting the earth. Here's a link to try this out with your family!
http://spotthestation.nasa.gov/
Grade 3 Update:
The 3rd graders are getting ready for their upcoming Aeronautical engineering unit, by learning more about technology and how engineers define technologies. The students were technology detectives this week. First we learned that technologies are objects or processes that are engineered by humans to fulfill a need and/or help solve a problem. The kids were very surprised that not all technologies have to be electronic! Then, they had to pick an object that Mrs. Athearn provided and identify if it was in fact a technology or not. Lastly, the students imagined ways to improve their technologies. I was very impressed with the improvements the students came up with. One student thought that a dry erase board eraser could be improved by adding a robotic feature so that it could automatically clean your white board kind of like a Roomba cleans floors. I would love this invention especially for the hard-to-reach places on my white board!
That's all for now!
-Mrs. A
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