Projects

Kinder Shape Monster Project October 2018

We kicked off this project by reading a book called "The Monstore."  The illustrations showed many types of monsters.  We discussed different shapes they could identify in the illustrations. Parents had been sending in 3D shapes (trash) for the project.  Students began by sorting the shapes and we recorded their attributes as a group.

 

Then, students used the 3D shapes to create monsters!

 

Students chose a color and I spray painted their monster creations!

 

 

Next, students counted and recorded the number of 3D shapes they used for their creations!

 

 

After that, students chose from a selection of printed shapes, and cut out their own shapes to create eyes, mouths, feet, hands and anything else they thought their monster needed.

 

 

Then, students counted the and recorded the number of 2D shapes they had used for their creations!

 

 

Using the app Chatterpix and Green Screen by Doink, students created videos of their monsters!

 

 

 

 

Students used the sentence starter, "My monster is..." to write a sentence about their monster.

 

 

 

 

Finally, they presented to the class by sharing their favorite thing about their monster, or their favorite shape used!

 

 

 1st Grade Animal Habitat Project May 2018

We kicked off this project by having students chose an animal to study before our class field trip to the zoo. Students got into groups and chose an animal.  Then, they did some research about that animal and it's habitat.  They recorded their observations about what they noticed the habitat needed to include.

 At the zoo they had an assignment to take a picture of that animal, take a picture of the habitat and take a picture of the informational sign.  They were supposed to learn as much about that animal as they could while they were there.

When we returned from the zoo, students evaluated the habitat at the zoo and compared it to their research.  Then they created a model showing improvements to the zoo habitat.  They were taught a few paper craft skills and watched how to videos on creating clay animals to aide in their project creation. 

Students presented their completed projects to the class.

Students created green screen photos of their groups in their habitats and wrote fictional stories to go with their photos.

1st Grade Haunted House Project

For this project, parents sent in 3D shapes (trash) for a project.  No one was told what type of project we would be working on with the shapes.  Students began by sorting the shapes and recording their attributes.

Next, students were challenged to create a haunted house for someone to use as a Halloween decoration.  All 3D shapes had to be included in their haunted house.  Students formed groups and looked through pictures of haunted houses, identifying the 3D shapes used in the actual houses as they looked for ideas they could use.  Then, they got started building.

Students painted and decorated the houses.

Next, each group counted and recorded the number of 3D shapes used in their haunted house, and wrote a script for a haunted house Chatterpix.

Student used Green Screen by Doink to put their haunted house on a background from a Google image search, and then created a Chatterpix.

 To wrap things up, students presented their Chatterpix and projects to groups of Kindergarten students! At home, students will be writing 3 to 4 persuasive paragraphs with their parents to try and win their group's haunted house for their home Halloween decorations!

Kindergarten Animal Project

Students were asked to create an animal costume to represent an animal covering.  Along the way, they learned about the purpose of different animal coverings, the ways animals are grouped, and other animal facts!  Students presented what they learned by answering questions in a "Walk Through Exhibit."

Objects in the Sky Project

Students were challenged to design a way for Pre-K students to learn about objects in the sky! After learning about the sun, moon, stars, clouds and earth for several weeks, students worked in teams to create models, record facts from class anchor charts, practice reading those facts, and then hold a walk through museum for the Pre-K classes!

 Roller Coaster Project

Students received a challenge video from a real theme park engineer challenging them to design a roller coaster! They had to create something that moved in several different ways (up, down, zig- zag, fast, slow, around and around, etc) and that people would want to ride! They got to work right away learning about roller coaster design with some online tools! 

The next day, students started building!  They worked in teams of 3 to design! They were so focused on their work, that they worked on the roller coaster design most of the day, resulting in a finished product after several consistent hours of design work.

We sent design pictures off to our engineer and received a thank you video!  Students received group awards for group who were able to use Habit 6 and synergize! A reward was also given to the student who problem solved best, and the student who didn't need any reminders not to quit working or give up during the day!