Scribble Bots

We have been learning about electrons in second grade.  No kidding:  we've been attempting to wrap our minds around the concept of something so tiny being something so incredibly powerful.


What better way to become Masters of Electrons than by creating our very own circuits?

We constructed very cool Scribble Bots. Our Scribble Bots consisted of a few key components:  a double A battery, electrical wire, and a 1.5 volt motor.  We used empty salt cans as the "body" of our mighty bot.  We attached some markers onto the bottom of the bot in order to get some color involved.

It was an awesome lesson in teamwork.  Thomas Edison once said, "I have not failed.  I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work."


Let's just say that we worked just like Thomas Edison himself on this project.  Lots of duct tape, struggle, laughter, planning, and ultimately success.

The mingling of science and art is not to be missed!

Second Grade STEM: DIY Marble Ramps

Our various and sundry building materials have been arriving in a steady flow.  It's so much fun to witness the looks of sheer glee when heavy brown boxes arrive in our classroom each afternoon.  We are stockpiling batteries, circuits, and magnets aplenty.  We will soon learn to program simple bots that consist of a motor, a battery, recyclable materials, and lots of ingenuity.


Today we learned what STEM stands for.  It was definitely a learning moment for me today, when I realized how often I throw around this beloved acronym, all without making sure that students know what it really is.  We slowed down a bit today to discuss how the components of science, technology, engineering, and math really work so well together.


Then it was time for physics.  We got deep - I mean, really deep - as we discussed the concepts of force, matter, and acceleration.  There was heated discussion about how many atoms are in our own bodies.  We even tried to ascertain how the earliest scientists discovered the existence of atoms.


Heavy, I'm telling you.  But I don't think I've ever been in such an excited classroom - it was so quiet and focused that I think I could hear neurons firing.

Then it was time to test these new concepts.  We split up into three groups.  We had the following materials available to us:

dowels

pegboard

cups

pipe insulation

pipe corners

any recyclable material that could be found in the classroom

Our mission, which we gladly chose to accept, was to construct a ramp capable of guiding a marble from top to bottom.

Force, mass, and acceleration.  All wrapped up in a tiny (and exciting) bundle.

Genius Hour

We launched our first ever Genius Hour with a pep talk from Kid President.  (check out the link!)


He implores us to be awesome.  He asks us to get up and do something.  He quotes that excellent and well-known verse from Robert Frost.  The path less taken might be a little scary, and full of bramble, but it is the Awesome Path.  We should take it.

You may or may not have heard of a little company called Google.  Google is a place where thinkers are allowed to Be Awesome.  Google allows its engineers a specific amount of time to work on "pet projects".  They use this time to work on whatever creative dream that they want.  Both Gmail and Google News are projects that came from this pet project time.

Daniel Pink gets it.  In his book, Drive, he writes all about motivation.  His research has shown that the human brain functions best when it is allowed personalized inquiry time.  In short, when you allow a person to choose what they would like to learn, the result is astounding.

Genius Hour will take place in our classroom every Friday afternoon.  Our projects are varied and incredibly ambitious.  Johnny will complete a podcast about Malala, the brave Pakistani educational advocate.  Josie and Mia are going to demonstrate how volcanoes erupt.  Diego and Andrew are exploring those creepy yet cool creatures of the deep.  Ana and Skyler are creating a television show to demonstrate helpful ways to make friends in school.

As always, these young minds astound me.  Whether they are excited to explore space or launch a social justice group, they are choosing the path less taken.  They are choosing to Be Awesome.

The level of excitement blended with ultimate focus was at all-time highs last Friday afternoon.

Is it any wonder that we can't wait for Genius Hour this week?

Buoyancy Challenge - Creating Tin Foil Boats

The beginning of the year is rife with uncertainty.  Will my desk stay organized?  Will I be part of a challenging reading group?  Will there be a lot of hands-on science featuring a dubious variety of messy materials?  Will my teacher allow me to collect insects outdoors if I promise to write a brief lab report?  More than anything, though, will it be fun?

The answer to all of those questions, I'm hoping, is yes.  Especially that fun part.  Popular sentiment on "fun" in the classroom has finally shifted.  Now, more than ever, fun is recognized as an essential component of learning.  As it should be.

To marry science, math, and fun a bit further, we conducted a simple experiment with tin foil, water, and pennies.  The kids were tasked with constructing their own tin foil boats.  Concepts such as buoyancy and sturdiness had to be addressed.  Size constraints were put in place in order to keep the playing field fun.  

Austin, Griffin, and Alexa get to work

Celian's got a good plan

Putting on some final touches..

Ana Sofia starts loading the penny cargo.  Rather than playing mere witnesses, we tally up the final count on our charts

Daniel tests his boat on its maiden voyage

We're impressed that we have surpassed our predictions!

We use graphs to chart the results of each boat.

Tyler's exceptional boat held 73 pennies!

It's my hope that learning feels effortless when there is a constant and healthy mix of fun involved.

Polymer Study

Last week, we further explored atoms and molecules.  It is fun (near impossible, if you happen to be me) to truly think on a molecular level.  Fortunately, second graders like this lofty challenge.

How many molecules are in a single drop of water?  More than a billion.  It's incredible, mind-bending stuff.

I find hands on science to be so awesome and miraculous because it is tangible.  And when you can actually witness, even FEEL, a chemical change, it's amazing.  It's visceral.  It's messy yet it makes natural sense.

It is equally awesome to watch young scientists achieve Eureka! moments.

So, polymers.  Polymers are much fun:  they are chemical compounds that are made of many, many molecules.  These molecules are strung together like long chains.

Polymers can feel different.  Some are rubbery, some are gooey, some are hard and tough.


(You can probably foreshadow that we stuck with the slimy/gooey variety here in 2nd grade.  Most mess = most fun, right?)

Teddy and James work to mix our water/glue combination together.

We take notes in our science field journals.

  


We started with tap water and Elmer's glue.  The molecules in the water and the glue mingled, a little, but they were very reluctant.  Nothing changed within the glue when it hit the water.  Nothing much changed in the water when it swirled in the glue.  Just a soupy mess.

Grace mixes in food coloring and some Borax...

And we made a polymer!

Then we added a magical ingredient.  I want to pretend to be a wizard, but I'll reveal our secret here:  it was simple Borax powder.  Borax is incredible stuff.  Just a small bit of it mixed with water and glue changed up the molecules in the Elmer's completely.  They started to bind together differently.  They gathered and bunched together until they formed a sticky, yet flexible, lump.


Homemade silly putty.  And we actually achieved it on a molecular level.

Kevin creates his polymer.

Andrew and Julia try it out, too!

We document the "recipe" and explain how it looks and feels.

Here's where the tangible, visceral, Eureka! moment comes in:  Each student was allowed to swirl their fingers in the water/glue.  When their fingers were coated with the mixture, they then dipped their fingers into the dry Borax powder.  When they returned their fingers to the water/glue, they could actually feel the molecules changing in their hands.


It's incredible.  Trust us.  We couldn't stop experimenting.

Grace, Julia, Sophia, and Gabriel work hard to analyze.

The rest of our science lesson was spent analyzing, stretching, bouncing, rolling, and measuring.



..... And by bouncing, I mean doing huge jumps in order to bounce the Silly Putty onto the ground with lots of force!

Nice air time, Andrew!!

The life of a scientist is rough.

Academic Miscellany

What is it about a few dozen snowflakes that gets us Maryland residents so giddy?  I couldn't even sleep in during our two hour delay.  I wanted to be out in the wintery fray.  So here I am, excitedly waiting for the kids to tromp in.  (We've got penguins to work on!  Writing!  Typing!  Crafts!)

January might be the heart of the winter doldrums yet you wouldn't experience it here.

Let's start the hodgepodge update.  Not a solitary subject but a bunch of academic miscellany.  It's fun that way.  It is symbolic of how we operate our second grade classroom.

Did you know that there are 17 different species of penguins?  What blessed fate:  there are 17 of us.  16 students, 1 teacher who doesn't want to miss out on research fun.  We each selected a different penguin to study.  I took the leftover:  the mighty, noble Royal penguin.  We've been writing and typing extensive reports.  Above is a little side project we're working on:  studying the various adaptations of all penguins.  My favorite adaptation is the small "heat window" around penguin eyes.  These patches are feather-free and allow heat to escape and the bird to cool off!  Nature is awesome.

Sick of hearing about how much we adore reading groups?  Too bad.  We've been focused on protagonist/antagonist study as of late, along with dictionary and vocabulary skills.  It's so fun to watch the kids rush around as they collaborate on a huge project that is time sensitive.  The adrenaline is palpable.

Tessellations are math?  Yes.  Tessellations are math.  We've been studying the types of tessellations that occur in nature (snake skin, anyone?) as well as creating some of our own using various polygons.  Tessellations are beautiful patterns that have no gaps or overlaps.  It is so fun to experiment and see which shapes can become tessellations together.  M.C. Escher would be proud.

Brain Quest sent our class a ton of amazing products because they recognize how awesome my students are.  I would never, ever be able to come in early on a snow delay day or even work with a smile on my face without these children.  They are sincerely an inspiration, a push to work harder, a push to work smarter, a reminder to collaborate.  They are phenomenal children and they deserve this recognition.  We have had a lot of fun sharing these books and game decks with others.


That's it!  Happy half snow day.  We'll update with more adventures soon.