Elementary Dives into Design Tech

Y R A T N E M E L E

H C E T N G I S E D O T N I S E V I D

The Maker Lab in the elementary school at Carrollwood Day School is a very special place. It's a place where students can take their ideas and cultivate them into reality. At the helm of that creative space is Maker Lab and Science Specialist, Jenny Gochoco. Jenny has leapt into the design tech arena with excitement and gusto offering curriculum to our 1st through 5th graders that satisfies students' creativity but also challenges their critical thinking. 1 4

To Dream is to Create. To Create is to Learn

As part of the Design Tech team, Jenny is joined by Elementary Computer Teacher extraordinaire, Bryan McGrath, and Media Specialist, Connie Hollin. Together they work to create STEEM curriculum for our lower school students that inspires creativity and fosters a love for understanding how things work.

1st Grade - Balloon Cars

As part of their study on matter, 1st graders used balloons to study the concepts of kinetic energy, potential energy, and Newton's laws of motion.

With the goal of using the power of air to move the balloon car, students had to figure out the best design of the car, how much to inflate the balloon, and how to release the air to convert energy.

With various materials to choose from, students designed, created, and tested their balloon cars to see what worked the best for the farthest ride.

2nd Grade - Lego Spike Robotics

Using Legos, 2nd graders explored textbased coding to design, build, and start a ferris wheel. They then interpreted data to describe the relationships between types of energy.

With the opportunity to upgrade their model and modify code, they answered questions like "How did you make the Ferris Wheel stop?" and "How did you upgrade the Ferris Wheel?" 3rd Grade - Balloons Over Broadway

As the first project that had students collaborating with the media center, technology, and the Maker Lab, 3rd graders started with Ms. Hollin and read the book "Balloons Over Broadway, " which tells the history of the Macy’s Thanksgiving parade. Once the students understood that through dedication and imagination your dreams could become a reality, they headed over to see Mr. McGrath in Technology and learned how to drive the Dash robots, as well as how to record and take photos. With the Dash robots, students are able to explore loops, events, conditions, and sequences to see how they result in real-life movements.

Armed with the story of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and the careful skills of a balloon handler through robotics, CDS students then started to design and construct the balloons in the Maker Lab.

This partnership between story-telling, technology, and physical creation is a perfect example of IB (International Baccalaureate) project-based learning that integrates subjects. It's also a great example of our lower school design tech team in action.

HOW FAR CAN YOUR IMAGINATION TAKE YOU?

4th Grade - Water

As part of their exploration with water, fourth graders used the FOSS (Full Option Science System) science investigations to explore water properties. The students experimented with how water reacts to different surfaces, made thermometers to study hot and cold water, studied surface tension, animals that walk on water, and finished by creating water wheels that were strong enough to move a load.

5th Grade - Food Trucks

As an extension of their Unit of Inquiry,

"From Head to Toe, " which focuses on health, nutrition, and the human body, CDS 5th graders designed, created, and launched their own food truck businesses in elementary Maker Lab with Mrs. Gochoco.

They started off by studying nutrition and learned how to read nutrition labels on food. In groups, they formed food truck businesses and created menus, logos, and food truck models. The students were allowed to choose how they created and displayed their models. Some were designed digitally using various apps, or made out of paper, clay, or recyclables.

The students had to collaborate in order to bring their food trucks to life. As a celebration of all their hard work, each class hosted another 5th-grade class who could shop at their food trucks. The visiting class had an imaginary $20 budget to spend during their visit. The hosting class took orders and was able to calculate their profits after the event. This connects to their current "Dollars and Sense" unit of inquiry, which leads up to Young Entrepreneur's Day!