Welcome

Welcome to the Stone Table STEM Club blog.  You will find information here each week on what we are learning in class.

Presentations:  This week for presentations we stood up in front of the class and shared a little about ourselves.  Starting on the 11th students will be given the opportunity to present a science topic they have learned about at home.  Presentations need to be short (around 1 minute) and may be on any science topic.

Science Time:  This week we started exploring Newton's First Law of Motion.  We did a couple of drop experiments, recorded our results and drew conclusions.  Below you will find some fun videos showing some experiments like we conducted in class. There is also optional homework below.

Math Time:  We played dominoes and learned about The Black Belt Math Challenge found here: https://stonetablestemclub.blogspot.com/p/black-belt-math.html  TheWhite Belt level material was handed out and is located in their binder.

Students, who would like to earn belts, should study and master the facts inside out.  All belts contain four different levels: addition, subtraction, multiplication, division. Each child should begin with the easiest level of addition first, but (if ready) may earn more than one level of a belt each week.  For K-3, I recommend that students proceed through the addition and subtraction levels first, before attempting the multiplication and division.  Older students, who may have already mastered the material, may progress through all four levels at a time.  Remember mastery is the key.  When a student has mastered a level, simply sign the log sheet in their three ring binder and they will receive the earned belt during class.

On the following link https://stonetablestemclub.blogspot.com/p/black-belt-math.html, you will find helpful skip counting videos and printable math drills.  I recommend buying or making some good old flash cards and having students work on these during math period.

Engineering Time:  We engineered our own bubble wands out of odds and ends.

What to bring to class on the 11th:  Students are encouraged each week to come prepared for class with the following:

• 3 ringed binder
• A short science presentation.  
• Black Belt Math Status. (signed log sheet)

Optional homework for 4th - 6th (great for k-3 also):  Choose from one source (or more if you like) below:

• Online:  Scholastic:  http://studyjams.scholastic.com/studyjams/jams/science/forces-and-motion/inertia.htm
• Online: CK-12  https://www.ck12.org/physics/Newtons-First-Law/
• Text: Rainbow Science (If you own the book) Read Chapter One https://beginningspublishing.com/RainbowSamples/1-3.pdf  Note:  I am sorry to say that the used price for this book has gone way up since the beginning of the summer.  It is not at all necessary to purchase this text book.  

First Law of Motion Videos