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STEM Week 2


What fun we had today!  Read below for recap, videos, Black Belt Math support material, and suggested homework. Note:  It is best to view our blog on the computer.

Presentations:  

WOW!  We had some really great presentations today!  Your students shared facts about polar bears, kangaroos, weather, rocks, volcanoes, and much more!  They did so well standing up in front of the class and presenting in a clear loud voice.

For next week, I would like to encourage students to also bring a visual along with their presentation.  For example:  If the student is presenting on bees, then perhaps they will also bring images of bees, hives, flowers, etc.. They could even bring honey to taste.  It really helps to capture the audiences' attention and add appeal directly to the imagination.

Science Time:

We continued our exploration into Newton's First Law.  Last week we explored objects at rest, and this week we explored objects in motion.  We found out how important it was to wear a seat belt, and we explored the strange phenomenon of Newton's beads.

Here is a wonderful video that shows the beads in slow motion and tries to explain what is happening when these beads leap out of the cup:



Math Time:

We had lots of white belts issued today!  Keep up the hard work!

This week we played a math game using the +1, +2, -1, -2 facts.  

The Yellow Belt Chart was handed out for those of who are ready to move on (I failed to hole punch, so if you wouldn't mind please hole punch the sheet and place it in their binder.).  

Please note:  It is okay to stay on a level as long as necessary to master the material.  Perhaps some students it will need to take several weeks to master +1 and +2 addition before for moving on to +3 and +4.  That is perfectly fine and as it should be.  The belts are a helpful way to reward hard work and give incentive to mastery at each and every level.  

Yellow belt material is now up on the website as well!  You will find flashcards, skip counting videos, and drill sheets to aid you child in the mastery of the four basic operations.  http://stonetablestemclub.blogspot.com/p/black-belt-math.html (Also linked at the top of the blog.)

Engineering Time:  

Not much engineering went on today as the planned hovercraft project had too many issues to introduce. : ) Instead we had fun having balloon rocket races and learned a bit about thrust.  

Here is a recap of what we have been learning:

Optional homework:  

  • Online:  Scholastic: 
http://studyjams.scholastic.com/studyjams/jams/science/forces-and-motion/fgravity-and-inertia.htm  Here is last weeks video if you missed it: http://studyjams.scholastic.com/studyjams/jams/science/forces-and-motion/inertia.htm

If you didn't get a chance to check out the following texts last week, you may want to explore further this week.  The CK-12 site has some pretty interesting material with text, videos, simulations, and quizzes:

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)





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