https://padlet.com/aradeva1/4thSTEMssm place to drop PDFs, videos, URLs, etc en-us 2020-06-15 22:30:30 UTC 2026-01-24 02:08:47 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet.net/icons/png/2697.png aradeva1 https://padlet.com/aradeva1/4thSTEMssm/wish/628053607 -energy, energy transfer, potential and kinetic energy
-PBL unit
-start with simple machines review one by one (levers, wheels and axles, catapults, seesaws, ruff ruff man simple machines)
-roller racer car obstacle course
-then move into specific types of arcade games, pull from games galore! padlet?
-We are spending the first 2 weeks of our Arcade Design unit reviewing simple machines and building models. Students have been doing rapid fire challenges related to seesaws, pinball machines, and roller racer cars!

Next week, we tackle catapults and marble runs as a way to review how potential energy is converted into kinetic energy.

Just before our field trip, we reviewed how catapults incorporate simple machines to make work easier and spent time discussing how potential energy stored in a rubber band (in a catapult) and how gravitational potential energy (in a marble run) are transformed into kinetic energy to make things move.

We will finish up our marble runs next week before starting the big arcade design part of our energy and forces unit. It’s awesome to see how students’ work over just a couple class periods on the marble runs has paid off!]]> 2020-06-15 22:31:02 UTC https://padlet.com/aradeva1/4thSTEMssm/wish/628053607 aradeva1 https://padlet.com/aradeva1/4thSTEMssm/wish/628055739
Geology is the study of our planet's earth materials and natural resources. Because they are so ubiquitous and abundant, they are often take for granted. The Soils, Rocks, and Landforms Module provides students with firsthand experiences with soils, rocks, and minerals, and modeling experiences to study changes to rocks and landforms at Earth's surface. In this module, students will:

• Investigate the processes of physical and chemical weathering of rocks and minerals.
• Observe and compare the shapes of leaves; compare leaf shapes to geometric shapes.
• Investigate the composition of soils from four different locations; observe and compare local soils.
• Observe weather by using senses and simple tools.
• Use stream tables to investigate how the slow processes of erosion and deposition alter landforms; predict the results of a student-designed stream-table investigation, and then compare actual results to predictions.
• Use physical tools and a table of diagnostic properties to make observations and identify minerals in common rocks.
• Make observations and interpret them to develop explanations in the way that scientists do.
• Observe how earth materials are used in the community around school, and consider the ways people impact natural resources.

]]> 2020-06-15 22:34:08 UTC https://padlet.com/aradeva1/4thSTEMssm/wish/628055739 aradeva1 https://padlet.com/aradeva1/4thSTEMssm/wish/628056417 -earthquakes, landslides, avalanches, tsunamis, wildfires
-earthquakes engineering adventures unit!!!
-incorporate more student choice in natural disaster projects
-how we minimize damage?
-how do we mitigate harmful impact?
-building codes/urban planning
-prevention techniques for landslides
-warning systems
-how do we respond after disaster? aid drop packages, etc]]> 2020-06-15 22:35:10 UTC https://padlet.com/aradeva1/4thSTEMssm/wish/628056417 aradeva1 https://padlet.com/aradeva1/4thSTEMssm/wish/628057609 An oil spill can be deadly for fish, plants, and other organisms in the river ecosystem.. Through the storybook Tehya’s Pollution Solution, students learn about a spill on the Elwha River in the Pacific Northwest. Applying their knowledge of ecosystems and food webs, students will test water quality and also the oil-absorbing properties of different materials as they engineer a process for cleaning up an oil spill. This unit introduces students to the field of environmental engineering. Download a unit preview to further explore this teacher guide and storybook.]]> 2020-06-15 22:36:45 UTC https://padlet.com/aradeva1/4thSTEMssm/wish/628057609 aradeva1 https://padlet.com/aradeva1/4thSTEMssm/wish/628057822 -experiments related to climate change
-local activists and movements
-local solutions and problems; visit wind or solar farm?
-petition school for solar? 
-solar jitterbug demo from RAFT
-wind
-solar
-climate change deep dive]]> 2020-06-15 22:37:02 UTC https://padlet.com/aradeva1/4thSTEMssm/wish/628057822 aradeva1 https://padlet.com/aradeva1/4thSTEMssm/wish/628058078
The Living Systems Module has four investigations that focus on systems as the unit of study. The idea of a system is one of the grand integrating (cross-cutting) concepts that pervades all of science. Students start by looking at Earth as the interaction of four Earth systems or subsystems—the geosphere, the atmosphere, the hydrosphere, and the biosphere. The focus of the module then turns to the biosphere as students explore ecosystems and organisms in terms of their interacting parts.

• Analyze everyday systems and subsystems.
• Analyze food chains and food webs as a way to study the biosphere.
• Make and analyze a worm habitat as a decomposition system.
• Investigate nutrient-getting systems of yeast, plants, and animals, including humans.
• Investigate and model transport systems in plants and animals.
• Investigate sensory systems in animals.

]]> 2020-06-15 22:37:26 UTC https://padlet.com/aradeva1/4thSTEMssm/wish/628058078 aradeva1 https://padlet.com/aradeva1/4thSTEMssm/wish/628059088 Mechanical engineering involves the design of anything with moving parts. In this unit, students will think like mechanical engineers—and also use their understanding of air as wind—to design and create wind-powered machines. The storybook Leif Catches the Wind introduces students to wind turbines that generate renewable energy. Students will study how common machines such as mechanical pencils and egg beaters work, then use their mechanical engineering skills to design sailboats and windmills that catch the wind. Download a unit preview to further explore this teacher guide and storybook.]]> 2020-06-15 22:38:50 UTC https://padlet.com/aradeva1/4thSTEMssm/wish/628059088 aradeva1 https://padlet.com/aradeva1/4thSTEMssm/wish/628059820 In Botswana, where firewood for cooking fuel is in short supply, people are turning to solar-powered cookers as an alternative. The storybook Lerato Cooks Up a Plan introduces the idea of using the sun as a renewable energy source and sets a framework for this unit’s activities. Students are introduced to the concepts of thermal insulators and thermal conductors, then they test different materials to find the best insulators. They consider the life cycle and environmental impacts of each insulator, then design and test their solar ovens and do some solar cooking! Download a unit preview to further explore this teacher guide and storybook.]]> 2020-06-15 22:39:58 UTC https://padlet.com/aradeva1/4thSTEMssm/wish/628059820 aradeva1 https://padlet.com/aradeva1/4thSTEMssm/wish/628061424 -parachutes, safe packaging and cushioning
-offer whole class or as one option for natural disaster response
In this unit, kids will engineer “aid drop packages” that can be dropped from an aircraft, protect what’s inside, and are easy to find once they reach the ground.]]> 2020-06-15 22:42:30 UTC https://padlet.com/aradeva1/4thSTEMssm/wish/628061424 aradeva1 https://padlet.com/aradeva1/4thSTEMssm/wish/628062010 -earthquake resistant buildings
-test til it fails
-magnitude & scale
-building codes based on different goals
A huge and very destructive earthquake hit Haiti in 2010. Now Jacob and India are there, learning how to support and protect buildings during earthquakes. Your kids will engineer model buildings that are earthquake resistant. They’ll also develop building codes that help others build earthquake resistant structures.]]> 2020-06-15 22:43:24 UTC https://padlet.com/aradeva1/4thSTEMssm/wish/628062010