All posts by Jenny Henningsen

#28: Rocket Launcher

Full STEAM Ahead, Learning Opportunities, Mini Challenges

National STEAM day is celebrated on November 8, but you can create STEAM all year long! Check out this rocket launcher experiment that you can do to celebrate the national day dedicated to Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math.

Spark your thinking!

1. Set up your STEAM mini spark recording page: #28: Rocket Launcher

2. Watch this video. Write down the materials you will need on your recording page

3. Collect the materials you need. Contact the EY coordinator in your building via email if you need help with this step. Add a picture of of your supplies to your recording page.

4. Go back to step 2 and rewatch this video while you are working.

4. Take pictures from your experiment and add them to your recording page.

5. Take a video of your rocket launcher.

6. On your recording page, create a one paragraph summary about your project.

7. Share your STEAM mini spark recording page and your video with your teacher/EY coordinator.

Check out the DIY superstar badge on the EY website

Post adapted from https://projectmc2.mgae.com/#/experiments

#37: Create Your Own National Day

Reading Enrichment

Did you know that November 3rd is national sandwich day, December 7th is national letter writing day. and January  7th is national bobblehead day?

Spark your thinking!

1. Set up your language arts mini spark recording page: #37: Create Your Own National Day

2. Research each these days. On your recording sheet, write about the day, its history, and how it is celebrated.

National Sandwich Day

National Letter Writing Day

National Bobblehead Day

3. What day do feel deserves to add to the list of national celebrations? Pickle day?  It’s observed on November 15. How about National fuzzy sock day? Wear your cozy socks and keep your feet toasty warm all day long. People celebrate it on December 21st!  Do some research and find 5 more funny days that are National days.

4. What would be a day that you would LOVE to celebrate? Start brainstorming to think of a special day. When you have a list of several choices, do research to find one that is not already observed.

5. When you find one that can be your very own, create your own informational apple clip project (or app of your choice) about your day.

Include this information:

The name of your day and 5-10 facts about your topic.

Why it is important enough to be a national day?

How people can celebrate this day?

Add color and illustrations to your clips.

6. Share your language arts mini spark recording page and project with your teacher/EY coordinator.

Early Enrichment #38 Create your own National Day

Early Enrichment, Uncategorized

Did you know that November 3rd

is national sandwich day?

December 7th is national letter writing day,  and January  7th is national bobblehead day.

Click on the red link for each these days and write a few sentence telling us about each

one.

What day do feel deserves to add to the list of national celebrations?

Pickle day? It’s observed on November 15.

How about National fuzzy sock day? It’s a day people celebrate it on December 21st!

What would be a day that you would LOVE to celebrate? Start brainstorming. Create a list of 10 days that you would enjoy having as special days on the calendar.

After you create your list, choose your very favorite day. Create your own informational apple clip project about your day.

Include this information:

The name of your day

3-5 facts about your topic

How we can celebrate this day?

Why it is important enough to be a national day?

Add color and illustrations to your clips.

EXTRA: Do research to find out if your day is already celebrated. If so, add that date to your clip project.

Share your project with your teacher or the EY coordinator in your building.

 

 

 

 

 

#54: Multiplication Tricks

Math Mini Sparks

Multiplication. It is one of the four types of operations you learned in math (along with addition subtraction and division). There are many different ways to multiply numbers. However, sometimes, multiplying really big numbers can be a challenge. Luckily, there are many different techniques you can use to solve large multiplication problems.

Spark your math thinking!

  1. Set up your math mini spark recording page: #54: Multiplication Tricks
  2. Watch this video about multiplying using lines. Take some notes as you watch to track the process.

3. Print out (or have your teacher print out) this worksheet. Use the method in the video to come up with answers to multiplication problems. You can check your answers on the second page of the worksheet.

4. If you feel comfortable with those problems and want to try multiplying bigger numbers, then print out this worksheet.

5. Share your math mini spark recording page and Explain EDU project with your teacher/EY coordinator.

*Lesson inspired by multiplication lessons from East Asian schools

#52: Super Egg

Math Mini Sparks

Numberphile is a YouTube channel that posts many videos about many different math concepts. The channel has numerous videos on many real life examples. It is a great channel to learn about concepts not necessarily taught in school. One video that the channel contains is about a super egg, or a superellipse.

Spark your math thinking!

1. Set up your math mini spark recording page: #52: Super Egg

2. Watch the Numberphile Video and share something new you learned about math, geometry, and engineering on your recording sheet.

3. After watching the videos, click on this link and answer the questions. Write how you think you did on the quiz on your recording sheet.

4. Write 3 things you liked about the video and 2 questions you have and 1 thing you did not like about the video.

5. Share your math mini spark recording page with your teacher/EY coordinator.

*Lesson inspired by Numberphile video about superellipses.

#50: Pandigital Numbers

Math Mini Sparks

Why is 361,654,729 awesome? Dive into this math mini spark and find out!

Spark your math thinking!

  1. Set up your math mini spark recording page: #50: Pandigital Numbers
  2. Check out this video about pandigital numbers.

3.  Check out the 3 levels of the Pandigital  Number Quiz  at Transum.  Pick the level that suits you. Keep playing your level until you earn a trophy. Add a screenshot of your trophy to your recording page.

Level 1 – Basic questions about pandigital numbers

Level 2 – More challenging questions about pandigital numbers

Level 3 – Excruciatingly difficult questions about pandigital numbers

4. Share your math mini spark recording page with your teacher/EY coordinator.

#51: Movie Math

Math Mini Sparks

Today’s age is filled with a wide variety of forms of entertainment. Television shows and movies are some of the most common forms today. Usually we don’t associate math with these however there have been some movies and episodes with a focus on a math topic. One such movie is Good Will Hunting. The movie has a particular math problem in which an MIT professor claims it took him years to solve. The problem basically is to draw all shapes that fit the description. There are ten shapes in total. MIT is one of the best universities in the world. Are you able to solve the problem that supposedly took an MIT professor a long time to solve in a day or less? Find out!

Spark your math thinking!

  1. Set up your math mini spark recording page: #51: Movie Math.
  2. You are going to watch the video that introduces a problem and explains how to solve it.  Pause around 2:30 so you don’t see the answers until after you attempt the problem. Good Will Hunting Math Problem

3. After pausing the video, try drawing all 10 trees. You can check your answers near the end of the video in which he shares the answers

4. On your recording page, write about something new you learned. 

5. Share this video with your parents, friends, and/or adults and ask them if they can solve the problem as well

6. Share your math mini spark recording page with your teacher/EY coordinator.

*Inspired by the movie Good Will Hunting

#44: Infinity

Math Mini Sparks

TO INFINITY AND BEYOND!!!

This famous line from the beloved Disney Toy Story Movies became a common phrase for children in the mid 1990’s.  But what are we really saying when we declare our desire to take off on this infinite voyage?

Spark your math thinking!

  1. Set up your math mini spark recording page: #44: Infinity
  2. Check out this TED Ed video on infinity.  Record 5-10 details from the video on your recording page.

3. Knowledge can be infinite!  Check out this link to expand your knowledge on this topic! Write about something you learned.

4. Share your math mini spark recording page with your teacher/EY coordinator.

24: Skyscraper Puzzles

Full STEAM Ahead, Uncategorized

For this mini spark you will create mini skyscrapers and complete the puzzles following the rules outlined.

Spark your thinking!

1. Set up your STEAM  mini spark recording page: #24: Skyscraper Puzzles 

2. Print out this set of starter puzzles and you will need a set of linking cubes or legos that you can use to build towers.

3. Read these instructions 3 times.

How to Solve a Skyscraper Puzzle:

● Build towers in each of the squares provided sized 1 through 4 tall
● Each row has skyscrapers of different heights (1 through 4), no
duplicate sizes
● Each column has skyscrapers of different heights (1 through 4), no
duplicate sizes
● The rules on the outside (in grey) tell you how many skyscrapers you
can see from that direction or how many skyscrapers you could see while looking down that city block from that spot.
● Taller skyscrapers block your view of shorter ones

4. Watch this teaching video for ideas on how to get started.

5.  Create 16 towers.

6. Solve the 4 X 4 puzzles in your booklet.

7.  When you are done with each puzzle you need to check it.  You can ask a teacher or a friend to do this for you.

1st-Look at each row and column and make sure there are only 1 of each size skyscrapers. 2nd-Look at the numbers in the gray boxes and make sure you can only see the number of skyscrapers when looking “down the street” from each gray box.

8. Make changes if needed and snap a picture of your final project.

9. Share your STEAM mini spark recording page and your completed puzzle pictures with your teacher/EY coordinator.

 

Check out the Skyscraper Puzzle Badge on the EY Website.

#23: STEAM CHALLENGE: Roll-a-Challenge

Full STEAM Ahead, Learning Opportunities

By using the roll-a-challenge dice from Destination Imagination, you will be able to create more than 200 different Instant Challenge combinations. Just round up the supplies listed on the “Use” die, cut and glue or tape all three dice and you’re ready to get started!

Spark your thinking!

1. Set up your STEAM mini spark recording page: #23: STEAM CHALLENGE: Roll-a-Challenge

2.  For this mini spark you will print and cut out 3 cubes that you will use to find your STEAM challenges. Record this information on your recording page.

  • The first cube you roll will be what you USE. You can use other items also, but you must use the item on the cube in your build.
  • the second cube you roll will be what you MAKE
  • the third cube you roll is THAT WILL-The object must serve this purpose.

3. Print your roll-a-challenge page on cardstock. Ask your teacher to help you with this step.

4. Cut out and create your cube. Press each of the creases really well so that your cube folds easily. Tape or glue your cubes.

5. Decide which of the main materials you have. If you need to replace an item with something else, you can mark that on your cube.

Materials: Plastic cups, plastic bags, paper plates, popsicle sticks, rubber bands, cardboard

6. Gather other recycled building materials.

Tape, glue, note cards, string, construction paper…and so on.

7. Roll your 1 cube, 2nd cube and 3rd cube. Record your challenge on your recording page or take a picture of the cubes and add the picture to your recording page.

8. On your recording page, sketch an idea of what you will make.

9. Take a picture of the items you will use and add it to your recording page.

10. Decide if you want to set a timer for 10 minutes (optional). Start your build. Take a few pictures of your progress.

11.  Take a picture of you final project at add it to your recording sheet. Write about what you did well on this challenge and where you can improve.

12. Share your STEAM mini spark recording page with your teacher/EY coordinator.