Stem presentation (1)

Developing Next Generation Professionals
through School-Wide STEM Activities
Woodholme Elementary School, Baltimore County Maryland
Melissa Daniels
John Maple
Stefanie Trentacoste

Woodholme Elementary
• Opened August 2005
• Located in Baltimore County, Maryland
• Public, Non-Title I school, 42% Free and
Reduce Meals
• Approximately 800 students, 77%
African American
• Maryland Blue Ribbon School
•

STEM Fair
Every student from Kindergarten to Fifth Grade participates
– Kindergarten, First and Second Grade present activities that align
with their curriculum
• Primary Talent Development
• Science Units
– Third Grade participates in the
Safe Racer Challenge
– Fourth and Fifth grade students
design and implement their
own STEM projects

Preparing for STEM Fair
Fourth and Fifth Grade
Implement the Scientific Method
• Question
• Materials
• Variables
• Results
• Graph
• Guided creation of a model STEM Fair project
• Create model mini boards
• Hypothesis
• Procedure
• Results
• Conclusion

Preparing for STEM Fair
Fourth Grade
Too Hot to Handle
• Prepares fourth graders for their
first independent STEM Fair
Project
• Investigates Heat Transfer
•
Fifth Grade
Pendulum’s Swing
• Advances fifth graders knowledge
of STEM Fair project and
Scientific Method
• Investigates Pendulums and Energy

Ideas for STEM Fair Projects
• Anything students are interested in!
• Wonder Science – Two volumes of science activities that can be modified into STEM
Fair Projects
• JaniceVanCleave’s Books
• Try Science.com - http://www.tryscience.com/
• Science Buddies - http://www.sciencebuddies.org/
• Steve Spangler – http://www.stevespangler.com/experiments/
• Lego Education - http://www.legoeducation.us/
•

STEM Fair Timeline
• In three months
– Teaching the Scientific Method
– Selecting a project
– Working through the steps of the Scientific Process
–
– Checking student work during the process
– Completing a Board

Communicating with Parents
• STEM Family Night
– Explain the STEM Fair Process
– Explain the expectations of the students
– Answer Parent Questions
• STEM Fair Handbook and Forms
– Written explanations and expectations
– Ideas and reference materials

Judging
• All students given the
opportunity to share their
science experience with
judges
• Parent volunteers, teachers
from other schools, STEM
professionals
• Judged based on 10 criteria
linked to the Scientific
Process
•

Displaying Projects
• Approximately 300 projects
• Fills our entire gymnasium for two days!

STEM Fair Night
• Students and parents come
to see all of the projects
• Families are engaged in
learning opportunities
– Mad Science
– Project SEED
• STEM Fair Winner are
announced for 4th and 5th
grade

Research
Gather information necessary
for creating their Safe Racer.
Design
Discuss with
their team
ways to make a
successful racer
that will
protect the egg
and travel a
distance.
Create
Work with their team to
create a Safe Racer vehicle
that will participate in the
competition.
Test
Teams will test their racer in
preparation for the
competition.
Review
Look at their
vehicle and data
from their trials
and determine
changes in the
design of their
Safe Racers.
Modify
Work together to make
changes to their Safe Racer.
The Design Process – Students
will…

For the Students:
How can we make a race car that will
keep an egg safe in a crash and travel
a long distance?

Your car must:
• use the wheels and axles
provided.
• use recycled materials
• have an open top
• have a body 5 inches or
less in width and 9
inches or less in length
• weigh 10 ounces or less
• show your team logo
9 inches
5 inches

Here’s how:
Step 1- Form a team of 3 or 4
peopleAs students work through the process
as a team, they will be designing a team
logo that will identify their vehicle in the
competition within their classrooms.

Step 2- Learn
some background
information
Step 3- Think
about what you
know about
cars.

Step 4- Brainstorm and web all
ideas for making the car.
How can we
make the car go
far?
How can we
make the car
safe?

Distance
Test
Crash Test
Name _______________________________ Date __________________
Momentum
Directions: As you watch the video on momentum, think about the “Big Ideas” and
identify the features or the materials needed to make your car a success.
Scientific Concept:
______________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
_____________
Scientific Concept:
_______________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
_____________
__

Step 5- Discuss
which ideas might be
best.
Step 6- Sketch and
label a beginning
design of your car.
Step 7- Decide
what materials you
will need and
how to get them.
Step 8- Gather your
materials.

Step 10- Test your car on the ramp.
üCheck to see if the
egg stays in the car
and doesn’t crack.
ü
üSee how far your
car goes.

Step 11- Think
about how you
can make your
car better.
Step 12- Listen
to ideas from
your teammates
and decide what
to do.

Step 13- Make changes to your
car, safety equipment, and
sketch.
Step 14- Re-test your car.

Step 15- Share your answer to our
question with other scientists by writing
up what you did.

Safe Racer Competition
Let the Tests begin!!!

(the final crash test)

(the final distance test)
Let the distance racing begin!!!

(the final distance test)

MESA’s Mission
http://www.jhuapl.edu/mesa/home/default.asp
•to prepare students for academic and
professional careers in mathematics,
engineering, science, and technology
•increase the number of engineers, scientists,
mathematicians, and related professionals at
technical and management levels
•serve as a driving force in encouraging and
assisting minorities and females in achieving
success in these fields.

Construction
•Team must use one piece of
paper and one paper clip per
plane
•No tools or construction
materials other than the paper
and paper clip provided.
•3 minutes will be given for four
students to construct four
identical paper airplanes by
assembly line method.
http://www.thebmi.org/page/elementary_school_challenges
Paper Airplane
Challenge

http://www.thebmi.org/page/elementary_school_challenges
Performance
•Each of the four students must fly
a plane.
•
•Individual score =
LENGTH X SPEED X ACCURACY
•Team Score =
All four individual scores added
together
Paper Airplane
Challenge

•
DESCRIPTION
The objective of this competition is to
design and construct the most efficient
balsa wood bridge that maximizes the
strength-to-weight ratio.
MATERIALS
1. The bridges must only be
constructed from balsa wood.
2. Balsa wood size must be 1/8” x
1/8” for all members.
3. No circular members are allowed.
4. Regular Elmer’s and Elmer’s
Wood glue are the only joining
agents allowed.
•
http://www.jhuapl.edu/mesa/events/mesaday/elementary/Elementary%20Balsawood%20Bridge.pdf
Balsa Wood Bridge

• Scratch is an introductory
programming language
•
• Easy to create interactive stories,
animations, games, music, art, and
share via the Scratch website.
•
• Scratch is designed to help elementary
school aged children develop
programming skills necessary to
succeed as a technologist in the
21st century.
•
• teach children important problem
solving, mathematical and
computational ideas, while also
gaining a deeper understanding of
the programming process.
•
http://www.jhuapl.edu/mesa/events/mesaday/elementary/Effective%20Communication%20Elementary%20Revised%201-11
http://www.jhuapl.edu/mesa/events/mesaday/ES_Scratch.asp
http://www.jhuapl.edu/mesa/events/mesaday/elementary/ES%20Scratch%20-%20Revised%20%202-3-2012.pdf
Scratch

OVERVIEW
The presentation design challenge requires
students to use software to create a scratch
banner that illustrates the concepts embodied
in cyber focused themes. A scratch banner is a
multimedia based presentation made up of
several scenes that teaches the audience
something about a theme. In this challenge the
banner will educate the audience about cyber
security. Each banner page is composed of
several parts: a background, characters or
sprites, scenery for the sprites to interact with,
and audio/ video files that animates the
scenes.
Scratch
MESA Banner.sb

Woodholme
ElementaryTo learn more about Woodholme’s STEM program and STEM
initiatives contact:
Melissa Daniels – mdaneils@bcps.org
Website: http://teachers.bcps.org/teachers_elem/mdaniels/
John Maple – jmaple@bcps.org
Website: http://members.thinkport.org/jmaple
Stefanie Trentacoste – strentacoste@bcps.org
Website:
http://teachers.bcps.org/teachers_elem/strentacoste/

1. Momentum occurs when objects
Ⓐ break.
Ⓑ move.
Ⓒ are lost.
Ⓓ are found.
2. Your car gains momentum by
Ⓐ hitting the barrier.
Ⓑ traveling down the ramp.
Ⓒ coming to a stop.
Ⓓ sitting still.
3. Momentum depends on
Ⓐ only weight.
Ⓑ only speed.
Ⓒ weight and speed.
Ⓓ how many object you have.
4. When momentum is transferred, the amount of momentum
Ⓐ decreases.
Ⓑ stops.
Ⓒ stays the same.
Ⓓ increases.
5. Which statement is true about a moving car and its driver?
Ⓐ Only the car (not the driver) has momentum. Ⓑ Neither the car or driver have momentum.
Ⓒ If the car stops, the driver will keep moving. Ⓓ A car cannot stop.

6. During the crash test, momentum is transferred from the car to Eggbert and
Ⓐ Eggbert might change colors.
Ⓑ Eggbert might fly out of the car.
Ⓒ Eggbert might decide to walk.
Ⓓ Eggbert might cook itself.
7. The more momentum, the ______________ the crash.
Ⓐ softer Ⓑ yellower
Ⓒ harder Ⓓ quieter
8. In order to protect Eggbert during the crash test we could
Ⓐ add a seat. Ⓑ add a seatbelt.
Ⓒ add a bumper. Ⓓ all of the above
9. Momentum will make your car travel a longer distance.
To increase momentum you should add
Ⓐ a bumper.
Ⓑ a seatbelt.
Ⓒ cotton balls.
Ⓓ pebbles.
10. Safe Racer makes me feel
Ⓐ excited.
Ⓑ scared.
Ⓒ bored.
Ⓓ nervous.

TEAM NAME: ___________________________ Date: ____________
Safe Racer: Team Evaluation Form
Decide how well you and your teammates
worked together.
Activity: _________________________
TEAM SIGNATURES:
________________________ __________________________
________________________ __________________________

Paper Airplane Data Sheet
Names:_______________________________________
What change made the biggest difference?
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________

Stem presentation (1)

More Related Content

What's hot (20)

Similar to Stem presentation (1) (20)

More from strentacoste (6)

Recently uploaded (20)

Stem presentation (1)

Editor's Notes