Part of the Massachusetts Technology and Engineering standards for Grade 1 is students being able to ask questions, make observations, and gather information about a situation people want to change in order to define a simple design problem that can be solved by developing or improving an object or tool. The students in Alissa’s class were challenged to make a step stool to access their whiteboard by creating paper honeycombs and taping them together. Could the students make a strong enough step stool for a child but even more important, an adult? The video shows the process and the outcome. Inspiration for this unit came from the Curiosity Machine website.

Grade 1 Engineers from Karin Gravina on Vimeo.

As part of their rocks and minerals unit, Tracey Supple’s third grade class made mock volcanoes. Last week the students “erupted” their volcanoes.

Volcanoes from Karin Gravina on Vimeo.