technology with intention
6th Grade
Tech class happenings from the 6th grade, including STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math).
Independent project spotlight: Rory
390 days
Over break, 6th grade student Rory spent some time creating some absolutely amazing Scratch projects at home. He created some games and some stories as well. Rory offers some advice to others interested in learning more about Scratch:
I think the most useful functions I used were if/then/else statements and variables…as far as advice goes I would say to use simple controls, variables, lots of show/hides for different levels and broadcasting (though I didn’t use broadcasting for this one).
The Scuba Game took about 25 hours since I got a lot better at Scratch over the course of making the game. At the moment in Scratch I’m working on a game/simulation of a chemistry lab and various smaller projects (like seasonal animations and simulations).
Logic statements – if, then, else
391 days
by Jac de Haan
in 6th Grade
6th grade students have been playing with Scratch for a couple of weeks now and our understanding of programming is growing. There is one function that is so important that we dedicated an entire class period to understanding it- the if/then/else logic statement.
We began by talking about how parents use logic statements all the time:
“If you clean your room, you can have a sleepover, else you’ll be hanging out with your little brother tonight.”
“If you finish all your homework, we can watch Glee, else it’ll be straight to bed.”
Next we created if, then and else statements on sticky notes and used a random name generator to decide who would place a blue (if), pink (then), or purple (else) statement on the board. Once we had a complete logic statement we would run the program, using ourselves as the computer. Here are some of our favorites:
if you’ve poked yourself with a pencil in the last 24 hours
then leave the room by crawling
else jump up and down for 30 seconds
created by Simon, Will, Alex
if your room is dirty
sit on the floor and meditate
else go to the computer and look up “Pi day”
created by Gwen, Alex
if you have decorative shoelaces (colored or with patterns)
storm angrily out of the room
else do 10 jumping jacks
created by Colin, Fiona, Cooper
if you know what r(pi)cubed*4/3 is
then say “uh oh spagetti-os”
else go get a drink of water
created by Colin, Dillon, Arthur
Moons of Jupiter: part 2
418 days
by Jac de Haan
in 6th Grade
6th graders used their recently acquired Scratch skills to build orbital paths for the Galilean moons. We took a look at a few useful tools: move, rotate, pen down, forever loops, and wait. Below is Jake’s final product and a screenshot of one moon’s code.
Jake's code for moons of Jupiter
Mission to Mars: Crater Rover
420 days
by Jac de Haan
in 6th Grade
6th grade students found out today that our Mars outpost water levels were dangerously low. We realized that we needed to send a probe out to search for water at the base of the crater we were stationed on, but didn’t have any batteries to propel the craft. Students used their knowledge from the simple machines unit to build rovers which could minimize friction and use gravity to move over distance.
We tested our crater rovers on 3 different angled inclined planes and recorded the metric results in a table. This class reinforced previous science and math lessons of ramps, data recording, angles, the metric system and experiment design. Students were also introduced to the Lego Mindstorm kits that we’ll be using for the next month or so in conjunction with our intro to programming series in tech class.
Moons of Jupiter
421 days
by Jac de Haan
in 6th Grade
From our Mars outpost we have a really clear view of Jupiter. 6th grade STEM students spent class today experiencing these Galilean moons.
Students built scale models of the system at a 1:5,000,000 scale. Students calculated and cut moons to scaled size and then recorded accurate relative distances (which took about 3 meters).
Mission to Mars: Egg Drop
422 days
by Jac de Haan
in 6th Grade
Safely at our Mars outpost, students are beginning to explore this foreign planet. We were tasked by mission control with creating a protective deployment technique that would allow a raw egg to survive a 24 foot drop off the roof of the school. NASA gave each team of engineers $7M to complete the project, but materials weren’t cheap – for example, a 7″ x 7″ piece of cardboard cost $500,000!
Mission to Mars!
431 days
by Jac de Haan
in 6th Grade
With simple machines under our belts, 6th grade kicked off our Mars unit by travelling to a space colony! NASA sent us to space to relieve a crew living on a Mars space station.
We headed down to the Museum of Flight for the 2-hour simulation, where students were required to monitor life support systems on the vessel, assess health of the space travelers, build a probe to deploy to Mars’ moons, calculate navigational vectors, test mineral content and communicate efficiently with the ground crew.
This celebration called on weeks of astronaut training that has been going on in Science, Technology and Math. Students relied on their knowledge of orbital paths and gravitational fields, their ability to read tables and understand algebraic equations, and their familiarity with synchronous (microphone and speakers) and asynchronous (email) forms of communication.
The mission was a resounding success, thanks to teamwork and effective application of skills and knowledge!
STEM – levers
436 days
by Jac de Haan
in 6th Grade
Students leveraged some serious knowledge in order to be successful today. We took a look at the 3 components of a lever – fulcrum, load and effort.
We built levers out of rulers and then tested at specific fulcrum points to find out how many nails (effort) would need to be in a cup in order to move a fixed load. Results were recorded in a table and then students hypothesized about why the fulcrum affected the effort required.
This was our final day of simple machines. We’ll need the skills we’ve acquired to conquer upcoming challenges – next stop Mars!
STEM – pulleys
439 days
by Jac de Haan
in 6th Grade
STEM students spent a day with pulleys and learned how this simple machine can be used to change the direction of force applied.
For the grande finale, 17 students created a mega-chain of pulleys! We manipulated a single 100-foot rope through bookshelves, under tables, around corners, and from the ceiling to the supply closet. No one touched the rope except the initiator – everyone else simply held a pulley at the correct angle.
Stickfigure animations
446 days
6th grade students have spent the last couple of weeks exploring our new Windows 7 computer build. One of the most popular applications has become Pivot Stickfigure Animator, a freeware application that introduces the animation concept of frames.
Declan has installed the software at home, and has some finished work to share:
Shrink - Pivot Stickfigure Animation by Declan
