Introducing Chromebooks to Little Toreadors

Boone's youngest students, our Little Toreadors, are learning how to use Chromebooks. First graders have learned a password to login and are practicing trackpad skills like scrolling, pointing, clicking and dragging. They learned how to select and go to a website from the bookmark bar and how to close tabs. Being a good digital citizen means staying on the website the teacher gives them and taking good care of our devices. They are off to a great start! 

An Introduction to 3D Printing

4th graders in Mr. Doty's class got an introduction to the concepts and the process of 3D printing during a study of inventions. To begin, they researched inventions of the past and predicted inventions for the future. Students found that solving a problem or filling a need is the motivation behind inventions.

They spent time designing and creating their own invention based on a need that they have observed. Then they practiced persuasive writing in order to "sell" the concept of their invention. These young inventors built with Legos and other building sets. Many discovered that specifically designed pieces are often necessary to make an invention function according to plan.

The class was then visited by Dwaine Williams, a mechanical engineer and entrepreneur, who demonstrated the use of his custom-built 3D printer. He also shared many of his recent projects, including the working parts of a life-sized robot being constructed.

Each student got to watch the 3D printer in action as it printed Boone Toreador personalized ornaments. 

Mixing Colored Potions = STEAM

Third-grade students in Mrs. Moore's art classes got a chance to apply their knowledge of color mixing while creating with the iPad app Animation HD for Kids. With a bit of inspiration from art teacher/blogger Cassie Stephens, Mrs. Moore led students in the basics of stop motion, mixing primary colors, and mixing warm and cool colors. Students created a picture of science beakers with colored potions. From this, they made stop motion type animations of the bubbling result when colored potions are mixed. Check out their amazing beakers and bubbles!

When Literature Meets Engineering

Franklin students were busy building, testing, and revising during their recent Library Days STEM Challenges. Each grade level's challenge was based on a story read to them during library storytime. Our school was the recipient of a governor's STEM Scale-Up Award which provided many of the supplies needed for these great activities.

Second graders read the book The Lady with a Ship on Her Head. Their challenge was to design and create a headpiece device that was sturdy enough to carry a plastic ship.

Third graders read the book The School Bus Driver From the Black Lagoon. Their challenge was to design and build a wind-powered car.

Fourth graders read the book Magic School Bus and the Electric Field Trip. Their challenge was to use circuit building materials to create something that lights up.

Fourth graders demonstrated the components of their circuit and how their device worked using the video tool of the Seesaw app. They can be viewed here.

QR Codes Enhance Literacy Time

Young readers in Mrs. Malin's first grade classroom enjoy listening to audio books during literacy time. Listening to reading exposes children to rich language and quality literature in order to build vocabulary and comprehension skills. 

Students scan QR codes using their class ipads in order to access a wide variety of stories. Teachers can easily convert any web link URL into a QR code which can be printed and displayed in the classroom.

Spheros in Science

Recently students spent time working with the Spheros in Science class.  The challenge was to program the Sphero to navigate a maze.  The students practiced the basics of programming, then worked on some speed and distance trials.  They collected the data from the trials before attempting to program the Sphero. Once the students began the programming, they used their data and trial and error to navigate the course.  The students recorded the distance reached.  They continued to adjust their programming to see if they could lengthen the distance their Sphero traveled.  The students used the principals of engineering, programming, critical thinking, collaborate and communication throughout this unit.

Geometric Scenes with Google Drawing

Third graders in Mr. Lester's class practiced geometry with Google Drawing as they created figures made of specific geometric shapes. Adding photos for the background made the scenes complete!