I interrupt my normal blog posting schedule to bring you this special May edition - because, well, check out the title of the post.
Not to brag, but I’m quite a hit with the first graders! I can’t walk down the hall without a side hug or high five these days. While I may not have received the same level of enthusiasm as I did with my middle schoolers, there was this one time a van full of kids were waving and screaming my name as I tried to walk into a taco Bell once. Ahh, I do miss those days… Anyhoo, in my last post, I wrote about the intro to Dash. The follow up activity was even more glorious! The teacher and I worked on a data collection sheet. We collaborated using Google Docs. She noted the basic things, then we tweaked the language and created something that could be printed for the students to write on. HERE is our final product. The plan was for them to test three different types of balls with the launcher attachment for Dash. Each group was given one of the standard plastic ones that came with the attachment, a sheet of printer paper, and a sheet of aluminum foil. What they did with those last two items was up to them! Some kids made VERY dense paper balls, others were loosely formed. The same held true for the foil. Before Dash got involved, he can be a little needy until you get him connected to a device, we started by having them predict how far each would travel as they adjusted the speed (force) and write their predictions - practicing all the skills here! While they were having those conversations in their groups and writing things down, I connected Dash to each iPad we were using. Since they were already familiar with the Dash Blockly app, the hardest part for them this time was that they could ONLY use the block of code specified. Every now and then towards the end of the activity, I would hear Dash make a noise. I tried not to giggle as I gently reminded the students that code block wasn’t needed today. Inside, I was clapping - they had remembered so much from the last lesson! We set up their rulers - they unfolded into yardsticks - and launch stations and reviewed how to measure if the ball went past the end of the yardstick. We reviewed how to use the basic calculator if they needed to use it. We looked at the code block and practiced adjusting the speed. Then, they got to work. With the first launch, at 10% speed, nothing much happened. As they incrementally increased the speed, things began happening. Measurements were being taken. Data was being collected! As they finished testing each ball, they made their notes about the results. When they were finished, they drew conclusions about why. Actual results varied by group.
After the activity was done with these first groups, the teacher and I discussed the activity and decided that on the second day, we would bring in a food scale so the kiddos could weigh the balls and formulate theories about how this might have impacted the launch of each. When the scales didn’t show much variance in the weight of the three balls, a few students theorized that the plastic ball was hollow, so that is why it went the distance it did.
This lesson was a HUGE hit. It gave us so many other pieces of data about how these kiddos were faring. This was the first “normal” school year they have had! I think they are on course for a spectacular year in second grade - those teachers better watch out!
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AuthorJeannie Timken Archives
March 2023
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