LASD STEM UPDATES

Our third grade students are finding out what it means to be an engineer through the Designing Maglev System STEM project. A Maglev, short for magnetic levitation, is a transportation system that uses electromagnetic attraction to move. After students analyzed the design of transportation systems and investigated the properties of magnets, students built a model that used magnets. Students then followed the steps of the engineering process to improve their magnetic levitation transportation system.

Teams of third grade students engaged in conversations asking a series of questions to help them meet the challenge of designing a maglev transportation system. Why does only one side of the vehicle levitate? Which magnet would cause a stronger repulsion, the magnetic strips or the donut magnets? Students took turns testing out the polarity of the magnets and explaining why the magnets had to be taped in a certain manner. Every so often, students shouted a cheer acknowledging their successful build.

Like the third grade maglev design challenge, our students have multiple opportunities to engage in thoughtful problem-solving experiences. As students build different skillsets through each of the grade levels, they are primed to become the next generation of innovators!

To supplement our life science unit, our fourth grade students dissected a sheep or cow eye. Students observed the intricate structures that help form images and learned how the eye sends those images to our brain to create vision.

Here are what some students from Ms. Hultberg's class had to say about their first cow eye dissection experience:

“The first time I saw the cow eye, I was horrified. But, as we started exploring the eye, it was really fun! One of my favorite parts was when we took out the lens from the vitreous humor. I was surprised that the lens felt like a marble! Another one of my favorite parts was when we poked the scalpel through the blind spot and it came out at the optic nerve. It was really cool!”

“I was amazed how many layers there were. It was also amazing how I studied about it and imagined it way different. When I saw it, I was speechless.”

…and finally…One wrote: “Thanks! Us 'pupils' loved it!”

From our TK students to 8th graders, students had the opportunity to take on the challenge of participating in the district wide STEM challenge. Using a variety of recyclable materials, students designed pedestals, reaching new heights to support the weight of a pumpkin. Thank you to Los Altos’ very own Andronico’s store, which donated over 72 pumpkins for the challenge!

Creativity, connections to the real world and critical thinking are daily cornerstones of LASD’s Elementary Computer Science Program.

Earlier this trimester, fourth grade students learned about machines and robots that are used in manufacturing, including robotic water cutting machines for metal sheets and laser cutters for wood. We discussed why these machines were beneficial to us. Some students mentioned that fewer workers could get injured. Others said machines would be more precise and could work faster than humans. But, all agreed we still needed human beings to give machines the instructions to make them work.

Enter the Probots! Probots are programmable cars on wheels students can direct to move across a sheet of paper. The Probot uses a marker to draw on the page as it moves. We used our skills of procedural thinking and math to program the Probot to create rectangles, squares and other shapes based on the properties of each figure. This requires knowledge of the angles to form the shapes.

Later, students applied their Probot programming experience in Scratch, creating a program to draw the same shapes on the screen.

This trimester, 5th graders designed a game using variables and other skills in Scratch. Third graders used Scratch to tell a story about themselves by designing a project using the letters in their name. Sixth graders learned the syntax and rules of Javascript to create amazing art projects using shapes, colors and other commands.

Living Classroom is excited to be back on campus working with students in the school gardens again! Our edible and California native plant gardens offer endless learning opportunities and serve as living laboratories for lessons throughout the school year. Here’s what’s going on in the gardens this fall…

TK/Kindergarten - Students learn how to plant seedlings and use garden tools safely

1st Grade - Students learn why animals build homes and monitor the growth of seedlings as they study photosynthesis

2nd Grade – Students explore how seeds travel and embark on an 8 month endeavor as they watch their winter wheat grow and eventually harvest, thresh, and grind it into flour in the springtime

3rd Grade - Students learn how to save seeds from heirloom tomatoes and harvest and measure the corn, beans, and squash from the Three Sisters gardens planted for them by last year’s third grade classes

4th Grade - Students explore the many uses of California native plants for food, medicine, cordage, and more

5th Grade - Students investigate the water cycle and Earth’s systems (geosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere) as they build mini ecosystems using recycled tennis ball containers

6th Grade - Students travel back in time as they explore and plant crops grown in Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, and India

We are fortunate to have parents and volunteers from the community who give of their time to make this wonderful environmental education program possible. Interested in volunteering or learning more? Contact program coordinator Caroline Chan at livingclassroom@lasdschools.org or (650) 947-1103.

Drawing requires practice. There are many different styles of drawing. In every grade level, students explore a variety of drawing techniques to hone their craft in lessons with the Art Docents. Students learn to identify basic shapes to help them draw animals, people, and objects in the younger grades. The lessons move on to following lines that go around shapes in contour drawings. They have an opportunity to learn how to add details to their drawings, shading using hatching, cross-hatching, and stippling. In older grades, students learn how to draw more realistically with proportion and perspective. They also focus on how light reflects as it hits an object.

Grade-Level Drawing with LASD Art Docents

• TK - Birds of Color

• Kindergarten - Drawing Animals

• 1st Grade - Family

• 2nd Grade - Reflections on Buildings

• 3rd Grade - Observational Drawing

• 4th Grade - Human Form

• 5th Grade - Heads & Faces and One Point Perspective

• 6th Grade - Drawing Still Life and Two Point Perspective

Thanks to funding from LAEF, every LASD student experiences STEM education and has the opportunity to learn to code through the computer science program. A huge thanks to our community for its contributions to LAEF. If you have not had the chance to donate this year, please consider a contribution of any amount: https://laefonline.org/District/1110-Untitled.html