Mrs. Sweet's STEM Lab: October 2013

Friday, October 18, 2013

Bring on "Engineering Concepts Day"!!

As we finished our first nine weeks of school, students enjoyed our first "Engineering Concepts Day." Students had the opportunity to build and create with many different manipulatives including blocks, Legos, and clay. They worked together as engineering design teams to create a variety of projects. They worked together in concept specific building, and they learned that some things are easier to design based upon the materials used. They also learned how engineers need to be flexible when a project plan changes. They all really enjoyed time given for them to "free build."

Our Bible infusion for this lab was Matthew 7:24 - 27 -- "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts the into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."

The high point of the engineering lab was a group game of JENGA, the popular tower building game. While playing, we talked about five basic engineering concepts that can be found in the game:
1. Load
2. Foundation
3. Tension/Compression
4. Rotational Force
5. Earthquake Force

Wednesday's students enjoyed a "Goldfish Salad"Engineering Concepts Day" was a hit, and the students are already ready for the next one!

Thursday, October 3, 2013

Breathe In! Breathe Out!

   Tis the season for respiratory issues in Middle Tennessee, and STEM Lab students got a jump start on understanding how our respiratory systems work. Our Bible infusion for this week was Genesis 2:7:

     "The LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.”

    We discussed the fact that God actually gave Adam breath, and it was by that breath that Adam became alive. How cool is that!

    The objective for this lab is to continue to challenge the students to learn more about their bodies, while learning to respect and care for them; to understand the basic function of the respiratory system; the importance of oxygen; and carbon dioxide removal.

    In a "Breathe In/Breathe Out" activity, students learned the major organs associated with the respiratory system including the nasal passage, the larynx, the trachea, the diaphragm, the lungs, and the bronchial tubes. Older students (4th - 6th grade) completed an "Out of Breath" activity, working with lab groups to record ebreathing, while sitting, walking and jogging. The data that was collected was then recorded on a line graph that clearly demonstrated the relationship between physical activity and breath needed.

      Younger students (Pre-first -3rd grade) completed a body diagram picture, detailing the relationship between the circulatory and respiratory systems. The diagram included the lungs, the heart, and veins and arteries. Students enjoyed personalizing the pictures by drawing faces and adding hair.

      All of the students were interested in an easy "homemade" model of a lung. With simple items, such as a plastic bag, rubber band, balloon and plastic soda bottle, students saw up close the mechanics of how our lungs inflate and deflate during breathing. The plan for this model can be found at:

                      http://www.spelloutloud.com/human-body-respiratory-system.html

A spider head band came to STEM Lab this week! Pretty cool!

Jordan and Thomas work to record data on their breathing.

Fourth grade girls jogging in place increased their breathing rates.

Caleb leading the 6th Grade boys' lab group in the breathing activity!

6th Grade lab group working on graphing the data on a line graph.

Let's get that oxygen flowing!

C'mon Everybody! Do THE CIRCULATION!!

The Circulation Lab was a definite hit! Students learned a lot about our hearts, and the way blood is circulated throughout our bodies! Our Bible infusion was from Mark 12:30 --"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your should and with all your mind and with all your strength." God created the heart as a central part of our physical body, and it is important to us both physically and spiritually.

The objective for this week's lab was to challenge students to learn the basic function of the circulatory system; blood components; and flood flow throughout our body. We learned that blood is made up of plasma, red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets. In our "Blood in a Bottle" activity, students created a "blood model" from water, cheerios, red food coloring, marshmallows, and purple pom-poms. Eerily, the models were made to really replicate the blood in our bodies. They really enjoyed a snack of some extra "white blood cells" -- marshmallows! Ask your child about the hand motions for the different components:

1. Plasma helps the blood FLOW
2. Red blood cells CARRY oxygen
3. White blood cells FIGHT infection
4. Platelets STOP bleeding

We enjoyed a fun video called "Do the Circulation," too! Here is the link:

https://www.schooltube.com/video/4a7ddda14f398ab245ab/

Students were involved in a "Look/Learn" activity, noting the difference between blood vessels throughout our body. We saw capillaries in our eyes; veins in our wrists; and arteries (and veins) beneath our tongues. We discussed the color of the blood vessel, noting the presence (or lack of) oxygen. Some students thought it was a bit gross, but most enjoyed it!

Students enjoyed a "Feeling/Listening" activity using real stethoscopes to listen to their own heart beat and fellow students' heart beats. We noted that our heart beat increases with activity level, also. Next lab, we will continue to talk about circulation in relation to the respiratory system!