Despite what you may think, Indiana did not have a blizzard, nor did I create my own snow. So, how is sledding possible in June? Well, SLED is an acronym that stands for Science Learning through Engineering Design. It is a program through Purdue University, funded by a targeted Math Science Partnership NSF Grant. It was first implemented in intermediate classrooms in 2011. My alma mater is AWESOME!!!!! **If you're an NSTA member, you can read about the program for free. The article is called "Shedding Light on Engineering Design" . It was published by: Brenda M. Capobianco, Chell Nyquist, and Nancy Tyrie in the Science and Children Journal in January 2013. If you're not a member, it's only $1 to read. ** My binder and design notebook. You can see my individual plan and my group's plan for our solar tracker. I attended the 2017 SLED Summer Institute. It was a fantastic full-day PD, targeted by grade level (6th Grade). I'm excited to be teaching 6th Grade Science and Social Studies this fall, a change from last year!! Man, was it useful! I walked away with so many resources that I can implement in my classroom and wanted to share. What exactly is SLED? The purpose of SLED, as the name suggests, is to support science concepts using the engineering design process and hands-on tasks. It makes the science concepts more meaningful with a real-world connection and creation of a physical prototype or product. It also gets away from the idea that there is only one correct answer or way to solve a problem. It encourages problem solving and creativity. It is targeted for 3rd - 6th Grade students, but there are extension activities that would allow use in older grades as well. What is great about all of the tasks is the ease of cross curricular connections; math and literacy. It is a great structure for an interactive science notebook. Rubrics are also available to grade design notebooks, collaboration, redesigns and activity wrap-ups. What did we do? We started the day with Candy Bag, an activity focused more on the process and less on the science content. I plan on using this in my classroom at the beginning of the year as a way to build classroom community, encourage collaboration and explain the procedures and expectations for these activities the rest of the year. For Candy Bag, students could measure height, length, and width, calculate volume, surface area and cost of their bag. Students could also write a letter persuading a company to purchase their bag. It would also fit well with Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory by: Roald Dahl. What's the Space Connection? We spent most of the afternoon doing Solar Tracker, a design task focused on building an apparatus to collect solar energy throughout the year. This is a great way to assess student understanding of seasons, direct and indirect rays, and positioning of the earth. Like all of the SLED design tasks, math (measuring angles) and literacy (Secrets of the Seasons: Orbiting the Sun in Our Backyard by: Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld) are easy to incorporate. ****AMAZING RESOURCE ALERT!!!***** I would like to thank the Astronomy Education Department at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln for creating these Astronomy Simulations, Animations and Interactives. -> Specific Simulation used for Solar Tracker http://astro.unl.edu/naap/motion1/animations/seasons_ecliptic.html Able to change the view (sun or side of Earth), position on Earth, and date. All Animations and Simulations, grouped by topics: http://astro.unl.edu/animationsLinks.html An entire activity list for student practice, grouped by concepts, is available here: http://astro.unl.edu/interactives/ How can YOU use this in your classroom?
1) Go to stemedhub.org/groups/sled 2) Create a FREE account. *Don't forget to confirm your e-mail. 3) Click on the Design Resources tab on the left hand side. 4) Browse the List of Design Activities, separated by Grade Level *Each activity listed shows has the key concepts and brief description of the design task. 5) Click on the name of the activity. 6) Download for FREE! Peace, love and space exploration, CAPCOM Conrad
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AuthorApollo 13 fan. Educator. Lifelong Learner. Third generation Boilermaker. Space Exploration Enthusiast. Collaborator. Click Subscribe to stay updated!Archives
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