With Hotwheels tracks and cars, sixth graders took off running designing their own investigation.  Not only did they have to come up with their own questions to investigate, but they had to identify the variable being tested as well as all the variables they'd control.  They collected data, used mathematics to determine averages, and then used the data as evidence to support their claims.

We'll be working on our CER models throughout the year, and as students become more comfortable in their scientific explanations and scientific understandings, they'll see how the reasoning and the claim are quite different from one another.  Right now, we're working on refining our reasoning to include scientific concepts that deepen our connections between the claims and evidence. Keep on thinking 6th graders!

So students' first two challenges of the school year had them thinking a lot about the work of engineers.  Engineers specifically define problems and design solutions to the problems.  Their two "challenges" were really problems they needed to solve in teams.  Since engineering and science are naturally collaborative, there was no better way to establish working norms for teamwork.

We're moving beyond engineering (but don't worry, we're not saying good-bye to it for long), and thinking now about the work scientists do.  Scientists and engineers have work that is similar, but their work is distinctively different.

Scientists ask questions and seek the answers to those questions through meaningful research and investigations.  We'll be working on what it means to construct an explanation in science, using the Claim-Evidence-Reasoning Framework.

Claim:  A statement that answers a question.
Evidence:  Data that supports the claim.
Reasoning:  A justification that connects the evidence to the claim.

To introduce this concept, we watched this short commercial to answer the question:
Is my dad a space alien?

And here's the example we developed for the CER Model Framework! Great work 6th grade!

We hit the ground running in 6th grade, and students were excited to dive into their second teamwork challenge.  Using limited materials, they were to design a tower that:

1.  Was at least 50 cm high
2.  Held a tennis ball
3.  Stayed standing in front of a fan

Walking through the engineering design process, students pushed themselves and their teammates to try and better reach the goals of the challenge.  There may have been failure after failure, but students quickly learned that each failure brought them closer and closer to a successful tower.  

Way to go 6th graders!

Teamwork is such a simple word, but boy, does it pack the punch!  Teamwork can mean a lot to many different people, and how we work in teams can make or break our experiences.

Today, students were challenged to build a specific tower of cups using only a rubber band tool.  They were constrained by time, and over the course of fifteen minutes, all aspects of teamwork came to the surface.


Students...

• Planned out what they were going to do.
  
• Tested their ideas.
  
• Failed.
  
• Persevered.
  
• And succeeded.
  

As a class, we established norms for teamwork and walked through what to do with many different situations....how to communicate, how to share experiences, how to lead or be led, how to listen, and how working together really can unite us.  Ultimately, we learn from these experiences, making us better people who are able to solve problems in a different light.

Way to go!

What a great first day at Alcott!  Lots of new faces and lots to learn.  Students quickly jumped in learning procedures and I had the opportunity to learn a little bit about them.  I gave students the opportunity to tell me what they're like both inside and outside of school as well as how they learn best and when they struggle with their learning.  Here's what I shared about myself with the class:

• I learn best by doing, when it's quiet (I'm easily distracted!), and when my teammates help explain things to me I don't understand.
• I struggle when teachers talk too much, too fast, or give too much information.  
  

With all that said, I am excited to find ways to reach everyone this year, no matter how they learn!