ACDS First Graders Engineer Apple Containers, Sailboats, and More!

Pop into the first grade classroom on any given afternoon and you are likely to encounter small clusters of children huddled around a collection of foam trays, felt, colored straws, Scotch tape, and all manner of handy supplies.  There will be much negotiating, demonstrating, and a general flurry of activity.  This is what STEM looks like in first grade.

STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.  It’s a hot topic in education circles right now, but the essence of STEM has long been at home in classrooms here at ACDS.  The heart of STEM is problem-based learning--students are given a problem to solve, then they design something that solves the problem.  In STEM, this problem just so happens to require the students to activate their math skills and science knowledge to effectively solve it.  Sounds simple enough, right?

This chart lists the criteria and constraints for their sailboat project.

In first grade, the design process follows a series of steps that are similar to the Scientific Method.  The design process follows this path:

1.  Investigate

2.  Brainstorm

3.  Plan

4.  Build

5.  Test and Present

First graders with their plans for the apple container project.

To be clear, first grade engineers are just like professional engineers in that they don’t always solve problems using this sequential order!  Depending on the project (or the engineer), our students may jump around to different steps, rewind, jump ahead and back a few more times, and even test and present multiple times before settling on a final design.  This kind of experimentation and revision is highly encouraged!

This apple container went through multiple revisions before completing its task!

Just as essential as the STEM concepts our first graders are learning are the collaboration and communication skills they must practice and refine throughout these projects.  You can be sure that a small group of first graders do not all bring similar design ideas to the table, but they manage to come together and execute one group design.  This means you have to understand the different components of your design and their value in order to convince your group.  Luckily, first graders are usually game for anything, and they don’t mind when things don’t go as planned--it’s just back to building for the next round!

Testing out a sailboat!

Grandparents' and Special Friends' Day at ACDS

Last week we welcomed over 150 guests for one of our favorite days of the year-- Grandparents' and Special Friends' Day.  After enjoying breakfast and coffee, our guests joined their students in the classroom to see what they've been learning and experience a little bit of what their day at school is like.

 

After class, our guests were treated to an incredible concert of songs performed by our students interspersed with readings by our 8th graders about a grandparent or special friend who has had an impact on their lives.

Training Brains

On a daily basis, schools across the nation attempt to help students understand how their words and actions have a significant impact on the lives of their peers. Many would expect that helping students learn this important lesson would be simple and straightforward. However, the reality is that the developing frontal lobes of children make this learning process long and complicated. The fully developed adult brain can quickly, effortlessly, and accurately predict the consequences associated with every decision and action. Furthermore, adults can use this information to execute a decision that will lead to a positive outcome. For adolescents, the path to making a good decision is not nearly as clear or easy. Without a fully developed frontal lobe, children must train themselves to slow down and think through the intended and unintended consequences associated with their decisions.

With this in mind, today’s Bullying Awareness Week assembly focused on showing students the many possible roles they could play in a bullying situation. More specifically, students from our Peer Advocates leadership group role-played a situation where a student was making repeated mean comments toward another student during recess. 

The “Bully Circle” was comprised of the target, bully, side-kick, passive supporter, possible bully, disengaged observer, possible defender, and defender. The role-play helped students better understand that anyone who is around a bullying situation is playing a role in the situation. At the conclusion of the role-play, Ms. Mosier encouraged students who find themselves in similar situation to slow down, identify the role they are playing in the situation, and make the decision to become a defender. By taking the time to walk students through the many decisions they face when confronted with a bullying situation, we hope we are training their brains to make decisions that will positively impact everyone around them.

Service Learning at ACDS

Service has always been an important part of ACDS.  Community Minded is one of the four pillars of our Portrait of a Graduate.  In our touchstone, the S in ACDS stands for Service to Others.   This year, we are renewing and strengthening our commitment to service with an additional emphasis on student learning.

Service learning is a thoughtful program of investigation, planning, action and reflection that allows students and teachers to address authentic community needs while deepening their understanding of the world around them.  Each grade has chosen a theme for the year and is entering the "investigation" stage of researching community needs related to their theme.  As they develop and implement their plans for action, the students will share their learning with each other and the community at large. 

Our topics include:

Kindergarten: hunger

First grade: random acts of kindness

Second grade: hygiene and the Chesapeake Bay

Third grade: wildlife rehabilitation

Fourth grade: disaster preparedness

Fifth grade: literacy

Sixth grade: poverty

Seventh grade: care and identification of trees

Eighth grade: trail rehabilitation and maintenance

In addition to these thoughtful and comprehensive student-led projects, we will be developing an all-school day of service in April and we are enjoying occasional opportunities for one-time community service projects as well.