Bridge structures (7th grade)
Students in my 5th and 6th hour classes have been working on bridge structures using basswood and white glue and are doing an amazing job! Our focus is on how trusses are used to support both a dead load (the weight of the bridge itself) as well as a live load (people, vehicles, etc..). Below are examples of how trusses are used in structures:
roofing
Bridges
We will be testing out our bridges this Friday!
History and Inventions (6th grade)
Students in this class have begun learning about inventions and will be writing about an invention they like as well as to create a project to go along with the invention.
The activity sheet can be found below:
The rubric can also be found here: inventions in history rubric
Copy and paste the link below into your browser to find out more about inventions:
https://inventors.about.com/od/astartinventions/a/FamousInvention.htm
This activity will be completed on April 14th (B day) and April 15th (A day)
Structures and design (7th grade)
The Foundations of Technology class began working on their marble mazes this week. Each group learn how structures are supported and designed with both function and beauty in mind. We watched a video showing this popular structure and discovered that its exterior is not only beautiful but serves as a exoskeleton to protect the structure from severe winds.
The marble mazes students are constructing should be stable and allow the marble to more as slow as possible from the beginning to the end of the maze which can be up to 2′ tall!
The activity assignment and evaluation are below:
Production and promotion unit (8th grade)
3rd and 4th hour 8th grade students have begun a unit called Production and Promotion. In this unit students discover how a company promotes its product beginning with a company Logo (Nike swoosh, Starbucks, etc.., a product idea (shoes, cell phone, jewelry, etc..) a package in which the product fits into and is displayed with detail in mind and finally, a commercial to sell the product.
Take a look at this! (click on the link)
How many of these logos can you name
Copy and paste this site into your browser to learn more about how and why products are packaged.
https://makingsociety.com/2013/06/how-to-package-a-product/
Take a look at this link to find out how companies advertise to the consumer
How do companies advertise to the consumer
*Extra credit opportunity (due by April 15th, 2016
Directions: look up the website below. Given 20 business terms and their definitions listed, chose 5 of the terms and type a 1/2 to 1 page, double spaced paper, using 5 of the terms explaing how you will promote your product to the consumer. This must be an original paper. (worth 10 points) Good luck!
https://www.englishclub.com/business-english/vocabulary_advertising.htm
6th Grade measuring unit
For the next two weeks our focus will be on measuring. Students labeled the parts of an inch, played measuring based games and then will be putting their measuring skills into practice.
Parts of an inch:
7th grade activities
Foundations of Technology students are completing their unit on measuring and will begin a new unit on Safety in Transportation.
Egg crash vehicle design ideas
For this new activity students will learn about how modern devices keep us safe in any moving vehicles.
Students will then create a vehicle which must roll down a ramp (needs wheels) and into a barrier to simulate a front end collision. Who will be the driver in this vehicle? An egg of course! Students will need to use their knowledge of safety devices to create a way to keep the egg safe yet allow the egg to see to drive. All of my classes know that we will need recycled materials brought in starting next week. I have cardboard but other items needed can include anything used for wheels (CD’s, can lids) and axels (rods, pencils, pens).
Below are some sites we will use to begin our research into safety in transportation: (copy and paste into your browser
https://find-a-driving-school.ca/top-10-vehicle-safety-devices-aware/
https://www.edmunds.com/car-reviews/top-10/top-10-high-tech-car-safety-technologies.html
https://amhistory.si.edu/onthemove/themes/story_86_1.html
https://jalopnik.com/5364740/from-benz-to-bumpers-a-brief-history-of-auto-safety/
8th grade activities
Applications of Technology students have just completed their measuring unit and will begin their next unit titled Biotechnology. Students will research information and careers associated with biotechnology, create a brochure about a career in biotechnology, learn about prosthetic limbs and then create a model of an artifical arm using foam board, straws, string and rubber bands.
To top off the unit the class will hear from a guest speaker, a fellow 8th grader, about how he lives with a disability. He has a positive outlook on life and is a great inspiration to teens with disabilities. Finally, students will spend one school day learning what life would be like without the use of their non-dominate arm.
Below is the unit information for the next three weeks as well as sites students will be using to research Biotechnology.
biotechnolgy rubric with artifical arm
Articles for intro to Biotechnology: (copy and paste into your browser)
https://www.bio.org/articles/what-biotechnology
https://www.biotechinstitute.org/go.cfm?do=Page.View&pid=23
https://www.genengnews.com/insight-and-intelligence/top-ten-biotech-jobs-most-in-demand-over-the-next-decade/77899666/
Welcome to Exploring Technology of 6th grade
Our first two weeks of class have already gone by fast! We began with discussing classroom procedures and how we will respect others and property, be safe in the classroom, show academic honesty and use our time wisely in class. Students received a grading procedures sheet which needs to be turned in as soon as possible. A link to a copy is below:
Students also explained how they will make sure to be successful in our classroom: A link to the copy is below:
I will be successful in Technology Education
We then moved into our time management unit where students listed activities they do which require time to be scheduled.
Students also created a weekly calendar to better help them understand how to organize their time.
Finally we finished this unit by discussing “to do” lists and how to prioritize (what things are most important to least important). Students agreed that having a calendar on the refrigerator is the best place to communicate everyone’s schedule in a family.
What’s next?
Measuring skills will be our topic for the next two weeks. This skill is an important lifelong skill for all of our students to master. We use measuring to find clothes to fit us, to know how much carpet is needed in a room and to make sure we buy the right size curtains for a window.
Try these sites if you would like to practice your measuring skills.
https://www.funbrain.com/measure/
https://www.abcya.com/measuring.htm
Welcome to Technology Education!
8th grade, Applications of technology
Week 1:
Students have begun the new semester working on procedures for our classroom by looking at how we practice safe behaviors, use academic honesty, show respect for ourselves and others, and use time wisely.
We then took the idea of using our time wisely to then discuss and work on time management skills. How do we make sure to complete those things we have to do such as chores, homework, sleep, eat and exercise so that we then have time to do the fun things we enjoy? Students looked into how they spend their time each day and then discussed how their “have to’s” and “want to’s” affect how they prioritize their time.
Assignment links are below:
I will be successful in Technology Education (5 points formative)
Grading procedures (to be signed by student and parent and turned in for extra credit)
Week 2:
Our focus for this week is on measuring skills. Yes, measuring is a math skill but it is a lifelong skill which is extremely important for student to master. Our focus is on the parts of an inch as well as simplifying fractions and converting from feet to inches and back.
You can even check out some games on measuring below (copy and paste into your browser)
https://www.funbrain.com/measure/
https://www.softschools.com/measurement/games/measuring_length/
Our first summative activity (10 points) can be found in the link below:
Use what you know measuring skills for 8th grade
7th grade, Foundations of technology
Week 1:
Students have begun the new semester working on procedures for our classroom by looking at how we practice safe behaviors, use academic honesty, show respect for ourselves and others, and use time wisely.
We then took the idea of using our time wisely to then discuss and work on time management skills. How do we make sure to complete those things we have to do such as chores, homework, sleep, eat and exercise so that we then have time to do the fun things we enjoy? Students looked into how they spend their time each day and then discussed how their “have to’s” and “want to’s” affect how they prioritize their time.
Assignment links are below:
I will be successful in Technology Education (5 points formative)
Grading procedures (to be signed by student and parent and turned in for extra credit)
Week 2:
Our focus for this week is on measuring skills. Yes, measuring is a math skill but it is a lifelong skill which is extremely important for student to master. Our focus is on the parts of an inch as well as simplifying fractions and converting from feet to inches and back.
You can even check out some games on measuring below (copy and paste into your browser)
https://www.funbrain.com/measure/
https://www.softschools.com/measurement/games/measuring_length/
Our first summative activity (10 points) can be found in the link below:
Use what you know measuring skills2