Online Resources/Websites

STEAM Students:

Here are some STEM/STEAM websites you can visit while you are at home for remote learning:

EVERFI (Work on Ignition Classic Course and then other courses):
https://platform.everfi.net/
EVERFI Class Codes:
3rd Hour:  b9f9bcaf
4th Hour:  167029eb
7th Hour:  c34ded4a

PBS Kids Design Squad:
https://pbskids.org/designsquad/build/spinner/?fbclid=IwAR0gRbvBRkrP2KBXLi5D2bPcb4jLFVf3Y_n6pucMim-dnytiy_Oqnllahks

PBS CyberChase (Activities):
https://pbskids.org/cyberchase/activities/

PBS CyberChase (Games):
https://pbskids.org/cyberchase/games

Coding:
https://code.org/

Engineering, Go For It:
http://www.egfi-k12.org/index_noflash.php

How Stuff Works (Science):
https://science.howstuffworks.com/

Comcast Internet Essentials (FREE Internet at Home)

Dear STEAM Families,

If you do not have internet or a laptop computer at home, please visit the following link to take advantage of this offer from Comcast!

https://www.internetessentials.com/covid19

“As the country deals with the effects of the Coronavirus (COVID-19), Comcast is taking immediate steps to help connect more low-income families to the Internet at home. Effective Monday, March 16, 2020, anyone who signs up for Internet Essentials will receive two free months of Internet service. We are also increasing the speed of the program to 25 Mbps downloads, and 3 Mbps uploads for all new and existing customers.

After your first two free months expire, you can either cancel the service (which you can do at any time) or keep it as a regular paying Internet Essentials customer. You will receive an easy to use self-install-kit that includes a cable modem (to receive service at your home) with a WiFi router (to connect your devices without wires). There is no term contract or credit check and no shipping fee for equipment.”

Scroll down to the bottom of the page on the link and click “APPLY NOW”.

Online Learning

Dear Salina STEAM Families,

As we try to navigate through these next few weeks of online/remote learning, my hope is that my STEAM students will continue to develop their knowledge and skills at home. I will communicate with families through iBlog and additionally, I will communicate with students via email.

Students should continue working on their current STEAM projects at home (“Invention vs. Innovation”) and completing the EDP template that demonstrates their use of the EDP throughout the project. Because students have extra time, they should truly be able to construct their prototypes to a much higher standard. Please help support your children by ensuring that they are working on their projects daily, as well as documenting their engineering journey on their EDP template (a lot of students tend to forget to do this part each day!). Student projects will be due as soon as school resumes. Students will present their projects when we return.

If students have any questions, they should contact me via email and I will respond as soon as possible. My hope is that students will email me with any questions they have and for any support that they need.

In addition, I will share materials/resources with students that include resourceful websites, STEAM challenges that can be done at home, reading material for students to build their vocabulary and improve their reading skills, as well as activities that engage families in the learning process with their children.

I will miss seeing my STEAM students everyday, but safety and wellness is most important. Please be safe and make sure you are up-to-date by checking your emails, teachers’ iBlog pages, and by keeping up with the news each day. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me!

Sincerely,

Mrs. Saleh

STEAM Makerspace Supplies Request

Dear Parent(s),

You may not know it, but there are many items in your home that our STEAM students can use as part of our STEAM Makerspace!

We are looking for the following supplies to stock our Makerspace. If you have any of these items and they are not being used, please consider donating them for use by our STEAM students.

  • paper towel tubes
  • toilet paper tubes
  • wrapping paper tubes
  • shoeboxes
  • egg cartons
  • cardboard
  • fabric
  • felt
  • bubble wrap
  • paper and plastic cups
  • old CDs/DVDs
  • packing foam
  • clean plastic containers
  • clean plastic soda and water bottles
  • plastic bins for storage
  • plastic jars and containers

If you are not sure if we can use something, please ask!

Please contact me with any questions about our Makerspace or other supplies we may need.

Thank you for your support!

Mrs. Saleh

STEAM Project: Invention or Innovation

Project Task:  Identify a problem that can be solved through technology.  Develop a solution to the problem.  Invent or Innovate!

“In its purest sense, invention can be defined as the creation of a product or introduction of a process for the first time. Innovation, on the other hand, occurs if someone improves on or makes a significant contribution to an existing product, process or service.” (Huffpost)

Students will use steps 1-8 of the EDP and log/document their Invention/Innovation journey as an Engineer!

Students will have approximately two weeks to complete all eight steps of this project in class.  If they need additional time, they can finish up the project at home.

Students may work with a partner (not required), but they must receive teacher approval prior to beginning the project.

EDP Poem/Rap Assignment – Extra Credit

This week, students were given the task of writing a rhyming poem or rap that explains all eight steps of the Engineering Design Process (EDP) in order.

Engineering Design Process (EDP)

1. Identify the need or problem

(this means you need to figure out what you’re trying to solve/fix)

2. Research the need or problem

(this means you need to research information about the problem you’re trying to solve/fix so that you have more information and know what other people have done about the problem)

3. Develop possible solution(s)

(this means you need to come up with more than one idea/plan about how to fix/solve the problem)

4. Select the best possible solution(s)

(this means you need to choose which of your ideas/solutions is the best one to continue with)

5. Construct a prototype

(this means you need to build a model of your solution)

6. Test and evaluate the solution

(this means you need to test your solution and see which part of your solution/model works and what doesn’t work)

7. Communicate the solution

(this means you need to explain/report about what your solution was, what happened when you tested it, and why the results turned out the way they did)

8. Redesign

(this means you need to think about how you can make your solution better and what changes you would need to make to it)

Note:  You can change the wording around (BUT NOT THE STEPS) in order to help you create rhymes (example:  instead of “Identify the need or problem”, you can say “Identify the problem or need”—this makes it easier to find a word that rhymes with “need” as opposed to a word that rhymes with “problem”.)

Parent Presentation at EFHS – March 12, 2020

Dear Parents,

Edsel Ford High School will be hosting a parent presentation on the evening of March 12, 2020.  The presenter’s name is Brooks Harper and his presentation is called “Why Should We Hire You? Turn Learning Into Earning!”

His presentation covers important College and Career Readiness topics.

Please visit this link for all pertinent information: https://efhs.dearbornschools.org/parent-communications-volunteerparticipation-opportunities/career-fair-2020/