The second graders learned to work with Lego We-Do. They built various working models and programmed them. The students were able to add special effects to their models and they really enjoyed the experience. They collaborated, problem-solved and explored in an intuitive block-based coding environment.
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In our last unit of study “Inventions”, the third graders engaged in the engineering design process. They researched and learned about various ancient and modern inventions from all around the world.The third graders worked very hard on building their Egg Drop vehicle. For the past few weeks they were busy planning, creating and testing their prototypes.
They used their knowledge from the previous unit,“Forces of Flight,” to understand the impact of air resistance, gravity, and other factors on their Egg Drop vehicle. Among other skills, budget management was an important skill the students learned in this unit. MKA’s sixth graders were invited to the Primary School campus to encourage collaboration. The third graders shared their designs with them, brainstormed and discussed possible design improvements. It was an enriching experience for students from both the campuses to collaborate and work together. On Tuesday, we had the Egg Drop; which was a wonderful experience for the third graders as well as the audience from our Primary School. Congratulations to our third graders on their amazing success! Kindergarten students have been busy exploring “Coding." They were introduced to the basic principles of programming. The students really enjoyed using the programming puzzle “Light-Bot” to learn concepts like sequence, patterns, and loops. The students worked in groups of two as they used drag- and-drop programming to solve puzzles. This helped hone their problem solving skills.
In science, students regularly engage in discussions focussing on the impact we are having on our environment. They learn to define a problem and work to find a solution. The students understand that they have the power, if they choose, to make our immediate environment a better place. Every little action they take, makes a huge difference to our environment. In this spirit, the students pledged to take action to increase the declining pollinator population. One of the best ways to support and conserve is to provide a habitat for the pollinators so they created and planted a pollinator habitat.
A few weeks ago, a duck made our playground it’s home and laid eggs. The students took action to protect the nest and were happy to cordon off their favorite playscape to keep the eggs safe. They are learning about the duck's nesting behavior and waiting eagerly for the ducklings to hatch. First grade students learned about the various types of weather conditions. They became familiar with the weather symbols and played memory games using those symbols.
Students have been recording the weather. They looked at the weather conditions from our upper school weather station using the link https://owc.enterprise.earthnetworks.com/OnlineWeatherCenter.aspx?aid=6603 and recorded the outdoor and indoor temperatures at our campus. They used this data to compare the weather conditions using a bar graph.They learned how to read and create a bar graph. Students are learning both Fahrenheit and Celsius temperature scales.They were introduced to the terms - room temperature,body temperature, freezing point and boiling point. They worked with their partners to record and present a weather report. The second graders learned about balance and different types of motion.They balanced various two and three-dimensional objects and learned the key terms such as counterweight, center of gravity etc. in the process. The students conducted various experiments to observe the effects of mass and friction on speed and motion. For design and construction they made twirly birds to observe how air resistance varies by altering the wing span of the twirly birds. They also built spinning tops and zoomers.
The third graders investigated the structure of seeds and analyzed the collected data. They learned about the life cycle of plants and the various methods of seed dispersion. The students designed and built a wind dispersed seed structure for their engineering and design project. They tested their prototypes and measured the distance traveled.
The students studied the structure and behavior of crayfish, and shared some interesting facts about these creatures with the Chilean students visiting us. At the beginning of the year the third graders had learned about ‘Optical Illusions’. One of the Chilean students who is also a talented magician performed some great magic tricks for our class and the students tried to find the science behind it. It was a great experience for the visitors as well as our students. Kindergarten students engaged in a variety of STEM challenges where they learned to organize their thinking towards finding solutions to a problem. By working in teams, they developed the skill of collaboration. Students quantified their experiences and collected data by counting and comparing.
The first graders are learning the importance of asking questions in science and connecting their everyday experiences with concepts learned in class. They learned that magnetism is a force that can defy gravity, explored density and worked with mirrors to understand symmetry in nature. The students conducted experiments to understand the physics of sound. They developed a better understanding of the life cycle of a plant as they planted and observed red kidney beans grow into plants.
They are currently learning about simple machines. The students will engage in design thinking as they learn how to build different types of simple machines. They will use various recyclable materials as well as Dacta Lego. Second Grade students were engaged in learning about animal adaptations. Building on the concepts they had been learning in the previous month, they were able to use that knowledge to draw conclusions on how different animals adapt to their environments. They researched and collected information about various physical and behavioral adaptations that help animals survive . The key terms discussed were hibernation, migration and camouflage. The students then engaged in a project to establish themselves as problem solvers. They created animals that would adapt to the given environmental conditions. They included two behavioral and physical adaptations each in their creations.
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