Girard Science Labs & Student Instruction

Preschool Exploration

We’re going on a mission, start the countdown 5…4…3…2…1!  Preschoolers will participate in a variety of hands-on activities that will make them curious about science and the world around them. 

Note: Preschool labs will be scheduled for no more than a 2-hour session.  

Basic Needs of Living Things – 4 hours

What are the needs of living things?

In this hands-on lab, students will explore how plants and animals work together to meet each other’s needs to survive. They will investigate using the medium of live plants and animals

• K-LS1-1 | Use observations to describe patterns of what plants and animals (including humans need to survive.
• K-ESS3-1 | Use a model to represent the relationship between the needs of different plants and animals (including humans) and the places they live.

Playground Engineering – 2 hours

What causes an object to move?

Students will investigate how objects move by building and exploring with playground equipment.

• K-PS2-1 | Plan and conduct an investigation to compare the effects of different strengths or different directions or pushes and pulls on the motion of an object.
• K-PS2-2 | Analyze data to determine if a design solution works as intended to change the speed or direction of an object with a push or a pull.
• K-2-ETS1-1 | Ask questions, make observations, and gather information about a situation people want to change to define a simple problem that can be solved through the development of a new or improved object or tool.
• K-2-ETS1-2 | Develop a simple sketch, drawing or physical model to illustrate how the shape of an object helps it function as needed to solve a given problem.
• K-2-ETS1-3 | Analyze data from tests of two objects designed to solve the same problem to compare the strengths and weaknesses of how each performs.

Kansas Weather – 2 hours

Why is it important to understand weather patterns?

In this lab, students will learn about patterns of weather over time, the types of weather we see in Kansas, and the sun’s role in producing weather. They will also explore severe weather and how to stay safe during weather events.

K-ESS2-1 | Use and share observations of local weather conditions to describe patterns over time.

K-PS2-1 | Plan and conduct an investigation to compare the effects of different strengths or different directions of pushes and pulls on the motion of an object

K-PS2-2 | Analyze data to determine if a design solution works as intended to change the speed or direction of an object with a push or a pull.

K-2-ETS1-1 | Ask questions, make observations, and gather information about a situation people want to change to define a simple problem that can be solved through the development of a new or improved object or tool.

K-2-ETS1-2 | Develop a simple sketch, drawing, or physical model to illustrate how the shape of an object helps it function as needed to solve a given problem.

K-2-ETS1-3 | Analyze data from tests of two objects designed to solve the same problem to compare the strengths and weaknesses of how each performs.

Sound & Light – 4 hours

How do sound and light travel?

Students will explore the role of vibrations in the creation of sound. What causes different sounds? What do these “sounds” look like? They will also explore the concepts of light and illumination

• 1-PS4-1 | Plan and conduct investigations to provide evidence that vibrating materials can make sound and that sound can make materials vibrate.
• 1-PS4 -2 | Make observations to construct an evidence-based account that objects can be seen only when illuminated.
• 1-PS4-3 | Plan and conduct an investigation to determine the effect of placing objects made with different materials in the path of a beam of light.

Space Exploration – 4 hours

What patterns are in the sky?

The NASA Artemis program will land the first woman and next man on the moon by 2024. They will use innovative technologies to explore more of the lunar surface than ever before. What challenges would astronauts face living on the moon? In this lab students will learn about patterns we see in the sky, and why we experience different seasons and amounts of daylight. Students will also explore how astronauts are able to survive in space.

• 1-ESS1-1 | Use observations of the sun, moon, and stars to describe patterns that can be predicted.
• 1-ESS1-2 | Make observations at different times of year to relate the amount of daylight to the time of year.
• K-2-ETS1-1 | Ask questions, make observations, and gather information about a situation people want to change to define a simple problem that can be solved through the development of a new or improved object or tool.
• K-2-ETS1-2 | Develop a simple sketch, drawing, or physical model to illustrate how the shape of an object helps it function as needed to solve a given problem.

What’s the Matter? – 4 hours

How can materials be alike and different? What changes do heating and cooling cause?

Through various exploration and experiments, students will learn how to distinguish properties of various objects. Students will also explore how heating and cooling affect various forms of matter.

2-PS1-1 | Plan and conduct an investigation to describe and classify different kinds of materials by their observable properties.

2-PS1-2 | Analyze data obtained from testing different materials to determine which materials have the properties that are best suited for an intended purpose.

2-PS1-3 | Make observations to construct an evidence-based account of how an object made of a small set of pieces can be disassembled and made into a new object.

2-PS1-4 | Construct an argument with evidence that some changes caused by heating or cooling can be reversed and some cannot.

Plants and Animals – 4 hours

In this lab students will have the opportunity to compare the diversity of living things in various habitats. They will also investigate the structures of plants and animals closely to help them deduce how they work together. Finally, they will have the chance to explore their creativity by completing an engineering activity addressing pollination and seed dispersal

2-LS2-2 | Develop a simple model that mimics the function of an animal in dispersing seeds or pollinating plants.

2-LS4-1 | Make observations of plants and animals to compare the diversity of life in different habitats.

K-2-ETS1-2 | Develop a simple sketch, drawing, or physical model to illustrate how the shape of an object helps it function as needed to solve a given problem

The Great Shake Up – 4 hours (Can’t Be Half Day!)

What shapes our Earth? Earth’s landscapes can change quickly or over a long period of time. Students will investigate these changes and complete an activity using the Engineering Design Process.

K-2-ETS1-1 | Ask questions, make observations, and gather information about a situation people want to change to define a simple problem that can be solved through the development of a new or improved object or tool

K-2-ETS1-2 | Develop a simple sketch, drawing, or physical model to illustrate how the shape of an object helps it function as needed to solve a given problem

K-2-ETS1-3 | Analyze data from tests of two objects designed to solve the same problem to compare the strengths and weaknesses of how each performs

2-ESS1-1 | Use information from several sources to provide evidence that earth events can occur quickly or slowly

Parachute Engineering Challenge – 4 hours

What design features make a parachute successful?

In this engineering design challenge, students will work in cooperative groups to purchase supplies to build a parachute. Teams will learn how to use the engineering design process to plan, create, test, & perfect a parachute that can safely carry cargo when dropped from the top of the PSU/Greenbush Astrophysical Observatory.

3-5-ETS1-1 | Define a simple design problem reflecting a need or a want that includes specific criteria for success & constraints on materials, time, or cost.

3-5-ETS1-2 | Generate & compare multiple possible solutions to a problem based on how well each is likely to meet the criteria & constraints of the problem.

3-5-ETS1-3 | Plan & carry out fair tests in which variables are controlled & failure points are considered to identify aspects of a model or prototype that can be improved.

Weather and Its Impacts – 4 hours

How is weather different around the world?

Storm struck? Why do we have tornadoes, but other areas of the world have hurricanes? How can it be snowing in Kansas, & 90 degrees in Mexico on the same day? Students will investigate & compare several different climates & weather conditions across the world & use their critical thinking to complete an engineering project.

• 3-ESS2-1 | Represent data in tables & graphical displays to describe typical weather conditions expected during a particular season.

3-ESS2-2 | Obtain & combine information to describe climates in different regions of the world.

3-ESS3-1 | Make a claim about the merit of a design solution that reduces the impacts of a weather-related hazard.

3-5-ETS1-1 | Define a simple design problem reflecting a need or a want that includes specified criteria for success & constraints on materials, time, or cost.

3-5-ETS1-2 | Generate & compare multiple possible solutions to a problem based on how well each is likely to meet the criteria & constraints of the problem.

3-5-ETS1-3 | Plan & carry out fair tests in which variables are controlled & failure points are considered to identify aspects of a model or prototype that can be improved.

Motion and Stability – 4 hours

How do equal and unequal forces on an object affect it?

Get physical with physics! Students will have the opportunity to learn about balanced & unbalanced forces through a variety of interactive experiments. Using the engineering design process, students will design & create a rocket that must land within a designated area.

• 3-PS2-1 | Plan & conduct an investigation to provide evidence of the effects of balanced & unbalanced forces on the motion of an object.

3-PS2-2 | Make observations and/or measurements of an object’s motion to provide evidence that a pattern can be used to predict future motion.

3-5-ETS1-1 | Define a simple design problem reflecting a need or a want that includes specified criteria for success & constraints on materials, time, or cost.

3-5-ETS1-2 | Generate & compare multiple possible solutions to a problem based on how well each is likely to meet the criteria & constraints of the problem.

3-5-ETS1-3 | Plan & carry out fair tests in which variables are controlled & failure points are considered to identify aspects of a model of prototype that can be improved.

Mission Sphero – Brain Break – 4 hours

How does coding impact our lives?

We’re going on a mission, start the countdown, 5…4…3…2…1! Students will learn the importance of coding & how it is used in everyday life. During Mission Sphero, students will learn Sphero basics by “driving” the Sphero, changing its colors & speed, & participating in activities that demonstrate how coding is used in the real world. After mastering the basics, they will have the opportunity to create their own codes to accomplish certain tasks & create a Brain Break.

• CSS 1B-CS-01 | Describe how internal & external parts of computing devices function to form a system.

CSS 1B-CS-02 | Model how computer hardware & software work together as a system to accomplish tasks.

CSS 1B-AP-10 | Create programs that include sequences, events, loops, & conditionals.

3.OA.9 | Identify arithmetic patterns (including patterns in the addition table or multiplication table), & explain them using properties of operations.

Plants and Animals: Structures and Functions – 4 hours

How do plants and animal structures help them survive?

Plants & animals have a variety of internal & external structures. In this lab, students will attempt to uncover the functions of both plant & animal structures through dissection & explore how those structures help living things survive.

• 4-LS1-1 |Construct an argument that plants & animals have internal & external structures that function to support survival, growth, behavior, & reproduction.

4-LS1-2 | Use a model to describe that animals receive different types of information through their senses, process the information in their brain, & respond to the information in different ways.

Sound and Light – 4 hours

How does energy travel?

Using light & sound energy, students will learn how energy travels. What do these waves of energy look like? How can we change the shapes & sizes of the waves? Students will examine sound waves & pitches & also investigate reflectivity using a variety of hands-on experiments.

• 4-PS3-2 | Make observations to provide evidence that energy can be transferred from place to place by sound, light, heat, & electric currents.

4-PS4-1 | Develop a model of waves to describe patterns in terms of amplitude & wavelength & that waves can cause objects to move.

4-PS4-2 | Develop a model to describe that light reflecting from objects & entering the eye allows objects to be seen.

Mission Sphero – Secret Message – 4 hours

How does coding impact our lives?

We’re going on a mission, start the countdown, 5…4…3…2…1! Students will learn the importance of coding & how it is used in everyday life. During Mission Sphero, students will learn Sphero basics by “driving” the Sphero, changing its colors & speed, & participating in activities that demonstrate how coding is used in the real world. After mastering the basics, they will have the opportunity to create their own codes to accomplish certain tasks.

• CSS 1B-CS-01 | Describe how internal & external parts of computing devices function to form a system.

CSS 1B-CS-02 | Model how computer hardware & software work together as a system to accomplish tasks.

CSS 1B-AP-10 | Create programs that include sequences, events, loops & conditionals.

4-PS3-1 | Use evidence to construct an explanation relating the speed of an object to the energy of that object.

4-PS3-2 | Make observations to provide evidence that energy can be transferred from place to place by sound, light, heat, & electric currents.

4-PS3-3 | Ask questions & predict outcomes about the changes in energy that occur when objects collide.

4-PS3-4 | Apply scientific ideas to design, test, & refine a device that converts energy from one form to another.

Erosion – 4 hours (Only offered in February – Can’t Be Half Day!)

How can we prevent the unwanted movement of soil?

To examine the role of water, ice, wind, animals & vegetation on landscape, students will design & test an erosion experiment. How is erosion amplified? What can be done to prevent it? Finally, students will investigate various intervention techniques to counteract the unwanted movement of soil.

• 4-ESS1-1 | Identify evidence from patterns in rock formations & fossils in rock layers to support an explanation for changes in a landscape over time.

4-ESS2-1 | Make observations and/or measurements to provide evidence of the effects of weathering or the rate of erosion by water, ice, wind, or vegetation.

3-5-ETS1-2 | Generate and compare multiple possible solutions to a problem based on how well each is likely to meet the criteria and constraints of the problem

Light and Stars – 4 hours

What determines the strength of light?

Students will have the opportunity to explore with light sensors, solar panels, & telescopes to answer questions such as: Why does our sun appear so bright? What happens to light over a distance? Why can you only see Orion in the winter? Students will find answers to these questions & more as they learn about our sun & how Earth’s daily rotation as well as its orbit around the sun might affect the length & direction of shadows. Students will also investigate what affects the apparent brightness of stars.

• 5-ESS1-1 | Support an argument that the apparent brightness of the sun & stars is due to their relative distances from Earth.

5-ESS1-2 | Represent data in graphical displays to reveal patterns of daily changes in length & direction of shadows, day & night, & the seasonal appearance of some stars in the night sky.

Waters of the Earth – 4 hours

Not recommended January-March

How does water tie the Earth’s systems together? 

To investigate the role of water on Earth, students will explore the connections between the biosphere, geosphere, hydrosphere, & atmosphere. How much water is available on Earth & where is it located? How can pollution affect Earth’s water? What else affects Earth’s waters? What causes tides? Students will also analyze water to discover what “healthy” water looks like.

• 5-ESS2-1 | Develop a model using an example to describe ways the geosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and/or atmosphere interact.

5-ESS2-2 | Describe & graph the amounts & percentages of water & fresh water in various reservoirs to provide evidence about the distribution of water on Earth.

5-ESS3-1 | Obtain & combine information about ways individual communities use science ideas to protect the Earth’s resources & environment.

Matter and Its Interactions – 4 hours

How does matter respond to the things around it?

Scientists unite! In this lab students will have the opportunity to complete many experiments to determine chemical or physical changes. They will also conduct an investigation to explore conservation of mass.

• 5-PS1-1 | Develop a model to describe that matter is made of particles too small to be seen.

5-PS1-2 | Measure & graph quantities to provide evidence that regardless of the type of change that occurs when heating, cooling, or mixing substances, the total weight of matter is conserved.

5-PS1-3 | Make observations & measurements to identify materials based on their properties.

5-PS1-4 | Conduct an investigation to determine whether the mixing of two or more substances results in new substances.

Mission Sphero – The Road Home – 4 hours

How does coding impact our lives?

We’re going on a mission, start the countdown, 5…4…3…2…1! Students will learn the importance of coding & how it is used in everyday life. During Mission Sphero, students will learn Sphero basics by “driving” the Sphero, changing its colors & speed, & participating in activities that demonstrate how coding is used in the real world. After mastering the basics, they will have the opportunity to create their own codes to accomplish certain tasks.

• CSS 1B-CS-01 | Describe how internal & external parts of computing devices function to form a system.

CSS 1B-CS-02 | Model how computer hardware & software work together as a system to accomplish tasks.

CSS 1B-AP-10 | Create programs that include sequences, events, loops & conditionals.

• 3-5-ETS1-1 | Define a simple design problem reflecting a need or want that includes specified criteria for success & constraints on materials, time, or cost.

3-5-ETS1-2 | Generate & compare multiple possible solutions to a problem based on how well each is likely to meet the criteria & constraints of the problem.

3-5-ETS1-3 | Plan & carry out fair tests in which variables are controlled & failure points are considered to identify aspects of a model or prototype that can be improved.

Kindergarten

Rubber Ducky

January 13th is National Rubber Ducky Day. Celebrate by reading “10 Little Rubber Ducks” and conducting experiments on sinking and floating.

Kansas College & Career Ready Crosscutting Concepts for Science:

Cause and Effect

Simple tests can be designed to gather evidence to support or refute student ideas about causes.

First – Fourth Grade

Kansas Jeopardy

Celebrate Kansas’ birthday by challenging your class to a game of Kansas Jeopardy. Find out how much they remember about our grand and glorious state and maybe learn a few new things along the way.

Kansas College and Career Ready Standards for Social Studies:

Standard 1 | Choices have consequences

Standard 2 | Individuals have rights and responsibilities

Standard 3 | Societies are shaped by beliefs, ideas, and diversity

Standard 4 | Societies experience continuity and change over time

Fifth – Eighth Grade

Fake News

Do you think your students could spot fake news or would they be fooled? This lesson will help them analyze the problems and consequences of the spread of fake news and identify ways to avoid fake news in social and academic settings.

Kansas College and Career Ready Standards for ELA:

CCRA.R.1 | Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text

CCRA.R.7 | Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse media and formats, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words.

CCRA.R.8 | Delineate and evaluate argument and specific claims in a text, including the validity of the reasoning as well as the relevance and sufficiency of evidence.

Kindergarten

M&M Math

After reading “The M&M Counting Book,” students will have the opportunity to practice adding, graphing, sorting and estimating using M&M candies.

Kansas College & Career Ready Standards for Math:

K.CC.A.1 | Count to 100 by ones and tens

K.CC.A.3 | Write numbers from 0 to 20. Represent a number of objects with a written numeral 0-20 (with 0 representing a count of no objects)

K.CC.B.5 | Count to answer “how many?” questions about as many as 20 things arranged in a line, a rectangular array, or a circle, or as many as 10 things in a scattered configuration; given a configuration; given a number from 1-20, count out that many objects

K.OA.A.5 | Fluently add and subtract within 5.

K.MD.B.3 | Classify objects into given categories; count the numbers of objects in each category and sort the categories by count 1.

First & Second Grade

Chocolate

How is chocolate mate? Learn the secret and take part in a fun chocolate investigation to study the changing states of matter.

Kansas College and Career Ready Standards for Science:

2-PS1-4 | Construct an argument with evidence that some changes caused by heating or cooling can be reversed and some cannot.

Third Grade

Follow the Drinking Gourd

This literature-based, multi-cultural program exposes students to the tale of the coded song “Follow the Drinking Gourd,” which gave slaves the route for an escape from Alabama and Mississippi during the era of the Underground Railroad.

Kansas College and Career Ready Standards for HGSS – History:

Standard 5 | Relationships between people, place, idea, and environments are dynamic.

Fourth Grade

The Art of Mathematics: Notan Squares

The Japanese use the term ‘Notan’ to describe an important element of design. This concept involves the play of light versus dark. Notan means dark versus light harmony. Learn how positive and negative space as well as symmetry can be used to create a dramatic art composition.

Kansas College and Career Ready Standards for Math:

4-G.3 | Recognize a line of symmetry for a two-dimensional figure as a line across the figure such that the figure can be folded along the line into matching parts. Identify line-symmetric figures and draw lines of symmetry.

Kansas College and Career Ready Standards for Visual Arts:

VA:Cr.2.1.4 | Explore and invent art-making techniques and approaches

Fifth Grade

Valentine Coordinates

Following a brief history of Valentine’s Day, students can practice plotting points on graphs and using coordinates in a fun, holiday-themed way with this program. Teachers will be asked to supply Valentines candy.

Kansas College and Career Ready Standards for Math:

5.G.A.1 | Use a pair of perpendicular number lines, called axes, to define a coordinate system, with the intersection of the lines (the origin) arranged to coincide with the 0 on each line and a given point in the plane located by using an ordered pair of numbers, called its coordinates. Understand that the first number indicates how far to travel from the origin in the direction of one axis, and the second number indicates how far to travel in the direction of the second axis, with the convention that the names of the two axes and the coordinates correspond (e.g. x-axis and x-coordinate, y-axis and y-coordinate).

5.G.A.2 | Represent real world and mathematical problems by graphing points in the first quadrant of the coordinate plane, and interpret coordinate values of points in the context of the situation.

Sixth-Eighth Grade

Have a Heart

Through a variety of hands-on activities, students will learn how the human heart functions and how to live a heart-healthy lifestyle. We’ll really get some knowledge pumping.

Kansas College and Career Ready Standards for Physical Fitness:

8.1 | Major body systems, anatomy, functions, relationships between systems

8.3 | Purpose, examples, and benefits of daily exercise

Kindergarten

Paper Engineering

Encourage students to discover how things work by engaging in exploring engineering concepts using something as simple as paper. This will be a hands-on, minds-on lesson that tests their creativity.

Kansas College and Career Ready Standards for Science:

K-2-ETS1-1 | Ask questions, make observations, and gather information about a situation people want to change to define a simple problem that can be solved. through the development of a new or improved object or tool

K-2-ETS1-2 | Develop a simple sketch, drawing, or physical model to illustrate how the shape of an object helps it function as needed to solve a given problem.

K-2-ETS1-3 | Analyze data from tests of two objects designed to solve the same problem to compare the strengths and weaknesses of how each performs

First – Second Grade

Coding Unplugged: Dancing Our Way Through Coding

Coding doesn’t always have to be done on a computer! Using rainforest animals as inspiration, dance movements will become the basis for creating a code or algorithm by which students will determine how they will move through the classroom.

International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) Standards:

Computational Thinker 5d | Students understand how automation works and use algorithmic thinking to develop a sequence of steps to create and test automated solutions.

Kansas College and Career Ready Standards for Dance/Creative Movement:

DA:Cr1.1.1 a. | Explore movement inspired by a variety of stimuli (for example, music/sound, text, objects, images, symbols, observed dance, experiences) and identify the source

DA:Cr2.1.1 b. | Choose movements that express an idea or emotion, or follow a musical phrase

DA:PR5.1.1 b. | Move safely in general space through a range of activities and group formations while maintaining personal space

Third Grade

Leonardo’s Flying Machines

Leonardo da Vinci wasn’t just a famous artist but also a talented engineer. He left behind volumes of sketches of flying inventions. Explore some of those and see if you can improve upon his designs.

Kansas College and Career Ready Standards for Science:

3-5-ETS1-1 | Engineering Design – Define a simple design problem reflecting a need or a want that includes specified criteria for success and constraints on materials, time, or cost

3-5-ETS1-2 | Generate and compare multiple possible solutions to a problem based on how well each is likely to meet the criteria and constraints of the problem

3-5-ETS1-3 | Plan and carry out fair tests in which variables are controlled and failure points are considered to identify aspects of a model or prototype that can be improved

Kansas College and Career Ready Standards for Visual Arts:

VA:Re7.2.3 | Determine messages communicated by an image

VA:Cn11.1.3 | Recognize that responses to art change depending on knowledge of the time and place in which it was made

Fourth Grade

Hit the Trail

Would you be able to plan a journey along the Oregon Trail? Find out if you and your partner would survive a cross-country trip to start a new life on the west coast.

Kansas College and Career Ready Standards for Social Studies:

Standard 1 | Choices have consequences

Fifth – Eighth Grade

Coding Unplugged: Graph Paper Coding

Coding doesn’t always have to be done on a computer! Students will experience some of the core concepts of coding by “programming” their friends to draw a picture.

International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) Standards:

Computational Thinker 5d | Students understand how automation works and use algorithmic thinking to develop a sequence of steps to create and test automated solutions.

Kansas College and Career Ready Standards for Math:

M.P.1 | Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them

M.P.2 | Reason abstractly and quantitatively

M.P.3 | Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others

M.P.4 | Model with mathematics

M.P.5 | Use appropriate tools strategically

M.P.6 | Attend to precision

M.P.7 | Look for and make use of structure

Kindergarten

Line Drawings

Delve into the elements of art of line, shape, texture, form, space, color, and value. Students will create an abstract of line drawing and adding interesting colors and textures. Who said art needs to look like anything specific to be beautiful?

Kansas College and Career Ready Standards for Visual Arts:

VA:Cr1.1.K | Engage in exploration and imaginative play with materials

VA:Cr1.2.K | Engage collaboratively in creative art making in response to an artistic problem

VA:Cr2.1.K | Through experimentation, build skills in various media and approaches to art making

First & Second Grade

The Art of Science: Butterfly Symmetry

Students examine the symmetry found in butterfly wings and then create their own sets of wings.

Kansas College and Career Ready Standards for Science:

1-LS3-1 | Make observations to construct and evidence-based account that young plants and animals are like, but not exactly like, their parents

Kansas College and Career Ready Standards for Visual Art:

VA:Cr1.1.1 | Engage in exploration and imaginative play with materials

VA:Cr2.1.1 | Explore uses of materials and tools to create works of art or designs

Third & Fourth Grade

The Art of Mathematics: Mandalas

Mandalas are usually circular geometric patterns. Students will use mathematical principles to create a colorful mandala.

Kansas College and Career Ready Standards for Math:

3.NF | Develop understanding of fractions as numbers

3.G | Reason with shapes and their attributes

MP.6 | Attend to precision

MP.7 | Look for and make use of structure

Kansas College and Career Ready Standards for Visual Arts:

VA:Cr1.2.3 | Apply knowledge of available resources, tools, and technologies to investigate personal ideas through the art-making process

VA:Cr3.1.3 | Elaborate on visual information by adding details in an artwork to enhance emerging meaning

Fifth & Sixth Grade

The Art of Mathematics: Turn Up the Volume

Students will create and learn to calculate the volume of nine nested boxes (which can also be converted into a 45-centimeter tall tower). From these boxes they will construct a sculpture.

Kansas College and Career Ready Standards for Math:

5.MD.3| Recognize volume as an attribute of solid figures and understand concepts of volume measurement

5.MD.4 | Measure volumes by counting unit cubes, using cubic cm, cubic in, cubic ft, and improvised units

5.MD.5 | Relate volume to the operations of multiplication and addition and solve real world and mathematical problems involving volume. Apply the formulas V=l x w x h and V=b x h for rectangular prisms to find volumes of right rectangular prisms with whole-number edge lengths in the context of solving real world and mathematical problems

Kansas College and Career Ready Standards for Visual Arts:

VA:Cr2.1.5 | Experiment and develop skills in multiple art-making techniques and approaches through practice

VA:Cr2.2.5 | Demonstrate quality craftsmanship through care for and use of materials, tools, and equipment

Seventh Grade

Chances Are

Through a variety of hands-on activities, students will learn about probability. Chances are we will have fun learning.

Kansas College and Career Ready Standards for Math:

7.SP.C.6 | Approximate the probability of a chance event by collecting data on the chance process that produces it and observing its long-run relative frequency and predict the approximate relative frequency given the probability

7.SP.C.7 | Develop a probability model and use it to find probabilities of events. Compare probabilities from a model to observed frequencies; if the agreement is not good, explain possible sources of the discrepancy

Eighth Grade

The Art of Mathematics: Tessellations

A tessellation, or tiling, is created when a shape is repeated without any gaps or overlaps. This lesson allows students to examine tessellations and their geometric properties while creating a mathematical work of art.

Kansas College and Career Ready Standards for Math:

8.G.A.4 | Understand that a two-dimensional figure is similar to another if the second can be obtained from the first by a sequence of rotations, reflections, translations, and dilations; given two similar two-dimensional figures, describe a sequence that exhibits the similarity between them

Kindergarten

Button Up

Using the book “The Button Box,” students will engage in a variety of button counting and sorting activities. A variety of buttons will be needed, both on the clothing the children wear and those brought from home or supplied by the teacher.

Kansas College and Career Ready Standards for Math:

K.CC.A.1 | Count to 100 by ones and by tens

K.CC.A.3 | Write numbers from 0-20. Represent a number of objects with a written numeral 0-20 (with 0 representing a count of no objects)

K.CC.C.6 | Identify whether the number of objects in one group is greater than, less than, or equal to the number of objects in another group, e.g., by using matching and counting strategies

First & Second Grade

Go Fly a Kite!

Celebrate National Kite Month by learning about the science behind kites. Students will use the Engineering Design Process to make a kite.

Kansas College and Career Ready Standards for Science

K-2-ETS1-1 | Ask questions, make observations, and gather information about a situation people want to change to define a simple problem that can be solved through the development of a new or improved object or tool

K-2-ETS1-2 | Develop a simple sketch, drawing, or physical model to illustrate how the shape of an object helps it function as needed to solve a given problem

K-2-ETS1-3 | Analyze data from tests of two objects designed to solve the same problem to compare the strengths and weaknesses of how each performs

Third Grade

Weather Tools

Do you have budding meteorologists in your class? This program will allow them to learn about and create weather tools they can use to predict weather patterns.

Kansas College and Career Ready Standards for Science:

3-ESS2-1 | Represent data in tables and graphical displays to describe typical weather conditions expected during a particular season

Fourth Grade

Earthworms: Structure and Function

Animals have a variety of internal and external structures. Through experimentation with earthworms, students will observe structures that help in survival of animals. Classroom teachers will be asked to supply earthworms.

Kansas College and Career Ready Standards for Science:

4-LS1-1 | Construct an argument that plants and animals have internal and external structures that function to support survival, growth, behavior, and reproduction

4-LS1-2 | Use a model to describe that animals receive different types of information through their senses, process the information in their brain, and respond to the information in different ways

Fifth Grade

Paper Airplanes

Learn the principals of flight and how to make several types of paper airplanes in this fun, hands-on lesson. Students will develop an experiment to test which airplane is really the best.

Kansas College and Career Ready Standards for Science:

3-5-ETS1-2 | Generate and compare multiple possible solutions to a problem based on how well each is likely to meet the criteria and constraints of the problem

3-5-ETS1-3 | Plan and carry out fair tests in which variables are controlled and failure points are considered to identify aspects of a model or prototype that can be improved

Sixth – Eighth Grade

Yum, Bubble Gum

Sink your teeth into this fun lesson using science and math. Students will conduct experiments on bubble gum performance and have a “Chomper Challenge.” Teachers will be asked to supply gum.

Kansas College and Career Ready Standards for Math:

6.NS.2 | Fluently divide multi-digit numbers using an efficient algorithm

7.NS.3 | Solve multi-step real-life and mathematical problems with rational numbers. Apply properties of operations to calculate with numbers in any form; convert between forms as appropriate; and assess the reasonableness of answers using mental computation and estimation strategies

Kansas College and Career Ready Standards for Science:

MS-ETS1-1 | Define the criteria and constraints of a design problem with sufficient precision to ensure a successful solution, taking into account relevant scientific principles and potential impacts on people and the natural environment that may limit possible solutions

MS-ETS1-2 | Evaluate competing design solutions using a systematic process to determine how well they meet the criteria and constraints of the problem

MS-ETS1-3 | Analyze data from tests to determine similarities and differences among several design solutions to identify the best characteristics of each that can be combined into a new solution to better meet the criteria for success

MS-ETS1-4 | Develop a model to generate data for iterative testing and modification of a proposed object, tool, or process such that an optimal design can be achieved.