Fairy Tales
How would you design and build a house fit for the Three Little Pigs? Is there an alternate method of escape from Rapunzel’s tower? Third grade students who take this course will be challenged to solve these and other problems faced by famous Fairy Tale characters!
Beat the Clock!
Given only a basket of materials and 25 minutes what would your team do to…
*build the tallest skyscraper creation that could hold a tennis ball on top
*construct a bridge strong enough to hold a 250 gram bag of sugar
*create a launcher that will send a small army figure catapulting across the room
*design a shelter that would be able to support a bag of sand
The “Beat the Clock!" class will allow students to participate in team building activities that use collaboration and critical thinking to explore solutions to weekly STEAM related challenges.
Mock Trial
Preparing students to fulfill their future civic responsibilities is an important component in helping them become independent life-long learners. Having students participate in a mock trial is one strategy for doing so. Mock trials have proven to be an effective learning tool for students of all grade levels; it causes them to analyze, synthesize, and evaluate information. It also helps them to develop listening skills and gain confidence in public speaking. Mock trials allow students to explore various topics that can be connected to a particular trial.
Intro to Coding
Have you heard the term coding and you weren’t exactly sure what that was? Well, in Intro to Coding, you will not only learn what coding is, but also why we need it, how we use it, and how it works. By the end of our session, you will be able to create interactive games, stories, and art that can be shared with anyone you choose.
Bigs & Littles
Upperclassmen will help underclassmen to develop problem solving techniques, coping mechanisms and critical thinking skills through a peer leadership program. The Bigs (the 3rd, 4th & 5th graders) will be assigned Littles (the K, 1st & 2nd graders) to nurture positive relationships in which the Bigs will exercise leadership skills and serve as positive role models for the littles. This initiative will enhance the greater Watchung Community. The pairings will be as follows: 5th & 2nd graders 4th & 1st 3rd & K
3rd Grade Rhythm Makers
This class will focus on Rhythm. Often we think of Rhythm as musical percussion. However Rhythm is an important principle of design. Visual rhythm is all around us. Also as we dissect visual patterns that can be found in cultures all over the world we discover that not only is there visual rhythm but visual pattern structures, the same structures we find in song writing. The co teachers will team up to explore auditory and visual rhythm and rhythm structure. Children will make easy connections to how similar music and visual art forms can be.
Recycled Art
Clean out your clutter and let’s reuse, reduce, recycle … REPURPOSE! Students will create fun art projects using recycled and discarded items. They will make individual and group projects. Keys, hangers, soda bottles, bottle caps, magazines, and many more items will be reinvented with these hands on creative experiences.
STEAMing Ahead in 3
Enjoy learning about Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math in Ms. Bassett’s FLEX class. You will be learning about the areas of “Science” which make up STEAM. Students will be working on Chemistry, Geology, Art, Math, Engineering, Life, and related sciences to learn what it’s like to be a scientist. They will be getting dirty, creating, and experimenting while learning the basics of the scientific method and using the tools they learn to investigate the many aspects of Science. Get ready to board the STEAM train.
Art of Animation
We will explore how still images become moving images. Beginning with the history of moving pictures, making flip books. We will also explore various ways to do this, including stop motion and "Claymation". We will also compare 2D animation and 3D animation. As consumers of animation we will discuss and discover our preferences for these two different styles, how and why it came about. We will also create some basic animations of our own.
Rhythm Makers
This class will focus on Rhythm. Often, we think of rhythm as musical percussion. However, Rhythm is an important principle of design. Visual rhythm is all around us. Also, as we dissect visual patterns that can be found in cultures all over the world we discover that not only is there visual rhythm but visual pattern structures, the same structures we find in song writing. Students will explore auditory and visual rhythm and rhythm structure. Children will make easy connections to how similar music and visual art forms can be.