Problem Solving – Page 2 – St. John's Lutheran School Learning Blog

Trash into Art

Over the past few weeks third graders have been learning about taking care of our earth. We have learned about how precious natural resources are and how we can conserve them by reducing, reusing, and recycling. Last week students in my classroom had a fun opportunity to look around their homes for objects that were either no longer needed or would typically be trash. Their assignment was to create something useful out of these unwanted objects. This allowed students to experience firsthand what it means to reuse. It was a fun seeing what our students came up with!

Miss. Lincoln, 3rd grade

Pumpkin Science!

Did you know that learning the Scientific Method can be as easy as carving pumpkins and counting seeds?

2nd graders have been learning the vocabulary words and steps for the scientific method this past week using pumpkins. After researching a little bit about pumpkins and how they are classified by scientists, each 2nd grader shared their hypothesis about how the size of a pumpkin might determine the number of seeds inside it. Do larger pumpkins have more seeds or do smaller pumpkins have more seeds?

Next, it was time to begin our investigation and gather data. Pumpkins were weighed, and seeds were counted. It was a fun and mushy experience at times, plus a counting challenge, as the number of seeds we counted ranged from 305 to 583 per pumpkin. Although our class reached their own conclusion, we did also agree that true scientists would count the seeds in hundreds of pumpkins before reaching or publishing their conclusions.

So which one is it? Do larger pumpkins have more seeds? Or, do smaller pumpkins have more seeds? Grab a few pumpkins and let us know what you find out. We’ll add your results to our collection of data.

Mrs. Katie Todd, 2nd grade

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California Early Tribes and STEAM!

The 4^th graders have been studying the early tribes of California. They are learning about their environments, tools, and shelters. They were tasked to create an example of a house or a tool in our STEAM lab. They used their imagination and creativity to collaborate and to work independently. They applied their past knowledge to create something new and exciting. They found fun ways to display their learning.

Beth Clark,4^th Grade Teacher

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Finding their voice, 5th grade podcasters

This year, the 5^th graders are finding their voices through podcasting. The 5^th graders worked through the creative process to develop a podcast “channel” that included cover art, a creative channel name, and creating their own intro and outro music.

Podcasting allows all students to share their thoughts, knowledge, and opinions on any given topic and can be used across all subjects. Students who may not be good writers or may not feel comfortable sharing in front of their peers have flourished by creating podcasts.

The students recently created their first “All About Me” podcast episode in which they shared information about themselves. This project allowed all students to have a voice in their learning. Throughout this school year the students will continue to use podcasting to demonstrate their learning. They will be conducting debates, interviewing book characters, reviewing books they have read, and much more.

Kyle Duport, 5^th Grade Teacher

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Anatomy of an Apple!

What a fun week the kindergarteners in Mrs. Nelsons class had exploring, experimenting, and learning all about apples. Our thematic unit was integrated into all subject areas and the students had a blast!

Science: Exploring our seasonal theme using the scientific method.

Activities included: