Amazing Insect!!!

   Tuesday at recess, Matthew from Mrs. Goulart's second grade found a mysterious creature.  " I found it on a tree and decided to show my friends and teacher." Matthew explained. 
   We discovered that it is a type of caterpillar called a "Crowned Slug" and it can be found from Florida up to Massachusetts. Be careful because their spines can sting you! We are happy to release it back outside again! 

Here is a great close up picture we found online of the Crowned Slug: 

 

Design Squad!

Design Squad is a great STEM website that is kid friendly and fun!

This week in Grades 1 and 2, we watched how an engineer came up with a new technology to solve the problem of a melting ice cream cone!!

Lunar Eclipse!

On Sunday night, we had a special event occur in the night sky...a LUNAR ECLIPSE!

A lunar eclipse happens when the Earth's shadow covers the moon, making it look like it disappears!
 

When the moon was completely covered, the sun still shows on the shadow, making it look RED! This is called a "Blood Moon."

 

Before we had technology to help us study the sky, some civilizations thought that the moon was getting eaten by an animal such as a jaguar, pig, or toad in the sky!!!

Check out the video below for a sped up version of the lunar eclipse!!! 

Lunar Eclipse Video  

Sun's Energy!!!

In Kindergarten, we are learning about how the energy from the Sun heats up the surface of the Earth. Our classes discovered that we can feel the Sun's energy on our skin and also on different surfaces outside of our school! We also found shady spots that blocked some of the energy from the sun!!!

We thought the black pavement felt HOT and the grey wall felt WARM

We are squinting because the sun was shining on our faces!

The black tar on the playground holds a lot of the sun's energy!

The dark light pole felt WARM!

We also found cool shade under a TREE!

The grey sidewalk felt warm as we found the shadow from the flag pole.

The blue paint felt WARM and the white paint felt COOL!

 We found the rays from the sun coming in through a window! It made the carpet feel warm.

We wish we had sunglasses! This wall was very hot because the sun had been shining on it all morning!

Even though it was windy, sun's energy felt warm on the dark pavement and on our skin!





 
Greenley observed that the white paint felt COOL and  the black pavement felt much warmer

 
Our bodies blocked the sun and made SHADOWS!

 







The black pavement felt WARMER than the grey wall. 

STEM Units!

Dear Families,

Please find the following current unit desciptions for your child's grade level. If you would like to discuss any of these topics/projects at home, it would be a great way for students to share their learning with you!!!

Pre-School:
*classifying man made vs. natural materials/objects
*drawing technology and animals
*describing properties of an object 
*classifying living vs. non living

Kindergarten:
*what is technology?
* energy from the SUN, its heating properties, changes in surface temperatures and designing a shade structure technology for outside use. We are going outside to collect data, taking pictures, and then putting it all together into a detailed design!

Grades 1 and 2: (higher level expectations for grade 2)
*what is technology?
*what does an engineer do?
*how does technology help us solve problems?
*creating a "technology mash-up" by combining 2 different technologies to create a BRAND NEW technology...these have been amazing so far!! It is a challenging project that requires deep thinking. 


Sincerely, Ms. Martin 

Welcome to STEM

Dear Families,

    My name is Katie Martin and I am your child’s STEM teacher. I see your child for instruction and activities using the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math standards at their grade level. Your child will have many different learning opportunities including hands on investigations and design challenges. If you would like to ask your child about me, you can remind them that I am the teacher that swam with great white sharks!

    If you happen to work in any of the STEM fields and would be willing to come in at any point this year to talk more about your career or have any local STEM connections, please don’t hesitate to contact me. On occasion, I will send home STEM materials requests to help us when we build different projects.

    I will be grading your child’s work using the following system:

E	Exceeds grade level expectations
M	Meets expectations
P	Progressing towards expectations
N	Does not meet expectations
X	Not assessed

    Many of you may already know me for having taught 4th grade over at The Quashnet School! I look forward to a wonderful year of learning and getting to know all of my students. Please follow my STEM blog to keep up to date with your child’s learning and feel free to contact me with any questions or comments you may have.

Thank you for your support!

Sincerely,

Katie Martin

PreK-2 STEM Specialist

email: kmartin@mashpee.k12.ma.us

class blog: http://qesmartin4.blogspot.com

Welcome back!!!

Dear students and familes,

Today was a great day at K.C.C!!! I am so excited to be the PreK-2 STEM specialist at your school! 

The children and I are starting to learn by understanding what STEM is ( Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) and how we will work to solve problems this year while also learning about the world around us.

Our first lesson is to understand that technology is anything that is MAN MADE and SOLVES A PROBLEM. Children usually assume that only electronics are technology and that they require electricity. They are astonished to find out that a fork, school bus, water bottle, and even their clothing are all helpful examples of technology!

Here is a quick video that easily explains more on technology:  

 Sincerly, 
Katie Martin
kmartin@mashpee.k12.ma.us