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McPherson Magnet's STEM Program

PROJECT LEAD THE WAY - K-5th Launch and 6th-8th Gateway

McPherson Magnet'sSTEM ProgramPROJECT LEAD THE WAY - K-5th Launch and 6th-8thGateway

What is STEM?

STEM is an engaging and exciting way of teaching and learning that allows students to understand and appreciate the relevancy of their work to the work around them. It's an integrated approach to science, technology, engineering, and math that nurtures students' curiosity and helps them develop creativity, oral and written communication, and problem solving skills. McPherson's STEM program builds a foundation of skills and confidence and challenges students to solve problems based on real-world scenarios.

McPherson students inspired hundreds of educators during Project Lead the Way's conference held recently in Anaheim.

Kindergarten Launch

Structure and Function: Exploring Design


Essential Questions: How can a step-by-step process help you design or improve a solution to a problem? How do materials impact the structure and function of an object?


Real-world scenario: Kinder students will design a new kind of paintbrush for a specific purpose.

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Beanstalk Designs

Using pipe cleaners, kinder students built the tallest beanstalks possible, and then they measured their builds to compare which one was the tallest structure.
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Design a House

Students were assigned a specific material that represents either straw, wood, or bricks to model a house for one of the three little pigs. Watch out for that wolf!
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Golden Egg

Kinder students made modifications to their original beanstalk structures in order to hold a golden egg. Students learned structures need to change depending on the function.

First Grade Launch

Light and Sound


Essential Questions: What are the properties of light and sound? How can people communicate over a distance?


Real-world scenario: Students will build a device using light and sound a lost group of hikers can use to communicate over a distance.

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Can You Hear Me Now?

1st graders explored how sound travels using plastic cups and string. They also discovered the relationship between sound and vibration.
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Color

Students collaborated to identify what happens when red, green, and blue colored lenses are mixed together.
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Teamwork

Using limited materials, students worked as a team to save the lost group of hikers with this communication device.

Second Grade Launch

The Changing Earth


Essential Questions: How can Earth events change the shape of the land? Why should engineers prevent or reduce the impact of erosion?


Real-world scenario: Students will design solutions to limit the impact of erosion on a fictional community.

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Google Earth

Google Earth helps students travel the world and learn that bodies of water are found in both solid and liquid states on Earth.
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Map Skills

After reviewing important symbols and a variety of maps, 2nd grade cartographers created their own map of a special place.
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Erosion Tests

Students built a model landscape to investigate which force-earthquake, wind, water, or ice-caused more sand to be eroded in the tray.

Third Grade Launch

Stability and Motion: Science of Flight


Essential Questions: In what ways do forces impact our world? How do balanced and unbalanced forces affect aircraft flight?


Real-world scenario: Students will apply the steps of the design process to solve the problem of airlifting supplies to a remote area.

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Does It Balance?

Students constructed teeter totters to visualize balanced and unbalanced forces. They experimented adding different weights to observe what happens.
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Lift Off!

3rd graders experimented with the four forces of flight (lift, drag, thrust, weight) using handheld propellers.
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Glider Trials

With partners, students conducted different glider trials to test the differences in wings and stabilizers. Students then graphed their results.

Fourth Grade Launch

Energy: Collisions


Essential Questions: How are potential and kinetic energy related? What happens to energy during a collision?


Real-world scenario: Students will design a vehicle restraint system using VEX parts.

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Energy

Students constructed cars using VEX parts in order to observe the relationship between speed, kinetic energy, and potential energy.
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Collisions

4th graders worked in teams to create collisions on a ramp between two cars to show the transfer of energy.
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Save the Egg!

Teams brainstormed multiple solutions to design a safety restraint system, and then selected one to develop and use to conduct fair tests.

Fifth Grade Launch

Infection: Detection


Essential Questions: How can medical professionals use patient symptoms to diagnose illness? How can scientists determine how a germ spreads through a group of people?


Real-world scenario: Students will determine the path of transmission of an infection that is spreading through a fictional school.

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Germs, Germs, Germs

Students were "infected" with a simulated germ powder to show how fast germs can spread.
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Which Soap Works Best?

5th grade teams performed experiments to test the effectiveness of different soaps and hand washing methods.
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Healthy Bodies

Students explored the body's defenses and diagrammed how the body fights an invasion from germs.

6th Grade Gateway

Design and Modeling


Essential Questions: How is the design process used to effectively develop a design solution that solves a problem or addresses a design opportunity? Why is communication of design ideas with teams and with stakeholders important throughout the design process?


Design and Modeling provides students opportunities to apply the design process to creatively solve problems. Students work in teams to identify design requirements, research topics, and engage stakeholders. They establish team norms, collaborate, and recognize that solving authentic problems requires creativity, communication, and using their brains.

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Design Challenge

Students research cerebral palsy and created an ankle foot orthosis. They also learned that sketching and precise measurement are useful skills for communicating design ideas effectively.
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Measurement

6th graders explored proper uses of rulers and dial calipers for measuring objects accurately. They put their skills to use designing paper skimmers that slide across the floor with ease.
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Puzzle Cubes

Students worked in teams and applied the design process to create puzzle cubes first using plastic linking cubes, and then made models by gluing together and coloring wooden blocks.

7th Grade Gateway

App Creators


Essential Questions: How do computer scientists design and develop mobile apps that meet desired needs? What does effective teamwork look like?


App Creators allows 7th grade students to explore and learn the concepts of computational thinking through the creation of mobile apps. They also apply skills pertaining to the design process, problem solving, collaboration, and communication. This course conveys the positive impact of computer science to society.

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Digital Doodle

Students are learning how to save data and working with databases. They created a Digital Doodle app that allows the user to annotate images and stores the picture to the database.
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Algorithms

Students created code using algorithms. They used the "for loops" statement to loop through code to reduce the redundancy of the algorithm.
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Charades

Students presented their completed charades app. They used the prebuilt code in the charades game app to analyze the code and reduce any redundant lines of code.

8th Grade Gateway

Flight and Space


Essential Questions: Why are different flight vehicles designed differently? What makes an airplane fly? What is an airfoil?


This 8th grade middle school course is a progression in the study of aeronautics, from history of flight to types of jobs in the industry to designing and building various aeroplanes. Students work toward the culminating activity of digitally designing, tweaking, and fine tuning a glider optimized for flight, then building the glider using balsa wood to specs for their digital plane.

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Flight Vehicles

Students looked at different flight vehicles that led to the design of the plane.
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Wing Design

Students explored how wing design affects flight.
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Airfoil

Students created digital designs of their airfoils.
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McPherson Magnet School

Email: jerven@orangeusd.org
Website: mcphersonhome.meteormail.net
Location: 333 So Prospect
Phone: 714-997-6384
Twitter: @McPhersonMagnet