Today we started a five week STEM project that will follow Sir Harley Houndstooth III as he is shipwrecked on a deserted island. Today the students had to create a shelter to protect Sir Harley from the very dangerous nightly windstorms (AKA Mrs. Dominowski and a hair dryer). The shelter needed to be at least 5 inches tall, have a base of no more than 36 square inches, and have a working door. Before starting the activity we talked about how to find area, and we went over what square inches are. The students then gave examples of dimensions that would create a base 36 square inches or less. The class then had 30 minutes to create their shelter before the storm. At the end of the class period, Mrs Dominowski tried to blow the shelters down and then picked a winner based on which shelter stayed standing and met all of the criteria.
0 Comments
Today the 5th and 6th graders explored properties of surface tension by seeing how many drops of water they could fit on a penny. Most of the students hypothesized that only 5-10 drops would fit. They were very shocked to discover that they could put 30, 40, and in some cases 50 drops on a penny. They were tasked with testing both the heads and tails side of the penny, and then learned how to find the average number of drops from their trials. As a class we found that, on average, the tails side could hold more water. We then discussed why there were discrepancies in our data, what could have caused those discrepancies, and what this means in relation to the validity of our data. The next day the students took the lab to another level by testing other coins. Good thing Mrs. Hemme had a lot of change in her purse!!!
Today the 5th through 8th graders had their first STEM class period. Today's activity tasked the students with constructing a tower with a limited amount of supplies. Each group was given two paper plates, 3 paper clips, 4 3x5 cards, 2 pieces of construction paper, 1 piece of tape that was a meter long, and 1 paper lunch bag. These were the only supplies they received. They could not get more, even if they destroyed something. They had 45 minutes to compete against each other and make the tallest tower possible. After the competition ended, we sat around and discussed what worked and what didn't, what sort of things did they have to take into account while building, and what made the winning tower successful. This was a great introductory activity. The class learned that they needed to work together, respect each others ideas, and most importantly be good listeners and teammates.
Dear Parents,
I pray that everyone had an amazing summer. I know I did, but it went by way too fast! I just wanted to take a few minutes to introduce myself to those of you who may not know me very well. My name is Mrs. Hemme and this year I will be teaching math and science in grades 5th through 8th. I graduated from the University of Michigan in 2002 and I completed my Masters in Science Education in 2011 also from U of M. I started teaching in 2002 at St. Peter's Lutheran School in Eastpointe Michigan. I met Pastor Hemme at St. Peter's and I taught first grade there for 7 years!!!! After taking a few years off to stay at home with my wonderful children (Hannah and Matthew), I went back to the classroom here at Zion in 2012. For the past 5 years I have been teaching part time in the 7/8th grade classroom. This year I was asked to fill a staffing void after several attempts to find a permanent 5/6th grade teacher for this school year failed. So here I am. A full time teacher again! This is going to be a great school year for your children. I have a lot of fun things planned. Communication is very important to me. Please feel free to e-mail me or meet with me before or after school if you have any questions or concerns. Educating children is a team sport, so I need all of the 5th-8th grade parents on my team! God bless, Mrs. Hemme |
Mrs. Hemme
I am the 5th-8th grade math and science teacher at Zion Lutheran school. Welcome to my classroom website! Archives
October 2022
Categories |