Throughout the District, educators are engaging students in innovative projects that combine Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) skills. We caught up with three elementary classes to hear about their hands-on learning activities.
Exploring Math Through Sewing
Grade 6 students at Berrigan Elementary School are stitching together math concepts and sewing skills through an innovative project supported by the Innovation and Adolescent Learning Department.
Teachers Samantha Schmidt and Brenda MacLeod developed lessons where students learn to hand-sew while making a bookmark and designing their own drawstring bag. In the process, they apply a range of math skills – measuring with a ruler, calculating how much material they need for each project, and working with perimeter and area.
Interested students have the opportunity to take their skills to the next level by joining a recess sewing club, where they tackle more complex projects and learn to use a sewing machine.
Here’s what the students and staff had to say about the initiative:
"I liked the drawstring bag - I can use it for stuff like my glasses. It was pretty fun and after you sew the bag you can sew anything. I had a pyjama with buttons and a button fell off so I sewed it back on and now it's good!" - Adnan
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"I think it was fun doing the sheet where you got to pick all the measurements for your bag." - Ainsley
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"It's been a really interesting project to have kids start thinking about sustainability and what happens to our clothes when we're done with them. I've had several students repair a piece of clothing at school and it's so neat to see their faces when they realize they've saved their favourite garment." - Samantha Schmidt, Teacher
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"The students were able to see the practical application of using measurements in a real-life activity such as sewing. They were more readily willing to play with the numbers because they knew there was a tangible outcome." - Brenda MacLeod, Teacher
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Putting Coding Skills to the Test
At Severn Avenue Public School, Grade 5 and 6 students in Erin Van Daele’s class held a mini-golf tournament using Spheros programmable robots. Students built mini-golf holes and worked in teams to write the most efficient code to guide their robots through the holes.
Their score was based on the number of lines in their code – the shorter the code, the better the score. Students applied their knowledge of block coding, angles, and distance as well as exercising their problem-solving skills, collaboration, and perseverance. Check out their work:
Welcoming Winter with Outdoor Education
At the Bill Mason Outdoor Education Centre, grade 1 and 2 students from Bayshore Public School get an up-close look at the changing seasons. Amanda Archibald and Matthew Young’s classes participated in six weekly visits to the Centre between November and December.
The students hiked, observed wildlife, built structures, and created dioramas inspired by the ecosystems they discovered. They spotted many species in the 77-acre classroom, including black-capped chickadees, a wood frog, springtails, migrating geese, and signs of beavers and porcupines. The learning continued at school with reading, writing, and art activities about what the students observed in the forest.
On their final visit, the students gave tours of their individual exploration areas to share what they had found. They enjoyed a campfire lunch and surprised Bill Mason Centre instructors with a song they’d written:
Our Favourite Things!
Fun bumpy bus rides, excited to go
Having such fun in the woods, in the snow
Chickadees fly to our hands on their wings
These are a few of our favourite things
Christine and Kathleen are walking the path
Counting the animal tracks is our math
Building with sticks while the chickadees sing
These are a few of our favourite things
Signs of the animals marked on the trees
All sorts of exciting discoveries
Wonderful learning that forest school brings
These are a few of our favourite things
When the days done,
When I’m at home with my mom or dad
I tell about all I’ve learned in the forest and all of the fun I had!
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