Students are learning to effectively collaborate to complete wind challenges.  

This week in Energy Lab, all grade levels have been researching and experimenting with wind. We have been learning where wind comes from and the effects it has on weather, people, and landforms.  Students portray elements of Portrait of a Graduate by learning to be, resilient problem solvers, effective communicators and key contributors by completing wind challenges. They are making a duck boat to transport a duck across a tub of water by using a fan to simulate the force of the wind. Other students are learning about harnessing the wind through literature, such as the book, The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind.  They are working in teams to engineer wind-powered cars. The cars must include 2 axles, a mast, and a sail.  Cars must not only move when exposed to wind, they must travel in a straight line.  Third-grade students learned a lot about productive struggle when tasked with building a maze with three obstacles that they must move a marble through by using a straw to blow wind through in order to move the marble through the maze successfully. They learned about using balanced and unbalanced forces in order to move or not move items. Kindergartners have been going on wind walks in our outdoor classroom and using their five senses to discover wind. They built wind chimes in order to see and hear the wind.