Teacher Spotlight: Hands-On Science with Middle Schoolers!

WMSI at Monroe 2022-2023

By: Mike Chadburn
6th-8th Grade Science Teacher

Mike worked alongside WMSI over the school year to create project-based, hands-on lessons that could be incorporated into his science curriculum for each of the three grades he taught. Here is a sampling of his experience!

Bionics with the seventh graders:

Seventh grade students were tasked with designing a bionic implement that would assist their clients in their daily lives.  Using LEGO Spike Prime and their imagination they developed some very imaginative products…

These students invented some glasses that alert you when you are about to walk into a wall on your way to the bathroom in the middle of the night!

Makey Makey 3D Interactive Displays with the eighth graders:

After spending a few weeks researching Earth’s Geological past, the eighth graders were ready to teach the Monroe Consolidated School’s community all about their favorite geological time period.  To assist with this, WMSI worked with the 8th graders on the functionality of the Makey Makey.  The 8th graders wired up their three dimensional displays and programmed their kits so other students could interact with their models.

This model is all about the Cretaceous Period. Dinosaurs are the coolest!

This student is a little shy but her underwater world was super educational and entertaining!  This was one of our most popular interactive displays.

Circuits and Electromagnets with the sixth graders:

Have you ever wanted to listen to music but your computer speakers stop working and you just don’t have enough money to purchase a new computer? Don’t worry, with just a few household items and an electromagnet you can build your very own speakers.

These 6th graders are in the beginning stages of turning plastic cups into speakers that they can plug into their computers and cell phones.

Teacher Spotlight: Learning Physics Through Play

By Melissa Jellison, High School Science Teacher at Lisbon Regional School and WMSI Teacher Mentor

When you think of a high school Physics class you might imagine blackboards covered in formulas and students sitting at their desks with graphing calculators punching numbers to predict how far a weighted sled might travel if pushed down a hill. What you might not imagine is kids actually sledding and playing.

Learning through play is important at any age; high school included. Playing has a way of bringing concepts to life. The use of play in the classroom helps students to explore the world around them and naturally helps to develop creative problem solving and creativity. In my physics classroom, we utilize play a lot. While learning the relationship between distance, velocity, and time, before students plugged variables into calculators they designed sleds and we went sledding. Based on childhood memories, students built cardboard sleds. The available materials were cardboard, duct tape, and plastic sheeting. Students used the engineering design process to build their sleds. They had to set goals for their sled, advertise their design, and test their design. 

Through the testing of the sleds, they learned fundamental concepts of physics without opening the textbook. Building and working through the design and play process allowed students to ask questions and make observations without fear of “getting it wrong.” Play creates a safe zone for learning new content.