Myths, Fairytales, Folktales and Legends S.T.E.A.M Day at WES
What is a S.T.E.A.M day? It is a day where we come together as a school to show each other our cross-curricular projects which incorporate Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. Although English is not a part of the acronym, this was also an important part of our project.
It all began with a question – a question unique to each class. For some it was, “How do we get the gingerbread man across the lake without the fox eating him?” or “Can we construct a house for the three little pigs that the wolf can’t blow down?” or “Can we design the perfect ballroom for Cinderella using technology?” Students then set about answering these questions using math and technology for designing and building, using the scientific process to test their prototypes, and using their knowledge of the English language to write their reports. Next it was time to practice what they were going to say, which led to today – Presentation day.
Throughout the day students went from class to class seeing what others had created. Jordan from grade 6 said, “I really liked seeing everything that other people made.” Isabelle, one of our grade six students explained that she really enjoyed a project done in the other grade 6 group where students made electricity using lemons and potatoes. The purpose for this was in case there was a dragon apocalypse one day – and the dragons took over the world, how would we continue to make electricity?
In Grade 5, Ms. Lawrence focused on the myth of Theseus and the Minotaur. When asked about the process she went through to create her project she explained, “We were already doing a unit on folktales We narrowed it down to one specific myth – Theseus and the Minotaur and so we focused on the labyrinth because it’s the main part of the story. Our task came from the question, “How do we get Theseus through the labyrinth without being eaten by the minotaur?
This led to the creation of our labyrinths, using box tops, straws and paper. We began by brainstorming components of good mazes and the purpose of them and then we designed the constraints of the project. The science of it was in the building. For math, there was a certain surface area that the labyrinth had to follow. We also used frieze patterns in math and they did a written report. After visiting the labyrinth projects, Alicia, a grade 3 student told me that she really enjoyed the Grade 5 projects because you could actually play with the labyrinths and not just look at them.
Luca, one of our youngest students stated that his favorite part of the day was visiting Ms.burnham’s projects in Grade 6 because the students made games based on books and he really enjoyed “The Ugly Duckling” Game.
Mr.croteau, our math and science teacher summed the day up well: “It was an innovative, very academic day that showcased the various learning that happens across our school in a variety of subjects. Speaking as a math and science teacher, the future of these essential core courses is very bright for our WES students.”
The grade 4s thought the day was interesting, scientific, surprising, epic, mathematical, logical and creative, and I would have to agree with them. A great day of learning was had by all.