6th Graders Kansas State University Football and Campus Tour

Kansas State University Football Coach, Bill Snyder, has been amazing over the years. Starting off eight years ago, he came to my classroom and surprised the students after receiving their Power of the Pen persuasive letters trying to convince him to respond. Not only did he respond, he drove two hours to see them in person. Since then, he has never said no when I have asked if he can inspire students. Not only have students had a chance to tour Kansas State University, he has hosted them in his football facility, taking the time to talk with him about goal setting, making wise choices and surrounding themselves with people that will make them better. At our visit last year, students had the chance to hear from him and his brother. Along with touring the football facility, students had a chance to receive a campus tour. I truly believe it is important to expose students to university visits at an early age. All students do not need to go to college, but they can begin to hear about hard work and different paths for their future. Here is a video recap of the 6th graders amazing day at Kansas State University. Each visit, the university truly treats the students like they are enrolling as freshman the upcoming year.

Kansas State University 6th grade visit - Coach Snyder - Football Facility and Campus Tour

Cardboard Boat Challenge - Sink or Float?

Students applied their learning of exploration to create their own boats. Using duct tape and cardboard, students had to design a boat that could hold passengers across the length of the swimming pool Student learned perimeter and area, along with creating a boat safety video for the City of Lenexa. Student also wrote and filmed exploration videos an made commercials advertising their boats.
See their final project in action:
Boat Video
City of Lenexa Boat Safety Video
Boat Commercial

Geometry Fashion Show - Newspaper and Cardboard!

It's been a while since I have posted. As an educator who is passionate about project based learning, I wanted to share a PBL unit that occurred this year. Student in K-2 had to answer, "How is geometry used in the real world?" Students looked at our school's architecture through a geometric shape hunt, where they discussed why those shapes and lines were used and if they were replaced with a different shape how the architecture of the school would change. Students also learned about symmetry,  combined shapes to make a geometry Stop Motion man, designed their own cities and identified shapes through robot art. This led students to taking everything they had learned and apply it with shoes. Students used cardboard and newspaper to design shoes for district administrators and coaches. They decorated them with things from the maker space. For the final culmination event, students participated in a geometry fashion.
Click the links to see the newspaper article and the video.
Geometry Fashion Show Newspaper Article
Geometry Fashion Show Video