STEM NEWS

Year 5 and Year 6 STEM Animal Adaptation Projects

Since the beginning of Term 2, the Year 5 and Year 6 students have been following the Design Cycle in STEM sessions. The area of study was animal adaptation. It has been such a joy to see them finish this project and have a chance to share their achievements with others in our rolling STEM expos that have been held over the past few weeks. The students (and Mr KT!) have had to endure a myriad of interruptions to this project, including two lockdowns. It has been a credit to all of the groups that each time we returned to the STEM room – they simply picked up from where they left off. Collaboration and teamwork with peers was essential to this project.

The students began by researching animal adaptation and finding out how their favourite animals had evolved over time. The next stage was the Design Phase. Students had to design a brand new animal from scratch! They had to sketch or draw their animal and label all of its essential features. Each body part or characteristic had to be justified to ensure the animal’s survival. The Create/Build Phase saw each group use a range of STEM materials to build a model of their animal. Lots of thought went in to body structure and how the animal could have some moveable parts. To conclude, the students completed the Test/Revise Phase of the cycle where they tested the mechanics of their animal and made adjustments where appropriate. This was achieved via the creation of a Stop Motion Documentary film of their animal moving in its habitat. (These films will be compiled and shared with families via Seesaw soon!)

Well done to all of the students and thank you to the Junior and Middle classes that visited the expo and asked our Senior students some probing questions!