STEM

Term 4 – The Design Process 

In STEM this term we have all been learning about Engineering Design Process. This is a set of steps followed by engineers to find the solution to a problem. All students used this design process to plan and create a house. The younger students read a story called Blue the Builders Dog to help them learn about the steps in the design process. Ask them what happened to Blue’s house when he thought he didn’t need a plan! There was also a focus on having a growth mindset so if the first attempt didn’t work, we had to keep on trying.

Prep

The preps planned and made a house for Blue and then made houses of straw, sticks and bricks for the 3 Little Pigs. The Big Bad Wolf (Paula) tried to blow the houses down using a hairdryer. The preps learned how to add details to their plans by using labelled diagrams.

Grade 1 & 2

The Year 1s and 2s made their houses using 3D shapes. The houses had to stand on their own. Some students made their house a haunted house for Halloween. Then we read a book called We’re Stuck. Students used the design process to plan and make a lift (elevator). They had to figure out how the lift would move up and down.

Grade 3/4 and 5/6

The older students had 2 constraints (rules) for making their houses. The houses had to stand on their own and had to have 2 light-up windows. We had to learn about circuits to make the windows light up. The 5/6 students also tried to use a circuit to make a car that would move.