“Truly wonderful the mind of a child is.”

~  ​Master Yoda  ~

Welcome to Mrs. Smith's STEM Galaxy Website!

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Hello STEM Galaxy Kids & Families! 
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Excuse the mess! Mrs. Smith's STEM Galaxy Website is always under construction to make it better and better. Please check the home page weekly for updates!

Announcements

STEM Lab Fun!
  • Students are learning so much in STEM Lab! Scroll below under First Quarter Learning to see all the things your student has learned so far!
May the Force Be With You!
  • Students, remember to wear your, "Star Wars" on your STEM Lab Day so that you can press the buttons on Darth Vader and the Storm Trooper at the end of class! Remember, it must be something with Star Wars logos, items, or characters and it must be in dress code. No toys or hats. Some examples are shirts, socks, shoes, jewelry, rubber bracelets, watches, or bows. Girls can wear their hair in Princess Leia or Rey styles. Examples are below! I can't wait to see you all decked out in your "Star Wars!"
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Princess Leia Hair
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Rey Hair
Practice Typing and Coding At Home!
  • The Typing Club program was temporarily down, but is back up and running again! Please encourage your student to work on their typing skills by practicing in the Typing Club Program. They know they can access it on their Clever Dashboards. This is especially important for 2nd - 5th graders who will be required to type on the ACAP test in April.
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  • Please encourage students to practice Coding on the Code.Org program at home. The students access this program through Clever as well. Coding is a foundational skill needed for students to participate in robotics in 4th and 5th grades.
Hyperdrive Typist Competition
  • ​​Now that Typing Club is working, we will begin our HyperDrive Typist contest.
  • Each month, the student in each grade level with the highest words per minute and accuracy will be recognized in the morning announcements and have their name posted on the Hyperdrive Typist Leader Board outside of the STEM Lab.
  • At the end of the year, the top three typists in each grade level will receive a medal on awards day!

Star Coders
  • ​​Students who compete their grade level coding course in Code.org will receive a Coding Certification at the end of the year awards ceremony!

WISH LIST ITEMS

We have an active, busy STEM Lab and are in constant need of supplies. All STEM classes would be so grateful to receive any of the items on our wish list!  Thank you!
  • CR2032 Lithium Coin Batteries
  • CR1220 Lithium Coin Batteries
  • AA Batteries
  • AAA Batteries
  • ​​Pencils
  • Markers
  • Colored Pencils
  • Protractors 
  • Colored Duct Tape
  • Small Cardboard Boxes
  • Cardboard Sheets
  • Styrofoam Pieces
  • Ping Pong Balls
  • Popsicle Sticks
  • Any Makers/Craft Items you have that you no longer want

FIRST QUARTER Learning

This month, each grade level entered new units of study. Students in 4th and 5th grades have started unit rotations. Unit rotations involve each class engaging with a different kit or lab for 4 - 6 weeks and rotating to a different class's kit or lab at the end of the 4 - 6 week period. 3rd Grade students have begun labs and investigations. Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grades are learning computer skills.  

Below are the content and skills we covered in each grade level.
KINDERGARTEN

Computer Usage
  • Students learned to log into their Chromebooks by keying in their password when prompted.
  • Students have learned to access programs through their Clever Dashboards.
​Typing Skills
  • Students learned to access a program called Typing Club.
  • Students learned where letters, numbers, and important keys are on the Chromebook keyboard.
  • Students learned to use left and right hands when typing. 
  • Students are currently learning the proper finger placements on keys. 
  • Students are currently learning to type site words using the proper finger and hand placement.
  • Students are currently working to achieve a goal of 5 words per minute at 90% accuracy or higher.
Coding Skills
  • Students learned to access a program called Code.org Course A.
  • Students learned how to click and drag and arrange coding blocks in order.
  • Students learned to use directional code blocks, North, South, East, and West.
  • Students learned to develop an algorithm to move a character in a game.
  • Students learned to debug simple algorithms.
  • Students learned to identify patterns in code.
  • Students are currently learning to use loops for repeating code.​
1st Grade

Computer Usage
  • Students learned to log into their Chromebooks by keying in their username and password when prompted.
  • Students reviewed how to access commonly used programs through their Clever Dashboards.
​Typing Skills
  • Students reviewed how to access a program called Typing Club.
  • Students reviewed where letters, numbers, and important keys are on the Chromebook keyboard.
  • Students reviewed how to use left and right hands when typing. 
  • Students reviewed proper finger placements on keys. 
  • Students learned to identify patterns in words and keys when typing.
  • ​Students learned to type site words with the correct hand and finger placements.
  • Students are currently learning where the punctuation keys are on the keyboard.
  • Students are currently learning to type complete sentences on the keyboard.
  • Students are currently working to achieve a goal of 10 words per minute at 90% accuracy or higher.
Coding Skills
  • Students reviewed how to access a program called Code.org and go to Course B.
  • Students reviewed how to develop a sequential algorithm to move a character in a game.
  • Students learned to program an action after moving a character to a desired location. 
  • Students learned to debug a sequential algorithm.
  • Students learned to identify patterns in code.
  • Students learned to use loops for repeating code.
  • Students learned to draw images by looping simple sequences of instructions.
2nd Grade

​ Typing Skills
  • Students reviewed how to access a program called Typing Club.
  • Students reviewed where letters, numbers, and important keys are on the Chromebook keyboard.
  • Students reviewed how to use left and right hands when typing. 
  • Students reviewed proper finger placements on keys. 
  • ​Students reviewed site words with the correct hand and finger placements.
  • Students learned about the keyboard home row and practiced letter combinations on the home row. 
  • Students learned about the keyboard top row and practiced letter combinations on the top and home rows. 
  • Students learned about the keyboard bottom row and practiced letter combinations on the top, home, and bottom rows.
  • Students learned to use the shift key to capitalize letters.
  • Students learned where advanced punctuation and symbol keys are on the keyboard.
  • Students are currently practicing common words on the keyboard.​
  • Students are currently working to achieve a goal of 15 words per minute at 90% accuracy or higher.
Coding Skills
  • Students reviewed how to access a program called Code.org and go to Course C.
  • Students learned to create a linear sequence of code to make a character go straight and make left and right turns.
  • Students learned to debug more complicated algorithms.
  • Students learned to program more complicated actions as they move a character towards a desired location. 
  • Students learned to identify strings of nested patterns in code.
  • Students learned to use nested loops.
  • Students learned to draw images by programming length and angles.
3rd Grade

​ Typing Skills
  • Students reviewed how to access a program called Typing Club.
  • Students reviewed proper hand and finger placements on the keyboard. 
  • Students reviewed keyboard rows. 
  • Students practiced letter combinations on the top, home, and bottom rows.
  • Students practiced how to use the shift key to capitalize letters.
  • Students practiced typing advanced punctuation and symbol keys.
  • Students practiced common words on the keyboard.​
  • Students practiced typing a paragraph.
  • Students are currently working to achieve a goal of 20 words per minute at 90% accuracy or higher.
Coding Skills
  • Students reviewed how to access a program called Code.org and go to Course D.
  • Students reviewed writing and debugging sequential algorithms.
  • Students practiced the editing of simple programs.​
  • Students practiced the use of nested loops.
  • Students practiced drawing images using length and angles.
  • Students learned to program speed and sound.
  • Students learned to use events to code a program.
  • Students learned to write complex code using a series of algorithms and events.
  • Students are learning to use conditionals in coding. 
Labs & Investigations
  • Students learned about open and closed circuits by creating toy lightsabers.
  • Students learned how biomimicry is used in engineering and design by using a "Loup" to examine acorns and leaves and designing a product inspired by these items.
4th Grade

​ Typing Skills
  • Students reviewed how to access a program called Typing Club.
    Students reviewed proper hand and finger placements on the keyboard. 
    Students reviewed letter combinations on the top, home, and bottom rows.
    Students reviewed how to use the shift key to capitalize letters.
    Students reviewed typing advanced punctuation and symbol keys.
    Students practiced typing long, complicated passages.
    Students are currently working to achieve a goal of 25 words per minute at 90% accuracy or higher.
Coding Skills
  • Students reviewed how to access a program called Code.org and go to Course E.
  • Students learned to program a simple animated scene.
  • Students learned to create and animate sprites and make them interactive using events.
  • Students learned to code designs using the Artist program.
  • Students learned to combine chunks of code into functions.
  • Students learned to use conditionals.
  • Students learned to use conditionals with functions.
Unit Rotations
Infrastructure Unit
  • Content: Students are learning about the important structures and systems that make up a city's infrastructure.
  • Materials: Smart House Design, Construction, and Circuitry Kits
  • Skills: Students are designing and building a smart home with given specifications and on a budget. The design must take into consideration the environment, landscape, and weather patterns of a specific place. They will wire the home for power by using things like LED lights and switches for lighting, speakers and buttons for door bells, motion and light sensors for alarm systems, and motors for ceiling fans and elevators.
Industry/Economy Unit
  • Content: Students are learning how robotics revolutionized industry and impacted the economy.
  • Materials: Mechanical Engineering - Robotic Arm Kits
  • Skills: Students identified the type of robotic arm needed by a given industry, manufacturing a specific product and doing a specific task. They are building the robotic arm using interchangeable parts and physics concepts.
​Environment Unit
  • Content: Students are learning about renewable energy resources and the impact of hydroelectric power on the environment.
  • Materials: Hydroelectric Generator Kits
  • Skills: Students identified areas that have the potential for hydroelectric power, investigated the pros and cons of hydroelectric power, and are building a working Hydroelectric generator customized for a specific area’s terrain. Then they will contemplate solutions to environmental problems caused by hydroelectric power plants.
​Society Unit
  • Content: Students are learning how an area’s biome, culture, and wealth impact the design of a home and designing driveways of the future for these homes.
  • Materials: Architectural Model Kits and Aircraft Runway Kits
  • Skills: Students identified characteristic architectural features in homes based on biome and culture of a region and contemplated the reasons these features were utilized. They are designing and building model homes for a specific culture and biome. Then they are building the driveways of the future by coding parallel circuits and LED lights to navigate their aircraft to their driveway landing pads at their home.
5th Grade

​ Typing Skills
  • Students practiced typing long, complicated passages.
  • Students are currently working to achieve a goal of 30 words per minute at 90% accuracy or higher.
Unit Rotations
Infrastructure Unit
  • Content: Students are learning about the role of robotics in a city's infrastructure.
  • Materials: Vex Robotics Kits
  • Skills: Students are learning how to use Vex Robotics. Soon, they will design different aspects of robotic infrastructure using Vex Robotics' interchangeable parts and wiring and coding electronic components like motors, lights, speakers, and sensors using Vexcode.Go.
Industry/Economy Unit
  • Content: Students are learning how products are developed, marketed, distributed, and sold.
  • Materials: Tinkercad, 3D Printer, and Makers Materials
  • Skills: Students are learning how to use a program called Tinkercad. Soon, they will design a new product based on the wants and needs of a group of people in TinkerCad, print out the product using a 3D printer, design packaging for the product for sale, determine how to set the price, select where it will be distributed, and design packaging for shipment to keep it from being damaged in transport.
​Environment Unit
  • Content: Students are learning how environmental and agricultural problems are solved using robotic technologies.
  • Materials: Hummingbird Robotics Kits and Makers Materials
  • Skills: Students are learning how to use Hummingbird Robotics. Soon, they will design solutions to environmental problems by coding Hummingbird Robotics' motors, lights, speakers, and sensors in a program called MakeCode to power builds they developed from Maker Space materials.
​Society Unit
  • Content: Students are learning about the role electronics play in our society. 
  • Materials: MicroBit Kits, Jumpstart Python Program, and Makers Materials 
  • Skills: Students are learning how to use program electronic components on a microcontroller called a MicroBit using Python as the programming language. Soon, they will design and build electronic products intended to improve the quality of life for a specific group of people by building a product with Makers Space materials, outfitting it will electronic components, and programming a MicroBit using Python to run those components.

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