Summer SAVY 2022/Session 2 – Intro to Chemical Engineering for Rising 1st/2nd Grade

Posted by caughem on Monday, June 20, 2022 in blog, SAVY.

Friday: Wow! Today was my last day working with your fantastic SAVY scholar! I have enjoyed working with your child and could not have asked for a better group of students.

We wrapped up our unit following a process to create high-quality play dough. During our lab time, students understood and communicated (using the Engineering Desing Process) like a chemical engineer.

The student rated the quality and usage of the play dough on a scale of 1-3. The students based their ratings on the properties of the dough and the materials used. The overall score was a 3! We made high-quality play dough!!!

Again, it was an honor and pleasure to be your child’s SAVY teacher during Session 2. Have a wonderful summer break!

Thursday: We’ve had four fantastic days of learning! As an educator, you always want your lessons to go perfect because of the time spent prepping and planning. Today, I had to admit to the students that I had a brick brain and not a bubble gum brain, and it was vital for me to change my thinking and problem solve through the class challenges. One challenge was I needed more time to finish a lesson, so I had to be flexible with my thinking. The students laughed at the thought of me, their SAVY instructor, having a brick brain!

Nevertheless, your young scholars showed why they are part of the SAVY! We’re reading a story titled “Michelle’s MVP Award,” and the main character is a young Canadian girl with Down syndrome. She also loves art, and she wants to become an expert in creating a process for high-quality play dough. We talked briefly about the disability, but the students challenged me by wanting to know more so they could better understand the character. I was impressed with their inquiry!

To close out the day, the students participated in a lab experience where they had to examine the three materials used to make low-quality play dough so we could design a process for high-quality play dough and try the play dough challenge!

Wednesday: Today was another wonderful day of learning! The students conducted two lab tests as chemical engineers. They had to determine the properties of high-quality and low-quality play dough.

The next step is for students to think about their ideas and determine how to improve the low-quality play dough using the Engineering Design Process.

Students received a sample of high-quality play dough to take home!

Tuesday: Today was another fantastic day of learning! The day started with another Brain Challenge using tangrams. We moved on to learn more about the engineering career by discussing technology, a system, and a process. Students were able to apply these terms to their everyday lives.

Our morning set the stage for us to think like chemical engineers by creating a small and safe lab in our classroom. Students had to identify the problem, collect data to solve the problem, test data, and analyze the results.

The future is bright for the 19 chemical engineers developing in my class!

Monday: Today was a great learning day for your young SAVY scholar! We started the day with a Brain Challenge, and the students were eager to show what they knew – perseverance was key! The students created symbols on a puzzle piece representing their likes, hobbies, and interests. As a class, we learned much about each other, which is essential in building classroom culture and climate.

After we got to know each other, we laid a foundation by discussing the differences between BubbleGum Brain & Brick Brain. I hope you hear your child applying the strategies of having a bubblegum brain when faced with a challenge!

Finally, we stretched our amazing brains by brainstorming about technology, thinking deeply about what technology is and who designs it. Your budding engineer gained a deeper understanding and awareness of technology and are ready to dive deeper into thinking and working like a chemical engineer this week. Today was a fantastic day, and I am so excited to work with your young scholar.