Franklin Discovery Engage

STEM Rec Challenges December 3 - 7, 2018 Art The Nutcracker .  Art will be discussing the inspiring story of The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, written in 1816 by German author E.T.A. Hoffman. For those who do not know the story, there is also the ballet by Tchaikovsky. After a little introduction, students will draw paper nutcrackers. Literacy Conjunctions . Literacy will be learning about conjunctions which allow us to form complex, elegant sentences and avoid the choppiness of multiple short sentences. We will be doing an activity and then playing a game outside if weather permits! Social Studies Genghis Khan and the Mongolian empire in Medieval Asia! We are going to play a game that's reminiscent of Risk to represent the expansion of the Mongols. Engineering and Technology 3D Christmas Trees .   We love fun projects that turn out totally amazing.  We will be using geometry to construct trees.  Math Graphing Twister . Students will be...

STEM Rec Challenges November 26 - 30 Science  Fingerprint Minutiae . Fingerprint minutiae are the minor details within a fingerprint pattern that make an individual's fingerprints unique. We'll learn the different types of fingerprint minutiae and practice finding them in a fingerprint. Literacy Verbs and Verb Tenses . Students, get ready to break a sweat because this week in literacy we are talking about verbs. And if you know what verbs are, you'll know that means we're going to be moving around a lot! If you don't know what verbs are, that's a perfect reason to come and find out. We are going to be talking about what they are, what they do and how they are different depending on when we do them. P.S…...Dancing will also be involved. Technology  Design Process .  Students will learn the way to approach a large project is to break it down into manageable chunks. Architects, engineers, scientists, and other thinkers use the design process to solve a ...

STEM Rec Challenges November 19-20, 2018 “Gratitude helps us grow and expand; gratitude brings joy and laughter  into our life and into the lives of all those around us.” This Thanksgiving week, we are so grateful for all the students who constantly bring joy into our life. They remind us to be happy for no reason and ask questions even the wise cannot dream up. We adore each and every one of them. In STEM this week we will be reviewing all the games we have learned, having a lego contest, and going outside as much as the weather permits. Have a wonderful fall break!  Note: Art will be doing a challenge with soda cans the week after Thanksgiving. If you have soda cans we could upcycle please donate them. Thank you!

STEM Rec Challenges November 12 -16, 2018 Engineering and Technology Spaghetti Bridges. Civil engineers design structures such as buildings, dams, highways and bridges. Student will explore the field of engineering by making bridges using spaghetti as their primary building material. Then they test their bridges to see how much weight they can carry before breaking. Social Studies Black Plague.   In social studies, students will be learning about the Black Plague and its effects on Medieval Europe. Students will discover how the impact of the Plague created a platform for which the Renaissance could come into fruition. We will be playing a game to simulate how easy it was for the disease to be transmitted throughout a settlement. Math Jurassic Math.   Students will be playing a game where they journey through the time of the dinosaurs. To move on the board, students answer 2 math questions on the cootie catcher dice to see whether they can make it to the finish...

STEM Rec Challenges November 5-9, 2018 Social Studies Game of the Month - Battleship Battleship is played on ruled grids on which each players fleet of ships are marked. The locations of the fleets are concealed from the other player. Players alternate turns calling "shots" at the other player's ships, and the objective of the game is to destroy the opposing player's fleet. Engineering & Technology Bridge Unit Engineering is starting a unit on bridges. This week students will be learning about different types of bridges: arch, beam, beam, cable-stayed, suspension, and truss.  We’ll also have a matching game where they match the types of bridges to the picture. Literacy  Pictionary - Literacy Style Is there a way to play pictionary and also practice good handwriting at the same time? There sure is and literacy this week is planning on doing exactly that! Come practice not only your drawing skills but also your printing skills in this fun version of ...

STEM Rec Challenges October 29 - November 2, 2018 Renaissance Week School of Athens by Raphael Social Studies Welcome to the Renaissance This week Social Studies will answer questions like "What was the Renaissance?"  "How was it different from the Medieval Era?"  "Who was Michelangelo?" and "Why is Michelangelo's David so special?"  Students should be ready to get their hands dirty as we explore the world of a sculptor! Science The Art of Anatomy Michelangelo was a gifted inventor and artist, but did you know that he had a lifelong interest in anatomy?  In fact, by the age of 18, he began to perform his own dissection. This week in science, students will explore some basic anatomy and discuss Michelangelo’s contribution to this field. Literacy  William Shakespeare When discussing the Renaissance, one must always include William Shakespeare. Often called the greatest writer in the English language, Shakespeare’s pl...

STEM Rec Challenges October 22 - 26, 2018 Science Our Beating Heart.   The heart is one of the most important organs in the entire human body. In this challenge, students will learn the different functions of the heart. We will also be doing an activity to demonstrate these functionalities. Literacy  Lights, Camera, Action.   Literacy is wrapping up our reading unit this week with a fantastic activity. Students will be working in groups, creating their own stories that include all the elements that we have talked about thus far and then acting them out. We can’t wait to see what they come up with! Social Studies Castle Hierarchy We will be doing a challenge that resolves around learning about the hierarchy within a castle town and then they will be making their own coat of arms for their family. Math, Engineering & Technology Balloon Cars  Math will be teaming up with Engineering and Technology for this FINAL week to build cars po...