Curiosity sparks S.T.R.E.A.M. Project in 4th Grade

Mrs. Jennifer Soliman’s 4th grade students were curious about why the covered walkway that was newly installed at Christ the Redeemer Catholic School, between the Redeemer Activity Center and the school building, was two different heights. Soliman then had a thought.
 
“That gave me the idea to show the children a great video on Discovery Education showing all the different ways buildings and bridges are made,” she said. “After certain segments, the speaker would put out a challenge.”
 
Soliman’s students loved the idea of accepting the challenge to build the tallest tower they could using only chick peas and toothpicks.
 
“Students learned in the video that triangular bases and structures were much stronger than square bases and structures,” Soliman said. “But the children wanted to learn on their own. That's what we did.”
 
The project moved over to the S.T.R.E.A.M. Lab and a S.T.R.E.A.M. (science, technology, religion, engineering, arts and math) challenge was underway! The standards the students used included:

1. Recognizing measurements are appropriate
2. They identified and described parallel, intersecting and perpendicular lines using concrete objects, pictorial models and geometric language.

“We learned that triangular shapes are super sturdy compared to the squares,” Soliman said. “Round toothpicks are far more superior than flat toothpicks. The flat toothpicks kept breaking. The kids kept saying this was their best day in 4th grade.”
 
This is just one example of how our students learn through creativity, hands-on projects, collaboration and S.T.R.E.A.M. activities.