If you visited our school October 4, you might have seen meal worms "crawl" around a cardboard race track or heard a student humming as he pulled a car through rainbow streamers of the cardboard "Star Wars Car Wash." You would have been amazed at the kids' creations for the "Cardboard Challenge."
99% of our students are military dependents whose parents serve in the U.S.
Army. Because they move frequently, our students make friends easily, are willing to try new things and know what it means to say goodbye to somebody they love. Our students have celebrated birthdays, holidays and many "firsts" while moms or dads were overseas. While we know we can never fill the emptiness in their hearts when mom or dad are away, our school aims to nurture students and give them many opportunities to share their stories, hopes, fears and dreams so we might carry them through that separation. We also try to provide experiences for them to explore and discover their interests and strengths. We invite authors, musicians or artists to the school and put on quarterly family events where students might peer through telescopes, learn about sea turtles, or shoot a bow and arrow.
My Project
Students will research what products 3D printers make and in what ways these creations help people. Students will then turn their analysis to math lessons, the school garden or even their daily lives and identify a product they think will help others. They might create tubing for our aquaponics system or math manipulatives for first graders. Working in groups, students will go through the information process: identifying areas of need, designing possible solutions, collaborating with peers, creating their idea in computer software, printing their concept in 3D and giving it to others to test its value. Through this project, students will learn to analyze their world and work methodically to turn their idea into something tangible. Students will develop skills in problem solving, communication, collaboration and computing. They will see themselves as innovators, builders and community contributors who can make a difference in the lives of others.
In his State of the Union address, President Obama predicted "3D printing has the potential to revolutionize the way we make almost everything.
The next industrial revolution in manufacturing will happen in America." I want my students to be skilled and knowledgable so they may participate in this revolution. They need opportunities to problem solve, imagine, design and program software that will produce tangible creations they can share with others.
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Ms. Carlson and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
