IN Fox Chapel Area Spring 2017 | Page 13

The finished books are on display at the Cooper-Siegel Library . plots , sentence structure , and paragraphing . She particularly enjoyed this capstone because , “ I can cover a lot of curriculum in a fun way ,” she said .
Third grader Cassie Classen researched her book , “ Fun Things in Pittsburgh ,” by visiting downtown locations including PNC Park , the zoo , Heinz Hall , the strip district , and the museum . She even has photos of
Students Face Design Challenges
Fourth and fifth graders faced a design challenge to create a device that would , with a single action , knock a dog bone treat from a table to a plastic tray on the floor . The “ Give a Dog a Bone ” challenge was the opening innovative inquiry capstone experience and brought 50 gifted students from all four elementary buildings together at Kerr Elementary School .
herself at some of the locations included in her book . “ I hope that people go downtown with their family and friends and tell some people about it so they come visit it too ,” Cassie said enthusiastically .
There were also Hartwood students who wrote fictional stories . Second grader Dylan Gdovichin ’ s book , called “ The Pantry ,” is about a magical pantry where food comes to life . When asked where he got the idea he said , “ From my head . It just came right out !”
“ There is no doubt they liked this project . They even dragged their feet on finishing ,” Mrs . Balestrino said laughing .
The finished books are proudly displayed at the Cooper-Siegel Community Library in Fox Chapel , as well as in the elementary school libraries .
tray on the floor and not fly out . “ You need the right amount of force ,” Jude pointed out . “ The concept I first had in mind , without the dominos , was too much force .” He also said that the positioning of some of the materials , including the bowl , aluminum foil , and the cotton in the bowl , was also important .
Earlier in the day the students visited Inventionland , the world ’ s most creative workplace , located in nearby RIDC Park . Students toured the facility and stepped into themed settings where engineers imagine , design , manufacture , and market new materials . They learned the steps of engineering design processes and how to take an idea to invention .

“ There were a lot of inventions I ’ ve never seen before ,” said O ’ Hara fifth grader Jayne Dye . She added , “ I learned a lot about how the inventing process works . I also learned about what they do there and how they come up with inventions .” ox Chapel Area FOX CHAPEL AREA SCHOOL NEWS

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Students first discussed ideas on how they should design their contraption for the “ Give a Dog a Bone ” challenge . Each team conceptualized their design and drew a diagram in their student reflection journals before building and testing their design .
The students worked in groups of five engaging in engineeringand making-processes to complete the design challenge – looking at their tools , discussing and drawing out a plan , building a contraption from their given materials , and testing their setup – all in a short time frame . Each group was awarded 10 points for successfully demonstrating they could get the bone in the tray and a point for each of the materials they used .
An air of intensity was evident throughout the “ lab ” set up in Kerr ’ s multipurpose room , as students brainstormed and discussed , planned , built , tested , and demonstrated their work . Fairview fifth grader Abe White said , “ It was stressful but fun .”
“ It ’ s mostly trial and error ,” Hartwood fifth grader Jude Willison commented as he worked . He described how his group came up with the solution to getting the dog treat to land in the
The winning team used every tool in their kit to get the bone from the table to the tray on the floor and successfully demonstrated the contraption they designed and built , earning the maximum score – 22 points .
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