Our Attraction To Magnets

The scholars spent time sharing all they thought they knew about magnets, generated a list of things they wondered about magnets then got down to business. Scholars were asked to bring in objects that were attracted and not attracted to magnets.....I requested that they not use a magnet to test their objects. At school, the scholars shared with their table groups the objects they brought from home. Next, I had the groups take all the objects and sort them into groups...an open sort. Some groups sorted the objects according to their properties while others sorted by whether or not they would be attracted to a magnet. Each group shared providing us with great vocabulary, new insights and some new I wonders. Finally, we tested our objects, resorted and debriefed.

On days that followed, we read many books about magnets, watched a BrainPop Jr. about magnets and participated in STEMLabs exploring magnets. We learned a great deal about magnets!

How To Support Your School!

EASY WAY TO SUPPORT YOUR CHILD'S SCHOOL!   Did you know that it has been OVER 5 YEARS since Cannon has done a school-sponsored fundraiser!  In an effort to provide an opportunity for Cannon parents to help support Cannon directly, by making donations that go directly to Cannon school funds (not through PTA), we are doing a Greenback Fundraiser!  Instead of asking families to support sales, such as cookie dough, candy or wrapping paper, we are making it easy for Cannon parents by simply asking parents to make a one-time donation directly to Cannon.  Funds raised through this effort will help support our G-R-O-W-T-H and will be used to help fund the purchase of curriculum materials for STEM, technology,  professional development opportunities for our teachers, and for the purchase of MORE wonderful resources that will directly benefit your child!  In order to make this as easy as possible for our parents, donations can either be made online, using a credit card (no fees involved!) or by cash/check.  Checks should be made out to Cannon Elementary.  All donations are tax-deductible and a form for tax deductions will be provided upon request. Donation forms will be sent home with all students soon!   Click here to make a donation ONLINE now!  Select the button - Cannon- Growing the Future!!

Engineering Week

The week of February 22nd was devoted to engineering. The scholars spent the week rotating through various STEMLabs.

1.  Paper Towers: Using apaer and tape only, build the tallest free standing tower possible.

2.  3-D Alphabet:  Using snap cubes, build as many letters of the alphabet possible. The letters must be able to stand up.

3.  Roamers:  scholars first programmed the Roamers to draw a square. Next, they worked in pairs to program the roamer to follow a path.

4.  Keva Planks:  Construct a bridge with the widest spanossible.

5.  Lego Challege:  Using 2 cups of random Legos, build something that represents a real object.

Push, Pull, Go

To continue our study of force and motion, the scholars used dominos. Using the dominos, the scholars explored how force is transferred from one object to another. They predicted and explored what would happen if a part of a system was missing or not working properly. Scholars also continued to build their understanding of how objects move: zigzag, straight line, curved lined. 

The scholars also constructed two different spinning tops. The tops demonstrated the concept that the greater the force that is applied to an object, the greater the change on the object's motion. Scholars also explored what would happen if a part or parts of the top were removed. We had a great discussion on balance! 

Finally, the scholars applied all the concepts they explored/learned in the previous lessons to construct a system using more than one model ( ramp and ball, swing, spinning top, dominos). Their task was to construct an invention, Rube Goldberg style that when set in motion would knock down the dominos.