Over the last several weeks the 3rd graders have been working on an engineering unit during technology class. The students were able to learn about mechanical engineers and use the Engineering Design Process (or EDP) to design the blades of a windmill. The students began by thinking like a mechanical engineer, closely observing the parts of different simple machines. Then, they asked questions about the properties of different materials in order to choose the very best materials that would be used for their windmills. The students worked in small groups to imagine all of the possible ways their windmills could be made. Then, chose one idea and made a plan for how their windmill blades would look and materials they would be made of. Last week and this week, classes created their designs, tested them, and were able to make improvements based on their results. Overall, our unit was a success! We had several groups of students who were able to design windmills that would effectively catch the wind! Great work 3rd grade!
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Mr. Chang and Mrs. Melvin
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March 2015
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