STEM Lab NewsWhat We Did For the Week of January 8th to 12th

The new STEM Lab mobile app for AndroidThe new STEM Lab mobile app for Android

The all new mobile app is available for downloading from the Google Play Store. Click on thebutton above to get it. I will be updating it on a regular basis and it will also include push

noti�cations with important and timely information.

Kindle Users Click HereKindle Users Click Here

If you have a Kindle Fire tablet, then this link is for you!

www.millersclass.com

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Twitter: @wingetparkstem

Email: donald.miller@cms.k12.nc.us

Apple and Windows Device UsersThe STEM Lab at Winget Park mobile app for iPhones and iPads has been �nally submitted forreview. The Windows one is still pending.

What Each Grade Level Did This Week

Week of January 8th to 12thWe just completed out only full, �ve-day week for the month ofJanuary. Monday is the Martin Luther King Holiday so there will beno school. Next Friday is also the end of the 2nd quarter and thehalf-way mark for this school year. Also, I have mentioned above, I FINALLY managed to get the IOS version of the mobile appsubmitted to Apple's iTunes for review. Who knows what is up with Microsoft but once it isavailable I will post a link for it.

KindergartenKindergarten did an activity on colors and how sometimes a colorcan be made up of more than one. This activity involved taking amarker and drawing a thick open circle in the middle of a co�ee�lter. When the co�ee �lter was folded up and the blank part inserted into the water, osmosisdraw up the water to mix with the ink from the marker and causing the colors to separate. Iused a black marker and saw blue, purple, and red.

1st GradeWe are still in Earth science and this activity is based on one thatI participated in when I was at a NASA STEM conference a fewyears ago. Students were shown a bowl with Play-Doh in it torepresent the surface. Four "core samples" to predict the layersof rock below using a straw to pull up a sample. Since only four(due to the high cost of drilling deep down into rock) holes wereallowed, students had to be e�cient on where to get the mostaccurate idea of what lies below. I chose volunteers at random to come up to the board and pointwhere since I had it shown via the projector. Then, I inserted thestraw, pulled it up, and squeezed out the layers. Once all fourwere on display, they had to make their predictions with adrawing. Near the end of the class, I showed them what wasbelow layer by layer since I took pictures as I did this.

2nd GradeI decided to focus on heat transfer this week with something that Ihave never done before with this concept: literacy tie-in usingGoldilocks and the Three Bears. The question was: does the biggestcontainer (Papa Bear's big bowl of porridge) retain the most heat? The other question was: isthis scienti�cally accurate? So, we had to de�nitely test it out with an experiment after readingaloud the story. I didn't have three di�erent sized bowls that could handle the heat so I used glass laboratorybeakers in three di�erent sizes: 1000 ml, 250 ml, and 50 ml. I boiled water and poured it intoeach before inserting a thermometer probe into each beaker. The initial temperature was 100degrees celsius since that is the temperature water boils at. Then, we watched some Bill Nye the Science Guy for about 15 minutes to pass the time while theheat from each beaker dissipated. At about �ve minutes before the end of the class period, Itook the second temperature reading. What they found was that the biggest beaker did indeedretain the most heat, averaging about a 40 degree loss in temperature. The middle beaker(Mama Bear) lost about 45 degrees while the smallest (Baby Bear) lost about 50 degrees. So,while the �rst question was a yes, the story wasn't entirely accurate since the smallest was thecoldest while the middle beaker would have been "just right."

4th GradeWe are in the second week of the properties of light and this week'sfocus is on refraction. Refraction is when light waves bend whenthey enter a medium of greater density. The most common exampleis placing a pencil in a clear glass of water. By looking at it, the pencilappears to be broken though it is just the light bending. While that was one example that the students participated in (using straws instead), there werefour others around the room. The class was divided up into �ve groups end each group rotatedevery �ve minutes. All of the stations involved refraction of some sort.

3rd GradeI �nished up the make-and-take in which students make theirown sundials. This time, students are making �ip books for theplanets.

5th GradeI am shifting the focus of my 5th grade time with reinforcingcontent and preparing the students for the End-of-Grade tests inlate May. I have about 16 more weeks (if you can believe it) andtwo units are going to be extensively covered: weather andgenetics. So, I am using this time to review.

AUAU did the same activity as kindergarten.

The STEM Lab Needs Your Support!The STEM Lab needs supplies to keep the science going. If you can possibly help out, please goto my SignUpGenius page and consider getting some of the items listed. What I will do with the donations is place them in separate containers and label them "Propertyof Winget Park." That way, I can separate it from my own multitudes of stu�. When I do makepurchases with the gift cards, I will do my best to share images of what I get to be accountable.Thank you very much!

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About Mr. Miller

Mr. Miller is the STEM Lab teacher at Winget Park Elementary.

Winget Park Elementary, Wing… donald.miller@cms.k12.nc.us

980-343-1063 millersclass.com