Collaboratory Corner

Hello Halloween!

Our students and staff LOVE Halloween, so I wanted to incorporate some Halloween-inspired design thinking into the Collaboratory!  Each grade level was presented with a different problem that the students would have to use design thinking, empathy, and creativity to solve.  The students really rose to the occasion to tackle each challenge, and they came up with some truly brilliant and thoughtful solutions.  Take a look at each grade level's hard work!

Pre-School: We read Go Away, Big Green Monster! and talked about what the students should do if they get scared or see a scary costume on Halloween!  Then, students made some Monster Slime they they could use to "squeeze the scared" away!  Our Pre-School students love a good sensory experience! 

Kindergarten:  Oh no!  The witch fell off of her broom and into a big cauldron of potion!  The students had to design and create a device that would help save the witch (and that wouldn't allow their hand to touch the mystery potion)!  The students really thought about the needs and abilities of the witch when they were designing their creations!

First Grade:  In Shared Reading, the first graders have been working with the book Pumpkin Pumpkin, in which the main character, Jamie, grows a very large pumpkin.  Therefore, the students were challenged to create a pumpkin stand for Jamie so that he could proudly display his pumpkin on his porch for all of the trick-or-treaters to see on Halloween!  I loved seeing their unique and effective designs!

Second Grade:  Our students love Hexbugs, so we wanted to include them in this week's challenge.  The Hexbug family wanted to go trick-or-treating at the Haunted Mansion in their neighborhood, but they had a problem.  There was a big pond blocking the pathway to the front door of the Haunted Mansion!  Since Hexbugs can't swim, the students had to build a bridge that would allow the Hexbug to cross the pond safely.  

Third Grade:  Our third graders are all about being good role models to the younger students in our school.  Therefore, I wanted the third graders to be able to design and create a game that our kindergarten buddies could enjoy around Halloween.  The third graders designed Haunted House Marble Track games that were silly and spooky instead of scary, which were perfect for our younger friends.

Fourth Grade:  Our fourth graders love fall activities, such as apple-picking, hayrides, festivals, and pumpkin-picking.  However, we talked about how some of these activities are difficult for people depending on their different needs.  Because our students wanted everyone to be able to enjoy pumpkin-picking in some way, they decided to create pumpkin elevators that could act as assistive technology for pumpkin-picking.