STEM PROGRAM UPDATE

 

The STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) program continues to have exciting, authentic learning experiences for Perry students. 

 

The third and fourth grade classes are working on seasonal engineering challenges during their weekly visits to the STEM lab. 

 

In fifth grade, students are wrapping up a unit based on the children's book, "If I Built a Car." In this unit, students read the book, compared various types of cars and how they run, and brainstormed ideas for building a car using specific criteria and constraints. Additionally, students had to use "STEM Bucks" to purchase materials for their build and stay within budget. As they wrap up this unit, students are testing and modifying their car designs. 

 

Sixth grade STEM students have been working on a timely, real-world issue… water filtration systems. With this project, students learned about different types of filtration and did their own testing of polluted water to identify the most reliable filtration materials. They also designed a larger system, based on their findings from the beginning experiment and study. 

 

To wrap up this project, the sixth grade STEM students toured the Perry Water Plant on Wednesday, February 21. This provided a great real-world view of their recent findings and experiments to tie it all together. Students enjoyed hearing from City of Perry employees and Mayor Lawrence Wortham during their visit.

 

At the lower elementary, students have been working in STEM stations during Mrs. Wilson's classroom visits. They're doing a mixture of activities including engineering challenges, free builds with various materials, coding with robots, incorporating math/reading skills with BeeBots, and more! Lower elementary teachers are eager to gain more STEM training to be able to incorporate STEM lessons more often in their classrooms, which Mrs. Amanda Wilson, STEM Coordinator for PPS, says will be a priority moving forward.