FOR EDUCATORS OF CATTARAUGUS AND ALLEGANY COUNTIES.
  • Innovative Teaching
  • About
  • Contact
  • CABOCES.ORG/iss
  • Calendar of Events
  • AdvancingSTEM

Innovative Teaching

For Educators of Cattaraugus and Allegany Counties
We've Moved!

Our CA BOCES Innovative Teaching Blog has moved to a new location as of July 1, 2024. Please access the same great stories from around the Cattaraugus-Allegany BOCES region at our new location: CA BOCES Success Stories,
 https://casuccessstories.weebly.com

Pop Bottle Rockets

7/30/2020

0 Comments

 
Challenge
With recent launches of rockets and a few more happening in July, it's time to blastoff this month with the STEM Challenge!  Check out the Events Calendar at Kennedy Space Center for upcoming launches to watch them live or previous launches to prepare for builidng your own rocket to launch. Your challenge is to create and design a rocket and launch pad for blastoff. Adjust the rocket fuel and rocket design to see which provides the best blastoff. What size rocket will work best? What if the rocket had fins or other designs? Does the ratio of fuel ingredients matter? What about the ratio of fuel to the rocket size? What should the rocket launch pad be? The goal is create the best rocket you can and to experiment with all those questions!

Design some sort of launch pad first. The goal of the launch pad is to hold the bottle upside down in an upright position. Next, decide on a plastic bottle to use as your rocket and design your rocket. Finally, experiment with the ratio of your rocket fuel or baking soda and vinegar. 

Your creation does have some criteria and constraints. Make sure safety is noted at all times. After the rocket is fueled, place it in the launch pad, and back away. Only launch rockets in a wide open spaces and from the designed launch pad. For launching, fill the bottle with the chosen vinegar ratio, pour the baking soda on a 4"x4" piece of paper towel, wrap up the baking soda with the paper towel, stuff it carefully into the spout of the bottle, cork the bottle, and turn it upside down into the launcher and move quickly out of the way. Prepare for blastoff!

Materials
  • various plastic bottles
  • corks or foam for bottle toppers
  • vinegar
  • baking soda
  • paper towels
  • measuring cups/spoons
  • rocket decorations
  • launch pad materials: Legos, craft sticks, glue, tape, blocks, etc.
​
Hints and Tips for Success
  1. Allow students planning and discussion time by having them decide which type of bottle to use so they can start building their launch pad.
  2. Test to see if the launch pad is sturdy and will hold the bottle with liquid. Add water to the bottle with a cap to do this test. 
  3. Plan out the ratio of baking soda and vinegar. As a guide, a 2 liter bottle does well with 1-2 cups of vinegar and a tablespoon of baking soda. Have students experiment with different amounts to see which they think is best. 
  4. Always ensure safety when loading and launching the rockets. 
  5. Record the launches in a constant spot so students can compare heights and launches if wanted. 
  6. Connect to math by discussing ratios, measurement, conversions, etc. 
  7. Connect to science by discussing engineering, properties of matter, solids, liquids, gases, pressure, chemical reactions, etc. 

By: Clay Nolan, CA BOCES Learning Resources
0 Comments

At Home Rube Goldberg Machine

4/29/2020

0 Comments

 
Challenge
Are you stuck at home and looking for something fun, easy, and science to do? I’m a big fan of Rube Goldberg machines and think this might be something to tie fun, easy, and science all together!
What is a Rube Goldberg machine though? Let’s start with Rube Goldberg, himself. He was an American Pulitzer Prize winning cartoonist, sculptor, author, engineer, and inventor, and his work is a classic example of the melding of art and science. Goldberg began his career as an engineer, and later became a cartoonist who drew elaborate illustrations of contraptions made up of pulleys, cups, birds, balloons, and watering cans that were designed to solve a simple task such as opening a window or setting an alarm clock. Interestingly, Goldberg only drew the pictures, and never built any of his inventions. However, these pictures have since served as inspiration for makers and builders who want the challenge of making wild inventions to solve everyday problems. 
So, that is your challenge for today. Can you build a Rube Goldberg machine to solve a simple problem? Maybe you want to turn on a fan, pour a glass of water, knock over an item, catch something, turn on a light, pop a balloon, ring a bell etc.! The possibilities are endless.
​

For this challenge, there is no criteria or constraints. Use your creativity, ideas, thinking, and materials to create your own contraption!
Materials
  • anything at home will work, but here are some useful/common items
  • dominoes
  • craft sticks
  • toy cars
  • wooden blocks
  • car tracks
  • any type of balls
  • string
  • tape
  • cardboard tubes
  • cups
Hints and Tips for Success
  1. Watch some Rube Goldberg videos to get inspired and imagine the possibilities. OK Go is notorious for their amazingly-complicated designs.  https://youtu.be/qybUFnY7Y8w
  2. Decide which problem you would like to solve. Sample problems are listed above but don't limit yourself!
  3. Gather your supplies and lay them out so they're easily seen. Start with the basics and then search your home for more supplies as you start to tinker. This list might help you find helpful items https://tinkerlab.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Rube-Goldberg-Activity-List.pdf
  4. Start building your machine! Experiment with the basic ideas of the chain reaction. Anything that tips something else over (and so on)!
  5. Build one part at a time and keep adding on.
  6. Do not be afraid of failure! As you test and try out different set-ups, you will probably fail a few times. But, this is great news! Failure is an excellent piece of the invention process. Without mistakes, you won't learn so celebrate it as part of the learning process!
By: Clay Nolan, CA BOCES Learning Resources
0 Comments

Snow Way

1/24/2020

0 Comments

 
Challenge
January is a great time to have a snowball fight. Every good snowball fight needs some kind of fort for protection and to build more snowballs under cover. Snowball fights are best suited for outdoors, but what about modeling one inside? This will be part of your challenge, building a fort to withstand attacks from snowballs. Since you will be modeling the activity, representing an idea, object, a system or process, think of the materials being used. What kind of structure makes the best fort? Are different shapes better than others? How can the materials be manipulated for best use?
​
Your snowball fort creation does have some criteria and constraints. The fort is being constructed out of 100 index cards and only 12 inches of tape. The fort has to be at least 9 inches tall and 10 inches long. To test the fort, determine how 3 snowballs (cotton balls or wadded up pieces of paper) can be fairly launched at the fort to test its durability.

Materials
  • index cards
  • cotton balls
  • tape
  • rulers
  • paper
  • scissors

Hints and Tips for Success
  1. Allow students planning and discussion time by having them experiment with the index cards to see how flexible and durable they are.
  2. After experimenting, allow student groups to plan their design by drawing it out and doing a little testing with a few cards. Include as many ways to improve their forts as needed.
  3. For differentiation, adjust the amount of materials available and allowed to use, add any additional materials, take away certain materials, include different amounts of snowballs launched, change the dimensions of the fort, etc. Adjustments could be made to make it more challenging or simpler.
  4. Make sure to standardize the launching of the snowballs so all forts experience similar attacks. Also, standardize the snowballs if using paper to make sure they are about the same size.
  5. Connect to math by discussing dimensions and what that means, measurement, shapes, symmetry, angles, etc.
  6. Connect to social studies by researching the different kinds of forts, how they were used, the different materials used to build them, where there still are forts, etc.

By: Clay Nolan, CA BOCES Learning Resources
0 Comments

STEM Day

11/15/2019

0 Comments

 
Challenge
Did you know, STEM Day falls on November 8? There’s no way around it: children are significantly better off with strong science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics skills. That’s why STEM education programs are so important. It’s undebatable that these subjects push society forward, and these programs help to find fun and engaging ways to teach them to students, which is all worth commemorating. So, on November 8, we celebrated STEM Day! How can you celebrate? By taking part in the STEM challenge on this day or any other day this month. This month's STEM challege is a little different. The challenge is to build and make a model to brainstorm and answer, "What does STEM mean to you?" Students can build a model to represent what they think STEM means or how they see it using various materials.

There are no criteria or contstaints to this challenge. It is an open-ended, metaphoric prompt to let students explore and think critically about the solution.

Materials
  • any items needed or available

​Hints and Tips for Success
  1. Allow students planning and discussion time by having them brainstorm their ideas. 
  2. After brainstorming, allow student groups to plan their design by drawing it out and labeling their materials being used. 
  3. For differentiation, allow students to share their ideas with each other on how they are relating STEM to their creations to spark students' thinking, allow students to write their answers to the question first, share a model you would build to portray the question, etc.
  4. Connect to ELA by having students present their models to their peers and then write their summarized answers. The hands-on activity sparks creativity and deeper thinking prior to writing. 

By: Clay Nolan, CA BOCES Learning Resources
0 Comments

Dog Days of Summer

7/2/2019

0 Comments

 
Challenge
The days from July 3 to August 11 are known as the Dog Days of Summer, usually the hottest, muggiest of the year. This is the period when Sirius, the Dog Star, rises at the same time as the Sun. The ancient Romans defined this period and believed the weather was warmer because Sirius was also providing heat for the Earth, hence Dog Days of Summer. So, how can this heat help us with this month’s STEM challenge? Heat rises which is going to be a good fact to know when building your solar updraft tower, which harnesses the Sun’s heat energy to do work. Our version to going to use empty cylinders with a pinwheel attached to the top. The goal is to get the pinwheel to rotate from the heat rising through the solar tower. What materials would be best to use for the tower sections? Do certain items warm up faster or more than others? How can the pinwheel be attached so it can spin freely? How high off the ground should your updraft tower be? Your challenge is to create an updraft tower that uses the Sun’s heat energy to spin the pinwheel the most amount of times. Updraft Tower Example.

Your updraft tower does have some criteria and constraints. Only the materials provided can be used in your design. The tower needs to be at least 1 foot tall. Every group should build and construct the same type of pinwheel for fair testing during the rotations.
 
*This idea and challenge can be further explored in the Advancing STEM Grade 4 Unit, Full of Potential: The Effects of Energy.

Materials
  • aluminum cans (various sizes without tops and bottoms)
  • can opener
  • cardboard tubes (various sizes)
  • plastic cylinder containers (various sizes)
  • different colored duct tape
  • clear tape
  • paper clips (for attaching the pinwheel)
  • paper for pinwheel
  • simple pinwheel template

Hints and Tips for Success
  1. Allow students planning and discussion time by having them experiment with the items to see how flexible, movable, and heavy they are. Students could conduct mini experiments by placing different items in the heat to see which warm up the fastest or are the warmest by the end of a set time period. Students could also experiment with different sized pinwheels and the type of paper used to make them to see which spins easiest or the best.
  2. After experimenting, allow student groups to plan their design. Include as many ways to improve their updraft towers as needed.
  3. For differentiation, adjust the amount of materials available and allowed to use, add any additional materials, take away certain materials, show them different versions others have created, help determine how to attach the pinwheel or how to raise the bottom so air may enter. Adjustments could be made to make it more challenging or simpler.
  4. Make sure to standardize the pinwheel students are using and the area they are placing their towers. Or, the latter could be part of their experiment/challenge. Additionally, how high the towers are placed off the ground could impact how well it works. This could also be standardized.
  5. Connect to science by discussing solar power/energy, renewable/non-renewable energy, convection, weather patterns, energy, work, etc.

By: Clay Nolan, CA BOCES Learning Resources
0 Comments

this month's stem challenge

5/31/2019

0 Comments

 
Check out this month's Advancing STEM Challenge!

Chalk It Up

Advancing STEM Challenges are designed to bring engineering and design to your classroom in a simple, easy-to-implement, challenge-based way.  Modify our Advancing STEM Challenges for your classroom.  A new challenge will be post
0 Comments

this month's stem challenge

4/29/2019

 
Check out this month's Advancing STEM Challenge!

Have Seeds Will Travel
​
Advancing STEM Challenges are designed to bring engineering and design to your classroom in a simple, easy-to-implement, challenge-based way.  Modify our Advancing STEM Challenges for your classroom.  A new challenge will be post

Catapulting into Spring!

4/29/2019

0 Comments

 
​As the winter snows melt and sunshine begins to extend and warm up each day, you know Spring is in the air.  At Gail N. Chapman elementary school in Randolph, 2nd grade students ‘Catapulted into Spring’ with a STEM activity that consisted of two parts.  Each student was given a bag of various materials that could be used for each part.  In part one, students could use pieces of wood, rubber bands, tape, and a spoon to create a catapult that would fly a plastic egg into the air. In part two, students needed to create a nest type structure to catch the egg.   The structure could be made out of toothpicks, lollipop sticks, jelly beans, gumdrops, marshmallows, and grass clippings.  
​The first part of the STEM challenge focused on leverage and force, as students needed to be sure their catapults could take an egg at least 6” into the air.  They experimented with various lengths for their catapult, and how much force would be needed to get the proper height and distance they were looking for.  
​The second part of their STEM challenge required their catapulted eggs to be caught in a nest type structure and they were not to touch the ground.  Students discussed various creative ways to accomplish this and were left to explore their own engineering and design.  Conversations about what design to use, and what materials worked best were taking place all over the classroom.  Once time had elapsed for their construction and building, it was time for each student to attempt to catapult their egg into their created nest.  No matter how many students were able to launch their eggs into the nest, all students succeeded in having fun and experimenting with leverage and engineering.   
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
By: Rob Griffith, CA BOCES Professional Development
0 Comments

This month's Stem challenge

3/1/2019

 
Check out this month's Advancing STEM Challenge!

Did you hear that?
​

Advancing STEM Challenges are designed to bring engineering and design to your classroom in a simple, easy-to-implement, challenge-based way.  Modify our Advancing STEM Challenges for your classroom.  A new challenge will be posted monthly.  ​

THis month's stem challenge

12/2/2018

 
Check out this month's Advancing STEM Challenge!

Now You See Me...Now You Don't

Advancing STEM Challenges are designed to bring engineering and design to your classroom in a simple, easy-to-implement, challenge-based way.  Modify our Advancing STEM Challenges for your classroom.  A new challenge will be posted monthly.  ​

February Advancing STEM Challenge

1/31/2018

 
Check out this month's AdvancingSTEM Challenge!   

AdvancingSTEM Challenges are designed to bring engineering and design to your classroom in a simple, easy-to-implement, challenge-based way.  Modify our Advancing STEM Challenges for your classroom.  A new challenge is posted monthly.  

Post a photo of your students in action in our comment section or post a comment on how you modified the Challenge to work in your classroom.  ​

Advancing STEM Challenge

7/5/2017

 
Check out this month's Advancing STEM Challenge!

Sliding Down a Slippery Slope

Advancing STEM Challenges are designed to bring engineering and design to your classroom in a simple, easy-to-implement, challenge-based way.  Modify our Advancing STEM Challenges for your classroom.  A new challenge will be posted monthly.  ​

June STEM Challenge

6/1/2017

0 Comments

 
Check out this month's Advancing STEM Challenge! 

Plethora of Pollinators

Advancing STEM Challenges are designed to bring engineering and design to your classroom in a simple, easy-to-implement, challenge-based way.  Modify our Advancing STEM Challenges for your classroom.  A new challenge will be posted monthly. 
0 Comments

Advancing STEM Challenge

5/1/2017

 
Check out this month's Advancing STEM Challenge!  Keeping Afloat - Oh Buoy!

Advancing STEM Challenges are designed to bring engineering and design to your classroom in a simple, easy-to-implement, challenge-based way.  Modify our Advancing STEM Challenges for your classroom.  A new challenge will be posted monthly.  ​

STEM Challenge: How long is a piece of paper?

2/1/2017

 
Advancing STEM Challenges are designed to bring engineering and design to your classroom in a simple, easy-to-implement, challenge-based way.  Modify our Advancing STEM Challenges for your classroom.  

Check out this month's STEM Challenge.

January advancing stem challenge

1/3/2017

0 Comments

 
Advancing STEM Challenges are designed to bring engineering and design to your classroom in a simple, easy-to-implement, challenge-based way.  Modify our Advancing STEM Challenges for your classroom. 

Challenge

Did you know snowflakes generally are hexagonal structures because of the chemical bonding that occurs within the water as it freezes? or that each snowflake is unique? Do you know what kind of snowflake falls the fastest or slowest through the air? Your job is to find out this last question! The task is to design a prototype snowflake using paper and scissors. Once you've built your snowflake prototype, you can test it out by dropping it from different heights and using a stopwatch to time which design falls the fastest or slowest.

Your snowflake design does have some criteria and constraints. Every snowflake created has to be from the same origami template (see step-by-step instructions with pictures here: http://www.origamiway.com/how-to-make-paper-snowflakes.shtml). There has to be a 1cm border on the top and bottom that cannot be cut. At least three areas have to be cut out from the template. The snowflake should be dropped from the same height every time, held open with two hands, and held horizontal (flat) to the floor for fair trials. You and your group should try to design a snowflake following these guidelines that falls the fastest or slowest.

Materials
  • square pieces of paper
  • scissors
  • stopwatches
​
Hints and Tips for Success
  1. Allow students planning and discussion time by having them experiment with a sample to see how cuts shape and design the outcome.
  2. After experimenting, allow student groups to plan their final design. Warn students that the final template will be the only one given for their design.
  3. For differentiation, adjust the size of the paper squares, type of paper, size of the borders, height of the drop, number of areas cut out, or only focus on one challenge (fastest or slowest). Adjustments could be made to make it more challenging or simpler.
  4. Have an origami template ready for each group with borders already marked.
  5. Connect to mathematics by having students identifying shapes, graph their snowflake drop trials, practice reading and writing decimal numbers, adding/subtracting decimals, and ordering decimals.
  6. Connect to ELA by using the text, Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Briggs Martin, to introduce and provide background knowledge on the structure and uniqueness of snowflakes. Students could also practice sequencing with the book or create a timeline of Wilson “Snowflake” Bentley’s life.
0 Comments

STEM Challenge - Turkey Cooker

11/2/2016

0 Comments

 
The November STEM Challenge:  Turkey Cooker.

Advancing STEM Challenges are designed to bring engineering and design to your classroom in a 
simple, easy-to-implement, challenge-based way.  Modify our Advancing STEM Challenges for your classroom.  A new challenge will be posted monthly.  

Post a photo of your students in action in our comment section or post a comment on how you modified the Challenge to work in your classroom.  
0 Comments

    Follow us on
    ​social media

    Want to attend a professional development session offered by Instructional Support Services?  Click here to review our catalog of professional development offerings.  
    Need 24/7 access to digital classroom resources?
    Click here to access "no charge" digital resources for you and your students.

    Categories

    All
    1:1
    3d Modeling
    7 Habits
    AdvancingSTEM
    Akom
    Allegany County
    Allegany Limestone
    Alternate Assessment
    Andover
    Angela Stockman
    Anti Bullying
    Anti-bullying
    Anxiety
    APPR
    Art
    Artificial Intelligence
    Arts
    Arts In Education
    Artspower
    Arts Power
    Assessments
    Audiobooks
    Belfast
    Benchmarks
    Blended Learning
    Bolivar Richburg
    Book Study
    BPO
    Brain Based
    Breakout EDU
    Ca Boces
    Canva
    Career Day
    Career Resources
    Castle Learning
    CA Today
    Cattaraugus Little Valley
    CBT
    Clc
    CLC (collaborative Learning Community)
    Climate
    Coding
    Collaborative Project
    Common Core
    Community And Schools Together
    Community Schools
    Community Schools Service Showcase
    Community & Schools Together Conference
    Cooperative Learning
    COSER 506
    Co-teaching
    Covey
    Credit Recovery
    CRSE
    Cte
    Cuba Rushford
    Cuba-Rushford
    Curriculum Modules
    Dasa
    Data
    Dave Ruch
    Delevan Elementary
    Distance
    Distance Learning
    Diversity
    Driver Education
    Drone
    Drones
    Dyslexia
    Early Childhood
    Ebooks
    Ela
    ELA CLC
    ELA Learning Standards
    Ellicottville
    Environmental Education
    Environmental Science
    Eresources
    Esl
    Esports
    Executive Function
    Family Engagement
    Field Trips
    Field Trip Zoom
    Fillmore
    Film Festival
    Flipgrid
    Fossils
    Franklinville
    French
    Friendship
    Game Based Learning
    Game-based Learning
    Genesee Valley
    Global History
    Global Studies
    Grit
    Growth Mindset
    Health
    Hinsdale
    Houghton College
    Innovation
    Instruction
    Ipad
    Jcc
    Khan Academy
    Kimberly Morrow
    Kits
    Language Line
    Leadership
    Learning Resources
    Lego League
    Libraries
    Library
    Literacy
    Maker
    Math
    Math Clc
    Math Modules
    Matt Miller
    Media
    Mental Health
    Microsoft
    Microsoft 365
    Microsoft Teams
    Minecraft Education
    Model Schools
    Moodle
    Moodle/Mahara
    Music
    Nerdle
    Newsbank
    New Teacher Academy
    Next Generation Science
    Odyssey Of The Mind
    Olean
    Online Class
    Osmo
    Osmos
    Overdrive
    Padlet
    Parents
    Parent University
    PBL
    PE
    Physical Education
    Pioneer
    Pioneer Central School
    Pixar In A Box
    Play
    Portville
    Poverty Simulation
    Power Apps
    Power Automate
    Power Teaching
    Pre K
    Pre-K
    Professional Development
    Professional Development]
    Randolph
    Randolph Academy
    Reading
    Regents
    Regents Exam
    Remote Learning
    Resilience
    Restorative Circles
    Restorative Practice
    Re-write
    Rocket League
    Salamanca
    Scdn Social Studies
    Scholastic Challenge
    School Library
    Schoology
    Science
    Science Investigations
    Science Of Reading
    Scio
    Seesaw
    Sel
    Self Care
    Sharepoint
    SLO's
    SNAP
    Social Emotional
    Social Emotional Learning
    Social-emotional Learning
    Social Studies
    Sora
    Spanish
    Special Education
    Standards
    Star Lab
    Stem
    STEM Challenge
    Student
    Student Competitions
    Student Programming
    Student Programs
    Summer School
    Summer Tech Camp
    Tcif
    Teacher Academy
    Teaching
    TeachingBooks
    Teach Like A Champion
    Technology
    Theaterworks
    TheaterWorks USA
    Theatre
    The Mailbox
    Tier 1
    TITC
    Trauma
    TRLE
    Universal Design For Learning
    US History
    VEX
    Video Conferencing
    Virtual Field Trip
    Virtual Scholastic Challenge
    Wellsville
    West Valley
    Whitesville
    Why Try
    Writing
    Zoom
    Zulama

    Archives

    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    November 2016
    October 2016
    August 2016
    June 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    November 2015
    October 2015
    August 2015
    June 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    November 2013

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Innovative Teaching
  • About
  • Contact
  • CABOCES.ORG/iss
  • Calendar of Events
  • AdvancingSTEM