Glen Head FIRST Lego League Jr. Challenge

The Island Now

The District has established a partnership with FIRST – which stands “For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology.” The mission of FIRST is to inspire young people to be science and technology leaders and innovators by engaging them in exciting mentor-based programs that build science, engineering, and technology skills, that inspire innovation, and that foster well-rounded life capabilities including communication, collaboration, thinking, and problem-solving skills.

Ms. Kaye and Mr. Bridgwood, the district’s Elementary STEAM teachers, are engaging all first and fourth-grade students in the FIRST LEGO League Jr. Challenge as part of their STEAM experience.

During their time in STEAM this winter, all fourth-grade students participated in the FIRST LEGO League Jr. challenge known as “Boomtown Build.”  Working as architects and engineers, this experience challenged students to think about structure and function as they designed and created different buildings for Boomtown County.

Each fourth-grade class created their own city for Boomtown County, and within each class, each group of engineers constructed a different building for the new, modern city. For example, the students built apartment buildings, post offices, firehouses, pharmacies, and recycling centers, among other buildings that serve important roles in a city.

The students were asked to conduct research and use LEGO materials to construct a model of the new building such that its structure met its intended function. Then, the students were asked to code a WeDo 2.0 to support the building and make the city more accessible for its potential inhabitants. The experience not only helped the students develop the skills and dispositions of engineers but also fostered their growth as problem solvers and collaborators.

As a culmination to their work, fourth-grade engineers shared their buildings and cities with the first-grade students, who are currently beginning their own FIRST LEGO League Jr. Challenge, called “Mission Moon.”

The first-grade students learned from and were inspired by the fourth graders’ physical models, as well as their insights and reflections from the experience.  Motivated and excited by the multi-grade event, first graders are now fully immersed in their FIRST experience as they work as astronauts and engineers to construct a model Moonbase and build and code a moon rover to help meet the challenges of living on the Moon.

Submitted by the North Shore Central School District 

(Photos courtesy of Shelly Newman and the North Shore Central School District)

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