Inventive Thinking Update

The ELPers have been busy!

Our Inventive Thinking unit is off to a rollicking start. The kids began the unit with an invention chronology challenge. They were given 18 inventions and asked to order them from oldest to newest as best they could. I then revealed the real order, which provided for plenty of surprises (like, for instance, the fact that the submarine was invented more than 100 years prior to the ballpoint pen). A caveat here is that many inventions are difficult to peg for actual dates of invention, especially the older ones that predate governmental patent offices. Some debate rages about some of the dates, though that provided for some good discussion, too. This activity help set the compass for us in the work we'll do in the unit, as we will look at inventing, but also historical inventors and their creations.

The first inventive challenge was in the form of some hovercraft construction. We talked about the criteria for what constitutes a hovercraft: hands-free floating, sustained floating, and so on. The kids were given one plastic plate, one empty film canister, a wad of poster putty, and a balloon for their work. It looked like this once built:

My expectations were differentiated according to grade level (like with how many hints I gave at the outset, and with how stringent I was in approving of designs), though all the kids had a similar progression:

1. Use materials to draw up plans.
2. Present plans to me.
3. Back to the drawing board if need be.
4. Build from design after approval.
5. Evaluate results and talk variables.

Variables included things like test surface, size of balloon, shape of balloon, size of holes in plate and film canister, number of holes in plate and film canister, and many more. We can't realistically test all of these, but they will help guide our thinking when we return to this later for a look at improving through redesign.

As a culminating activity, we watched some segments from The Discovery Channel's MythBusters. There is an archived episode in which the crew builds various versions of a hovercraft to test. The designs, while more advanced, had striking similarities to our own. It was neat to see our ideas on a larger, more expensive scale.

The kids have since moved into looking more closely at inventions around them, some that are used every day, and some that have more historical significance. We talked about the various inventions that have come about to serve needs and wants, which has led to discussions about motivations for inventing. We will soon delve much more fully into a few inventions and their broader social impacts, such as the impact of the cotton gin's invention on southern cotton farmers, northern textile factory owners, and slaves.

The "pause" button has been hit with all of this momentarily, as my time has been spent doing yearly ELP screening at my various buildings. April is always a month for this, and ELP alterations/cancellations result. Things get back to normal at the end of the month, and we will pick right up where we left off, with an eye toward accomplishing as much as we can with what remains of the school year (which is not much!).

Check back!

Futures Update

The kids have been busy wrapping up our studies of the future, and we have recently begun work on our final project.

The project will have the kids writing their own Scenario Forecasts, a futurist tool we recently explored in class.  Scenario Forecasts are used to articulate future probabilities/possibilities about a central issue. Many science-fiction stories can be considered Scenario Forecasts, as can more deliberate examples, each of which we took a look at in class. Issues explored by futurists with their forecasts include education, transportation, technology, work, leisure, and countless others.

The kids will use the future invention they have spent time studying as their central issue. They are to imagine a future in which this invention has become commonplace. They are to include a healthy dose of the “probable” in their forecasts, with splashes of “possible” thrown in for fun. They can take any approach they want, from humorous to more earnest looks at the future they envision. 

We’ll keep you informed as we go about how they are coming along. Right now, the kids have a first draft due to me by Wednesday, January 26th. We will soon be talking about how we want to share these when they are done, and will be looking at some creative ways of doing so. We want our audience to be more than just those kids with whom we come to ELP.

The creative floodgates have been thrown wide, and I am excited to see where these forecasts go. Check back for updates!

Mae Talks Harvester Ants

Mae has concluded her study of Harvester Ants in ELP. As a final product of her learning, she decided to create an informational poster that highlighted some of the most important facts she learned. While she learned a lot, we saw quickly that it would have been difficult to list all of those new facts. We instead synthesized our learning into the main ideas, as we saw them. Mae also carefully made a scientific drawing of a Harvester Ant, labeling the main body parts.

To share her work, Mae made the following video to share. The picture below the video is of the scientific drawing she made of the Harvester Ant, which is a little difficult to see in the video. Enjoy!

Mae's (impressive) scientific drawing of a Harvester Ant.

Futures Wheels

Our young futurists have been hard at work on their Futures Wheels. A Futures Wheel is a tool used by futurists to explore impacts of possible events. In this case, students are using the future invention they chose earlier as the "event".  They are tasked with first identifying the primary impacts of their invention, should it become a reality. They then let their creative thinking take over and explore tertiary impacts. The initial stage of this was more of a web than a wheel, with the goal of getting the students thinking about all possible scenarios, no matter how ridiculous (and they often were ridiculous!).

I'll post some examples on here soon so you can see how they look. The kids have now moved on to focusing their thinking into 4-6 primary impacts, and a single chain of possible events that could stem from each. Later, they will present their findings to their ELP group accompanied by their recommendations about whether or not the invention should become a reality.

Futures Studies: Aliens Attack!

Our futurists today took a look into the past to enrich our understanding of the future.  We've talked often about the role choices play in our futures.  We have also discussed that many choices are made based on our emotions.  The future can be a daunting concept to ponder, and anxieties can abound.

In 1938, Americans were seized with worries both domestic and global.  At home, The Great Depression, although moving towards its conclusion, still hovered over the collective consciousness.  Abroad, a guy named Hitler was ravaging Europe, seizing land and becoming more threatening.  It was an anxious time.

On October 30, 1938, Orson Welles unleashed his radio hoax, "War of the Worlds," on a vast listening audience.  With tensions already high, the public was quick to mistake the fiction for fact, and were led to believe that hostile lifeforms from the planet Mars had invaded Earth.  Mass hysteria ensued.  Although a bit comical now, we discussed in class how unnerving such a broadcast would have been given the broader context.  We began listening to a recording of the broadcast to truly understand its impact.  I had to remind the kids that 1938 was before TV, and that, aside from newspapers, radio was the public's primary means of staying connected to the larger world.  The new bulletins (and "new bulletins") they heard on the radio were taken very seriously.

We had a lot of fun listening, and look forward to finishing up on Tuesday when we meet again.

We will let this departure into history lead us to a discussion about our own anxieties about the future, and how they compare to those of people decades ago.  There's a wonderful picture book called Aliens Are Coming! that describes for kids the broadcast, as well as the broader historical context.  I highly recommend it as a shared read with your child.

Ants: Week Three

Mae making her Week Three observations.

Our ant colony continues to change, and Mae made some notable observations today.  Mostly, she reports on how filthy the farm has become.  Many ants have also died, though many (7+) are still thriving and working in their habitat.  They continue to move sand around, and are avid eaters when fed.  They also continue to care for their deceased, moving them to the same area they designated in Week Two.

We learned today that Harvester Ants will travel long distances for food in the natural world, sometimes as much as 25 miles.  They return their finds to their colonies and share their food with all.  Also, although our habitat consisted of around 20 ants at first, a normal ant colony will house upwards of 10,000 ants!  We were shocked to learn that.

As we read about Harvester Ants, we learned that they spend much of their time cutting small pieces of grass for use in their nests.  Mae pointed out that such behavior is like what farmers do with corn, and that they call that work a "harvest".  Great connection to enrich our understanding of of the origins of the name!

Futures Studies: Future Inventions Presentations

Kids have shared their future inventions, and did a wonderful job with them.  They focused on three things with their research:

• What it is
• What it does
• How it works

Beyond that, they told us anything else they thought we should know about it, which prompted some good discussion amongst the group.  I used a simple point system to award my "winner" in each group, tallying presentation components that dealt with the above criteria.  I also awarded extra points for creativity, originality, and other unique qualities.  I will tabulate and publish the winning advertisement here soon.  The kids know this was as friendly a competition as we could have, and I have commended all of them on their work.  Although our "winners" will get the stage with their work being published here first, all will be uploaded eventually.  They were that good!

Check back!