Second graders recently had the opportunity to learn about William Kamkwamba, who shares his inspiring story in the autobiography The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind. At the age of 14, William built his own windmill using only a photo in a library book and scraps from a junkyard. He used the power from this windmill to provide electricity to his family home in Malawi and later went on to build a second windmill to irrigate their crops. Students also heard William speak about his experience in a TED Talk.
As a follow up to this read aloud, second graders were challenged with designing a "puff mobile." They received specific materials (three straws, four lifesavers, a piece of paper, two paperclips, and masking tape) and had to create a vehicle that would move using only their breath. They also learned that students at Cedar Creek completed this activity, and one of their designs traveled nine feet with a single puff!
Students had three library sessions to work on this project and we just finished this week. During our final lesson, everyone participated in a gallery walk to check out their classmates' designs. Then we watched a video sent over by Cedar Creek librarian, Shannon Foley, to see some of the puff mobiles they created. We'll be sending a video back to them to share some of our most successful inventions!
As a follow up to this read aloud, second graders were challenged with designing a "puff mobile." They received specific materials (three straws, four lifesavers, a piece of paper, two paperclips, and masking tape) and had to create a vehicle that would move using only their breath. They also learned that students at Cedar Creek completed this activity, and one of their designs traveled nine feet with a single puff!
Students had three library sessions to work on this project and we just finished this week. During our final lesson, everyone participated in a gallery walk to check out their classmates' designs. Then we watched a video sent over by Cedar Creek librarian, Shannon Foley, to see some of the puff mobiles they created. We'll be sending a video back to them to share some of our most successful inventions!