The Magic of Math (Fibonacci Sequence)

Yesterday, 3rd grade gifted students learned about the Fibonacci Sequence. The Fibonacci sequence is a fun number pattern where you add the last two numbers to get the next one, starting with 0 and 1 (0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13...). It shows up everywhere in nature, like in flower petals, pinecones, and even galaxies...making math feel magical AND real for students!

Students learned how to calculate the Fibonacci sequence. Then they used interlocking blocks to visually represent their understanding. And, finally, students created a piece of art called a Fibonacci Flower! And if you didn't know, the sequence can be started with ANY number! For our art project, we started with a circle with a diameter of 0.5 inches. The next circle was also 0.5 inches. Followed by circles with diameters of 1 inch, 1.5 inches, 2.5 inches, 4 inches, and ________. Can you guess the last number??? 

Jingle Bells, Playdough, and the Makey Makey!

We had a lot of fun with this activity the week before Christmas break! Students have been practicing with the Makey Makey system and they love it! For this activity, students made ornaments out of playdough,  placed them on their tree, then connected the wires from their Makey Makey system to the matching playdough ornament. Next, students were shown a color coded "music sheet" for the song Jingle Bells. By following the color coded guide and pressing the matching color ornament, students were easily able to become music masters! 

Decorating HUMAN Christmas trees :)

We had fun with this festive activity! Teams had to wrap one of their teammates in green streamer paper, make 5 beaded ornaments, make hangers to hang the ornaments on the tree, and create a self-standing star topper for the tree! Fun times!

Building the Mayflower: it's sink or swim time!

 Before Thanksgiving break, my gifted 3rd graders tested their engineering skills by building Mayflower boats from foil, tape, and straws to see which could hold the most pennies. It was a fun, hands-on STEM challenge that taught them about design principles, like how a wide, flat-bottomed boat can hold more weight before sinking.

 

The winning team maxed out the penny load by using all 140 pennies! We then had to use heavier magnets to load on the weight. The winning group ended up using 140 pennies and 21 magnets! This 3rd grade team even beat out the 5th grade teams :)

Launching into learning!

 Recently, the students were tasked with designing a functioning catapult using only common household items: popsicle sticks, rubber bands, and plastic spoons. This project wasn't just about building; it was about problem-solving, collaboration, and understanding the engineering design process.

They worked in teams to figure out the best leverage points and tension needed to launch their candy pumpkins successfully. We saw incredible ingenuity in how they reinforced their structures and adjusted their launch angles!

 

The ultimate goal was to launch as many pumpkins (out of 25) onto the green pumpkin patch as possible. The classroom turned into a friendly testing ground as students measured distances, refined their techniques, and cheered on their peers! This was a lot of fun!

*Check out the video at the end :)