Experiential Learning Week: 3-D Models and Cookies!

On Tuesday, our second day of ELW, we hiked out to the middle school from Kandern. After a snack of ice cream sandwiches, the 7th graders were given directions for an extension of a project completed a few weeks ago. In math class with Ms. Liu, students used proportions to create a blueprint for a new middle school. The students utilized their amazing creativity and their blueprints went on display. Recently, students have been working with area and surface area can especially be a difficult concept to grasp. To help students further understand surface area, they were introduced to an extension of their school blueprints. Students were in groups of five and chose one blueprint for their group. Their task was to create a 3-D model of the school drawn on the blueprint. Students were given the rest of the morning to work. After lunch, students returned to the classroom to calculate the surface area of each room before adding up their total surface area for the school. Reviewing area and surface area was an excellent exercise for their brains! Following are some moments of the creative process....

After our 3-D models and calculations were finished, students were driven back to the high school for a cooking class and a team-building skills class! Students were split into two groups; ten students in each. In the first cooking class, we had a group of girls (with a photo-bomber!) and a group of boys. The second cooking class had a mixed group of boys and girls. Who can go wrong with Peanut Butter Blossoms and Chocolate Chip Cookies? Everyone had a wonderful time and I especially enjoyed watching the group dynamics play out! Even as each group used the same recipe, we had different results in the number of cookies, one huge cookie that had to be cut into pieces with a knife,  dough consistency, and of course, cookie consumption! Let the fun begin....:)

Team-building was outside with Coach Greathouse and Frau Hinton! Coach G wanted to help the students prepare for the ropes course they will visit on Wednesday!