October was a full month for us! We started and finished two big projects: Mona Lisa Parodies and STEAM VIP Scientist Autopsy Reports. After learning about Leonardo Da Vinci and the Mona Lisa students were given the task to sketch their own version of a Mona Lisa parody and then name their artwork. The students did an excellent job and their ideas were so creative. Also keeping us busy were the autopsy reports on various scientists. Students researched a scientist of their choice then replaced the internal organs of the scientist with symbols and placed them in the correct location on a poster. In addition to this they had to write an "autopsy report" to go along with the visual they created that explained each symbol. I can't tell you how many times I heard "this is harder than I thought Mrs. Leah". They had to merge creative and critical thinking skills to get this project done. It required research, note taking, and then evaluating. Deciding which symbols to choose and for what organ and why was a long process for some students. I also required that they documented in MLA format their sources. This might be one of my favorite projects ever! My sixth through eighth graders are reading the classroom edition of The Martian by Andy Weir. We have read the first three chapters. The book is proving to be a valuable resource in our classroom, leading us to important discussions about science and survival. Also in October was our first introduction to Little Bits. After a brief lesson on safety and care of the Little Bit resources, students began accepting challenges that required them to build a self driving vehicle and build an art machine. Pictures of the students with their mini robots can be found below. Although the challenges were the same each individual student put their own spin on the design. We have essentially created our own makerspace within our classroom. I remind the students that this space is a place for them to collaborate, invent, share, create, make and do. They have been given the tools they need to get started, but where it goes is up to them. In addition, through our science literature sources we have read about parasites that take over the mind and bodies of their hosts and a teen inventor that created a vending machine that makes it easy to treat minor injuries on the go. Reading about all of this led to our own lessons and activities we titled "Build a Parasite" and "Design a Vending Machine". Last, but not least, we completed two Breakout EDU cases this month: The Case of the Mondays and Monster Mash. Unfortunately, after 45 minutes working in small groups no class was able to breakout of The Case of the Mondays box, and only one class was able to breakout during Monster Mash! Either way, the critical thinking skills required to complete the tasks and open the locks on the Breakout box are challenging and important for the students to practice. Check back to find out if they are able to breakout in time during our November Breakout EDU session.