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Lincoln Elementary third-graders team up to save model homes from flood

Lincoln Elementary third-graders team up to save model homes from flood
A Lincoln Elementary third-grade student works on creating a model house than can withstand the ravages of a river flood. Submitted photo
Lincoln Elementary third-graders team up to save model homes from flood
Teacher Sandy Pleggenkuhle works with third grade students at Lincoln Elementary School to apply STEM skills to making a tissue box model home that can withstand a river flood. Submitted photo
Lincoln Elementary third-graders team up to save model homes from flood
A Lincoln Elementary third-grade student works on creating a model house than can withstand the ravages of a river flood. Submitted photo
Lincoln Elementary third-graders team up to save model homes from flood
Lincoln Elementary third-grade students work on creating a model house than can withstand the ravages of a river flood. Submitted photo
Lincoln Elementary third-graders team up to save model homes from flood
A Lincoln Elementary third-grade student works on creating a model house than can withstand the ravages of a river flood. Submitted photo
By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

Using materials found around your home, could you build a model house that could survive a river flood?

That was the challenge facing Lincoln Elementary third-graders, taking part in a science class project emphasizing working together and using STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) skills to accomplish a goal.

Third-grade teachers Sandy Pleggenkuhle and Katelyn Stultz have been taking a STEM class and trying to think through ways to give their students a more accurate picture of STEM, Stultz said.

“The big goal for those kids is they’re practicing synergizing and working together in an atmosphere that is very student-focused and student-led,” Stultz said.

“They’re each given a Kleenex box. That was their house,” she said. “And they are told, ‘OK, you are going to use these recyclable materials that you’ve brought in from home to now create this house or reinforce that Kleenex box so that it can survive a river flood.’

“That’s really all we told them. We said you can do whatever you need, but it’s really up to you. You have to synergize and work together to create your weather house, is what we called it,” she said.

Prior to starting the project the teachers sent home a newsletter with ideas on materials to bring in.

“And before we do it we do some general resourcing so they all kind of have that same prior knowledge,” Stultz said. “And then we say, ‘OK, what could you bring in that could help with these things, based off what you’ve read in this article or seen in this video?’”

The two teachers divided up the materials that their students brought in, so that each team had about the same types of materials.

“But then it was 100% on them to make a plan, how they were going to use the different materials and make it happen,” Stultz said.

The goal is to have the house sit in a tub of water overnight without a little pipe cleaner person inside the house getting wet.

“If the pipe-cleaner person gets pulled out and is dry, your house survived,” Stultz said.

A lot of students used aluminum foil to waterproof their homes, but others decided the way to save their home was to make it float on top of the water, by attaching plastic water bottles to it, or putting it on a foam egg carton.

“That was fantastic for keeping them out of the water, but then we discussed how if this was a river flood that house would have floated away,” Stultz said.

“We had people make anchors to keep it from floating away, with a lot of popsicle sticks tied together, which really didn’t work, but the concept was there,” she said.

“A lot tried giving it a foundation by gluing it to cardboard boxes, but then we talked about how the glue (Elmer’s Glue), once it sat in the water overnight, once it gets wet it started to dissolve, so they need Gorilla Glue, and duct tape,” Stultz said.

She said the students and the teachers had a lot of fun with the project.

“They had a blast with that hands-on,” Stultz said. “This was the first big hands-on project for third grade, so it was really fun to see their excitement for it, and their willingness to put themselves out there and discuss with their group.”

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