First-graders test engineering skills

First-grade students in Marvina Bugajski’s class at Gause Elementary participated in an engineering lesson that tied together reading, science and math.

The lesson started as the class read a series of books about animals who have faced challenges. One of the books, by Mo Willems from the popular Elephant and Piggie series, was about an elephant who lost his trunk. To bring science and math to the lesson, Bugajski asked students to work in groups to make a prosthetic trunk for an elephant. By using the scientific process to measure and do math, students formulated a plan to solve the problem. They then used a variety of materials and a lot of teamwork to create the trunks.