Director of Teaching & Learning Miles Azzeh's Academic Spotlight: Gabby Bosley and Lisa Wynn
This week's academic spotlight goes to LIS 4th grade teachers Gabby Bosley and Lisa Wynn, who led a project that combines math learning, creativity, and a lot of fun! In the activity, students worked in pairs to build catapults made from popsicle sticks, binder clips, and plastic spoons. They then used the catapults to launch pencil eraser tops across the LIS hallways. Students then counted and multiplied the number of tiles their eraser cleared to get their total distance.
Ms. Bosley shared some more information on the project:
"This engaging activity allowed the students to have fun while also practicing 2-digit by 2-digit multiplication. It was a great opportunity to challenge their problem-solving skills."
Fellow teacher Lisa Wynn, added that the activity allowed the students to work together collaboratively while learning:
"This activity was a great opportunity for my students to work as a team and apply what we have been learning in math. It was an engaging way to practice problem-solving and our 2-digit times 2-digit multiplication skills."
After each pair of students had multiple attempts and recorded all their results, both classes moved to the gym for the final competition. Ms. Bosely's class launched their catapults simultaneously, and a winning group was declared. Ms. Wynn's class did the same, and then the winners from each class faced off against each other.
As you can imagine, the students had a blast during the activity, which is always impressive when math is at the center of the learning:
"I liked the project because it really helped me to learn about physics and how to work with a partner. I also liked watching others build a catapult and the competition," said David Lockett.
"I liked how we got to fling marshmallows into the air. Me and my partner worked well together and got along," said Isabella Thompson. "Inside the class a lot of people have a lot of ideas. I also like our library in the class."
"It was fun and entertaining. I love how everything, especially my teacher, is super nice!" said Landon Beets.
Titus Holland summed up the excitement of the project, saying, "I like the catapulting and tying the rubber bands on. It was fun launching it."
Students also commented on how much they liked getting opportunities to redo and try different approaches to make their catapults work better:
"It was fun to make the catapults. I like that we got to keep moving on and redoing it," said Channing Dessert.
"I like that we got to work as a team and try different ideas," said Chloe Stafford
Thank you so much, Gabby and Lisa, for working hard to ensure your students are learning essential math concepts and life skills like iteration and collaboration. We're lucky to have you both here with us in Lansing!