Kokomo High
School students from three different classes – Geometry, Introduction to
Construction, and Earth Science – spent two afternoons teaching Boulevard 1st
and 2nd graders about different STEM concepts that tied into the
Boulevard STEM (Science / Technology / Engineering / Mathematics) unit on
Engineering and Design.
“We are so proud of this
collaborative effort between Kokomo High School and Boulevard STEM Elementary
School,” KHS Vice Principal Jennifer Fowler explained. “We also are proud of
our Kokomo High School students for their work as mentors to our young friends
at Boulevard.”
For the
past several years, KHS teacher Kevin Sheets and his Introduction to
Construction students have taught Boulevard students how to construct butterfly
houses and bat boxes. This year the K-Tech Academy teacher proposed involving
other KHS classes for a more comprehensive, collaborative project.
“I felt it
was a wonderful idea,” Mrs. Fowler noted.
During the
project, Boulevard students visited three classrooms at KHS. In each classroom,
KHS students taught the 1st and 2nd graders something
different.
In one KHS
classroom, Vincent Lorenz’s Earth Science students discussed the life of bats
and butterflies. At one point, the KHS students explained the life cycle of a
butterfly before introducing the elementary students to butterflies native to
Indiana. The Boulevard students learned that the Viceroy butterfly eats aphids,
honeydew, carrion, dung, and decaying fungi, while the Buckeye butterfly has a
wingspan of 1.5 to 4 inches. The Boulevard students even watched a video of a
butterfly eating an orange. The elementary students learned that a butterfly’s
taste buds are on its feet.
In the next
classroom, Mr. Sheets and some of his students taught the 1st and 2nd
graders how to build bat boxes and butterfly houses.
Mr. Sheets
demonstrated how a bat box is constructed, while also explaining how bats use
the boxes.
“When this
is completed, 50 to 60 little bats can take a nap in this box at one time,” Mr.
Sheets told the Boulevard students.
The 1st
and 2nd graders helped Mr. Sheets and his students sand the boxes
once they were constructed.
In a third
classroom, KHS geometry students offered a hands-on lesson regarding area and
perimeter. The Boulevard students used tape measures to calculate the
measurements for several pieces of wood. The Boulevard students then learned
how to use those measurements to calculate the area and perimeter.
Boulevard STEM instructor Ann
Ligocki said this collaborative project fit in nicely with the current STEM
unit, which focused on engineering and design. The bat boxes and butterfly
houses were the 2nd of three design projects the Boulevard students
completed. The week prior to this collaboration, the Boulevard students built
their own small car. The week after their project at KHS, the elementary
students created a shield designed to protect an egg during an egg drop.
“My
Boulevard students loved working with the KHS students,” Ms. Ligocki explained.
“My elementary students always are excited to visit the high school, and I feel
they learned a great deal.”