Fourth grade students at Turner Woods Elementary School created carnival games using simple machines and invited their family to play the games at the school recently.
Christin Bradshaw, fourth-grade teacher, said her class made the carnival games, and it was a fun way for the students to learn about science and simple machines.
“We just finished state testing, so we wanted to give them an activity to do that let them move around a little more.
We are on our force and motion unit, so we started letting them use recyclable material to make carnival games,” she said.
“The carnival games had to include at least one simple machine, and the purpose of that was to teach the students simple machines are all around you.”
Bradshaw said it was important for the students to make these carnival games, because when they can display it to their families, they are more invested in the project and learning about it. She said they retained the information better.
“They learned a lot from this project, and not just the science aspect of it. They learned how to work together as a team to come up with their carnival games. They had to make compromises and decisions with each other.
They had to go through the whole design process like engineers do,” the teacher said.
Olivia Westbrook, one of the students, said the wheel and axle helped her a lot with the project. She said it was fun watching everyone dance to her Just Dance carnival game she helped make. She said simple machines are all around them.
“We created Just Dance, and the wheel and axle worked really well for the people who played the game,” the student said.
“We learned that science is all around us. We got to learn while having fun at the same time.”
The teacher said this was the first year they had family members visit the school to see the carnival games created. She said the students were excited and very proud of themselves. She said it was nice seeing the parents play the games.
Bradshaw said several of her students are interested in science, so she sees them going on to be able to use some of the skills they have learned from making the carnival games in the future. She said this was something fun for them to engage in. “My favorite thing was seeing the kids be able to showcase their creativity,” the teacher said. “This is what they will remember about force and motion, not the worksheets or videos. This lesson definitely helps them retain the information. It’s something they can be proud of.”
