Learning By Teaching

High school students introduce fifth grade elementary students about the laws of motion through simple hands-on activities. This is part of these authors’ district initiative called “Partne... See More

High school students introduce fifth grade elementary students about the laws of motion through simple hands-on activities. This is part of these authors’ district initiative called “Partners in Learning” and is applied in their “Principles of Engineering” course for eleventh and twelfth grade students. Stations are set up to correct elementary student misconceptions about motion. Elementary student journals are used for assessment. This is a great idea and fun for all parties involved.

Inquiry across grades

The author describes taking an upper level engineering class to a 5th grade class to model force and motion concepts. The activities were simple but focused on important force and motion con... See More

The author describes taking an upper level engineering class to a 5th grade class to model force and motion concepts. The activities were simple but focused on important force and motion concepts that tend to lead to misconceptions, the 5th graders made journal entries of before, during and after the "lab" of what they experienced, and they used the information they learned long afterwards in classroom discussions. Wonderful example of cross-grade learning! I wish the author had provided some details about how the initial contacts were made with the elementary teachers, but other than that a great model for integration!