Frank Webb Home Grant: Electrifying Creations with LittleBits
- School Year: 2018-2019
- Applicants: Angela Giliberto, Lead Teacher, Sharon Zajack, Katie Fournier
- School: Smith
- Subjects: Language Arts, Science, Technology
This grant will fund the purchase of eight ultimate STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) learning tool kits called LittleBits to be used as a resource material for 5th grade students at Smith STEM Elementary School. Engineering with LittleBits will also be offered as an afterschool enrichment opportunity for students in the upper elementary grades. LittleBits are small electronic building blocks that can be snapped together to create unlimited circuits allowing students to invent and build their own inventions. Working with LittleBits fosters group problem-solving, critical thinking, creativity, communication and collaboration through team STEM challenges and real-world applications. This grant showcases the interconnections among Science, Technology, Engineering and Math while exemplifying the vision of the Next Generation Science Standards that science is for all students and is not about knowing facts, but understanding concepts. Students will build, experiment and showcase their inventions on a school-wide weekly video news segment.