Growing Through Challenges: STEAM at Lone Pine & Way Elementaries

In Mrs. Gordon's STEAM classes at Lone Pine Elementary, students built intricate domino designs. Students were encouraged to recognize when something isn’t working and think about how they can adjust their approach. Some students placed the dominos too close, causing them to fall down early. Students then adjusted their approach and spaced out the dominos further apart to keep them standing, but able to knock down the following dominos when pushed down. By making changes to their assignments, trying again, and reflecting on what they learned, students practiced perseverance and developed a growth mindset.

At Way Elementary in Mrs. Auricchio's STEAM class, students read the book, "The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes", then tackled a tricky engineering challenge: building marble runs that ended perfectly in a tiny paper cup. Students practiced two essential STEAM skills: making adjustments and learning from mistakes, reinforcing the idea that every "failure" is just another step toward success.