Alum Rock Union School District STEAM Showcase

Student Guidelines

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Overview of STEAM Showcase Guidelines

● You will submit project proposals to your teacher by Monday, November 21st○ If the project falls under the STEM (science, technology, engineering, math)

category, fill out the STEM project proposal○ If the student is creating an art project, fill out the Art Project Proposal

● After your teacher has signed off, you can begin working on your STEAM project (project format is included in this packet

● All schools will have a school-wide STEAM Showcase sometime between January 9th-February 17th

● From that school showcase, winners will be picked to move onto the district-wide showcase○ Grades K-1: 2 STEM entries, 2 Art entries○ Grades 2-3: 2 STEM entries, 2 Art entries○ Grades 4-5: 2 STEM entries, 2 Art entries○ 6th Grade: 3 STEM entries, 3 Art entries ○ 7th Grade: 3 STEM entries, 3 Art entries ○ 8th Grade: 3 STEM entries, 3 Art entries

● District-wide Showcase for middle school March 15, 2017 and elementary March 21, 2017 ○ Students whose projects have been chosen to go to district-wide showcase will set

up projects the day of the showcase

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STEM Project Format

STEM Showcase projects should include a problem (engineering)/question (science) as well as a solution to the problem/question. The project should include what elements of STEM were incorporated into the experiment as well as the project presentation.

The project proposal, along with an example, is included in this packet. All projects in the Showcase will need to the proposal attached to the back of the display board. This information below can be included on the display board. We encourage students to include examples and artifacts from their experiment/project as a part of the display. We also encourage the use of technology.

Title: Think of an interesting and catchy title for your project.

Purpose: Provide a statement about something in the world you are curious about or why you wanted to learn about or were curious about this topic.

Problem/Question: Must be something that can be tested or evaluated. Pick something that has one manipulated variable that can be tested.

Example: Will a plant fed water grow more than a plant fed acid or oil?

Hypothesis/Prediction: What is your educated guess about the outcome of your project?

● Restate the question entirely with a guess (i.e., will or will not/is or is not).● Do not include reasoning because anything put into a hypothesis must be tested before

the reason can be included.

4 steps to a great hypothesis:1. State your hypothesis with “I think that…”2. Include all manipulated variables in your hypothesis (i.e., adding salt, acid, etc.).3. Use the future tense when writing out your hypothesis (i.e., will or will not).4. Restate the question entirely. Do not change the meaning of the problem/question.

Example: I think that a plant fed with water will grow more than a plant fed acid or oil. Prediction Manipulated Variables

Materials: A numbered, detailed listed of materials that would be needed to conduct the investigation. Include quantities, amounts, types (be specific).

Diagram: A detailed diagram of the project set-up with labeled variables, amounts, or times. Make sure to label your diagram.

Controlled Variables: Things that are kept the same to make the test constant. If variables are not isolated and kept constant, it would be difficult to determine which variable affected the investigation. For STEAM projects, this could be time, space, etc.

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Manipulated Variables: What was changed on purpose to find an answer or make a comparison?

Procedures: List the steps in the investigation in sequential order. These are directions someone else could follow to complete the investigation.

Data/Results: Collect the data. Prepare the charts, journals, diagrams, photographs, or tables that you may need to illustrate your results. Students can represent the data as percentages, averages, graphs, etc.

Conclusion: Explain what happened (use your data). What was discovered? There are 4 steps to a successful conclusion:

1. Explain if the hypothesis was proved or disproved. “My hypothesis was proved/disproved because…”

2. Discovery-what did you find out?3. Proof-data accumulated must be presented from smallest values to largest values4. Ending-what conclusion can you make from the data?

Note: A conclusion is not making observations about the data or speculations about the results. Instead, save that for the discussion. A conclusion is using the data to prove what you are stating.

Discussion: Use what you discovered to answer the questions. What did you learn?1. Analyze what you learned about your results and data.2. Discuss why or why not your hypothesis was proved or disproved.3. Discuss experimental design flaws or changes that could have been made.4. Can you make a prediction about real-world situations from what you learned?

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ART Project Guidelines

Accepted mediums for the artwork include: ● Paintings: oil, acrylics, watercolor, etc.● Drawings: colored pencils, pencil, ink, marker, pastels, charcoal ● Collages: various materials ● Prints: lithographs, silkscreen, block prints● Mixed Media: use of more than two mediums such as pencil, ink, watercolor, etc.● Computer-generated art● Photographs

Students need to complete a project proposal and entry form for their art project. We do not want to limit students’ creativity, so if the project changes from the proposal as they are creating; it is acceptable as the entry form will reflect the final project.

In the art project proposal, the students will need to do research on the art they would like to create. This can be on the history of a medium, an artist they find inspiration from, or something related.

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STEM Project ProposalThis will be attached to the display board.

Student: Teacher:

Topic:

Problem/Question:

Hypothesis:

Projects require research or background information to support the topic involved in the investigation.

Instructions:1. Find at least 3 sources of information on your topic. You may use the internet and/or

print sources.2. Write down 3 facts that are related to your project from each source (a total of 9 facts).3. Site each source using MLA format (use Purdue Owl as a reference).

Source 1:

Fact 1:

Fact 2:

Fact 3:

Source 2:

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Fact 1:

Fact 2:

Fact 3:

Source 3:

Fact 1:

Fact 2:

Fact 3:

List of Materials Needed for Project:

What components of STEAM will be included in the project? (Check all that apply)

❏ Science❏ Technology❏ Engineering❏ Art❏ Math

Where will you conduct your research/experiment? (check all that apply)

❏ School❏ Community❏ Home❏ Other _________________________________

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Art Project Proposal This will be attached to the display board.

Student: Teacher:

Theme:

Projects require research or background information to support the topic involved.

Instructions:1. Find at least 3 sources of information on your topic. You may use the internet and/or

print sources.2. Sources may be about an artist of interest, the history of a piece that inspires the student,

etc.3. Write down 3 facts that are related to your project from each source (a total of 9 facts).4. Site each source using MLA format (use Purdue Owl as a reference).

Source 1:

Fact 1:

Fact 2:

Fact 3:

Source 2:

Fact 1:

Fact 2:

Fact 3:

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Source 3:

Fact 1:

Fact 2:

Fact 3:

List of Materials Needed for Project:

Quick sketch of project:

What components of STEAM will be included in the project?

❏ Science❏ Technology❏ Engineering❏ Art❏ Math

Where will you conduct your experimentation? (check all that apply)

❏ School❏ Community❏ Home❏ Other _________________________________

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Example STEM Project Proposal Student:Sample Sammy

Teacher: Terrific Teacher

Topic:Assembly Line Robots

Problem/Question:Will assembling Lego robots in an assembly line be faster than building them one at a time?

Hypothesis:I think that a Lego robot built in an assembly line will be completed faster than a robot built one at a time.

Projects require research or background information to support the topic involved in the investigation.

Instructions:1. Find at least 3 sources of information on your topic. You may use the internet and/or

print sources.2. Write down 3 facts that are related to your project from each source (a total of 9 facts).3. Site each source using MLA format (use Purdue Owl as a reference).

Source 1:"What Is Assembly Line? Definition and Meaning." BusinessDictionary.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Oct. 2016.

Fact 1:Henry Ford created the assembly line when he was building cars.

Fact 2:In assembly lines, workers just do one task over and over again to make things. The products then go on to the next worker who does his/her task.

Fact 3:It is a way to make complicated things quickly, or to mass produce goods.

Source 2:"Ford Installs First Moving Assembly Line 1913." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 15 Oct. 2016.

Fact 1:Henry Ford wanted to build cheap cars so he created the assembly line.

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Fact 2:Ford divided up his team by labor in car building and trained workers to just do one step of the car building process.

Fact 3:In 1913, they had the created the first moving assembly line for large manufacturing and they built cars at record-breaking speed.

Source 3:"Assembly Line." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 15 Oct. 2016.

Fact 1:To design an assembly line, you must first analyze each part of the building process for the good being made.

Fact 2:Some assembly lines are run by robots, computers, and machines.

Fact 3:Some assembly lines are run completely by industrial robots with little to no human supervision.

List of Materials Needed for Project:1. Legos2. Friends to help3. Timer4. Chart to keep track of times

What components of STEAM will be included in the project?

❏ Science❏ Technology✔ Engineering❏ Art✔ Math

Where will you conduct your experimentation? (check all that apply)✔ School❏ Community✔ Home❏ Other _________________________________

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STEM SHOWCASE RUBRIC

PROJECT DESIGN 1 2 3 4

Includes a thoroughly developed hypothesis

There is a purpose/benefit for society

Presents a timely issue/concern with real solutions

Organized well

Sequence of experiment or engineering process is easy to follow

CREATIVITY 1 2 3 4

Project is thoughtful and insightful

Originality in design and use of equipment

Project is neat, colorful, visually appealing

EFFECTIVENESS 1 2 3 4

Accompanying proposal/information is easy to understand

Explanation of project was clear and concise

Student was prepared to present information

Project format meets all requirements

CONTENT 1 2 3 4

Adequate sample size used for experiment and design

Conclusions accurately based on data/reflection

Sources used for evidence are adequately cited

Data is clearly presented and relates to hypothesis/question/problem

Experiment or cycle of design was performed multiple times or multiple angles were considered for experiment/problem

TOTAL ____/17 ____/32 ____/51 ____/68

TOTAL (68 POINTS POSSIBLE) ____/68

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ART PROJECT SHOWCASE RUBRIC

PROJECT DESIGN 1 2 3 4

Effective use of the elements of art throughout the design process to produce a cohesive end product

Presents a timely issue

Organized well

CREATIVITY/ORIGINALITY 1 2 3 4

Project is thoughtful and insightful

Originality in design and use of materials

Project is neat, colorful, visually appealing

EFFORT/PERSEVERANCE 1 2 3 4

Accompanying proposal/information is easy to understand and incorporates terminology from the field of art

Explanation of art project was clear and concise

Student was prepared to present information

Project format meets all requirements

TOTAL ____/10 ____/20 ____/30 ____/40

TOTAL (40 POINTS POSSIBLE) ____/40

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