GATEWAYS

Facilitated by: Mr. Smolen and Mrs. DiGiacomo2020 - 2021

GATEWAYS

What is Gateways?

Gateways is a STEM-based program that was created in 2007 to satisfy the desires of students that wanted to learn more through inquiry and hands-on activities.

STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. These topics are integrated throughout what we learn all year long.

How Does Gateways Work?

Students elect to participate, with parental permission. Selection will be based upon a lottery system.

Approximately 40 incoming 8th grade students (20 boys/20 girls) will be assigned.

Even if you have participated in an integrated program at RMS, you are encouraged to still sign up. There is a possibility you will earn a spot.

4 periods (sometimes 3 depending on Period 8) spent in our classroom investigating topics within the core curriculum.

The other periods will consist of math, and two elective periods.

CourseStructure

Graded Self-contained Team-taught Differentiated Hands-on &

inquiry-based Empowering

Gateways Comparison◼ How it’s the same

– Change classes– 2 elective periods daily– All Math Levels– Grades

◼ How it’s different – Provides ability to make

connections between curriculum within all classes

– Opportunity to direct your own learning

– Greater use of cooperative and group learning

– Greater integration of technology

– Relevant field trips to connect what you have learned to the world

A Historical Approach

The year will be divided into two halves wherebiographical studies of influential scientists willprovide the framework for the core content.

September – January

Leonardo DaVinci

Galileo Galilei

Sir Isaac NewtonBenjamin Franklin

February – June

Marie CurieThomas Edison/Nikola Tesla

Albert Einstein

Bill Gates/Steve Jobs

Humanities Integration

How We Got to Now The Science of Leonardo Electric Universe Sci-fi Lit Circles Short Story Unit The Giver 12 Angry Men To Kill a Mockingbird FutureHype

Tools

Tool Shed Bandsaw Drills

Screwdrivers And many more!

PVC pipe Heat guns

Soldering iron

Wires, motors, and batteries

Circuits Dial Calipers Hot glue guns

Paint

Technology

iPads iMovie Quizizz

Apple Clips Kahoot! Notability Flipgrid Nearpod

Amplify And many more!

Snap Circuits

ChromeBooks Whitebox

CAD

Code.org

Robotics ROBOTC Building materials

Coding software

Field Trips

Franklin Institute Constitution Center Independence Hall

Liberty Bell Eastern Planetarium Engineering Firm

Cheering on our Seaperch team Singh Center for Nanotechnology Chemical Heritage Foundation

Drexel Excite Center da Vinci Lab at Temple

Challenges/Labs

Building Challenges

Rube Goldberg Foot Prosthesis Roller Coaster Lab

Building Catapults Green Cars Robotics

Independent Research Projects

Semester-long project

Research ANY TOPIC that interests you Must make an argument Research paper using sources to back up your argument

Present your findings to your classmates including interactive learning experiences

Create a research posterto share your results withthe RMS community

Independent Research Projects

Examples of topics:

Amazon is destroying small businesses. Standardized testing has more negative effects than positive effects.

Self-driving cars need much more work before becoming available for purchase. GMOs have many positive effects. Germany needs to lead the EU along with Western Asia and North Africa.

The moon landings were not fake. Asian culture has a positive effect on the success of Asian children.

Swimmers are more physically fit than runners. Net neutrality is important for equal Internet access. Parents with Munchausen’s by proxy negatively affect their children.

While the Stanford Prison Study was conducted in an unscientific manner, there is still valid information to learn from the research.

Future Cities

National competition

Planning a city from scratch Civil engineer mentor Multiple components—

Essay Model

Sim Presentation Project plan

Interview for job Prepare a resume

Practice interview questions Participate in an interview with a member of RTSD administration

Seaperch

Underwater robotics competition

Fashioned out of PVC pipe Naval engineer mentor Multiple components

Presentation Engineering notebook

Design of the perch Pool competition

Compete at Regionals at Temple University

Potential to compete at Nationals

Who is Compatible?

EVERYONE Enjoy working & learning in groups Like to explore & “dig deeper” Enjoy getting out of the classroom to explore

real-world applications to the curriculum Thrive in an environment where much of the

learning is “hands-on” Seek some independence and choice in

learning

Group Work, Group Work, Group Work

Types of groups: Literature circles Project groups Lab groups Table groups Short story groups In-class assignment partners

Working with any partner Cooperative work with new people

Skills Learned from the Gateways Classroom

Project planning Personalized challenge in the

form of differentiation Cooperative group work Writing in all content areas Engineering software Tool safety

Research skills Evaluating sources Applications to the real-world Making personal learning choices Video/movie editing Website creation Wiring motors and circuitry

What’s Next? Discuss Gateways with your parents and decide on your ranking.

If you decide you are interested, rank Gateways as your first or second choice.

All ranking forms are due Thursday May 14th. The lottery will be held on Monday, May 18th.

If your name is selected, you will have the chance to accept or give up your spot in the class.

Everyone else will be put on the waitlist, in casea student moves over the summer.

Take a chance and sign up for this challenging, yet fun, alternative for all 8th

graders. You won’t be disappointed!

The Choice is Yours!