SMASH DAY!

A former colleague of mine, Rosalie Whitney, gave me a great idea for incorporating problem-solving, communication, listening, and critical thinking (all the great science skills!) into science classes at the middle school level. Her version was called 5 F's (First Friday's Fanatical Findout Feat).

The HIS version is SMASH! Smith's Marvelously Awesome Science Hoopla.

The Mission:
Look at a "mystery structure" and communicate it to team members so that they can build the exact same structure without actually ever seeing it.

The Mystery Structure:
The Work:

Jean studying the mystery structure to try to describe it to her team.

Jez, Connie, and Tim working hard to understand the instructions.
Artie waiting patiently while his communicator gets instructions (I made him take a pic with me!)
Kevin and Jordan getting animated in their description
Lydia working to find the right colored block...only a few minutes left!
Kevin separating some pieces that were put together in the wrong order.
Duke using his hands to show the order of the blocks.

8th grade students really focusing on the mystery structure!Finally, the 9th grade students in action...watch them work!