To introduce and support the new makerspace at Indian Peaks (the iPeaks iLab), teachers are piloting RAFT (Resource Area for Teachers) lesson materials to support their current themes of study. When introducing the makerspace to staff, the design team felt it necessary to support teachers in lesson ideas for use in the space. With a varying range of knowledge in the maker culture, the team deemed RAFT kits as a way to integrate making into standards-based lessons with ease.
The second grade team is using several pre-made kits from RAFT to supplement learning in Balance and Motion. Roller racers and Shake Tables provided hands-on experiences for students. 4th grade has hopes to incorporate Floating Garden of Magnets and Breadboard Circuits into the Electricity and Magnetism unit next month.
Feedback has been a large component throughout the use of the kits. Changes are being made to kits to support rigorous content, student independence and collegiality. The hope is that RAFT kits help to establish the beginnings of making at Indian Peaks so that educators might use them as a starting point for broading their own ideas.
See video HERE.
