This is our last STEM Book Club until after the summer. I plan on reevaluating and seeing what worked and didn’t work and then picking back up in the fall. That being said, I got some snacks and tried to pick a fun project for us this time.
Spin the Golden Lightbulb by Jackie Yeager is the first book in a new elementary series called The Crimson Five.
Every year, eighth graders all over the country compete in the Piedmont Challenge in order to win a golden lightbulb and earn a place at PIPS, The Piedmont Inventor’s Prep School. Kia Krumpet is determined to be one of only five winners chosen from her state. And when she learns that just winning a golden lightbulb may not be enough to secure her place at PIPS, she is even more determined than before.
Kia, along with the four other winners, must compete at Camp Piedmont in a challenge that will test all of their ingenuity, brains, strength and heart. Does Kia have what it takes to make it to Nationals? Or will her insecurities cost her big time?
Discussion Questions / Further Reading
What is this book about? What are the main themes?
In this futuristic world, kids are “programmed” into a single category of study, which will follow them throughout adulthood. What do you think about this? Could there be anything good about this placement method?
The Crimson Five are singled out for coming from the same school. Do you think this is fair? Should they be held at a higher standard?
At first, Kia isn’t sure about working with a team. Why can working with a team be so much harder? Why can a team help you to excel?
To complete their task, the team must “include elements from each of the six academic categories—Art Forms, Communication, Earth and Space, Human History, Math and New Technology.” Why do you think Kia sees this as an impossible task?
Ignoring the sparkly dust, rotating bunk beds, robotic monkeys and all the other cool tech gadgets, this book is about teamwork and friendship. What are some examples of how the Crimson Five were able to work together as a team in order to do better?
Each of the member of the Crimson Five have some character trait to overcome. Name a character, their trait and how they overcame it?
What role does Grandma Kitty have in the story? What does her character contribute to the plot?
Prediction time! This the first book in a series. Any predictions on where it could be heading? Did you see any instances of foreshadowing?
Invention time! Kia has more than 67 inventions swirling around in her head. Your turn! What invention would you create that would make the world a better place?
Team Building Challenge
Supplies: sturdy string, solo cups, one rubber band
Setup: Tie four, arm length, pieces of string to your rubber band. Place a stack of ten solo cups next to the rubber band and string.
The Challenge: Working in teams of four, students must build a tower of cups using only the string/rubber band tool. Students may ONLY touch the string.
See which team can build their cup tower first. You can also give them different challenges, depending on how quickly they go. Encourage communication and teamwork. It’s harder than it looks!
Army Man Challenge
Supplies: one cup, one army man, one spoon, six Popsicle sticks, two rubber bands two feet of tape
Setup: Give each student a cup with the supplies inside of it.
The Challenge: Working individually, each student will attempt to make an army launcher. They have only the materials in their cups to complete the task. We will then take turns using our launchers to see who can shoot the army man the furthest.
*Adult Supervision required for all STEM activities*
Sources:
https://theardentteacher.com/2015/05/26/a-week-of-stem-activities/ http://mssepp.blogspot.com/2014/05/teamwork-cup-stack-take-2.html
How’d it go:
This was a super low key, fun last STEM club of the season. We had snacks, did a little book discussion and worked on our two challenges. I was actually pleasantly surprised that the kids really liked the teambuilding cup challenge. I totally have to keep that in mind for next time. As for the army men, it was interesting. We got a little crazy shooting our men and at times… each other
I’m glad this club went well for our first round. Till September STEM Club pals!
That’s all for now!
-M-