Liverpool — Students in Carolyn Spach’s first grade classroom spend a lot of their science time playing with Legos.
But it’s not just playtime. Spach’s students are learning how to build simple machines using the toys as part of a pilot program at Willow Field Elementary that will eventually expand throughout the Liverpool Central School District.
“It gives them a chance to use their math skills and their science and engineering skills while they’re working with the design,” Spach said. “They don’t always realize that’s what they’re doing. It’s just a lot of fun to learn.”
Spach said she discovered the program by accident.
“My son is in first grade in another district and he’s really into Legos, so I kind of stumbled onto it online,” she said.
She brought the program to the attention of her principal, John Sardella, who is on Liverpool’s Science Cabinet.
“There’s been a big shift in science education standards,” Sardella said. “Each state is adopting those standards. The new standards call for more STEM applications, as well as more STEAM and STREAM applications. The ‘A’ stands for ‘art’ and the ‘R’ for ‘research.’ We found that Lego had the tools to support the curriculum, so we’ve been moving forward with implementation. We have what we hope will be a great hands-on science, technology, engineering and math opportunity for our students.”
Spach is also a member of the Science Cabinet committee. The cabinet worked with Lego’s local representatives to bring kits into the district at the beginning of this school year. While it’s been piloted at WFE, it will go district-wide in March.
Sardella said Lego offers a specific curriculum for each grade level.
“For kindergarteners and first-graders, they’re doing simple machines,” Sardella said. “The kids actually have a design they work off of to build a simple machine. They get the parts and create a machine and make it work, something like a seesaw or teeter-totter.”
continued — That’s what Spach’s first-graders have been working with. She said the Lego blocks her students are using are roughly the same size as the larger Duplo blocks.
“Each kit comes with a series of projects for the kids to build,” Spach said. “We learn different simple machines—pulleys and levers and things. It’s great for team-building in the classroom. They’re practicing and learning how to work in a group to solve a problem.”
As the students get older, the projects get more complex.
“Second- and third-graders are doing something called a We-Do. They actually design some component of a design and plug it into a computer and the software will activate it into moving parts,” Sardella said. “In fourth and fifth grade, they’re doing higher-level simple machines. The sixth-graders are doing more simple machines with motorized parts, some kind of machine that will move forward. The students have to design it and put it together and then add a motorized component.”
While the program will be rolled out K through 6 in March, Spach said it will ultimately make its way into the district’s middle schools, as well.
“It keeps spiraling up,” she said. “It keeps adding to the tech and building on the simple machines, making them more complex and challenging.”
Sardella said the Lego program provides excellent educational value at all levels.
“It really does cover what’s important,” he said. It gives students a self-awareness and an understanding of what they have to do in real-life applications. It gives them an opportunity to collaborate and work as a team member as we do in life. It gives them the critical pieces to truly grow and understand how the real world works.”
Beyond its educational value, Spach said her students really enjoy using the curriculum.
“They’re more engaged than I’ve ever seen them before,” she said. “This is so interactive. Most kids have used Legos in the past. They see me get them out and they start cheering — ‘Yay, we’re going to play with Legos!’”
Spach said it’s thrilling to see her students so enthusiastic about learning.
“It’s really exciting to see them get excited about it, especially kids who tend to struggle,” she said. “They’re proud to show off their work. That means so much to me as a teacher.”