7/8th Grade Page

Currently taking place in 7/8th grade Technology Education classes:

First Quarter:

As the semester gets underway, 7/8th grade tech. ed. students find themselves getting acquainted with the laboratory, settling in to their new seats, finding their locker and folder spaces, and looking forward to an exciting semester of challenging design activities and exciting hands-on education. 

We start by discussing a working definition of technology: the practical application of math and science to solve problems and satisfy wants and needs, then move on to specifically differentiate wants from needs. 

Needs:  air, water, food, shelter, clothing, companionship

Wants:  everything else

A brief look at the pace of technological development in the past 100 or so years reminds us that in a single person's lifetime, perhaps someone born in 1900, humans have developed powered flight, undergone a communication revolution, a digital revolution, sent humans to the moon and probes to Mars, cloned mammals, and mapped our own genome.  Technology is all around us, for the entirety of our lives, and will continue to shape and impact us in amazing, astounding, unpredictable, and unanticipated ways.

Based on the precarious nature of energy supplies and energy resources, 7/8th grade students will spend some time studying energy generation methods and energy sources:

Non-renewable:  petroleum (oil), coal, natural gas, nuclear

Renewable:  solar, wind, water, geothermal, biomass

Students will learn about and be able to describe how a typical power plant generates electricity.  Students will learn about Faraday's coil (copper wire and magnets), turbines, generators, and motors.  Our energy studies are highlighted by a visit from Lucy Gluck, Energy Educator with VEEP (Vermont Energy Education Program), who will bring a variety of hands-on energy-related materials.  Lucy's two day visit will culminate in a ride on the energy bike where students can generate their own electricity and power light bulbs.

To view pictures of students riding the energy bike, click here: PHOTOS PAGE

Next in our energy studies, students will design and build model towers that will support windmills.  These towers will be tested for their strength under compression and need to be built to a variety of specifications.  Towers may be no taller than 14" and no shorter than 9".  Towers need to have a base no larger than 5" square and a top no larger than 3" square.  Towers must be constructed of given materials only.  Given materials include: 20 match sticks, 15 popsicle sticks, 5 coffee stirrers, and 5 balsa sticks @ 1/8" square and 17-1/2" long.

To view pictures of windmill towers, click here: PHOTOS PAGE

To view a "smashing" movie, click here: PHOTOS PAGE

For links to energy-related websites, click here: LINKS PAGE

Second Quarter:

Students in 7/8th grade classes have been working more intensively on orthographic projection concepts and practices.  Students have been completing three view drawings, which include the top, front, and right side views of an object.  Next, students will be applying those skills to successfully draft a two-view drawing (top and front views) of their co2 dragsters. 

Having completed their two-view, full size orthographic projections of the car body blank (see diagram below), students are again experiencing the process of design.   Some students have chosen to build their cars to the Technology Students Association (TSA) specifications that will allow them to compete against each other in CO2 powered drag races.   Other students will be designing and building their cars to compete in show competitions.  "Amazing Aesthetics"  is a show category that highlights a vehicle's finishing: colors, color combinations, and paint design.  The "Engineering Excellence" category seeks the most creative, exciting, and bold body design.  Four Speed Demons (one for each 7/8th grade class period), one excellent engineer, and one amazing aesthete will win a prize of their choice.

Before receiving their wood car body blanks, students have the opportunity to create a full-scale prototype from styrofoam.  Using various hand tools and a hot wire cutter, students experience the evolution of their dragster design from brainstorming and sketches, through modeling, and to final production.

To view information about CO2 Dragsters, click here: CO2 DRAGSTER PAGE

Also in 7/8th grade classes, students have been studying the Industrial Revolution and how differently life was lived for all people a mere 100 - 150 years ago. We are looking at the shift from agrarian, rural societies to more mechanized, urban lifestyles; the role women and children played in industrialization; and how construction and chemical technology helped to fuel our journey from Fulton's steam engine to Honda's production hybrid gas/electric vehicle.

Our final design and engineering activity is the "One Armed Bandit" challenge, a.k.a. "Woodshop Wars."  Students design and create a hydraulic or pneumatic robotic arm that grabs, lifts, and moves an object.  Students learn the fundamentals of fluid power, leverage, and mechanical engineering in this exciting activity. 

To view pictures of "One Armed Bandits," click here: PHOTOS PAGE

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