TES implements AMSTI program
This is the school’s first year as part of the Alabama Math, Science and Technology Initiative, and teacher Nichole Ergle said TES teachers are thrilled to be incorporating it into their curriculum.
To help kick off this new phase of learning, the Russellville Electric Association visited the students and showed them how electricity is transferred. Presenters Hunter Smith and Chad Whitfield also talked about the dangers of electricity and its properties and provided hands-on opportunities for the students.
“The children are still talking about it,” Ergle said.
Energy is one of three AMSTI units students will be learning about, in addition to animal studies and land and water studies.
In the animal study unit, the fourth grade will create habitats for millipedes, fiddler crabs and dwarf African frogs, Ergle explained. The students will house these habitats in the classroom and will be responsible for feeding the animals, cleaning their containers and recording what they observe each day.
In the land and water unit, students will imitate the rain cycle and its effects on the earth; investigate streams and how they flow and impact surroundings; examine the earth’s materials, like different types of soil; and discuss, explore and create a model of their very own dam.
“This year, multiple grades at our school participated in training throughout the year so that we could participate and provide these wonderful hands-on learning opportunities for our students,” Ergle said.
The training was conducted over several days. Each unit was presented lesson by lesson, and the faculty participated in the activities, just like their students will.
“It was so exciting to see science come to life like it did. I knew if it excited me, it would thrill my kiddos,” Ergle said.
Fifth and sixth grades are also participating in AMSTI learning, as well as a kindergarten class and a second-grade class.
