Problem Solving with Cat Alarms

Working and reworking their designs.

 Mrs. Mongan's 1st graders recently worked on a STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) project they called "Cat Alarms". After reading "Cat and Mouse", the students discussed the troubles of the mice in the story who were trying to avoid being eaten by a cat. The 1st graders pondered devices that might be put on the cat to warn the mice when he was near.

Gathering supplies from home and from Mrs. Mongan's cabinets, they set about designing their devices. They considered options, tried and retried their ideas, and finally implemented a design on a stuffed animal they brought from home. The students shared their designs with the rest of the class, explaining why they made the choices they did and answering their friends' questions.

Looking at their serious approaches and clever designs, we may have some future engineers in our midst!