Mrs. Ponte's Third Grade Class and TinkerCad!

There have been several outcomes of this work. One of which is to recognize that students at the High School level are introduced to CAD (computer-aided design) through the Engineering program, but have limited exposure before high school.

As a result, Mrs. Nicole Ponte, 3rd grade teacher at Columbus Elementary School, Mr. Michael Pezzuti, Technology Teacher at Westlake Middle School, and Ms. Claudia Palermo and Mr. Dan Clark Engineering teachers at Westlake High School organized an opportunity for WHS students to teach CES students how to create objects in CAD and foster interest in the engineering program.

This week, the students in Mrs. Ponte’s 3rd Grade class had an opportunity to participate in a project based learning activity using the app TinkerCad. The students in Mrs. Ponte’s class were given three potential projects to complete: a name tag, Minecraft figure or a flat-bottomed car. 

Sean Gray ‘24 and Gavin Blide ‘24, Engineering 3 students at WHS, arrived in Mrs. Ponte’s class on May 21st and introduced the students to TinkerCad. They displayed examples of completed projects they have made to more simpler projects the third-grade students can make on their own. In addition, they displayed demonstration videos of how a 3D printer works. The enthusiasm in the classroom was obvious, and the students set out to make their very own 3D project! These items will be 3D printed up at the High School, and the students will be able to take them home before the end of the school year.