Jennifer George | Expect the Miraculous

Our 2nd grade is in the midst of another amazing project. They are studying simple machines, force, and motion as a part of their science curriculum. We kicked off this unit by tinkering with a Rube Goldberg iPad app called Rubeworks. Students worked in pairs to problem solve the many parts each Rube Goldberg puzzle. We allowed an hour for this experience and students persevered through the entire hour and supported one another. Students continued to use this app in class.

Next, students had the opportunity to Skype with David Fox, the creator of the RubeWorks app. He told a lot about how the app was made as well as listened to what the students loved and what they were frustrated with while using the app.

In class, students read the book Roller Coaster by Marla Frazee. They used lots of tools to construct their own “roller coasters” and test them out. This is all leading up to students designing and creating their own Rube Goldberg invention.

This year, I purchased a book called The Art of Rube Goldberg. This book contains numerous pieces of Goldberg’s artwork, which was mostly selected by his granddaughter, Jennifer George. Students have enjoyed studying these illustrations in class. All of the puzzles in the Rubeworks game are based on pieces of artwork, so studying these images also supports students figuring out the game puzzles.

Using Skype in the Classroom, we scheduled a Skype with Jennifer George. Ahead of the Skype, students spent time in class preparing questions to ask Jennifer George. The second grade teachers and I have really been fine-tuning a process for our skype sessions, and it is proving to create some very rich experiences for our students. Students wrote questions about Rube Goldberg based on their knowledge of him from the illustrations in the book, their experience with the app, their observations of Rube Goldberg inventions, and their own drawings of inventions.

During our Skype, Jennifer George told us just a bit about Rube Goldberg and herself, but she left lots of room for questions. It’s times like these, that I’m so glad that the 2nd grade teachers have developed their Skype process. Students had prepared questions on index cards. The teachers quickly passed them out and we made a line of students who were ready to ask a question. Students took turns stepping to the webcam, saying their name, and asking their question. They awaited Jennifer’s response, and then said “thank you” before sitting back down. Our questions really carried the Skype conversation today. Each time a student asked a question, Jennifer commented on what a great question it was. Students asked things like:

Did you aspire to be like your grandfather?
Do you have any of Rube Goldberg’s artwork?
How many drawings did Rube Goldberg make?
Did you ever help your grandfather draw his art?

Each question was met with an extended story that uncovered pieces of Jennifer George and Rube Goldberg’s life. We even got to see a sculpture that Rube Goldberg had created.

I love Skype experiences where students get to interact with the presenter. It empowers students to be able to ask the questions that they are curious about and have their curiosities answered. I’m so thankful for teachers that give students the space to prepare for interviewing a Skype guest. These interview skills will only continue to improve and will be a skill that students will carry with them throughout their lives.

The teachers and I all commented on how different this Skype was compared to last year’s Skype with Jennifer George. The time to prepare, the time to think about questions that matter and connect, and the trust to allow students to lead the conversation made this a memorable experience for us all.

We are learning from @RubeGoldberg from his granddaughter. #tlchat #ccsdath @ClarkeCoSchools pic.twitter.com/dhb3o6HDRC

— Andy Plemmons (@plemmonsa) February 24, 2015

I love when Ss get to ask our skype guests questions. Asking @RubeGoldberg lots about his art and life. #tlchat pic.twitter.com/4FavCtsSqt

— Andy Plemmons (@plemmonsa) February 24, 2015

Our Ss have written some amazing questions for Jennifer George about @RubeGoldberg @RubeWorks #tlchat #ccsdath pic.twitter.com/60WLNyXAvb

— Andy Plemmons (@plemmonsa) February 24, 2015

Second grade has been studying force and motion as a part of their science standards. We kicked off this unit in the library by learning about the inventions of Rube Goldberg and exploring the Rube Works app for iPad.

In class, students explored force and motion through a Picture Perfect Science lesson about roller coasters. During this exploration, they learned key vocabulary and concepts for force and motion. After exploring, they learned even more about force and motion through informational text. Finally, students worked in collaborative groups to build their own Rube Goldberg invention. During this process, students were able to apply many of the concepts and vocabulary that they learned through the other experiences. I loved peering into their classrooms from time to time to watch them try to get their inventions to work. I loved how they tried something, failed, and then tried again. This is something we’ve had a lot of conversations about.

Today, thanks to Skype in the Classroom, students had the chance to Skype with Rube Goldberg’s granddaughter, Jennifer George. If you haven’t taken a look at Skype in the Classroom, you should! Teachers and guest speakers can post topics or lessons and classrooms can sign up to participate in those lessons. Once you sign up, you go through a process of communicating with the creator of the lesson or topics in order to schedule your Skype connection. Also, educators get a free Skype premium account for signing up.

Our connection lasted from about 40 minutes. During our time, Jennifer George shared some Rube Goldberg facts that only a granddaughter would know. For example:

he wore shoes when he went swimming
he was always on time
he ate whip cream for dessert and when cool whip came out he ate it by the bowl
when he got his 1st car, there were only 12 cars in New York City

She talked about how Rube Goldberg never built the inventions that he drew, but many people have taken his drawings and built the machines or designed their own. I loved how this fact fit in with our collaborative project and how each member of the team brings something different.

We also loved meeting Jennifer’s cat. The students couldn’t contain their excitement when the cat jumped up behind her on the counter. Jennifer gave us a close up view of him.

After Jennifer gave us some facts, she spent some time letting students ask questions. They love to do this. I loved how she listened to each student’s name and repeated it in her response. It made the conversation connected and personal.

It was during these questions that we learned things like:

Rube Goldberg created over 50,000 cartoons
He started drawing when he was about the age of our 2nd graders
Jennifer is a fashion designer who has designed clothing for several big celebrities like Madonna and Aretha Franklin

The students really wanted to see some of Rube Goldberg’s drawings, but thankfully thankfully many of them are available in a new book called The Art of Rube Goldberg. I think that students are going to be demanding that we get this book in our library. Thank you Jennifer George for sharing the stories and inventions of your grandfather with us. Thanks Skype in the Classroom for this fun time.

You can learn more about Rube Goldberg at http://www.rubegoldberg.com/

We have another Skype in the Classroom connection coming up soon with David Fox, developer of the Rube Works app that we have been playing. We can’t wait!