Senior Projects + Shadowboxing
Today was day 1 of creating our polar design magnets in class, and, as usual when trying out a new activity, I learned A LOT along the way! The first part of their final was typing up an end-of-year reflection on their experience in AP Calculus BC (click button below for their prompt). This was done mainly outside of class:
The second part of their final was creating a polar design magnet; one for me to keep and one for them to take (see my blog post from 5/10/23 to read about the instructions and set-up potion of the magnet). I had my supply table all set up before the came in and had donuts out since I promised them I’d bring them Dunkin Donuts in on our craft day.
I had never used Mod Podge before, so I had my son test it out with me at home before bringing the supplies to class. I thought at first that we should be covering the entire glass dome in the glue - WRONG! We found the best result was form applying the Mod Podge to the bottom flat face of the dome, then to the back of the paper design, and finally around the edges to seal it shut.
WELL, I found out that I needed to say these directions MUCH more clearly in class and monitor the process a whole lot more carefully. My biggest takeaways to remember for next year:
When tracing out the circle before beginning, use a sharp pencil and really angle it in so the paper is ever so slightly smaller than the magnet. Some students had the pencil directly upright when tracing around the dome and their paper stuck out a little bit when they were done
Use thin layers of Mod Podge! Some students put big globs of it on the little glass domes and it caused the ink to smear as well as air bubbles
The best way to apply the Mod Podge is to first put a thin layer directly on the flat bottom face of the dome, NOT on the paper design (to avoid smearing)
Don’t move the paper around against the glass done once you attach it! To push out air bubbles, put the magnet down against the desk
Don’t get any Mod Podge on the curved side of the glass dome!
Print an extra color copy of the polar designs, because some students will inevitably mess up and need to try again
This is what can happen if too much Mod Podge is used and air bubbles form (these were redone):
Some designs that came out with no air bubbles or smearing:
My students liked referring to the curved side as the “concave side” and make some connections to their AP Physics unit on lenses - pretty cool! Tomorrow when the glue is fully dried, they will use my hot glue gun to attach magnet discs to the back.
A couple students had to start over, but everyone finished with more than enough time. Towards the end of class, students started playing Shadowbox with each other, a Tiktok trend. I had never heard of it before (no Tiktok for me yet!) but actually love it because it gets high schoolers playing a game with each other that doesn’t involve staring at a screen. I thought I knew the rules just by watching, but when one of them tried to explain it and play against me, I realized I was missing a key part and honestly, it took me forever to “get it”! It’s funny (and also humbling!) learning from them after spending all year explaining things to them. It made me appreciate just how quickly they pick up on things and master things.
UPDATE: Here are their final designs that I printed and their final product hanging in my room. I love how they turned out and will enjoy them for years to come!
