Our fifth grade rocketry unit was a very positive experience for me. Even though my groups had some arguments, we still had tons of fun and were able to learn tons of things. Here are some things that I think were important in this unit.
In this rocketry unit I learned many things about groups and rockets. One of the many things that I learned in this unit is that a rocket must be aerodynamic to get a good result. A nose cone should be pointed, and fins should be slanted. Also, don’t use a lot of layers with tape. Just put a small amount. The lighter the better. In addition, I learned to make sure that someone looks over the rocket multiple times. A tiny patch of air can mean the difference between your dreams and failure. Make sure you look over it and test it a couple of times with the PVC pipe. And don’t rush when you build a rocket. Testing the fins or body will never hurt.
In addition, I learned that a there is a fine line between group leader and group dictator. No matter how much you want to do something, sometimes you’ve just got to step down. Otherwise people will lose interest. And if that happens, then frankly it’s not their fault. If you only let you and someone else do things then you can’t complain when someone else leaves the group. I will make sure that in future groups, I insure that no one steps over the line and that everyone gets an equal turn at things. Because that is the only way to make sure that your group is truly successful.
I enjoyed the fact that we had 3 launches in our unit. This was important because there were two chances to perfect your rocket before your final launch. So, for example, if you could not decide between styrofoam or cardboard fins. In one launch you could do cardboard and in the other you could do styrofoam. This way you could compare your prior launches and choose the best option for the third one. Also, we could have a chance to try out different jobs. The only thing was that in my group, two people got to have every job and that wasn’t exactly fair.
While working as a group, I learned many things about myself as well. I realized that I was not that amazing at working with other people but that I could sometimes help when people were on the verge of a fight. I could help people come to an agreement, but if they were all mad at me, then I couldn’t exactly defend myself, even if I thought my idea was amazing. But, in the unit, I did get better at working as a group.
In the rocketry unit I enjoyed the building the most. The prototype wasn’t very fun because everyone wanted to combine different ideas and we had a couple of fights then and the launching and graphing was a little too competitive because everyone wanted to reach the highest height. But during the building we were able to socialize in a positive way and discuss ideas or what we thought wasn’t going well. Then, in addition, we got to talk about what we didn’t like about the past rockets. So, for me, the building was the best part of the unit.
But in the whole entire unit, there was one thing that I learned which I think stands above the rest. Many times in this unit I did a ton of work. I made whole slides by myself and everyone else fed off of my work. So, in future references, I have decided upon a plan. I will do one thing, and I will make sure that everyone else in my group does something else. And if they don’t do it, then I’ll have proof which I can show and I can finally prove that I actually did work and that my partner was the one who didn’t. But sometimes the problem is that I don’t want to fail. And if my partner doesn’t do anything then I’ll fail alongside them. Yet now, I will make sure that no matter what, I will always do my fair share of the work and no more unless it’s needed.
If I could do one thing over again in this unit, I would change something about our third rocket readings. I personally felt that they were not fair even though I don’t blame the klinometer readers. I think our rocket went so much higher than it was given account for. But everything else, I loved.
As you can see, I learned many things in the rocketry unit. Not only things that pertained to rockets, but also important life skills. And most of all, I really enjoyed the whole rocketry unit. It was important and will definitely help me later on. If I could choose I would definitely do this unit again.