I'm Owen Tanaka. Nine years running the loudest, most colorful classroom in the building — where every worksheet has room for a doodle in the margin.
Grade 3 · STEM Integration Lead
"give them something to build, and they'll teach themselves the rest"
Room 8 has more staples in the wall than any classroom should, because almost everything the kids make ends up on display. Nine years in, I still think the best measure of a good lesson is how many students ask if they can keep working through recess.
My classroom leans hard into project-based learning and STEM integration — science, math, and art rarely stay in their own lane, and I've stopped trying to make them.
I also run the school's after-hours Maker Club and coordinate our annual science fair, which has, twice now, resulted in a very small working volcano.
The core of a Grade 3 day, plus a few extras that stuck.
Weekly experiments, a working classroom weather station, and one memorable volcano.
Fractions taught through baking, geometry through building — math you can touch.
Choice-based reading blocks with weekly small-group check-ins.
After-school building sessions — cardboard, circuits, and a lot of hot glue.
Students log and graph real daily weather data all year long.
One-on-one project coaching every fall for the annual school science fair.
Daily temperature and rainfall logs, graphed by hand every week.
A six-week unit where every fraction gets measured in cups of flour.
Students design and build working cardboard arcade machines from scratch.
School-wide fair I coordinate and coach every student through, one on one.
A rotating display where students recommend books to each other, no adults involved.
Now a beloved classroom legend and permanent fixture on the shelf.
District recognition, 2024
Built the program from zero, 2021
STEM specialization
Classroom maker supplies, 2023
My son talks about the Weather Station like it's his job. He's never been this excited about school.
Mr. Tanaka turned fractions into baking and now my daughter asks to help measure everything at home.
The Maker Club gave my shy kid a reason to stay after school for the first time ever.
Real data, graphed by eight-year-olds, is more accurate than you'd think.
How a six-week baking unit made fractions finally click.
What we've built, broken, and rebuilt in three years of Maker Club.
A quick chat about how your child is doing in class.