The Amazing Brain

I did not make up the title of this blog entry, my students did.  After spending weeks learning about this incredible and major organ of the human body, students are working hard on presentations that reflect what they have learned.  The students constructed their own model of the brain out of clay, labeled it with the app Skitch, and then started a presentation using Google Slides or Thinkglink to explain the roles each part of the brain plays as the master controller of the human body. First they learned about the hemispheres, then the four lobes, large parts of the brain and finally a few smaller parts using the video Sam’s Brainy Adventure. Each student  also created a neuron model to better understand how messages are sent to and from the brain. The models were made from chenille sticks (pipe cleaners) and pony beads.  GT students are wonderful because in discussing why they are called chenille sticks today and not pipe cleaners a delightful conversation followed on what are “politically correct” terms and why we use them.  I love the enthusiasm this class has for learning more and more about the tool for our metacognition.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fabulous Fibonacci

This is one of my favorite units to do with the Fourth Grade GT students.  They mystery of numbers and nature is such a fun thing to explore.  After introducing the Fibonacci unit with the wonderful video Nature by Numbers by Cristobal Vila, the mystery begins as does the task of discovering the Mathematical masterpieces and discoveries of this famous Mathematician.  The discussion following the initial viewing is wonderful.  What is that, what does it mean, who is this about are always some of the first questions I hear.  After weeks of exploring Fibonacci both through research  and then actual hands on activities such as creating Golden Rectangles, Golden Spirals and measuring all types of things found in nature, I show the video again.  This time there is an audible enthusiasm as the class watches and now realizes what they have learned and the excitement of knowing what the video means to those who understand Fibonacci.  Please enjoy the flyers below that were created by the students with the Google App LucidPress to reflect the wonders they learned about the Italian Mathematician, Leonardo of Pisa.

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Second Grade… Looking Into Tunnels

After digging into and discovering all about Nature’s caves, the class is excited to be learning about the man made structures known as tunnels.  We began by brainstorming what everyone knew about these necessary passages and then it was time to gain some new knowledge. Using the web site Building Big sponsored by PBS, the students did some basic research on these structures and how they are made.  Then, they completed a challenge where they discovered what type of tools are used for building tunnels and which of these work best on which type of tunnel. After gaining some insight into how this passage is designed then built, the students picked a partner and a famous tunnel to study. While researching, the young engineers thought about the vocabulary used for their choice, the purpose of this structure and some interesting details.  Next, they made a design of their tunnel and shared with me what supplies they would need to create a model of this famous passage and what surrounded it. Today, they are busy working on their tunnel reproduction. They will use these as a visual aid when presenting their Famous Tunnel Project to the class in a few weeks.  How exciting to discover and then build replicas of these very important structures!

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First Grade Helps the Billy Goats

After sharing the book, The Three Billy Goats Fluff by Rachael Mortimer with the class, it was decided we should help these poor creatures cross the water without using the bridge.  Becoming critical thinkers and then engineers, each student designed and built a raft that would carry the brothers across the water so they could avoid the unhappy Troll.  It was decided that popsicle sticks, different types of tape, glue and markers would do the job for the rafts.  After the creation of this life saving transportation, the class tested their new creations in the classroom sink full of water.  They had each predicted how long their raft would float with a certain amount of pennies stacked on the raft.  The conclusion was that most rafts would hold 5 -10 pennies with some holding more and others maybe only a few.  With the right amount of pennies on the raft, it would float for a minute for all the students.  What a fun day of problem solving, creating and then testing to draw conclusions.  Then I shared the end of the tale and the students voted that the rafts were better for the goats than knitted booties and earmuffs because rafts are more fun!

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Sharing of Ideas

This week the students shared their City X solutions and ideas with one another.  Student designers paired with classmates armed with colored pencils.  Together they critiqued the ideas of their partner and made suggestions that might help enhance the designs.  Keeping our Divergent Thinking Skills in mind, any suggestion was made with respect and desire to help the people of City X. After students met with several partners, they now have a great design for their future prototype.  I introduced the class to Google Draw and they enjoyed trying it out with their City X plans.

 

Going with the “Sharing Ideas Theme” today, the class also moved into the area of Socratic Dialogue.  The students read two excerpts from Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu  to use for personal and group reflections.  After thinking about the ways they helped others at school, home or in the community, the class met in small groups to discuss their reflections and decide what strengths they each had from how they helped others.  The Socratic Dialogue that followed was fantastic.  The class took turns, spoke from their heart and had great ideas to share. With all these new ideas and reflections, the class began their personal creations of what they envision for their own perfect world.  They continue to follow Jonas as he sets off on his new path after learning what his new role will be.  Trying out a new game, Get to Zero, will help prepare them for the last leg of Hands on Equations.  Also, ask your child what they have planned for Genius Hour.  They are on the road to discovery of something new and interesting. What a full day of learning!

Dark Turned Into Light

Over the past few weeks, the Fourth Grade sleuths have enjoyed learning about a new Master, one of writing, Edgar Allen Poe.  The Raven was the perfect poem to dissect and study in a deeper way.  This poem is a great example for understanding Figurative Language.  Patterns emerged as the class dissected the eighteen stanzas in small groups to find examples of alliteration, rhyming and rhythm.  Then, as we discussed tone, it was evident to the students that word choice definitely helped to create the darkness that surrounded The Raven.  So, with a fun idea I found on one of my favorite sites, Byrdseed by Ian Byrd, I had the students change words in the first stanza of this famous poem to set a “new” tone.  Enjoy their work!

The class also shared their DaVinci posters and all they had learned after a few weeks of research.  What a Master he was and each group had different information to share so the class learned quite a bit about our Mystery Master.  One of the students also figured out the Secret Code found in Chasing Vermeer and put together a complete Pentomino Puzzle.  His perseverance and hard work won him the prize of what else but two new books from the Book Fair.  Way to go Tez!

 

This Week in GT…October 13-15, 2015

This was a fun week in the classroom!  Even though Second Grade was not here on Monday (due to the Columbus Holiday) all other grade levels were in on the GT action. Third Grade loves warming up their brains with Logic Puzzles. I love Logic Puzzles because not only does it require Convergent Thinking but also students have to reread the clues many times to find that right answer which is a good skill to have in many areas. Now that we have discussed the word Metacognition and what it means in the GT classroom, we are moving forward on studying Systems Thinking and what that means. In order to do this, we are discussing actual Systems first and grasping what a System is and the purpose of Systems. The students continue to read Phantom Tollbooth and follow Milo on his path to Dictionopolis. This week we learned about the Doldrums and what that word means. Funny, it means not thinking and being bored. So that lead to wonderful discussions of guess what, Thinking and why we do it. The students started learning about Genius Hour with a wonderful video, Caine’s Arcade. We discussed what Genius Hour is and what part it will play in their weekly GT day. Next we move on to planning their first steps for their project. The students are also continuing to carry on their algebraic thinking from Second Grade X-Tiles to now using Hands on Equations.

Fourth Grade was on the ball as well. We are all excited over our new City X project. This week they were able to choose a character with a problem that they will eventually help to solve. We visited the library and watched our Las Lomas 3D printer in action and actually touched a bracelet made on the printer. We are just getting started so over the next few months the class will have time to think about the problems and begin the design process. The students discussed a quote from Einstein and then did some research on this very interesting man. After this, each student reflected on the Masterpieces and Mysteries of themselves. This is a different way of thinking for Fourth Graders but they did an excellent job of it. We continued to read Chasing Vermeer and follow Petra and Calder as they begin their mysterious journey into the art world. There is a secret message buried in the book’s illustrations and the students are anxious to use their decoding skills to find the answer. We moved on in Hands on Equations with the new students learning the first steps while other members of the class review these same skills.

The Fifth Grade class had fun using iPads and QR codes to collect clues to the lyrics of a special song they will hear next week. The two teams arranged the lyrics and gave their creation a name. Let’s see which team comes closest to recreating the actual song lyrics and meaning. We move on with Hands on Equations with review and new learning for the classmates who joined us this year. Also, for Genius Hour, a classmate shared a presentation of her wonderful trip to Europe exciting other students to work on their own projects. We continued to read The Giver and follow Jonas in his highly unusual community. The discussions around this book are so fantastic and I enjoy the thinking that it opens up for Fifth Grade Philosophers. This class also created their LIM Class Mission Statement which says it all in two sentences. Fifth Grade is also participating in the City X project. This week they selected their characters based on the problem that character needs to have solved. After visiting the library to view the 3D printer and what it can create, each student filled out an empathy page for their character. This will help them to design and create a solution to the problem.

It was a wonderful week of learning and exploration and I can hardly wait to see what next week holds for our creative classrooms. Have a great weekend!

 

Second Grade Engineers Build Tunnels

The day began with Logic Puzzles for a warm-up and then we moved onto solving for X using our X-Tiles clues.  After that, there was a review of what the students had learned about tunnels over the past few weeks.  Using Depth and Complexity, everyone reflected in their journal to prepare for the big event that was coming up.  Second Grade GT would spend a good part of the morning applying those engineering skills they learned last week in the Building Big Tunnel Challenge.  After studying about the different types of tunnels, their purpose and what it takes to construct them, they were ready to go out on their own and build.  The teams first picked a name, then wrote out a plan and a purpose and finally drew a design.  Together, each team, Blue Lightning, the Secret Tunnel Agency and the Tunnel Masters, began to build their tunnels through a mountain of clay.  After the tunnel was completed, they tested each tunnel, using a cup of water, to see if it would hold up in rain or snow (leakage).  All teams had great success!

 

How We Think Like DaVinci

Looking Back at the First Semester…

Can you say “DaVinci”?  Yes, that was the focus of the first semester as they began the study of Masterpieces.  The DaVincian Principles are a great study in how to be creative yet sometimes with a very analytical approach.  The students learned that a person could create wonderful art and also design machines that could help man do incredibly wonderful things.  The Mona Lisa parodies, mobius strip and parachute are just a few DaVinci ideas they enjoyed exploring.  The class began the book Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett and then completed as a the first Book Club book this semester.  At the book club discussion they shared what they thought of the book and the ending.  The fun part was designing their own ending and how they would have tied that into the plot.  The class has started the novel Wednesday Wars which we lead them into their study of Shakespeare.  After reviewing Hands on Equations from third grade, the class moved into some new ideas of how to manipulate the pieces on the scale (they added a white piece too). December was also the month GT classes looked at coding and how to make it a part of what they do in their own classrooms.  Some students were tech leaders and shared what they had learned about this wonderful concept while others use it as a source for extending their learning after they have finished classwork.  Logic, Kenken and other thinking puzzles are still how the students warm up their minds for our GT days.  What mysteries and masterpieces lie ahead in 2015?

First Systems and Now the Brain

Looking Back at the First Semester…

Systems here, systems there, systems are around us everywhere is what Third Grade GT students have learned this semester.  After examining all types of systems, they are ready to look at how we can use Systems Thinking ourselves.  First they looked at the English Language as a system while reading The Phantom Tollbooth.  Then students studied the system of a new language called Coding.  Actually they were exposed to it a year ago in Second Grade but now the class looked at coding as a system.  Logic puzzles remain a favorite but problem solving moved up a level with the introduction of Hands on Equations, an introduction to algebraic thinking.  This is definitely a new way of looking at math for most of the students.  They have started the study of their brains.  As one student said, “wow, it is divided into so many parts yet still one large part, the brain”.  I agree with this and look forward to them learning about even more divisions of the brain as well as how each part works together in 2015.