5th Grade’s Hour of Code

Today’s post is brought to you by Aubrie:

Today in G.T. we focused mainly on programming. We participated in a worldwide event called ‘Hour of Code’, where we programmed online robots using certain commands. We used two websites: ‘Scratch’ and ‘Hopscotch’. Using Scratch, we made moving holiday cards, and with Hopscotch, we programmed our robots to do the challenges Mrs. Eichholz gave us.

In addition, we watched a new Kid President holiday video. It talked about how Christmas is not about giving gifts you can wrap, but giving love.*The video is attached below.*
A few of us also got to watch Anole the green anole lizard eat a cricket, and all of us got to see him sideways, holding on to the wall.

 

5th Grade Takes on Genius Hour Challenges!

Today’s blog post is brought to you by Aubrie!

Today we did Genius Hour, where we study a person, place or thing for 1 hour. Mrs. Eichholz made it even more fun by making challenge cards. The challenge cards range from level 1 to level 5. Some of the level 1 and 2 cards are: Write with your non-dominate hand for the entire hour – No talking for the hour – Work with someone new for the time period – Find a song that relates to your project, and even more evil things!

We also read “The Giver”, and discussed all of the things and events humans here do and have that might seem strange to them.

We did Hands on Equations, and learned how to use negative cubes, along with red cubes, blue pawns, and white pawns.

Lastly, we examined Anole, a green anole lizard that Mrs. Eichholz adopted for the week.

We also studied him before, after, and as he shed his skin.

Come back next week to see our updates!

5th Grade Explores Cubelets

The PTA recently granted me an EXCEL grant to start outfitting our Maker Studio next door.  One of the items that will be available in the Studio is a set of Cubelets.  These magnetic cubes can be combined in an endless number of ways to create different types of robots.  The order arrived last night, so I asked the 5th graders to explore them today and give me some feedback.

Even though the set is large (20 Cubelets), we found that it is definitely ideal to have no more than 2 or 3 people using them at a time.  The extra battery Cubelet that I ordered has not arrived, yet, but that will make it easier for a couple more people to work the challenges at the same time.  The kids all agreed that they are awesome, though!

We also worked on Genius Hour today, and the students learned about some “Villains” to avoid (such as “Decoy Boy”, who tries to distract you from your task).  They were offered Genius Hour Challenges, too, which made the time a bit more exciting.  Some had to go the entire hour without talking, one had to switch partners for a day, and another had to use her non-dominant hand for today’s session.  And those were only Level 1 Challenges!  The cards go up to Level 5, so it will be interesting to see who is willing to try the harder ones!

Here are some photos from today:

 

Saturday’s SparkFun Class

Wow! I was blown away to see so many people I know at the SparkFun class this past Saturday! I’m sure that Hidden Forest had the most representatives (if you include former students). Thanks to everyone who was able to participate. For those of you who were unable to come, I think we will definitely be incorporating some of what was learned into class – at least for the 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders.

The class was about using the free programming language, Scratch. Scratch can be downloaded for free to your computer, or you can use it online. It is very “child-friendly.” Depending on your child’s interest level, it could probably used from age 7 and up.

The class also provided the students with PicoBoards. These boards can be plugged into your computer through the USB port, and they have sensors. With a little bit of programming knowledge, you can get them to interact with your Scratch program. However, my daughter and I learned that it seems to only work with the downloaded Scratch 1.4 version (not 2.0 or the online version).

I learned a lot, and the kids seemed very engaged. My daughter spent a couple of hours on Sunday writing a new program, so I was happy to see her applying what she had learned. The combination of creativity and logic involved in writing programs really makes this a great activity for learners!

5th Grade Blasts Off into Genius Hour

We spent a lot of time preparing for 5th grade Genius Hour – going over online safety and research skills, brainstorming ideas, and planning.

Today, the students finally got to dig into their various topics.  It was so exciting to see them so engaged in their projects!  Some are collaborating, and some are working on their own.  Some are using technology, and some are going “old school.”  The variety in the projects, and their planned presentations is just as diverse as the students in our class.

Being the first day, I don’t have any final projects to share, yet.  But one group has given me permission to post one of their practice Lego Stop Motion videos, created with the free Lego Movie Making app on the iPad.  Enjoy!

(If the video below does not appear, you can also view it by clicking on this link.

5th Grade Starts Planning Genius Hour Missions

5th grade continued to read The Giver today, and to discuss the effect that too much safety might have on freedom.  They were definitely all in agreement that the fictional community in the story has far too many rules!

They also came up with some great plans for their first Genius Hour projects.  I am hoping that they will take a look at Edmodo after this Friday to play in the “Digital Sandbox” that I plan to post.  This will help them to come up with another way to present their projects, rather than just using Powerpoint.

We had a bit of a technology glitch when we were about to work on Hands-On-Equations and Coding.  So, the back-up plan was to do a S.C.A.M.P.E.R. activity.  Along with pictures of students presenting their drawings, I have posted a couple of examples from students who really included a lot of detail on their “Put to Another Use” pages.  One student decided that a hay wagon could be used to help a hero turtle save a duck from being roasted.  The other one drew a hay wagon turned into a space simulator for animals.  Such imagination!

 

5th Grade Rocks!

Gosh, it was so hard telling the 5th graders, “Goodbye,” today! We have had such a wonderful year, and I think that all of us have grown and learned from each other. This is a very special group of students, and I will definitely miss them next year.

We finished up our year by sharing a couple more Genius Hour projects (Sierra did a great presentation on html, and a sample webpage, but, unfortunately, I am unable to embed it), and finalizing our music video. We also took some class photos. Since no one seemed to be able to agree on the best one, I decided to share all of the ones we took this morning!

5th Grade Finishes Up a Few More Projects!

We only have one more class of 5th grade GT, and the students are doing their best to finish up their remaining projects. Below, I am sharing with you one Dream Team project, and a few Genius Hour ones. Because the “Cold War Tech” Powerpoint includes some pictures of weaponry, I am only including the link, rather than embedding it into this post.

Cold War Tech Powerpoint

5th Grade Gets TONS Done!

Sometimes it amazes me how 16 students can be working on 10 different projects, and we don’t all implode from the absolute chaos! Today we got so much done that I haven’t even had a chance to upload all of the finished projects to share on this blog. Four Dream Team videos got finished, as well as five Genius Hour projects. A few of the students even found the time to work on the Robotics challenge board that is due next week. Way to go, 5th grade!

I’ve got the Dream Team Projects embedded below. Next week, I will try to include all of the completed Genius Hour projects.

Can you believe we only have two more GT classes left?!!!!