4th Grade Learns About Communication and Systems

We did some fun activities from Psychology for Kids today, during which the kids learned more about themselves and shared this with their partners. From choosing their own superpowers to analyzing their handwriting, the students were able to work on their Intrapersonal Intelligence.

The last activity we did from the book was one that required the students to divide into two teams. Each team was assigned a different way they could communicate, and then given a problem to solve. The problem was hard! The students were very persistent, though. You can see the finished product of the winning team in the pictures below. Can you figure out how to make that with one piece of paper, one fold, and three cuts?

We tied that communication activity to systems in organizations and systems thinking, and began to read Billibonk and the Big Itch, which is a book that helps young people to learn more about systems thinking.

4th Grade Crash Lands on the Moon

Today, the 4th graders did an activity where they imagined they had crash-landed on a distant moon, and had to rank the materials that they would like to have with them in order of importance.  Once they ranked them individually, they met in groups to try to come up with a consensus for each material’s ranking.  This was an important lesson in interpersonal skills, and we discussed the results in a Socratic Dialogue afterward.  The students felt that they could have done better in listening and communicating, They will have another opportunity for working in teams next week.

The 4th graders also viewed the “Pep Talk” video by Kid President, and discussed synergy, being unique, and creating “something awesome”!