1st Grade Looks at Variable Viewpoints

The 1st graders used divergent thinking today to come up with unique ideas for different shapes.  I’ve shared them in the slide show below.  They are really coming along when it comes to originality and creativity!

The students also worked on making scripts for the videos they will be making about their country research.  They will start recording next week.

Kinder Uses Magician Thinking

The Kinder students have been learning about visual/spatial reasoning, which we call, “Magician Thinking,” at this level.  To practice this, they have played a game called Q-bitz, where they have to reproduce patterns on a card with colored blocks.  They also did some tangram puzzles and played an app called, “Crossfingers,” on the iPads.  Today, they put together mirror dominoes as they tried to visualize how mirror images of shapes would look.

5th Grade Shows Off Their Manifestos

Some of the 5th graders got their manifesto t-shirts and wore them to class today.  It’s so great to see them so committed to their beliefs that they want to wear them!  (Mine had a glitch, so I am ordering a new one.)

We did some challenging math today by trying to work out these Frog Jumper problems.  The last challenge was very perplexing, and we think that we’ve decided it is impossible for the number 11.  However, it does work for 12, so our next job is to find out if it works for any odd numbers.

The students also continued to work on Genius Hour projects, which are close to being completed.

4th Grade Learns About Faberge Eggs

The 4th graders continued to work on their Genius Hour projects this morning, and two groups did “practice” presentations.

The students also learned about the history behind the Faberge eggs.  We talked about empathy, and how the designer of the beautiful eggs must have had great empathy to produce such masterpieces.  Unfortunately, the person who commissioned the eggs, the Czar of Russia, did not have enough empathy for his own citizens – leading to a violent revolution that resulted in the death of his family and some of the treasured eggs disappearing forever.

3rd Grade Learns about Stores with Sustainable Seafood

The 3rd graders want to save the coral reefs, and learned from their Skype with a science reporter that buying sustainable seafood can help.  They researched which grocery stores in our area sell sustainable seafood (seafood caught or raised responsibly), and found that Greenpeace has given the following scores to our local stores.  Then they input the data into a Google Sheet and created a chart.  This will be used in their Genius Hour presentation.

2nd Grade Begins Bridge Planning

The 2nd graders were tasked with building a 2 ft. bridge that our Dash robot can cross between tables.  They were given a budget of $50,000 and a price list for potential supplies.  They brainstormed designs, made diagrams, and did some mathematical computations to decide which supplies to “purchase.”  This took quite a bit of planning, so they haven’t had a chance to build yet.  They are definitely learning how difficult it can be to stick to a budget, though!

This Week in GT – April 13

Between a crashed computer, electricity outages, and short weeks, I’ve once again fallen behind on keeping you updated about GT happenings.  Here is what each grade level did this week:

Kinder practiced “Magician Thinking” (Visual/Spatial) by doing Tangram puzzles and matching rotated shapes.

1st did Divergent Thinking by imagining what surprise might hatch from a mother bird’s egg.  They also got to use the Dash robots, including the robot launcher, to review some of what they have learned during their country studies.

2nd finished and presented their bridges designed for fictional characters.  They also worked on more “Balance Bender” math puzzles.

3rd grade continued to work with Scratch and a movie editing app to get ready to present their Genius Hour project.  They also began a new Billibonk book, which will give them even more Systems Thinking Tools.

4th explored a small virtual gallery of paintings, learned about the theft of the Mona Lisa, and read more of Chasing Vermeer.

5th grade worked on their Genius Hour projects, their websites, and a really tough logic problem (so far only one student has solved it!).  We also got to watch a student demonstrate the robotic vending machine he designed at home (video embedded below)!

Kinder Loses a Leprechaun But Finds Robot Turtles

The Kinder students set their leprechaun traps right before Spring Break, but the leprechaun was too smart to get caught.  He did leave them surprises in our class treasure box, which was awfully nice!

The students had to use their detective thinking to find their prizes, which was a great introduction to this type of thinking.  While they were hunting the room for clues, they spotted the Robot Turtles game and asked to play it.  So, we spent Friday using the game to learn about programming and thinking ahead (another way to say, “strategizing”!)

1st Grade Continues to Learn About New Countries

The 1st grade GT students continued to rotate around their learning stations this week as they learn details about their countries.  The students are using some library resources, such as CultureGrams to learn more about some of the statistics, interesting sights, and particular ways of greeting each other in formal and informal situations.  They are also programming a robot to travel the world on our floor map, comparing a day in the life of a child in their chosen country, and finding out more about the flags of different countries.

5th Grade Designs Their Manifestos

The 5th graders have been doing a lot of self-reflection this year, and determining what character traits and values are important to them.  This week, they used the Canva website to design their own “manifestos.” Basically, these are the strong beliefs they have or, as Oprah says, “What I Know for Sure.”  These are some of their first drafts.  (Of course, I couldn’t resist doing one myself!)