4th Grade Considers All Factors

The 4th graders reviewed the CoRT Thinking tool that requires you to consider all factors before making a decision.  They brainstormed questions they would need answered before deciding whether or not they should drink from a fountain that would make them immortal.  Then we read some more of Tuck Everlasting to get more ideas.  They reviewed Hand On Equations by using videos in Google Classroom, and brainstormed problems at school they think they might be able to solve.  Here are their thoughts:

 

Cristian After today, I could prove algebra is like tessellations because they both need to balance and repeat without changing.
Connor Today’s lesson about C.A.F. makes me wonder what would happen if you applied that to everything in your life.
Max Learning about brainstorming problems the school has reminded me of our discussion about SSR time.
Luke Based on what I know about tessellations, I would recommend trying to make them because they are fun and unique.
Jordan From what I learned today about tessellations, I can infer that Escher created mathematical masterpieces.
Keely I think CAF is important because it is a good tool to use when you have to make a hard decision.

3rd Grade Thinks About Thinking

The 3rd graders learned how to use Google Slides so they can make a portfolio that contains the things they have learned about thinking this year.  They also got an introduction to Hands-On-Equations, brainstormed problems that they want to solve, and read some more about Billibonk and systems thinking.  Here are some thoughts from the students:

 

Aditi Today’s lesson about Billibonk made me wonder what would happen if Billibonk did not tell all of the elephants the seeds were important.
Max I think thinking about your problems is good because if you don’t, then you may come across them again.
Dylan Learning about Billibonk reminded me of when my brothers tricked me. Be careful about trusting everyone.
Olivia Some changes I would recommend for people would be to not have too many people working if there isn’t enough pay.

3rd Grade Presents Recycling Project

Cristian was our blogger for this week.  Cassidy was our photographer (with a little help from Luke).

Today in class we looked at a 3d printer in the school’s library which has a roll of plastic in the back of it, and so it has to heat up first , then after it has to cool down, and after that is has to find the location in which to start putting the layers of plastic down. Today 2 groups finished their genius hour projects, but only one got to present. After the group presented, each group got a paper that they had to decide on different questions that the group did in their presentation. You could either put a 1 if they did a really bad job on showing that in the presentation, a 2 if they did a good job, and a 3 if they did a really good job. And for the group that presented, they got to continue working on their Lego and Little Bits creation.

5th Grade Meets “Cornelius” the Corn Snake

Mahli is this week’s awesome blogger for 5th grade, and Billy took the pictures.

Today in G.T we explored our knowledge. We wrote an article about ourselves in TIME magazine. We got to create our future with paper and a pencil. Later, while some people were having genius hour others were having free time in BOSS HQ. In BOSS HQ we got to play with things like the Makey Makey. After that, the class got to play with a corn snake. Cornelius to be exact. To end our day we made comic strips out of inspirational quotes. We only have 3 more G.T days left, and maybe that’s not enough time to change the world, or the city,or the school, but it might just be enough time to change ourselves and accept our neighbors. As long as we still have 3 more days of Mrs. Eichholz anything is possible.

4th Grade Finishes Their Faberge Eggs

Trent is our 4th grade blogger today, while Alex was the photographer this week.

Hello readers, today I am going to tell you eggsactly what we did in G/T. The first thing we did was that we finished up our Faberge eggs. Then we all read another adventurous chapter of “Chasing Vermeer” (Which is a delightful math/puzzle book to me). Anyway, since it was too rainy we got stuck at the library and we did “Chat Pack for Kids” cards to form empathy with one another. After all the rain cleared out we tweaked the eggs a little bit more and completed the day with Genius Hour.

 

3rd Grades Tests Some 3D Printer Software

Cristian is our current 3rd grade blogger, and Jordan took this week’s pictures.

Today in class we continued are genius hour project and tried to finish it. Then the people that finished their projects tested out an app called 123D Create. And when we got done testing out that app, we tested out another app called Makerbot Printshop.

3rd Grade Close to Finishing Genius Hour Projects

Our blogger was out today, so Mrs. Eichholz is substituting!  Jordan was our class photographer.

The 3rd graders are almost ready to present their Genius Hour projects. Each group appears to need one more class to finish up last-minute preparations and rehearsals.  It looks like we are going to have a couple of puppet shows and a scavenger hunt, so this will be interesting!

This week the 3rd graders also worked more with the Little Bits kits.  They explored the different pieces some more, and are now trying to invent some new things using Little Bits combined with Legos.  They were able to Think and Make this week – so next week they will work on the “Improve” step!

5th Grade Skypes with the Founder of the Hill Country Science Mill

This blog post is brought to you by Athasi, and Ally was our photographer.

This week in GT we skyped with the founder of the Hill Country Science Mill! Some of us volunteered to ask Dr. Baskin some of the questions the whole class had brainstormed. After that, Aya, Ally, and Keaton present their genius hour presentation. They presented some information on Global warming, and then we played a game show. Finally, we did a puzzle that required us to crack a code to get answers. Check back next week to see what’s going on in GT!

5th Grade Learns About Animal Captivity During Genius Hour

Athasi brings us today’s blog post, and our photographer is Ally.

This week in GT, we learned that our school will be getting a 3D printer! Also, Logan, Elijah, and Aiden presented their Genius Hour project about animal captivity! Deuce, the banana business man (portrayed by Elijah), and I played a game show about their project. We also watched a video, filmed by the fifth graders from two years ago, about what they wanted to be when they grow up. Next, we made a Canva project about the exhibits we saw at the Hill Country Science Mill last week. We also came up with questions for the museum’s creator, who we will be Skyping with next week. Finally, we continued to work on our dream teams and our word clouds.

Be sure to check back next week !

3rd Grade Tackle Cubelets Challenges

Jordan is our 3rd grade blogger for the week, and Keely is our photographer.

Today in GT we used robots called Cubelets.They were very cool robots.The way you use Cubelets is by connecting them together.  There are lots of different types of Cubelets like action or sensing. Another thing we talked about is PMI,CAF, growth mindsets,and systems thinking. CAF means consider all factors. PMI means plus minus and interesting.Growth mindset means to not let anything stop you from what you want to accomplish even if it seems to hard.