Wednesday, December 20, 2017

4th Grade - (Morning) These students learned that Ponderous means something that is heavy and massive. Frederick Douglass a leader in the Abolitionist movement was today's thinker. Students worked together to solve a Quotation Quizzler for the warm up activity. The affective lesson focused on how students needs are being met according to Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. A plan was developed to help students solve areas where they are weak. Students completed the morning by writing a persuasive speech to determine which robot each group would build then placing their votes.
(Afternoon). The afternoon group learned that Ponderous means something that is heavy and massive. They drew a design for their robots, wrote a persuasive speech, and voted on which robots to build. Due to other holiday activities, class was cancelled for the afternoon.

Tuesday, December 19, 2017

2nd Grade - We took a break from our regular studies to try to complete a digital escape room.

4th Grade - These students learned that Ponderous means something that is heavy and massive. Frederick Douglass a leader in the Abolitionist movement was today's thinker. Students worked together to solve a Quotation Quizzler for the warm up activity. The affective lesson focused on how students needs are being met according to Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. A plan was developed to help students solve areas where they are weak. Students worked to complete information that will be used for their travel brochure to Veltzar-planet of the Munracks.

Monday, December 18, 2017

2nd Grade - Students finished working on manipulative logic problems that were started last week.

5th Grade - This class learned that Soporific means sleep inducing. Today's thinker was Thomas Alva Edison who not only invented the light bulb, but also gummed paper, the phonograph, the phonograph record and the movie projector. Students worked together to solve a Quotation Quizzler for the warm up activity. The affective lesson focused on making a good first impression. Progress was made in completing two sections of the Exploravision project. We also took time to enjoy a fun holiday digital Breakout room experience.

Friday, December 15, 2017

5th Grade - Today's vocabulary word was Ligature which means binds used to tie or bind. The thinker involved a poor peddler who solved a cough candy recipe to James Smith for a meal. James Smith's sons sold the cough candy and created the Smith Brothers Cough Drops. For the affective lesson, students learned that good leaders encourage their followers. Each student wrote an encouraging note to another student in the class. The rest of class time was spent researching information to begin putting the Exploravision project together.

Thursday, December 14, 2017

2nd Grade - Today's agenda had students completing the Respect and Responsibility cartoons they started yesterday. Once the cartoons were completed, each student evaluated their work based on a rubric. We then took our weekly trip to Crystal Pond Woods where students worked to solve logic puzzles using manipulatives instead of the usual logic grid.

3rd Grade - The weekly vocabulary word was Constitution which means the system of fundamental principles according to which a nation, state, corporation, or the like, is governed. Their thinker was George Gershwin who hated music as a child but grew to become a famous pianist and composer. For the warm up activity, students identified nine items that were either close up or far away. In Crystal Pond Woods, students solved each others logic puzzles. The rest of class had students researching the Polynesian Island they selected to study.

4th Grade - Today's vocabulary word was Predilection which means a preference for something. Walt Disney, the creator of the first full length animated movie was today's thinker. The warm up activity had students deciphering nine close up or far away spirals. For the affective lesson, students thought about how they can put humor into their lives that will help them relieve the stress and pressures of being gifted. Each students then drew what they wanted their team robot to look like. They then had to write a persuasive speech to persuade their teammates they had the best design to build. The final activity was to spend time researching a planet.

Wednesday, December 13, 2017

2nd Grade - A special presentation by the Eagle Scout who updated the Butterfly Garden filled our GATE time today.

4th Grade - Today's vocabulary word was Predilection which means a preference for something. Walt Disney, the creator of the first full length animated movie was today's thinker. The warm up activity had students deciphering nine close up or far away spirals. For the affective lesson, students thought about how they can put humor into their lives that will help them relieve the stress and pressures of being gifted. Teams then worked together to help recreate a See, Run, Do poster which will help them prepare for the robots they will build in a few weeks.

Tuesday, December 12, 2017

2nd Grade - Students completed the What In The World puzzle we started yesterday. The affective lesson focused on Responsibility and Respect. Following the stories, students drew pictures that told four ways they could demonstrate respect and responsibility even when they are bored.

Monday, December 11, 2017

2nd Grade - Our vocabulary word for this week is Accumulation which means to gather or collect. The weekly thinker was John Quincy Adams who got caught swimming in the Potomac River without his clothes. The warm up activity for this week is a What In The World puzzle where students are given 9 close up or far away objects and are asked to determine the identity of each object.

5th Grade - Today's vocabulary word was Ligature which means binds used to tie or bind. The thinker involved a poor peddler who solved a cough candy recipe to James Smith for a meal. James Smith's sons sold the cough candy and created the Smith Brothers Cough Drops. For the affective lesson, students learned that good leaders encourage their followers. Each student wrote an encouraging note to another student in the class. The rest of class time was spent researching information to begin putting the Exploravision project together.

Friday, December 8, 2017

5th Grade - This week's vocabulary word was Rapacious which means raptor-like, preying on others. Our thinker was Ada Lovelace who wrote the first computer program in 1843. The class worked together to solve the logic elimination grid puzzle for the warm up activity. We set up a schedule for the Exploravision project and students began looking for ideas they could use for their project. Students also learned how to create a citation and place the information into a bibliography.

Thursday, November 7, 2017

2nd Grade - We worked on putting our "Best Foot Forward" for the affective lesson. Students learned that successful people demonstrate courage and confidence by greeting adults by looking them in the eye and speaking clearly. Students also learned that meeting adults in this manner demonstrates respect.

3rd Grade - The vocabulary word for this class was Generalization which means a result of this process; a general statement, idea, or principle. Harrison Ford was today's thinker who actually preforms real life rescues. Students worked together to solve a logic elimination grid puzzle for the warm up activity. Students evaluated the affective program we have been working through this semester. Each student also received a certificate of completion. Due to the 5th grade music performance, class was shorter today leaving time for each student to choose which set of Polynesian Islands they would like to research.

4th Grade - Our learning began with the vocabulary word Aversion which means a strong dislike toward something. The thinker was I.M. Pei who designed several award winning buildings despite the struggles that accompanied some of his designs. Students worked together to solve a logic elimination grid puzzle for the warm up activity. Pet peeves was the focus of the affective lesson. Students need to understand some of their behaviors drive friends away. The final activity was to completed a See, Run, Do poster to help them think about the robots they will soon be building as a group.

Wednesday, December 6, 2017

4th Grade - Our learning began with the vocabulary word Aversion which means a strong dislike toward something. The thinker was I.M. Pei who designed several award winning buildings despite the struggles that accompanied some of his designs. Students worked together to solve a logic elimination grid puzzle for the warm up activity. Pet peeves was the focus of the affective lesson. Students need to understand some of their behaviors drive friends away. The morning class completed a See, Run, Do poster to help them think about the robots they will soon be building as a group. The afternoon class was cut short due to some scheduling changes and so they worked on their planet explorations assignment.

Tuesday, December 5, 2017

2nd Grade - Students completed a logic elimination they started a couple of weeks ago with our friends from Crystal Pond Woods. After practicing logic puzzles with our Crystal Pond Wood friends, we started working together to complete a larger puzzle on our own.

The rest of the day, Dr. Rains worked with small groups of students or provided enrichment activities for classes while teachers attended meetings.

Monday, December 4, 2017

2nd Grade - Today we learned that Precipitation means falling products of condensation in the atmosphere, as rain, snow, or hail. The thinker was Sacagawea who was an interpreter for Lewis and Clark, but could not speak English.

5th Grade - This week's vocabulary word was Rapacious which means raptor-like, preying on others. Our thinker was Ada Lovelace who wrote the first computer program in 1843. Due to limited time, students were to take the logic elimination puzzle home for some fun homework. We set up a schedule for the Exploravision project and students began looking for ideas they could use for their project.

Friday, December 1, 2017

5th Grade - The vocabulary word for today was Sedulous which means industrious. Their thinker was Samuel Colt who couldn't sell his revolver until the U.S. Army requested large quantities of them. Time was taken to complete the Bridge Across America and we started working on the Explorvision contest assignments. Classes were a little shorter than usual due to music program practice, so only the necessary lessons were covered this week.