Wednesday, October 31, 2018

3rd Grade - Today's vocabulary word was Personality which means the set of emotional qualities, ways of behaving, etc., that makes a person different from other people. Walt Disney who was turned down as a cartoonist for the Chicago Tribune was today's successful person. Students completed Surprise in the Middle drawing for the warm up activity. Surprise in the Middle is an exercise in following the directions as well as an opportunity for students to expand their creative thinking. Now that we have covered the five traits of successful people, students evaluated where they are currently with each trait and set goals for the future.The final activity was the weekly trip to Crystal Pond Woods. We reviewed several logic elimination puzzles together.

Tuesday, October 30, 2018

5th Grade - Our learning today began with the vocabulary word Tantamount which means equivalent to, virtually the same. The successful person was Ruth Wakefield who created the chocolate chip cookie by mistake. Students completed a Surprise in the Middle picture for the warm up activity. The Leadership lesson focused on helping kids identify good role models that are also good leaders. The Exploration study focused on cultural borrowing. Students were given an item and had to ask 20 questions in order to identify the item. The also worked to develop an idea/product that would solve a classmates problem.

Monday, October 29, 2018

3rd Grade - Conclude was the vocabulary word of the day. It means to stop or finish: to come to an end: to end in a particular way or with a particular action. Tom Cruise, who was a struggling reader, was the successful person today. Students worked together to solve the Mystery Object/20 Questions problem for the warm up activity. For the affective lesson, students reviewed successful people we have discussed this year and determined how they demonstrated the five characteristics of successful people. For the final activity, students solved the logic matrix puzzles their classmates had created.

Friday, October 26, 2018

5th Grade - Our vocabulary word for the day was Diaphanous which means translucent, transparent. Tom Adams invented chewing gum when his friend General Santa Anna suggested he try using chicle from Mexico to invent a new rubber. Students worked together to solve the Mystery Object for the warm up activity. For the leadership lesson, students had to think of people in their lives and in the world who matched specific leadership qualities. The Explorations lesson focused on the idea of culture and civilization.

2nd Grade - Today we learned that a trial is a test of the quality, value, or usefulness of something. Lydia Darragh was a woman who listened in to the British soldiers' battle plans and managed to keep the information a secret until she could tell one of General Washington's men. For the warm up activity, students drew 30 small simple designs then picked one to make a bigger, and better version.The affective lesson focused on task commitment and motivators. We learned that intrinsic motivators are ones we will keep with us. In Crystal Pond Woods, we changed the attributes of shape dominoes in a domino game. The discoveries lesson had students learning about natural disasters with the use of  Forces of Nature on the National Geographic website.

Thursday, October 25, 2018

4th Grade - There were several vocabulary words today as these are vocabulary terms we will be using over the next few months. The firs word was Loquacious which means someone who talks too much. Potential means the ability of being or becoming. Motivation means willingness of action. Isolation means the feeling of being disliked or alone. Procrastination means the action of delaying or postponing something. The successful person was Rachel Carson who was an author and environmentalist. As a result of Ms. Carson's writing, DDT is no longer being used. The affective lesson focused on increasing tolerance. The Exploration lesson focused on identifying what makes a culture and a civilization. Finally, students interviewed each other which may lead to an idea for the Exploravision contest.

Wednesday, October 24, 2018

3rd Grade - Conclude was the vocabulary word of the day. It means to stop or finish: to come to an end: to end in a particular way or with a particular action. Tom Cruise, who was a struggling reader, was the successful person today. Students worked together to solve the Mystery Object/20 Questions problem for the warm up activity. For the affective lesson, students reviewed successful people we have discussed this year and determined how they demonstrated the five characteristics of successful people. For the final activity, students solved the logic matrix puzzles their classmates had created.

Tuesday, October 23, 2018

5th Grade - Our vocabulary word for the day was Diaphanous which means translucent, transparent. Tom Adams invented chewing gum when his friend General Santa Anna suggested he try using chicle from Mexico to invent a new rubber. Students worked together to solve the Mystery Object for the warm up activity. For the leadership lesson, students had to think of people in their lives and in the world who matched specific leadership qualities. The Explorations lesson focused on the idea of culture and civilization.

Monday, October 22, 2018

3rd Grade - Students learned that Infer means to form an opinion from evidence: to reach a conclusion based on known facts. The successful person of the day was Cher who's first record was a flop but has become a famous recording star. For the warm up activity, students drew 30 small pictures then elaborated on one of the drawings. Caring was the focus of the affective lesson. In Crystal Pond Woods, students completed the logic grid puzzles they started last week and created a couple of puzzles of their own to stump their classmates.

Tuesday, October 16, 2018

5th Grade - Activities today included learning two vocabulary words. The first was Sequester which means to remove and hold in isolation. Civilized was the second word which means having an advanced or human culture, society, etc.; polite; well-bred; refined. George Washington Carver was today's successful person. He kept a secret garden for five years as a child. For the warm up activity, students drew eight small objects. Today's leadership lesson had students focusing on their goals and seeing themselves as leaders. Different activities shortened the number of activities we could complete today.

Monday, October 15, 2018

3rd Grade - Today's vocabulary word was Primitive which means of, belonging to, or seeming to come from an early time in the very ancient past. The successful person was Jim Carrey who kept persevering until he became a famous comedian and actor. Students worked together to solve the Plexer puzzles for the warm up activity. One of the characteristics of successful people is courage. Students had to give a one minute impromptu speech about a career to work on developing their own courage. Last week in Crystal Pond Woods, the animals taught us a game called Aces/Jumble/Zilch which is similar to Mastermind. We took some time today to play the game with another classmate. The we worked on some more logic elimination grid puzzles.

Friday, October 16, 2018

5th Grade - Today's vocabulary word was Solicitous which means attentive, concerned. Their successful person was Luther Burbank who helped the farmers of Ireland by developing a potato that would resist blight - the Idaho potato. For the warm up activity, students brainstormed items that belonged so three different topics. The focus of the leadership lesson was that leaders pay attention to what is happening around them. We made our final trip to the court of the City/State of Venice where Marco Polo has been on trial for fraud. Today the jury members had to persuade their teammates as to which verdict they should give regarding Marco Polo's travels. In order to do that, each student wrote a one minute persuasive speech and presented it to their fellow jurors. Once a decision was reached, students then wrote a newspaper heading for the City/State of Venice announcing the verdict.

2nd Grade - This class learned that Civilized means marked by well-organized laws and rules about how people behave with each other. The successful person was Sylvia Earle who has spent more than 6,000 hours under water exploring the oceans. We worked together to solve several Plexer puzzles Goal setting was the focus of the affective lesson. In Crystal Pond Woods, students completed a hands on convergent thinking puzzle. Finally, we learned several things we should know to prepare for a natural disaster.

Thursday, October 11, 2018

4th Grade - The vocabulary word for the day was Infallible which means someone who never makes a mistake. Elizabeth Blackwell was today's successful person. She was the first woman in the United States to become a medical doctor. Students completed Plexer word puzzles for the warm up activity. Gifted students constantly deals with degrees of procrastination, perfectionism, potential, isolation, leadership risk-taking, and motivation. Today, students to a preassessment to determine their current level of focus on these topics. They also drew house plans using the eight items as rooms to help them visualize how much these things can impact their lives. We had our final day in the City/State of Venice courtroom. Students wrote a one minute speech to persuade the other jurors to vote their way. They then became newspaper editors and created a headline to share their conclusion of the matter.

Wednesday, October 10, 2018

3rd Grade - Students learned that Infer means to form an opinion from evidence: to reach a conclusion based on known facts. The successful person of the day was Cher who's first record was a flop but has become a famous recording star. For the warm up activity, students drew 30 small pictures then elaborated on one of the drawings. Caring was the focus of the affective lesson. In Crystal Pond Woods, students completed the logic grid puzzles they started last week and created a couple of puzzles of their own to stump their classmates.

Tuesday, October 10, 2018

5th Grade - Today's vocabulary word was Solicitous which means attentive, concerned. Their successful person was Luther Burbank who helped the farmers of Ireland by developing a potato that would resist blight - the Idaho potato. For the warm up activity, students brainstormed items that belonged so three different topics. The focus of the leadership lesson was that leaders pay attention to what is happening around them. We made our final trip to the court of the City/State of Venice where Marco Polo has been on trial for fraud. Today the jury members had to persuade their teammates as to which verdict they should give regarding Marco Polo's travels. In order to do that, each student wrote a one minute persuasive speech and presented it to their fellow jurors. Once a decision was reached, students then wrote a newspaper heading for the City/State of Venice announcing the verdict.

Monday, October 8, 2018

3rd Grade - Today's vocabulary word was Prioritize which means to list or rate in order of importance. The successful person was Lucille Ball who was told by her drama school instructors that she could not act. Students worked on brainstorming for the warm up activity using ideas from Odyssey of the Mind. Task commitment was the focus of the affective lesson. Students were given a motivator and then told to complete a task. A discussion followed regarding what motivators work for each student. In Crystal Pond Woods, students developed their Convergent Thinking while learning a new game which is similar to Master Mind.

Friday, October 5, 2018

5th Grade - Today's learning began with the vocabulary word Pejorative which means disparaging. The successful person was Levi Strauss who invented Blue Jeans when he had bolts of canvas cloth that no one would purchase. He used the canvas to make pants that would not wear out fast for the miners.Students brainstormed several different lists of items for the warm up activity. The affective lesson focused on obstacles that need to be overcome when working together as a group. In the case of Marco Polo vs. The City/State of Venice, students listened as the defense presented their side of the argument. the final activity focused on interviewing classmates about a past gift they received. The idea was to help students generate ideas for their Exploravision project.

2nd Grade - This class learned that a boat or ship is also known as a Watercraft - our vocabulary word for the day. While Thomas Jefferson was living in the White House, he had two grizzly bears living on the White House lawn. Students brainstormed several different lists of items for the warm up activity.

Thursday, October 4, 2018

4th Grade - The vocabulary word for the day was Benign which means harmless. Mary McLeod Bethune was the successful person we focused on today. Ms. Bethune wasn't able to go to school until she was 11. She later went on to start a school for African-American children that has grown into a university. For the warm up activity, students brainstormed different items. This provided them an opportunity to work on generating ideas. The affective lesson focused on the idea that our traits come from our ancestors and may impact our relationships with family members. In the City/State of Venice today, the defense presented their case providing evidence that Marco Polo may be innocent of the fraud charges.

Wednesday, October 3, 2018

3rd Grade - Today's vocabulary word was Primitive which means of, belonging to, or seeming to come from an early time in the very ancient past. The successful person was Jim Carrey who kept persevering until he became a famous comedian and actor. Students worked together to solve the Plexer puzzles for the warm up activity. One of the characteristics of successful people is courage. Students had to give a one minute impromptu speech about a career to work on developing their own courage. Last week in Crystal Pond Woods, the animals taught us a game called Aces/Jumble/Zilch which is similar to Mastermind. We took some time today to play the game with another classmate. The we worked on some more logic elimination grid puzzles.

Tuesday, October 3, 2018

5th Grade - Today's learning began with the vocabulary word Pejorative which means disparaging. The successful person was Levi Strauss who invented Blue Jeans when he had bolts of canvas cloth that no one would purchase. He used the canvas to make pants that would not wear out fast for the miners. Students completed several small drawings for Loosen Up-today's warm up activity. The affective lesson focused on obstacles that need to be overcome when working together as a group. In the case of Marco Polo vs. The City/State of Venice, students listened as the defense presented their side of the argument. the final activity focused on interviewing classmates about a past gift they received. The idea was to help students generate ideas for their Exploravision project.

Monday, October 1, 2018

Today's third graders learned that Contaminate means to soil, stain, corrupt, or infect by contact or association. The successful person was Dr. Seuss who had 27 publishers turn down his first book. Students worked together to solve a Quotation Quizzler for the warm up activity. Creativity was the focus of the affective lesson. Students were given a 4 inch black circle and a white sheet of paper and had to make something from those materials. In Crystal Pond Woods, students continued to improve their Convergent Thinking Skills with more logic elimination puzzles.