Tuesday, May 21, 2019

It has been an eventful few days as we prepare for the end of this school year. This will be the last blog. However, I hope to see many of you again next year. Until then, have a great summer and I will see you in September.

Wednesday, May 15, 2019

1st Grade - Today we learned that President was the 22nd and 24th President. He also had a rubber jaw due to a tumor that had to be removed. Students worked together to solve the What In The World puzzles for the warm up activity. In Crystal Pond Woods, students expanded their inventor thinking by looking at squiggles and turning them into something they saw in the picture. Since we will not get to learn about visual thinking skills this year, we listened to a Tangram Tale and worked to complete the figures of the story using tangrams.

3rd Grade - These classes were enjoying a field trip to the zoo and had their final class of the year yesterday.

Tuesday, May 14, 2019

Due to field trips and schedule changes, WI third grade GATE students attended class today. The vocabulary word for today was Error which means something that is not correct: a wrong action or statement. Following a vocabulary word activity, students learned that General George Patton did not read until the age of twelve. We worked together to solve the What In The World Puzzles for the warm up activity. Students were given a post assessment regarding Discoveries. The final activity was an opportunity to complete a breakout room. The morning class completed one breakout room and then worked on digital breakout rooms. The afternoon class completed two classroom breakout rooms.

Monday, May 13, 2019

3rd Grade - The vocabulary word for today was Error which means something that is not correct: a wrong action or statement. Following a vocabulary word activity, students learned that General George Patton did not read until the age of twelve. Students were given a post assessment regarding Discoveries. The final activity was a choice of two breakout rooms to complete. One was about a Dr. Seuss book and the other was about the Hubble telescope.

Friday, May 10

Today was our annual Super Kids Day. Therefore, GATE classes were canceled to let kids enjoy some great activities planned for this special day.

Thursday, May 9, 2019

4th Grade - These students learned that Demeanor means someone's behavior toward others. After a vocabulary review activity, student learned that Jackie Joyner-Kersee overcame failure and asthma to become an Olympic champion. They had to listen to directions to draw a unique design for the Surprise in the Middle warm up activity. The rest of our time together was spent learning about stars, galaxies, and the Hubble telescope as they tried to solve a breakout room.

Wednesday, May 8, 2019

1st Grade - Students learned that Presidents Chester Arthur and Calvin Coolidge were not the hardest working of our Presidents. Students followed directions to create a unique design for the warm up activity. In Crystal Pond Woods, students finished creating ways for Isabel the Inventor to get her acorns from the ground to her home in the oak tree.

3rd Grade - Today's vocabulary word was Divergent which means differing from each other or from a standard. After a vocabulary review activity, students learned that Abraham Lincoln had once been an Army spy. Students listened to directions to complete a drawing for the warm up activity. Last week they built artifacts for a civilization. Today they exchanged artifacts and had to make inferences about another team's civilization. With the time remaining, they either built simple machines with LEGO or built bridges with KNex.

Tuesday, May 7, 2019

5th Grade - Their final word for this year was Ruminate which meant so meditate, muse. Their successful person was Andre Garnerin who got the idea of a parachute while planning a way to escape from prison. Students listened to directions to draw a unique design for the Surprise in the Middle warm up activity. Their final activity was to complete a breakout room about the Hubble telescope.

Monday, May 6, 2019

3rd Grade - Today's vocabulary word was variance which mean an amount of difference or change. The successful person was Winston Churchill who was not a good student, but became a great leader and winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature. These students also worked together to solve the 20 Questions/Mystery Object for the warm up activity. In Crystal Pond Woods, students continued their study of Evaluative Thinking. Students were given three different game boards which they played with a partner. After playing the games, students had to evaluate which game board was the best. For the Discoveries lesson, students reviewed what happened to Pompeii. Students built some artifacts for their civilizations. Next week they will simulate archaeologists and try to infer from the artifacts they find about another team's civilization.

Friday, May 3, 2019

5th Grade - Their final word for this year was Ruminate which meant so meditate, muse. Their successful person was Andre Garnerin who got the idea of a parachute while planning a way to escape from prison. Students worked together to solve a logic elimination puzzle for the warm up activity. Their final activity was to complete a breakout room about the Hubble telescope.

2nd Grade - The vocabulary word was Century which means 100 years. The successful person was Rose Greenhow who was a spy for the South during the Civil War. The class worked together to solve a logic elimination grid puzzle for the warm up activity. The affective lesson focused on the idea that no one is perfect and we all have areas where we can grow. Their final activity was to complete a breakout room from Dr. Seuss's book "Oh, The Places You'll Go."

Thursday, May 2, 2019

4th Grade - Today's vocabulary word was Robust which means a person who feels healthy and strong. To review our vocabulary words for this year, students played a smartboard activity. The successful person was Robert E. Lee who struggled in deciding which army he should support during the Civil War. Students worked together to solve a logic elimination puzzle for the warm up activity. Creativity was the focus of the affective lesson. Students designed lesson plans to creatively teach something about Oklahoma. Their final activity was to work on their deep sea vent research project.

Wednesday, May 1, 2019

1st Grade - This group learned that Charlie Parkhurst was actually a woman so technically was the first woman to vote in California 50 years before it was legal for women to vote. They worked together to solve a logic elimination grid puzzle for the warm up activity. In Crystal Pond Woods, students developed their inventor thinking be creating a way for Sybil the Scientist to get across Crystal Pond.

3rd Grade - These students learned that harsh means unpleasant and difficult to accept or experience. Their successful person was John F. Kennedy who did not win an election for class officer at Harvard University. They also solved a logic elimination grid puzzle for their warm up activity. They completed their weekly trips to Crystal Pond Woods by using their Evaluative Thinking to evaluate how well they had progressed with their thinking skills. For the Discoveries lesson, students created artifacts. Next week, they will simulate archaeologists and see what they can learn about other team's civilizations.