Thursday, November 21, 2019

Due to fourth grade program rehearsal, I didn't have class today. Instead I opened my room for fifth graders to come and work on their Exploravision projects. A lot of quality production was completed today.

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

2nd Grade - Today's learning began with Glaciers which is an extended mass of ice formed from snow falling and accumulating over the years and moving slowly. Andrew Johnson who became President after Lincoln was assassinated was today's future thinker. Mr. Johnson did not know how to read or write until he married a school teacher. For the warm up activity, students matched principles of flight terms with the definitions. The affective lesson focused on how we should be happy with our differences. We completed our study of Convergent thinking by using manipulatives to solve some problems. Our final activity was to fly our paper stealth airplanes, measure their flight and compare that flight to the flight of a regular paper plane.

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

3rd Grade - These students learned that the Constitution is the system of fundamental principles according to which a nation, state, corporation, or the like, is governed. Their forward thinker was Frank Thompson. But in reality he was Sarah Edmonds who dressed as a man in order to fight in the Civil War. She became a spy for the North. In Crystal Pond Woods, students used manipulatives to complete convergent thinking logic puzzles. The final activity was to listen and discuss Balloons Over Broadway the story of Tony Sarg and Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Students then drew a character they would like to see in the parade. We will do more activities around this book after the Thanksgiving Break.

Monday, November 18, 2019

5th Grade - Opprobrious which means shameful, infamous started our vocabulary learning today. The forward thinker was John Pemberton who started the formula which later became Coca-Cola. For the warm up activity, students were given words and definitions about aviation and matched them together. Looking for qualities in friends and leaders was the focus of the affective lesson. We worked as a group using Google Earth to plot Amelia Earhart's trip around the world. The final activity was to begin looking at real world problems students could solve for the Exploravision contest.

Friday, November 15, 2019

Today I was working with small groups in various classes. Students worked through the grammar course of Khan Academy.

Thursday, november 14, 2019

4th Grade - our learning today began with Sullen which is a person who is sulky or quietly in a bad mood. The future thinker was Elizabeth Taylor who lost her contract with Universal Studios after her first movie as a child. Students took aviation words/phrases and created crossword puzzles for the warm up activity The affective lesson focused on leadership and "filling our own shoe" for someone else to fill. The final activity was to fly and record the distance of our stealth planes.

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

2nd Grade - This class learned that Humidity is the amount of water vapor in the air. Their future thinker was Abraham Lincoln who believed that kids were only kids once and should be allowed to have fun even if they live in the White House. For the warm up activity, students were given several vocabulary words associated with aviation and had to create a crossword puzzle. The affective lesson focused on responsibility and respect which are qualities found in successful people.

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

3rd Grade - Today's vocabulary word was Generalizations which is a result of a process; a general statement, idea or principle. As the year progresses we will be making generalizations about relationships. The forward thinker was Elizabeth Van Lew also known as Crazy Bet. She was a southern lady who acted crazy to get information to pass along to the Union army. Students were given a list of aviation vocabulary words and had to create a crossword puzzle using as many of the words as they could. In Crystal Pond Woods, students had the opportunity to try solving classmates' logic grid puzzles.To begin our Relationship study, students were given a pretest to see what they currently know. The final activity was to have students fill out an interest inventory so I can get to know them better.

Monday, November 11, 2019

5th Grade - The vocabulary word was Tantamount which means equivalent to, virtually the same. Ruth Wakefield, today's future thinker, invented the chocolate chip cookie by mistake when she ran out of baking chocolate. For the warm up activity, students were given words and phrases associated with aviation and were to create a crossword puzzle. The affective lesson focused on communication, tolerance and diversity, and getting to know each other. Students quickly filled out an idea brainstorming sheet for their Exploravision projects. Finally, students read newspaper clipping of Amelia Earhart's final trip. From those articles, students were to plot her progress until she disappeared.

Friday, November 8, 2019

I spent the day doing push in activities and allowing some of my regular students to come to my class to work in Khan Academy.

Thursday, November 7, 2019

4th Grade - Today's vocabulary word was Excessive which means something that goes beyond the usual limit. For the warm up activity, students were given pieces to a puzzle that would spell FLY if arranged correctly. The successful person was Christopher Reeve who fell and broke his neck but went on to be a spokesperson for American paralysis Association and raised millions of dollars for them. The affective lesson focused on celebrating the small things. Students were enrolled in Khan Academy which is an online individualized math and reading program so the GATE kids could continue to advance at their own pace. The morning group had some research learning videos to watch in order to be prepared to do research activities later this year.

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

1st Grade - Today we learned that Dr. Seuss's first book was turned down by 27 publishers. We did some brainstorming for the warm up activity covering different topics to exercise our brain. The affective lesson focused on mistakes and what we can learn from them. During our weekly trip to Crystal Pond Woods we did some more detective thinking and started to solve some puzzles that we will finish Friday.

2nd Grade - Our vocabulary word was Accumulation which means to gather or collect. We had four forward thinkers. Because Zachary Taylor was a very religious man, he did not want to be sworn into the office of President until Monday. David Rice Atchison was President for 24 hours which technically made Zachary Taylor, Mallard Fillmore, Franklin Pierce, and James Buchanan the 13th, 14th, 15th, and 16th Presidents of the United States. Students cut out puzzle pieces and had to make the word FLY from them for the warm up activity. The affective lesson focused on the understanding that successful people exhibit the trait of kindness. In particular, we learned how to put our best foot forward when introducing ourselves to adults. In Crystal Pond Woods, students practiced convergent thinking by analyzing the attributes of special dominoes.

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

3rd Grade - Our vocabulary word for the day was Judicial Branch which is the branch of government charged with the interpretation of laws and the administration of justice; the judiciary. The future thinker was Belle Boyd who was a master pickpocket and spy for the South during the Civil War. Students had to figure out how to spell the word FLY from puzzle pieces for the warm up activity. We concluded the Take Five program by completing an evaluation of the lessons. In Crystal Pond Woods, students created their own logic grid puzzles.

Monday, November 4, 2019

5th Grade - Our learning began with today's vocabulary word Diaphanous which means translucent, transparent. The future thinker was Tom Adams who invented chewing gum. For the warm up activity students cut apart a puzzle and had to build the word FLY. The affective lesson focused on how people "touch" our lives and how we can "touch" others. Students were introduced to the Exploravision project. This is a contest put on with Toshiba and the National Science Teachers Association to help kids invent something that will solve a real world problem. Our final activity was to begin working to solve the mystery of Amelia Earhart's disappearance.

Friday, November 1, 2019

1st Grade - This class continued the introductory lesson to Convergent thinking. We then became pattern detectives and looked for different patterns around the room, school, and thought about patterns that use different senses.