Hour of code! We had a great time learning the ropes and trying our hand at coding! Thanks, Mr. Regan and Mr. Johnson for lending a hand!!
Nutcracker at the Long Center
We helped out with Student Council's food drive for the Capitol Area Food Bank. It felt great to be philanthropists!
In reading, we all worked with Bloom's Taxonomy -- thinking levels and questioning. Second grade learned about the different strands and answered questions using their book, The Winds of Kislev. It was exciting to go from Knowledge based, through Analysis, to Evaluative Questioning! Third did a similar activity using their book, The Amazing Christmas Extravaganza. Fourth grade took it to a deeper level by first ranking the Taxonomy from surface to deepest thinking on their own and justifying why they believed it was that level. Next, they developed and answered questions for each level for themselves to answer using their novel, A Long Walk to Water. Amazing thinkers!!!
In writing, we all used a technique called "Prove It!' to develop ideas in paragraphs.It was a great way to help us focus on one idea and yet provide lots of related evidence. This was really helpful for Second Grade in understanding paragraph structure and indentation. Third and Fourth can use this to develop rich ideas and proof in their expository texts.
In social studies, second and third graders read and responded to the Legend of the Bluebonnet. In science, we discussed Science Fair and fourth graders, who are required (and excited!) to participate, spent some time identifying areas of interest to generate some possible topic ideas. Ask your scientist to show you the Science Fair page located on this very blog for more info. ;)
Thursday we had the opportunity to apply problem solving authentically. We've been trying lunch families as a way to build community, communication, and to make our lunch experience more enjoyable. We knew going into it that there may be problems that crop up. We brainstormed challenges that we've been having, and then met in our groups.
We looked at some optical illusions and tied it together with perspective. Even though we were looking at the same image, we saw things differently. We took the time to listen to each other, and see the picture from the other's point of view. We moved on to fairness and came up with class norms on what fair means. We came up with honesty, taking turns, including others, dividing things equally, and treating each other kindly. Using scenarios, we role played how to handle things in a fair, respectful way...seeing each other's viewpoints and coming up with a solution ourselves. We looked at cause/effect statements too -- "If we do/say these things...THEN..." to see how our actions have both positive and negative results. The kids talked openly with each other and came up with an issue they wanted to resolve within their own groups of three. Using statements like, "Maybe we could..." and "I see your way, but I see things differently..." (positive, owning statements and not blaming) they came up with solutions to the problem that their lunch family was having.
The most amazing part of this was the immediate application. When we went to lunch, the groups had the chance to put their solutions into place. We love to see the power in their taking ownership and walking through the process. We teachers could have brainstormed solutions and come up with rules for them, but we don't thing that would have been as effective. The KIDS did it. Did it take more time? Yes. Is it developing their communication, relational, and problem solving skills? Absolutely!!
Comments
Post a Comment