Lego Robotics

Whether we are organizing, planning or creating, Lego Robotics is REALLY COOL!

It's Electric

This is by far my favorite science topic. I traded in my electricity script for some new ideas. Let the practice be the learning with some online simulations. We built circuits using a simulation website and took that experience to create real circuits to identify materials that will or won't carry electricity. The final challenge comes after vacation. May the force be with us!

After a day of working on simulations, the students had to look at real examples and determine the working parts of circuits in flashlights. They noticed things like:

• the switch completes the circuit
• the metal pieces inside of the bulb
• the lens magnifies the light
• the metal behind the bulb reflects the light
• and more

All of this practice finally led us to the point where we built our own working circuits to determine through their own experiments what will and won't carry an electric current.

Just wait and see what they do when they come back!

Hour of Code

What the Hour of Code does in a class is far larger than the thinking and planning. The social interactions between some unlikely friends is truly mesmerizing. Watching the children problem solve and interact based upon skills is one of my favorite benefits of our Hour of Code. I hope you get a chance to try out your child's games in Hopscotch.

The Budget Project

Why Math? Let Me Tell You!

There is something great about math projects! It always gives students purpose; it answers the question, "Why do we have to do that?" So, I built on last year's in class Budget Project by typing it up, sharing it with students and printing it for them to fill out. On top of that, they were given some extras that didn't even exist as options last year.



We started off with a discussion about income. I am afraid to admit that one student thought I might make $500 A YEAR! The children had to research a profession they were interested in pursuing. I told them they could not earn more than $150,000 a year. There wouldn't be much to gain from a budget with no limits. They were then asked to calculate what their real earnings would be after state and federal taxes. There were quite a few boohoos at this. From there, the students had to grocery shop for the week.



Week two consisted of house hunting. They looked for homes, condominiums, townhouses and apartments in Burlington. They also had to calculate out their property taxes. More boohoos and a few questions about finding roommates (which some did.) Week three was all about buying a car and calculating out the cost of the loan and insurance. Week 4 allowed the children to determine the water bill, heat and power.




Throughout the process, children read charts, followed rules, multiplied using decimals and percentages and more. In the end, they had to make decisions about what they can afford. The were assigned a budget spreadsheet through Google Classroom. The formulas were set so the children could put in their weekly, monthly or yearly costs and have it calculate the monthly spending and finally come up with a disposable income figure.

With an end in sight, the children used Slides to make a presentation to display where they will live, what they buy and more. They were asked to plan a vacation with their disposable income. I wonder what kind of trips they will take...if any. I can't wait to see them when they are all done!

Explorers, Explorers and More Explorers

Throughout the late fall and winter, we have discovered that the conquerors weren't just the bad guys who ended great civilizations but also the time honored explorers. We've focused on the Aztec, Inca and Maya people and how these civilizations ended. Now,we leave the learning up to the children. The research is for the children to decipher. Students were given directions, examples and links to follow. Direct instruction was offered in short mini-lessons with the emphasis being on the children making their own discoveries. Take a gander at how they did!





Some other incorporated skills in this project included map skills, recognizing centuries, research and writing. The children were able to utilize these skills in a novel way to demonstrate their learning beyond their reading. In the end, the children became the teachers as they taught the rest of the class about their researched explorer.

This is such a proud moment for me as a teacher. Being able to allow the children to drive their own research and organize their own learning is a testament to all the teachers I have shared and continue to share your children with. Seeing how capable they are of the research and the technology indicates that these students can dive into their own inquiries and share their DISCOVERIES! They were able to multi-device by using their iPads and a desktop computer simultaneously. They each used only one sheet of paper for this whole project!








Be sure to check out the last step of the project. The children were asked to find out what else was going on at that time to get a feel for what the world was like. They each researched their own person, structure or event. This is always my favorite part; I really get to see what is interesting to each child.

Hour of Code

The children were eager to get right into their coding.

They were able to sit with friends but all was quiet as they 'coded' away.

I loved watching the complexity of their plans unfold.

It was amazing to see the children so eager to work toward their own accomplishments.

Even when things went awry, students were there to support one another.

This group here was softly talking about how far they had come since
last year.  Not in competition with one another but rather themselves.

All the children had fun, coded happily and had a fulfilling Friday!