Kindergarten: By examining each pentomino in depth the students are becoming more familiar and comfortable with the twelve pieces. We spent a bit more time that I had planned doing this, but the students’ interest in the pieces is so strong we just had to! So, next week we will delve into making puzzles for others to solve.
1st grade: The story of Cinderella is our focus! We are examining versions of this tale from all over the world! The students are spending time reading different Cinderella stories. As they read they are looking for commonalities between the different versions. This is the first step in our Cinderella project. Next week we will work together to map out the commonalities found in the books we have been studying.
2nd grade: The 2nd grade GT cuties have really enjoyed making their own board games. Each student is getting close to completion, and a few of them did finish their games this week. The next step is to field test their game on their classmates. This process involves playing the game while looking for problems that the game maker can solve to improve the experience. This will be our primary focus in the weeks to come.
3rd grade: The week ended with a testing day for the Kicking Machines the students made and worked on for the past three weeks. Each student set up their own course for the test. The course had a variety of targets (1 point, 5 point, 10 point, 20 point) and a ramp. They had two 60 second timed trials to get as many points as possible using their machine. They took a video of the trials in order to help them see the details of what occurred during the tests. They should be so proud of the work they did on each step of this challenging project.
4th grade: The 4th grade students voted this week on how they want to use their class minutes in the time leading up to April 29th’s contest. The overwhelming majority of them voted to eliminate their Warm Up time and to postpone 5th Day Free Time until after the contest. Their dedication to the project is commendable, and the vote results really show that! So does their commitment during class time. We have four more days to perfect planes before putting them to the test for you and the 5thgrade judges. We can’t wait for Monday, April 29 - see you in the cafeteria at 8:00 for a display of aerodynamic awesomeness!
5th grade: What does it take to build a roller coaster for a marble? Poster board, cardboard, hot glue, scotch tape, string, egg cartons, bottle caps, scissors, and more! It also takes planning, cooperation, teamwork, and an open mind when it comes to failure. Both of the roller coaster teams have encountered obstacles they did not foresee - and we are just getting started with construction! It is uplifting and inspiring to watch them move so positively through these obstacles and problem solve together!