Dear Parents,
Sorry for length of time between classroom updates. I appreciate your patience as I navigate this first year as your child's GT teacher. It was wonderful to meet with the majority of you during parent conference week. Please feel free to reach out to me anytime I can answer a question or help in anyway. I am loving the time I get to spend with your amazing children!
You will see in the slideshows below that we have been very busy practicing the 4C's: Collaboration, Communication, Critical Thinking and Creativity.
First Grade: We are continuing our "Thinking Skills" unit. When we got to sorting and categorizing by attributes we began a study of bats and birds (owls). The children created realistic bats and owls. We will do a 3 ways venn diagram and an owl sorting activity before moving on to divergent thinking.
Second Grade: We are continuing our "Perspective Unit". We learned about persistence of vision by creating thaumatropes. We learned several other optical illusions such as after image. We completed two photography projects: Forced Perspective Photography and an alphabet collage. We learned how to stage and execute "near and far" as well as "anti-gravity" pictures (see the below slideshow). We read Alphabet City and photographed the alphabet as it naturally occurred around BCE. We will move on to implied images.
Third Grade: Our bridge unit is complete! The students learned about different bridge and material types. They went through a long process of studying the strength in shapes, the forces that bridges withstand and the need for precision in drawing a plan. They measured their balsa wood to be cut then assembled their bridges. Our grand finale was our trip to UT to test the strength of our bridges. Our next unit is on the Human Body Systems.
Fourth Grade: The children discovered many topics of interest during our study of Ancient China. We learned that kites were used to send messages during times of war. The children created kites using bamboo skewers and tissue paper. Araceli Kudrle visited our class and taught about Chinese medicine and acupuncture; the children were so engaged and excited! We made abaci and learned how to make and read numbers as well as how to add. We're learning more about the Great Wall and construction began today!
Fifth Grade: The student think tank companies were very successful. It was fun to see them mature in their attention to detail and work quality. Their ideas were always creative and interesting. They became more confident in their presentations to negotiate their earnings. This unit really developed collaboration skills and gave them opportunity to receive constructive feedback. We will begin our grand finale with a visit from a designer/architect on Monday. They will learn how to reimagine a space and develop a building plan for a real space in our community! More to come once the project is unveiled to the students!
Sorry for length of time between classroom updates. I appreciate your patience as I navigate this first year as your child's GT teacher. It was wonderful to meet with the majority of you during parent conference week. Please feel free to reach out to me anytime I can answer a question or help in anyway. I am loving the time I get to spend with your amazing children!
You will see in the slideshows below that we have been very busy practicing the 4C's: Collaboration, Communication, Critical Thinking and Creativity.
First Grade: We are continuing our "Thinking Skills" unit. When we got to sorting and categorizing by attributes we began a study of bats and birds (owls). The children created realistic bats and owls. We will do a 3 ways venn diagram and an owl sorting activity before moving on to divergent thinking.
Second Grade: We are continuing our "Perspective Unit". We learned about persistence of vision by creating thaumatropes. We learned several other optical illusions such as after image. We completed two photography projects: Forced Perspective Photography and an alphabet collage. We learned how to stage and execute "near and far" as well as "anti-gravity" pictures (see the below slideshow). We read Alphabet City and photographed the alphabet as it naturally occurred around BCE. We will move on to implied images.
Third Grade: Our bridge unit is complete! The students learned about different bridge and material types. They went through a long process of studying the strength in shapes, the forces that bridges withstand and the need for precision in drawing a plan. They measured their balsa wood to be cut then assembled their bridges. Our grand finale was our trip to UT to test the strength of our bridges. Our next unit is on the Human Body Systems.
Fourth Grade: The children discovered many topics of interest during our study of Ancient China. We learned that kites were used to send messages during times of war. The children created kites using bamboo skewers and tissue paper. Araceli Kudrle visited our class and taught about Chinese medicine and acupuncture; the children were so engaged and excited! We made abaci and learned how to make and read numbers as well as how to add. We're learning more about the Great Wall and construction began today!
Fifth Grade: The student think tank companies were very successful. It was fun to see them mature in their attention to detail and work quality. Their ideas were always creative and interesting. They became more confident in their presentations to negotiate their earnings. This unit really developed collaboration skills and gave them opportunity to receive constructive feedback. We will begin our grand finale with a visit from a designer/architect on Monday. They will learn how to reimagine a space and develop a building plan for a real space in our community! More to come once the project is unveiled to the students!