Although we are unable to do it as frequently as I like, we did fit in another Author’s Chair this morning. Author’s Chair is a chance for students to share a completed work and hear feedback from their classmates. Some students wrote a text-based response to Cisneros’ Eleven, others about compromising who we are to maintain friendships, and some following a lesson and the mentor text Dog Breath.
Today we concluded our Pro/Con readings on recycling and divided ourselves into partners for our Structured Academic Controversy. We started the work last week when students annotated articles on recycling and identified a “super claim.” This was followed by students sharing the evidence they found and then today we divided ourselves into partners and randomly were assigned a position in favor or against our super claim.
With facilitation from NevadaTeach, students learned more about isopods and hypothesized about the conditions isopods would most prefer living in. The University of Nevada Reno students did a great job leading the students through an experiment to verify and refine their understandings.
We started the week reading about the pros and cons of recycling to get ready for our next Structured Academic Controversy (SAC). We continue to use this method so that students develop perspective taking and civic responsibility.
We are also using text annotating to go with our reading. This will help facilitate the process of making claims supported by evidence.
Thank you parents for sharing such a great celebration with the kids!
Today Gomm parents volunteered their time to facilitate art learning and creation for all of the students in 5th grade. The session started with some history about artist M.C. Escher followed by a chance for children to create their own tessellation pieces–based on Escher’s work.
Thank you to all the families who visited us for lunch today. Apart from sharing a meal, we also explored blended learning through adaptive technology, 21st Century communication, and “gamification.”
Today we continued to work with the ideas of concentration, dilution and volume. To help with this, we created an experiment in which students manipulated solutions to determine the effects on volume and mass. Ultimately, this experiment not only built greater understanding with the Next Generation Science Standards but also proved a terrific introduction to volume.
Today we got another visit from art teacher Joy Brackney. Mrs. Brackney shared with the students how to mix mediums with a Halloween themed piece of art.
Today we set-up our Google Classroom. Our first project involved using Google Docs to help us with taking our draft pieces of writing through the writing process and into publishing. Google Classroom also helped us with greater classroom flexibility and differentiation.
Students all have secure usernames and passwords and can continue working on their writing at any time. (This includes at home!) Moreover, I will always have access to what they are doing and I will be able to provide feedback.
Room 360 