Rate, Eye Witness Accounts, and the Case of the Sugar Shaker

This week we were able to finish our Digging for Data math lesson on rate. Each student completed three trails counting the number leaps they could do in one minute. We used this data to understand the concept of the median in a group of numbers and how it can be used when looking for a "typical" result from the set.

     We spent some time talking about interrogation and students were tested on their questioning skills as well as their powers of observation.  Through our various activities they came to realize that eye witness accounts aren't always accurate and our memory can be altered.

We also took a pre-assessment on forensic science and learned some at-home techniques for dusting for fingerprints. We checked those prints with our suspect samples to determine the culprit in The Case of the Sugar Shaker!

Systems Kick-off!

Our favorite activity of the day was kicking off our year-long theme of Systems. Students interpreted the definition of a system and worked in teams to brainstorm examples. They came up with some great ones! We also named the different features of systems, (boundary, input, output, elements, & interactions) drew and labeled the parts of a system, created a list of generalizations about systems, and competed in a friendly Kahoot quiz to show off what we had learned.

Generalization for Systems:

• Systems have parts that work together to create a whole.
• Systems interact.
• Parts of systems are interdependent upon one another.
• A system may be influenced by another system.

The nervous system with features labeled.

A pond ecosystem with features labeled.

We had our commencing Digging for Data math lesson and students looked at both their rights and obligations as we embark. This math curriculum focuses heavily on discussion, defense of one's thinking, and writing about concepts. Today, we started an activity and conversation about rate that we will continue next week. We also looked for relationships as we solved word and figural analogies.

The Brain and Mindset

This week we focused on meta-cognition.  (Thinking about our thinking!)

     We kicked off our Morphic Thinking morning routine where students warm-up with a spontaneous problem and boundary breaker.  We will be including these weekly.

Spontaneous Problem: A spontaneous problem is a brainstorming type problem to be solved in a specific amount of time and scored according to the number and creativity of responses generated. The point is to challenge students to be flexible thinkers, to elaborate on original ideas and to think fluently and creatively about a specific topic.

Today's Spontaneous Problem: Name things in the ALERT room.

Boundary Breaker:  A boundary breaker is a group experience which works toward creating a sense of community. Students gain an awareness of and respect for the opinion of others by the use of questions that go beyond superficial depth and have no right/wrong answers. Boundary Breakers also provoke a higher level of thought that merges cognitive and affective thinking.

Today's Boundary Breaker: What is thinking? Why is thinking important?

Carrying on with the same theme, students learned about the connections they make in their brain when they learn and how to strengthen these pathways. They were able to draw their conception of their brain, feel a brain, and use various resources to discover the parts of the brain and how they work together for your body to function. This year we want to be very intentional about building a growth mindset in students. It will be our goal to emphasize the part of effort and perseverance in learning and intelligence as something that can be grown or grow stagnant. To evaluate our current perspective on intelligence, we took the mindset quiz at this link. Feel free to take it yourself! We want to turn "I can't do it!" into "I can't do it yet!"  

Brain Pre-Assessment

 Touching a "brain".

The real brain: a soft cheese mold

We also took a pre-assessment for our upcoming math unit and looked at critical thinking and different types of thinkers. Ask you child about Naive Nancy, Selfish Sam, and Fair-minded Fran. Students should recognize quality thinking as accurate, fair, clear, relevant, and logical.

NERDS!

     It's great to be back for our second week!  This week we explored our creative side by discussing and demonstrating the four keys to creative thinking.  We began by taking a simple figure, looking at it from various perspectives (flexible thinking), brainstorming what it could become (fluency of ideas), choosing the idea like no one else's (originality), and filling in the details of our picture (elaboration)! Our lesson was themed around our mascots of creativity the NERDS candies which the students got to enjoy while they worked. These creative pieces became the covers of our ALERT binders reminding us to "think outside the box"!

 

     Our other main focus for the day was looking into Art Costa's Habits of Mind.  We discussed these strategies of successful people and discussed ways we do and will use them this year inside and outside our classroom.  Student team completed in a pre and post lesson matching game where every pair came out on top improving their understanding of the ideas.

  Other happenings were the creating of a class fingerprint archive just in case we need it for future suspects in future tomfoolery, putting the finishing touches on our writer's notebooks, playing the part of graphologists as we analyzed handwriting samples, and getting started on our learner profiles at RenzulliLearning.com.

     I hope your student enjoyed today.  I did!

Game On!

     We had a wonderful first day!  We began by getting acclimated to the classroom and some of our ALERT procedures and resources.  Students got to know one another and myself with a mingling "Who Fits?"  grid activity and we were able to compare some likes and interests.

     Knowing yourself is important as a learner, so we spent some time talking about what it means to be gifted and some of the rights and responsibilities that brings.  Students should understand that gifted doesn't mean being great at everything or making straight A's.  We want them to recognize their potential and develop perseverance and flexibility when approaching tasks.  We looked at some famous individuals known for their giftedness and reflected on the impact we can have on the world when we reach our potential!

     Finally, the highlight of our day was being introduced to our first focus area of the year: CSI.  We did some crime scene investigating by studying classroom evidence for clues and found that by looking at past impressions, a ransom note can be more than meets the eye. Check out more CSI activities at this link!

     I am already looking forward to next week and I hope you are too!

Getting ready to give our brains a workout!

Getting to know you!

Examining the evidence.