The Big Finale!

We celebrated our last day together with some fun culminating activities.  Students competed in a QuizetLive review game to earn first pick at supplies for the edible kinetic contraption challenge.  We then had fun racing our cucumbermobiles and rice crispy cruisers.

We also spent some time developing our own number system based on elements of those we haves studied this year.  Students shared the ideas and let their friends attempt to decode their own personal "Moli Stones".  We also went back to our pretest from the beginning of the year to reflect on our learning.

Students had fun looking back at our blog and creating their own ALERT Top 5 presentations to show their year in review highlights!

I will certainly miss this wonderful group!  I am so proud of all they have accomplished, their love of learning, and the community they have built with each other.

Riddle Me This

Spontaneous Problem: Create your own Spontaneous Problem prompts.
Boundary Breaker: Which peer created spontaneous problem should we use next week?  Convince the class to vote on your favorite.

We were back to the design board today as our inventor used supplies to create motion in their free rolling carts.  We began by reading the article "What Makes Things Move" and brainstorming possible triggers for kinetic motion in our go carts.

Our Habit of Mind focus was on Thinking Flexibly.  We tried to use our out of the box thinking to solve some tricky riddles, which was right up this group's alley!  Try this one: Put a coin in a bottle and then stop the opening with a cork. How can you get the coin out of the bottle without pulling out the cork or breaking the bottle? 

For math, second graders finished up our sums and differences in hieroglyphics work and third graders applied their knowledge of expanded notation to translate and write numbers in ancient Chinese.

Going for Distance

Spontaneous Problem: Name things that cause motion.
Boundary Breaker: Explain this quote: "A design isn't finished until somebody is using it." -Brenda Laurel

Today we spent the morning with both second and third graders reviewing and wrapping up their previous work in math with a lesson check-up.  This let us begin our math time on fresh topics. Second graders considered the number system of Ancient Egypt and their use of hieroglyphics.  They did some decoding, adding, and subtracting with the symbols and made comparisons between that system and ours.  They discovered that without place value, it is a lot more work to write most Egyptian numbers that our own.  Third graders took a look at the Chinese expanded notation system. This system  brought us back to the mysterious writing on the Moli Stone.  Next week,  students will be able to use a newly discovered tablet to help them decode the artifact.

We also revisited our design work, using materials to create a free rolling cart.  Students got to test their work in a downhill race and brainstorm solutions to any difficulties their carts encountered.   Next week we will see if we can improve our designs by adding a self-propelling factor.

 

Our Habit of Mind focus today was on Applying Past Knowledge to New Situations.  Students read the poem, "Too Long at the Park" and used it to make their own poems showing connection to circumstances where they have discovered lessons they could apply to future experiences.  We also used our creativity to come up with examples for popular cartoon heroes and create our own matching games with the characters and knowledge they gained. See if you can pair up these examples!

Tom and Jerry	You can’t build a fire underwater.
Captain Hook	Don’t challenge flying boys to a duel.
Buzz Lightyear	Summer isn’t good for snowmen.
Superman	Stay in your own game.
Alice in Wonderland	That mouse is too smart, leave him alone.
Olaf	Don’t give up on your friends.
Sponge Bob	Don’t chase that rabbit!
Wreck-it Ralph	Toys don’t like toys that show off.
Emmett from The Lego Movie	Stay away from Kryptonite.
Poppy from Trolls	Be original.