Yesterday, the children had a few problems to solve.
1. They could create circuits to light up strands of 1-3 holiday lights but not the strands of 6-7 lights. Why not?
2. What could they change to light the longer strands?
Given one battery per person and strands of lights they were in small groups of 3-4 formed by choice. Those groups figured out how to light up the strand but the bulbs were still very dim. How could they get them to shine brightly?
Eventually, one clever friend asked if they could combine groups. They did and each group figured out how to light the strand. They did it! What excitement after many trials and errors.
Today we began our new computer based BLAST wall that will help us review key foundational skills. At the end, we played a game which they discovered we will call "Think Different". :)
??? How do you play the game "Think Different" BLAST WALL?
??? Why is it called "Think Different"? Technically, it would be called "Think Differently". :)
Thank you to the parents who are so collaborative at home! We are so excited to investigate the items you are sending in for our STEAM investigations in physical science.
The children are actively engaging in the 5 C's throughout the day. After reading about Thomas Edison, the children wrote short biographies about his contributions (communication). That was followed by the creation of a short screencast showing how to make a simple circuit (critical thinking and creativity).
An image of the simple circuit was labeled then emailed to be printed tonight (communication and collaboration activity tomorrow). Your child added a curiosity thought for today to his/her timeline (curiosity) then investigated circuit design (collaboration, critical thinking, & creativity)
The screencast was practice for what your child will be doing next week after we bounce off the strategically planned flipped video lessons. Thank you for your ongoing support and consistency at home! What a difference you are making! They found out today that the flipped videos were not only connections to exactly what we are doing but also models of what they will create to demonstrate their understanding of circuit design. Your child will make a commercial which will be used to create an online television channel. If they can teach it, then they totally understand the concepts and connections. The girl in our second video has done just that. We will watch a few as inspiration and create our own in small groups. Each group will have free choice of materials to build circuits and will be responsible for creating a commercial 2 minutes or shorter to teach others how to build their favorite types of circuits. The classroom is literally electric with their excitement during our exploration and discovery time!
Just a reminder that the spelling test is tomorrow. :) Homework is also due after the home safety inspections are complete. :)
It was great to hear that many children are playing the games at home - especially the electrical safety games. Thank you for your ongoing support and enthusiasm with your child.
