Welcome to Clarke Elementary TAG! I believe the home to school connection is so important, and this blog should help keep the lines of communication open. I look forward to a great year with your children!
These students are SO excited about their arcade! We have had some technical difficulties, but they keep working through everything that gets thrown their way. It makes me so proud of their determination!
Arcade Date: December 22, 2015
Time: 7:45am-8:10am and 11:45am-12:40pm
Price: 1 cent! (We use pennies as weights in other projects throughout the year.)
Over the last few weeks, the fifth grade has been learning more and more about computer and game code, and they are getting ready to show it off! Each student has coded an original game that will be displayed during the TAG arcade in the upcoming weeks. Students are building booths for their games and using iMovie to create advertisements for their games. Throughout the next week, I will post these commercials as they are completed.
Here is the first ad for Dumb Unicorns by Cooper R.
More information on time and date of arcade to come!
At the start of each year, each class brainstorms a massive list of "Things We Want To Learn!" This list is very different in second grade compared to fifth. After we have made the list, it is then my personal challenge to cover as many of those interests as possible throughout the year. While I can't guarantee each item will be covered, the use of topic choice seems to help reach some of the more unique interests.
The creative second grade students had a list ranging from volcanoes, ice cream, and water to inventors, Minecraft, and family. Where were we to go with all of these interests? Book writing, of course! Each student was able to use topic choice and write an ABC book about their interest. After rough copies and editing, students used Storyjumper to create a unique final copy.
If you are unfamiliar with Storyjumper, it is worth a look. It is a completely free, online book making program. During conferences one parent compared it to how she make photo books online! Students may use pre-made scenes and props, or they can illustrate and upload their personal touches.
The final product is a published book the student can take and add to their library! We print the free version at school, but if parents are interested, they can purchase a soft or hard cover version.
These students worked, created, and are now "published" authors! How neat is that?
Is air powerful or weak? Other than breathing, how does it affect us and our daily lives? These are the questions that the third grade group will be exploring over the next few weeks.
While it may seem like air "isn't really there", the third grade Superkids (we named ourselves) have been investigating and finding this is not the case! Today's challenge: keep your Superkid emblem on your chest without tape, glue, string, hanging it, or bending backwards. In order to accomplish this task, we took a little trip down to the old gym so that the students would have plenty of space to experiment.
Superkid Emblems
Things started off slow. The Superkids were cautious of their surroundings. But then, one student took off...literally! Running across the gym, he realized that the emblem would stay on his chest. As with most things, once the rest of the Superkids realized it was OK to run, it was a flurry of activity. They tried straight line running, circle running, and zig-zags. They found when they changed direction, the emblem flew off. This lead to a great discussion about the force of air, tornadoes, and what would happen if there wasn't any air in the gym.
The Superkids' brains were thinking and processing, and they were starting to build a great knowledge base on the power of air.
Welcome back to the Clarke Elementary Talented and Gifted blog! I'm excited to be starting up this form of sharing again. The first few weeks of the school year have been hectic but exciting. Many of the student faces are familiar, but I've loved getting to know a few new additions to our class.
We started the year by brainstorming all the things students in each class would like to learn about this year. I did not put any restrictions on their list, but instead told them to think big...and they sure did! The lists range from learning about guinea pigs and rockets to wanting to invent indestructible phone screens and coding video games.
While we may not have time to get to everything on the list, it gives me a great jumping off point for my year planning. I want your student's TAG class to be a place where they can expand on their many talents and push themselves to learn more.
The 2015-2016 school year is going to be amazing. I am blown away by my students everyday and love working with them! Remember, our room is a constant circle of experiment, fail, learn, and repeat!
Below are a few pictures of our classroom activities so far!
Third grade students using the invention box after a design thinking session!
Sixth grade student using Play-Doh to represent what he did this summer.
The Marshmallow Challenge: a team building and creativity activity.
ZoomBalls allow students to have hands on experiences! This is the beginning stages of a bike helmet!
The paper challenge: using only one yard of tape and paper, what is the tallest, self standing, structure that can be built? The only catch...it has to support a book!
Don't forget to RSVP for 2014-2015 TAG Camp! Please let us know if you plan on attending by sending an email to Mrs. Fitzpatrick (mfitzpatrick@clarke.k12.ia.us) or by sending a note to school. Letting us know if your child will attend will allow the teachers to gather enough supplies for everyone. We would love to see every 3-6 TAG student involved! It will be a fun filled week!
If you are a current Clarke Elementary TAG student, you are invited to the 2015 Clarke Elementary Summer TAG
Camp! You will have a blast learning about robotics, engaging in amazing
science experiments, and language exploration!
Who:
2014-2015 3rd- 6th grade TAG students
Where:
Clarke Middle School - Teachers will meet you at Door #27 each morning.
When:June 1-5 from 8:30 am -11:30 am
Teachers: Mr. Kedley, Mrs. Ehrhardt, and Mrs. Woods ßThese
guys are amazing and full of new ideas!
RSVP:
Please let us know if you plan on attending by sending an email to Mrs.
Fitzpatrick by May 22nd.
A couple weeks ago, I gave a brief review on what design thinking is, and why it is so important to our Talented and Gifted students (or any student for that matter). This process gives people a way to think beyond themselves, get creative, make mistakes, and learn from them. Via prototyping, the fourth grade students have realized many mistakes, but have also pushed forward to find new solutions.
If you remember, these students were tasked with redesigning something we use every single day of our lives: the toothbrush! When we started this project, picked by the students, to say I was weary of the redesign would be an understatement. However, it has been my goal since starting this position to be a facilitator of learning for my students...no matter what their interests.
Per usual, these kids went above and beyond. I truly believe that when we give kids a safe environment to be creative, and teach them that failure is OK as long as we learn from it, amazing things will happen. Do we have a design Colgate will pick up? Who knows! What I do know is that these students learned more about emotionally letting go of their ideas. This allowed them to be open to other suggestions and find new paths when things didn't pan out the way they had planned.
Below, you will find a few pictures from the interview, planning, and prototyping process of these brand new toothbrushes.
Over the last weeks, the first grade group has been learning more about fables. These tales, that are meant to teach a lesson, provide a wonderful opportunity for digging deeper into a story. We had several surface discussions before the students came to the conclusion that perhaps The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing might be about a little more than a mean wolf and a yummy sheep.
"Mrs. Fitz, it is like stranger danger!" an excited seven year old yelled out in one of those light bulb moments. "The wolf looked like a sheep! But he wasn't! He was bad like strangers!" We then talked about how important it is to be aware of people.
But then, I had one of those moments where your head swells and heart thumps for this amazing job I get to enjoy each day. One of the students said, "You know, I saw this thing on TV, and it looked really cool, and I finally got it, and then it wasn't near as cool. It was a bummer. Is that kinda like this moral too?" Why yes, appearances can be deceiving, both on people and on products!
We concluded this project by writing our own fables. You may recognize a bit of a theme in the first few as the first grade is going through their nutrition class right now. They are learning how important healthy foods are to our lives, and that seeped into their morals.
So, sit back, grab some popcorn (not much - this is only a short film), and enjoy What is the Moral: 7 New Fables by Clarke Elementary First Grade TAG!
After students (and teachers) took a week to Sharpen the Saw on spring break, I decided we would all benefit from going back to the beginning basics of design thinking. As you may remember, students started the school year learning more about human centered design. Human centered design takes a step away from the old thinking of, "If I want this, other people must too!"
While this may be true to an extent, it is important to have the consumer in mind as well. Learning how to interview others, ask the right questions, and synthesize this information is an important step that will help the students, not only in design, but also in learning to make inferences and amalgamate information in other aspects of their lives.
To set up this session of design thinking, we started by brainstorming objects we use in our everyday lives that could use an improvement. Pencils, backpacks, whiteboards, steering wheels, and a variety of others were brought up. In the end, third grade choose to redesign the ideal backpack, fourth choose a toothbrush (pretty interesting ideas are happening!), and fifth grade choose to design tabletop games.
Students have interviewed others in the class, interviewed again, come up with five radical ideas, shared and captured feedback, and are now coming up with their final designs. I can't wait to see what new and improved object these amazing students come up with!
Over the last month, the 5th grade has been working on a STEM unit entitled The Studio. The unit is a combination of applied math, engineering, design, 3D art, language and creativity. We started by imagining...If I had my own personal space (a studio!) and could make it into anything I wanted...what would that be?
Beginning with blue prints and scale models, the students built and designed their own space from the ground up. It took quite a bit of logic, visual-spatial ability, and creativity to complete these spaces! After the basic frame was built, the creativity came into play. We soon had spaces ranging from barns and sheds, to gold plated solar panel homes and art studios!
Each student also filled out their own "Studio Cost Summary", in which they determined the cost of supplies and labor, then decided on a reasonable price for their space. Did they think their small studios would fetch that price in a fair market? Would it be worth mass production, or did the labor costs outweigh a reasonable price?
Finally, they converted their findings to a large scale; life sized real estate listings! Student flyers and studios will be on display in TAG room hallway during conferences, so please stop by and see what we've been up to.
Below are three iMovie real estate listings. The remaining four will be uploaded in the next couple of days, so check back!
Our second grade group has spent this week immersing themselves in the Doodle Game. This game was reintroduced to me by another TAG teacher, Mark Steven Hess. While it was an activity I did earlier in my teaching career, it had slipped away until recently.
The Doodle Game is great for visual-spacial learners, but it also ties in literacy standards that include dialogue, description, and development of character experiences and events. We started off by introducing the rules. First, the doodle may not take up the whole space; second, the doodle may not be too intricate; and third, the doodle lines may not cross. Then we brainstormed what the doodle could be turned into, and it was AMAZING to hear all of the ideas! The creativity was oozing out of these kids!
The Rules
The next few pictures started with the same doodle but took on lives of their own!
Tadpole...
Seashell and Baymax
The first day of the game was spent building that creativity, but beyond that, was all about story building. Each student had the same starter doodle and five minutes to complete the picture. Then, it was story time! We all took turns telling the story behind our doodle character, developing the events, using transitional words, and creating narrative experiences.
We now have sixteen story ideas that are ready to dive into. I can't wait to see what they come up with next!
Who out there has heard of TED Talks? It is a phenomenon organization that was founded the same year I was born, but I hadn't realized its popularity or potential until a few years ago. TED is an organization with the tag line, "Ideas Worth Spreading." How cool is that? Thanks to modern technology, anyone with a wifi connection can now listen to these amazing people speak about their passions and in turn, become inspired.
The point of the above paragraph is this: anyone can become an expert if they are allowed the time and confidence to explore their passions. David Kelley, the speaker in the video below, has become an inspiration to me and my teaching. My goal in this TAG classroom is to provide your children and opportunity to find their passions, build their creativity, and learn that perseverance is key.
We do our best to apply our creativity each and every day in room 247! The forth grade class has been working on Renaissance cranes. The challenge is to use simple machines, Renaissance materials, and the strategies they have learned to design and build a working crane, able to lift a stapler.
One student jumped right in! He immediately started building up, up, up. He threw craft sticks together right and left. Throughout his building, there were several moments where I asked about "his plan", not really sure if he had thought it through. He assured me, he had it, and I was not going to squash his creativity...
Yesterday, he came up to me and said, "Mrs. Fitz, I think I got ahead of myself. I'm going to take it apart because it is a hot mess." (I love that he used "hot mess"!)
My first thought was something along the lines of, "Uh oh. He can't be giving up...how can we turn this around?"
However, he had that covered. My thought was immediately squashed with his next words, "But that is ok! I tested it out, it wasn't working, but that is part of the process. I have new ideas that I think will work better!"
Experiment. Fail. Learn. Repeat. I guess our classroom motto is starting to set in!
First of all, THANK YOU to everyone who came to support our Mini-Mini Golf course! It was wonderful to see the students interacting with administrators, teachers, parents, and even an entire second grade class! For me, seeing the pride they took in their designed was the best part. The second best part was when my own parents showed up to participate in the fun. I had mentioned the project to my dad (a retired teacher) and was pleasantly surprised that he and my mom decided to drive over to see what was going on in our classroom. How cool!
This hole had a bucket on the ground to "catch your ball" on the last hole!
Since break, the fifth grade has started a project called "The Studio" in which they will be designing their own space, using blueprints, and learning about marketing. Fourth grade is on fire and ready to start getting their hands dirty with a Renaissance crane project. Simple machines everywhere!
Before break, the third grade students were exploring the power of air. Through numerous experiments, they discovered that air takes up space, has mass, and can be very powerful. This week, they are using their previous knowledge to make self propelled Hot Wheels using straws, balloons, and tape. Their faces lit up with new solutions after Plan A didn't work. I am so pleased in how far they have come in their attitude toward learning this year! Experiment, fail, learn, repeat!
We have talked quite a bit about changing our thinking. When things are tough, that just means we will have to take more time to achieve them!
The younger students set wildly important goals (WIGs) for their last semester, had a great time with our invention box, and are now learning about personification through stories, writing, and skits.
Welcome back from break! We are getting right back to some amazing learning!
