We're Back in Action!

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!