2nd Grade Reptile Sculptures

Today students put the final touches on their reptiles.  They made geckos, lizards, or chameleons, and had to make theirs an original among similar sculptures.  I try hard to design the lessons in all of my art classes in such a way as to really promote the idea that even though we may be making similar works, they should be original.  Personal voice in art is something important I think even at this young age.

I will be teaching Sculpture II next semester and please keep in mind as you are helping your student plan their schedule that it is for both continuing artists as well as students that were not able to sign up for the class this semester.  The projects don't repeat and if I am teaching a technique that they have learned before, they are simply a little more experienced than the newer students.

4th Grade Geometry - Pi and the Geometry of Circles

Last week in Geometry the students did a hands-on activity where they measured the circumference and diameter of a variety of circular shaped objects.  The students worked at measuring old coffee cans, rolls of masking and duct tape, Frisbees, and hula hoops.  They then divided the circumference by the diameter and came very close to calculating Pi!

This week students used their new found knowledge of Pi to calculate the circumference and diameter of other circles.  This presented new challenges as they began using calculators to figure multiplication and division using Pi or 3.14.  Working with decimals and calculators like this can lead to issues of lack of or over confidence.  Many of the students are apt to take whatever answer comes from the calculator as correct no matter how outrageous.  We are working on estimating the answer to the problem in an effort to check the answer from the calculator.  Often students have hit the wrong keys on the calculator and by estimating they hopefully will see that some answers don't make logical sense.

After 3 or 4 successful calculations the students find this to be just as routine as all of the other work we have done.  With hard work and a cycle of success, the students are ready for increasingly difficult challenges.

Some students have asked for a challenge problem to work on at home.  Below you'll find an archery target.  Calculate the circumference of each zone of the target including the yellow or gold center.

Remember that the formula is:

C = d X Pi       and        Pi = 3.14

5th & 3rd Grade Coding - Plan for the next few weeks!

Hello!  Things have slowed down drastically in 5th Grade Coding and in 3rd grade we have hit a bit of a wall also.  Many of the students have had difficulty in advancing their programming beyond the basic concept they came up with several weeks ago.  They have great ideas but are stuck after having built the basic framework of their game.  With this in mind we are shifting to a new set of lessons planned for the upcoming weeks.

I will create small programs for the students to "remix" and fix.  Each will focus on a new set of skills that they may find helpful in writing their own programs.  My thinking is that these lessons may get them past their difficulties.  While they may not finish the project they have planned, they will gain the skills needed to finish the project.

 If your student is really interested in finishing this project, they can continue working at their own pace, on their own time, and finish when they are able.  I can continue to provide assistance to these students through the next semester, as some of these projects are quite good and deserve the chance to be seen through to the end.  I feel like these are worthwhile goals and maybe we were just over reaching for the time we had available in the semester.

Click on the picture below to link to the Scratch site for our first remix:

4th Grade Geometry & Origami

Today's lesson was chopped up a bit by having all three classes at different points in the scope of the class and a morning safety drill.  This means that each class did a little something different, but each class had time for a little geometry taught through origami.  I have a link below to an origami website with a lot of models you can make with your child.  Be sure to ask them about congruent vs. similar triangles, bisecting angles, and quadrilaterals.  You'll enjoy making the models and talking with your child about what they've been learning.

 

Origami of all Kinds! 

5th grade Coding

Today I showed the students the "Featured Programmer" page and it turned out that many hadn't seen it yet so make sure you go back and check out the entry for last week featuring his great work.

This week's Featured Programmer is...

Jaden M.

Jaden is programming what appears to be a pretty straight forward game of Tic-Tac-Toe.  However he is finding out that getting the programming to work when playing against the computer is VERY involved.  If you think about it the program needs to know what spaces are already taken, which are still available, when it's the computer's turn, and more!  If you want to program the computer to play with a strategy then the programmer needs to understand both the strategy and how to program it as well.  This all equals a lot of logic and hard work.  For that reason alone Jaden has been chosen as our Featured Programmer of the week!

4th grade Geometry & Origami

Today 2nd hour Geometry class finished a little early with the lesson and I had an opportunity to share something I really enjoy - Origami.  How do origami and geometry fit together in one class you ask...

I also shared the work of Robert Lang and I think he does a great job of explaining how the two are very good fit for one-another.  Check it out!

Robert Lang TED Talk

http://www.langorigami.com/ 

5th grade Coding

Today everyone was working on their Scratch projects and doing many different kinds of things within those programs.

I'm going to start to highlight a student or two each week and the project they are working on.   

This week's featured programmer is Noah A.!

Noah is creating "The Game of Science" that will help people to learn about the scientific method.  He has this great little frog that snatches flies out of the air.  The flies are tied to terms and ideas that you would need to know about when planning an experiment in Science class.  The goal is to "catch" all the flies by answering the games questions correctly.  

Noah's game is:

• challenging to code
• a fun idea
• educational
• unique
• AWESOME!