Giving Our Very Best Effort

Today was a busy day, (so much so we pretty much forgot about getting any pictures.)

In the morning, the students worked at their Exploratory centers.   The newer students selected their first center, filled out their contract and started the Knowledge level task.  The rest of the students continued their individualized tasks.  

• Cadence has started a model of a firefly for the application level task.
• Kirby is learning about volcanoes by reading and watching videos.  He has begun to show his knowledge on the comprehension level worksheet.
• Jason finished a great poster today showing the results of his analysis level experiments to test which magnets are the strongest.
• Kyla is doing a beautiful job designing tissue paper in Eric Carle's style for an application level task.  Once she is done, she will make a synthesis level picture with them--inspired of course, by Eric Carle's illustrations.
• Julissa is learning about birds by watching a video and reading some books for the knowledge level task.
• Trig is working on classifying his new species of wild cat for his synthesis level task. (There is a ton of analysis going on to come up with the correct classification too!)
• Leah is conducting color experiments by mixing various combinations of colors for the synthesis level task.  (Her job is to invent, describe, name and give suggested uses for an original color.)
• Colton has made models of the three types of volcanoes.  This week he is typing up information about each to be displayed with his application level project.
• Reanna is working on learning information about butterflies for the knowledge level thinking task.

Did you get in mental images from my description???  Not nearly as fun as the photos, sorry!  I can share with you an image or two of some of the finished projects we are currently displaying.  Ask your child about how his/her project is going?

In the computer lab, the boys and girls reviewed how to locate a document in their SAGE shared drive file.  The students learned to minimize, restore down and close a file.

They also learned to open Microsoft Power Point Presentation, save it in their SAGE- shared drive file, and to insert and move a text box. We also discussed the differences and similarities between Microsoft Word and Microsoft Power Point.

Today we discussed what quality work looks like and the importance of giving our very best effort for finished projects.  I am excited to see the students beginning to complete more time intensive projects.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Learning a Crucial Life Lesson

This week we welcomed two new friends.  They are friendly and hard working and they are great additions to our class!

The past two weeks,  w e have been exploring our creativity, flexibility of thought and ability to handle stress and frustration.  To do this, we completed our first "hands-on" problem solving challenge. Using only one pair scissors, two paper clips, a 9 x 12 inch sheet of paper, two drinking straws, and three folder labels the students had to create the tallest, free standing structure possible.  

They began with five minutes to brainstorm designs for their tower on their planning form.  They were then given twenty minutes to actually construct their tower.  It is fun to see the room go completely silent as each student's brain is fully engaged in the task. The students used a variety of designs for their towers.  Some were successful, while others struggled to overcome design obstacles.  They ended the task by evaluating their designs, construction and finished structure on their hands-on planning form.

To be successful, students must be fluent, flexible thinkers.  They need a steady stream of ideas and they must be able to adapt and change direction or strategy as new problems arise.  
Our 2nd Try:

This week, the students had a chance to try the same problem a second time.  We usually do not have time to do this, but I wanted the students to recognize that they learn from their experiences and have the ability to improve with practice.  You would think they would know this and, in most situations, they do but most gifted children are not used to struggling or failing at a task.  When they face a new and very challenging problem they can't master on the first or second try, they want to quit.  They appear to only want to do tasks or activities where they are successful.  In reality, they are doubting their ability to overcome the obstacles.  They are afraid they can't or won't be successful.  They just haven't had enough experience with struggling, feeling frustrated and failing. This is where I see our children as "developmentally delayed." They are learning (hopefully) a crucial lesson other children learn between the ages of 3-5 years old.

For bright children, learning to be a "risk taker" and learning perseverance takes more than just practice.  They also need encouragement and support as they build their confidence and recognize they can find success on a task at which they once failed.  For most students, they need an opportunity to build success with increasingly more complicated challenges.  In the child's eyes, the more important the task- the more difficult it will be for him or her to accept the learning curve necessary for mastery.

The problem solving tasks we do in class develop the skills needed to solve real world problems and provide wonderful opportunities for affective conversations.  We discussed how individuals handle frustration and challenge, why some students quit and others persevere and how their classmates that struggle academically might feel each day.  For some it is the "Ah Ha!" moment that enables them to empathize with their peers and avoid hurtful bragging.  Having said that, it takes a great deal of maturity and wisdom for an individual to celebrate their academic success in a way that does not make someone else feel less and so, the conversation continues...

Next, the students were introduced to our newest Quirkle, Ellie Electricity.  Our experiment asked the students how static electricity would effect a soap bubble?  Check out your child's science log sheet to discuss his/her hypothesis. 

In the computer lab, the boys and girls were introduced to using Microsoft Word.  This week, they learned to open a new document, save it in their SAGE- shared drive file, and to format their text for size, style, color, bold, Italics and underlining.

We ended our day working in TOPS Math & The Problem Solver.

We had just enough time for a quick game of SET.  SET is a perception and spatial relations game where players must make sets of three cards.  Each "set"  must have all attributes, all the same or all different.  This is another exciting game where your age doesn't matter.  You can be 5 or 50 and compete on an equal level.