Thank you so very much for the sweet gifts for Teacher Appreciation!  I absolutely love working with your children, and you are all so kind to spoil me with the wonderful treats, presents, and lovely notes!
​We had a wonderful last day of Target!

We started the day by finishing our novel.  The kids loved the ending, especially because it was a surprise!  Many of the kids were excited about reading the sequel!

After finishing the book, we used our divergent thinking and communication skills to create a "Lost Chapter".  The ideas were really interesting and creative!  We enjoyed listening to them very much!

We ended our day watching an "old time" version of the story, from a 1970s Disney movie.  It was interesting to hear what the kids liked about this version of the story, what they didn't like, and what was surprising to them.

Have a wonderful summer!
Dr. Kraeger

We’re nearing the end of our Survival Unit and our 4th Grade Year. It’s hard to believe!

Novel Study:
Sam’s time in the wilderness may be nearing an end too! We’ll find out next time. We have a surprise activity for to celebrate the conclusion of our book. The kids will love it!

Unit Study:
We designed, planned, and built a Sturdy Shelter for our Mini Sams in our small groups. The shelters were constructed from natural materials we found by the trees near the track. The shelters had to keep our Sams dry from some “rain” and stay intact during a “wind”. Most were successful on all fronts!  It was exciting to see the kids' faces during the practice wind tests before the final test with both wind and rain.  It was interesting to see the different designs.  

No HW this week.
Until next time,
​Dr. Kraeger

Today was the  big day!  Our fourth grade class took on Red Top Mountain!

The day started with time to finish our Survivor Matrix Mini Research Project.  There were some really amazing insights about surviving tragedies!

Before long, we were on the bus heading to Red Top Mountain!  The Rangers met us in the parking area, so we could get started on our adventure right away!  

The kids broke into groups for the first two activities: Learning to start a fire and Orienteering.  The kids had a blast learning to do both!  Then we came back together for a session on shelter building.  

After a picnic lunch on the grass, the kids enjoyed running around a bit on the Green.  Too soon, we were back on the bus to school--just in time for Specials.

Thanks to our Parent Chaperones!  We couldn't have done it without you!

No HW!
Until next time,
​Dr. Kraeger

We started off with a challenging math activity involving our problem-solving skills and algebraic thinking: "Earth Day Math Mystery".  The kids LOVED the group challenge and did some great math work!

Novel Study:
We read another chapter of the book and then used our divergent thinking skills to create an illustration for our Favorite Scene from the novel.  These will be going up out in the hall.  Hope you can stop by and see them!

Stations:
We challenged our divergent thinking skills again with a May F2OE.  The responses were super creative!  We also used our evaluative thinking skills to rank items in a survival pack.  The kids had some good discussion about this at their tables.  We also used our convergent thinking to play Q-Bitz and solve 9 Square Puzzles.

Unit Study:
We ended our day talking about our field trip, so the kids will be ready for our big adventure!

We also worked on a Survivor Matrix, where the kids are learning about survivors from different tragedies.  They are asking some really insightful questions!  We'll continue this next week.

HW:  Get ready for the Field Trip!
Until next time,
​Dr. Kraeger

We packed a ton of great learning into today!

We started our day by compiling our Survival Books.  It will be fun to take a look through the finished books and see how we did!

Next up was Hands On Equations to stretch our algebraic thinking skills.  The kids did VERY well jumping in with familiar concepts from our last lesson.  Mason even shared how he used the -x in helping his OLDER sister with her algebra homework.  That's so awesome!

We continued our work on collaboration with a lesson called "Magic Carpet Ride".  Each group came up with a good plan to solve the challenge, but the kids got a little too excited, so we had to shelve the activity to try again another day--perhaps outside.  I liked the creative solution and leadership that I saw.  I hope to see more collaboration next time combined with careful listening to each other.  

We read more of our book.  Sam learned a lot about the winter, the weather, and vitamins and so did we!  We're getting close to the end of this book.  The kids can't wait to find out what happens at the end!  We ended our time with a reflection on what was important about what Sam learned.  

We used our mathematical and critical thinking skills to create bar graphs from the data we gathered last week, as we observed the plant and animal life in the Chalker Garden.  The graphs turned out well.  It looks like the kids have a better understanding of how to create a bar graph now.

During Stations, we used our convergent thinking to solve a grid-style logic puzzle, our divergent and critical thinking skills to complete several different puzzles and riddles, and also completed an experiment about acceleration using our Marble Run Extreme Kit.  The kids had a fantastic time working together to create the fastest acceleration using the given pieces.

We ended our day with a few extra minutes outside to enjoy the beautiful weather.  These kids earned it with their hard work!

HW:  Edmodo

Until next time, 
Dr. Kraeger

What a quick busy day we had!

After lunch, we read another chapter in our novel.  Ohh...it was SOOO good we didn't want to stop!  We had a good discussion about several of the key points.  

After that, we stretched our convergent and evaluative thinking skills with some great classroom games like Chess.  

We ended our day with a fun outside activity to observe and tally the plants and animals in and around our school garden.  The kids will be creating bar graphs from this data next week.  

Look for the Field Trip Form coming home today.  Please return by April 20th.

HW:  Edmodo

Until next time,
​Dr. Kraeger

The kids had a busy morning today!  We got off to a great start with everybody finishing their Math Stars and Divergent Thinking activity from last week.  They did a great job!

Novel Study:
We read a couple of chapters in our book, finding out how Sam ended up enjoying his first snow storm, snug in his tree.  

Unit Study:
We finished our research and compiled our Survival Books.  We'll share the finished books at our next class.  

Affective Skills:
We continued our focus on teamwork with a challenge involving using 8 foam tubes to move a marble into a cup.  Each group devised their own solution, executed it, and rated each other on Commitment to the Team, Active Participation, and Reliability.  We had an interesting discussion about how things went.

Algebraic Thinking:
We stretched our math problem solving with some new Math Multiple Art Projects.  The designs are so beautiful!  Love the combination of math and art!  

Convergent Thinking;
The kids used their logical thinking skills to solve Spring Word Suduko puzzles.  They looked simple, but were challenging for most.

No HW!  We will have Target for half-days during Milestone Testing.

Enjoy your Spring Break!
​Dr. Kraeger

The kids hit the ground running today, totally ready to work hard at learning!
They started off by finishing up left-over work from last week, and then a choice of convergent thinking games or divergent thinking activities.

Convergent thinking:
We jumped back into our Quote Fall from last week, with most of the kids puzzling out the long, difficult phrase.  Great job on this!

Algebraic Thinking:
We used our critical thinking and mathematical knowledge to solve a variety of problems from different areas of math.  The activity was a great mix of graphing, number sense, operations, and logical thinking!

Affective Skills:
We continued our mindfulness practice with a "66 Second Story" and Ocean Breathing.  We also watched a couple of impactful clips about reliability, active participation, and commitment.  After some discussion, the kids formed groups to create skits illustrating these traits.  With a lot of laughter, we think the message came across clearly.

Unit Study:
Many of the kids have finished their research and are ready to assemble their booklets.  We're excited to see what they have to share next week!

Novel Study:
We read another chapter and the kids didn't want to stop reading!  It's always a cliffhanger!

HW:  Ch. 15 Question #2-Prediction

Until next time,
​Dr. Kraeger

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​

It was wonderful to back to class and see the kids today!  They were definitely excited and ready to learn!

Convergent thinking:
We learned a new type of puzzle, called a "Drop Quote" or a "Quote Fall".  The kids really enjoyed using their convergent thinking and communication skills to figure out the Survival Quote.  We'll be doing another one soon.

Algebraic Thinking Skills:
We continued our lessons with Hands On Equations.  The kids are definitely on the right track with the new concepts and moving along well.

Affective Skills:
We discussed Grit, and how it is necessary for perseverance.  The kids read articles about famous people who showed grit on their way to success.  We'll finish this activity next time.
We also continued our mindfulness practice to help focus and prepare for learning in the afternoon.

Novel Study:
We read a bit more in our books, analyzing the character's motives and exploring some of the symbolism in the book.

HW:  Edmodo
Until next time,
​Dr. Kraeger

Despite the wacky schedule, with a Performing Arts Presentation in the morning, we got our day off to a quick start with Versatiles to stretch our convergent and algebraic thinking skills.  All the kids thought the activity was challenging, but not too hard.  

Stations:
We stretched our convergent thinking skills further with a difficult logic puzzle called a Perplexor.  The kids like these as an alternative to the Grid-Style logic puzzles.  Next, we made connections with our reading by creating an advice letter to our main character.  We started by co-creating a Letter Writing Checklist to make sure we all know what "Successfully Meeting Standards" looks like for this type of activity.  The kids used their communication skills and their creativity to come up with some great letters!

Algebraic thinking:
We jumped right back into Hands On Equations with our first lesson of the semester.  The kids were excited to get back to it and did well with the new concepts.

Novel Study:
We read a bit more of our novel, finding out how Sam keeps his tree safe and the new things Frightful is learning.  

Unit Study:
We started our research time by reviewing our Project Checklist.  The kids worked hard on their survival chapters!  The books are taking shape!

Look for a Field Trip letter next week.  Our Red Top Mountain Field Trip will be May 2nd, with a rain date of May 9th.  

HW:  Edmodo
Until next time,
​Dr. Kraeger