It was great to have the kids back for a full day! We could tell that they are excited about Fall Break. The noise and energy levels were pretty high all day. We're looking forward to a calmer, more focused class when we get back. Make sure those kiddos play outside A LOT and burn up some of that excess energy. Thank you!

Take a look at the photos of our Parade! The kids are SO creative!

Stations:
We worked on a Balloon Webquest to uncover facts about hot air balloons. This is an interesting process, since many of these kids still think the information will be right there--very obvious to them. They don't realize they will need to skim or quickly read an article or caption to find the information they need. This is a skill we will work more on this year.

We stretched our convergent skills with a logic puzzle and an analogy puzzle focusing on plurals. There were some good vocabulary words in there today: oxen, cacti. Good stuff!

Algebraic Thinking:
We pushed on with our Hands On Equations lessons, with kids working on Lesson 6-parentheses in equations and Lesson 13-Working with our number cubes first to simplify the equation before we do other legal moves. We'll practice these concepts again after the break, since they are both foundational to moving forward in the learning.

Unit Study:
The kids finished their 1880s Newspaper Research Project. We'll have the GIANT newspaper displayed outside the classroom after the Break. I hope you'll take a peek. The kids did a good job!

Affective:
Our discussion and activities focused on growth mindset and strategies to get us to a growth mindset. We viewed another Class DoJo movie: Big Ideas #2. The kids have a Padlet response on that topic for HW.
Later, we practiced a 2 Minute of Mindfulness. The kids are building their stamina and concentration with this. It's great!

Novel Study:
We tested our critical thinking skills with some questions about our novel.

HW: Edmodo-Padlet about Growth Mindset

Have a wonderful Fall Break!
​Dr. Kraeger

The kids had an AMAZING day in Target!  I can tell they were ready to be back at school!

Affective Skills:
We started off with more learning about Growth vs. Fixed Mindset and how we really can grow our brains.  The kids read a very interesting article about the whys and hows of brain growth.  They shared their "Wow" Facts and main ideas with a fun activity called "Whip Around".  Check it out in the photos.  We also watched a short video "Big Ideas#1" about Growth Mindset. 
Later, we learned about how the Amygdala controls the "Fight or Flight" and how we can calm it down.  Lots of good strategies in this video!

Algebraic Thinking:
We continued our work in Hands On Equations with Lesson 5 for our newer folks and Lesson 12 for our returning math aces.  They are making great progress with these skills!

Stations:
We challenged our convergent thinking skills with a logic puzzle and more analogies.  We also used our critical thinking skills to read and answer questions about Harry Houdini, one of the famous people of the late 1800s.  The kids put their creativity to good use by writing balloon poems.  I can't wait to display them in the room!

Unit Study:
We worked hard on our 1880s research today, with several kiddos completing articles and other items for our class newspaper.  We'll continue this next week.

Novel Study:
We shared a fun Foreshadowing video with the kids to help them learn to recognize this important literary tool.  We read just a bit of our novel, enough to find out that Professor Sherman may be in big trouble from some wayward seagulls!

HW:  Edmodo Poll
Until next week,
Dr. Kraeger

Today was a day filled with building, learning, and fun!

Stations:
We challenged our convergent thinking skills with more analogies and also a much harder logic puzzle.  It was pretty tough for most, so we'll keep working on that level for a while.  We also read about the Duryea Brothers, who invented the first automobile.  

Algebraic Thinking:
We marched right on with our Hands On Equations, making great progress today!  It is getting easier for most, and they are LOVING it!

Unit Study:
We had a fantastic time using our critical, creative, and evaluative thinking skills to build our Parade Transportation.  The Parade Floats aren't all complete yet, so look for photos of that next week.  We also finished our Balloon Fact Books.  Check out the display outside the room!
Later, in the Computer Lab, we started our 1880s research.  The kids are researching many topics from the 1880s to find out more about the time frame of our novel.  They will be creating projects from their research to assemble a GIANT class newspaper in the hall over the next couple of weeks.  

Affective Skills:
We continued our mindfulness practice with "Why Humans Experience Anxiety" and "Progressive Muscle Relaxation".   Both were helpful for the kids!

Novel Study:
We read a bit of chapter 4, "The Unwanted Visitor", and discussed foreshadowing.  They are sure something bad is about to happen to Professor Sherman, but we'll have to wait for next week!

HW:  Edmodo
Until next time,
​Dr. Kraeger

We had a short day, due to our Early Release.  The kids put in so much effort and accomplished much more than we thought they could in such a short time!

Affective Skills:
We learned about Fixed vs. Growth Mindset.  Check out the videos to see for yourself how we're laying a foundation for the kids to move forward in developing a Growth Mindset.

Algebraic Thinking Skills:
We worked on a Math Stars Problem-Solving set to challenge in all sorts of math topics.  The kids learned a little about Stem & Leaf plots, which is a middle school topic!  Pretty cool stuff!

Unit/Novel Study:
We worked on a design for our Parade Floats, which we'll construct next week.  The kids also finished their Balloon Designs and Fact Books.  Take a peek at these outside our classroom.  They look marvelous!  We also used our divergent thinking to work on a fluency/flexibility activity about balloon travel.

Stations:
We did some analogy basics to test our convergent thinking skills, focusing on synonyms.  They did quite well, especially given the first exposure!  We also had some help from Ms. Haslet, our Tech Integration Specialist, to get our devices on Cobb's new wireless network.  

HW:  Fixed vs. Growth Mindset Exit Slip

Until next week,
​Dr. Kraeger

The kids have settled into the 4th grade Target rhythm!  We had a busy and productive day!

Stations:
We got started right away with some divergent thinking in our Hot Air Balloon design, adding in critical thinking with 10 Balloon Facts.  We also challenged our convergent thinking skills with two types of logic puzzles-grid & word.  

Algebraic Thinking:
After analyzing the results of our pre-test, we formed groups for Hands On Equations.  The kids were ready to jump back into this!  They did very well with the first lessons this year!

Affective Skills:
We watched a video about the parts of the brain, followed by an activity to identify some personal strengths and weaknesses.  Then we used those strengths to help with our goal setting in "Tickets for Success".  We also practiced our mindfulness with Still, Quiet Place and Listening Practice.  In the afternoon, we tried a teamwork challenge called "Raise the Hula-Hoop".  The kids mastered that VERY quickly!  

Novel Study:
We continued our reading in Twenty-One Balloons. At the end of today's reading, we discussed potential problems with hot air balloon travel then and today.  We also worked to develop criteria for our "Parade Floats", which we will construct next week.

HW:  Edmodo Question

Until next time,
Dr. Kraeger

We had a great second week in Target! The kids are definitely getting back into the Target "mindset"!

Stations:
We worked on some convergent thinking skills with a couple logic puzzles, just to get back on track. Then we challenged our critical thinking skills with a non-fiction article about Hot Air Balloons. This included some tough questions. Check it out when it comes home next week!

Later we we dusted off our Algebraic Thinking Skills with a quick review of important concepts from Hands On Equations Level1, followed by a pre-test to check existing knowledge and readiness.

Affective Skills:
We continued with our Interactive Notebooks by discussing Target Norms and classroom procedures (Start & End of the Day, Absent Work, Hall/Restroom, Attention Signals). Reinforcing these important ideas helps the kids strengthen their organizational, time-management, and socio-emotional skills.
We did a teamwork challenge called "5 Elbows"--a fun movement activity. Check out the photo below!
Our Mindfulness Practice continued with 4-7-8 Breathing. This gives the kids a breathing pattern to use for focusing attention, calming down, or relaxing.

Unit Study:
We continued reading from our novel, Twenty-One Balloons. We discussed how to create thorough and complete responses to the higher-level thinking questions we'll be working on during this unit. This reading time allows us to tap into evaluative thinking as well as other critical thinking skills.
We also used our critical thinking skills with our knowledge of longitude and latitude to determine a possible route for Professor Sherman.

HW: Edmodo Quiz

Until next time,
Dr. Kraeger
​

We had a fun-filled, exciting first day of Target!  

We started our day with a team-building activity called "Pasta Race".  The kids worked in groups to move spaghetti from one side to the other using only 2 foam plates--without touching the pasta! The results were interesting, to say the least!  

The kids signed up for Edmodo, and I can tell they are excited about it already!  We also started our Tagxedos for the front of our Target notebooks.

​We also practiced a bit of mindfulness with Til the Thinker & Widdle the Worrier and Clouds.

Later we worked on starting the basics of our Interactive Target Notebooks.  The kids did a good job making their notebooks unique and getting ready for our work together.  We also had a great time "Voting with our Feet", as we made choices and moved from one side of the room to another.

We started our unit by reading a bit of our book, The Twenty-One Balloons.  

HW:   Edmodo

Until next week,
Dr. Kraeger

We had a fantastic day of learning! We started with excellent progress on the Frog Projects.  Many of the kids are nearing the conclusion of their projects.  We checked for at least 2 "Thick" Research Questions today and took a look at their notes (just to make sure they were paraphrasing, not plagiarizing!).  We'll check the remaining kiddos next week.  The projects will be presented on May 19th in a Gallery Walk.  Details to come next week.

We enjoyed using our divergent thinking and communication skills to create a new ending, epilogue, or new chapter for our novel, The Way to Stay in Destiny. We're impressed by the ideas so far.  The chapters are SO creative and clever!  They really captures the tone and voice of the novel.  Several of the kids finished their chapters and are working on illustrations.  We'll share them next week.

​Our BIG event of the day was a Frog Breakout.  The kids were SO very excited to do our first Breakout activity!  They solved all the riddles, codes, and puzzles to break out of the Locked Box in less than an hour!!  Take a look at a few of the tasks they faced:

HW:  Edmodo-Reflection on Frog Breakout

Until next time,
​Dr. Kraeger