Three of our movies are finalized and uploaded to YouTube.  Here they are:

Funny Moments

Sports

A Day at Chalker

 We started our new unit, Ultimate Connections, off with a pre-test to assess background knowledge and a Bridge Simulation Activity.  The students were placed in different societies with varying resources and food items.  They needed to figure out ways to sustain life by trading.  They learned quickly the importance of bridges!  Check out the fun below:

We continued our algebra work by reviewing and correcting our Hands-On-Equations Assessments.  Some finished up and brought theirs home today.  Others will work a bit more next week.  A group of about six did very well on the assessment.  They will be moving ahead with their next lesson in our next class.  A middle group understood most of the concepts, but needs some more review before moving on.  The final group struggled to complete the assessment, even given over 90 minutes to complete it.  This shows that they really need more support with these algebraic concepts.  It might be a good idea to review the Hands-On-Equations videos (Level 2-Lessons 10-14) that I've posted to Edmodo before our next class.  You can also purchase the Hands-On-Equations Level 2 App for $2.99.  It would be a great way to practice!

We did a bit more reading about the Vietnam War and then continued our novel.  We're almost to the end.  It's SO hard to stop reading each week!

No Homework! 

Enjoy your Spring Break!
​Dr. Kraeger  

We worked hard this week on our math problem solving and critical thinking skills!  Some kids finished up their Hands On Equations Assessments, while others tackled a Math Problem Solving task.  We continued this critical thinking focus with playing the card game "24".  

Later we worked more on our divergent thinking and our novel study.  We also squeezed in some reading about the history of the Vietnam War because it ties in with our novel.  The kids used one of our favorite techniques, Sketchnoting to capture the main ideas of a short video on Growth Mindset.  Ask your child for examples of a growth mindset.

We practiced our mindfulness techniques with Cloud Breathing.

Look for news about our upcoming unit: Ultimate Connections--Bridges!

HW:  Edmodo-Bridge Question

Until next time,
​Dr. Kraeger

We had a fantastic start to our Target day with our Movie Premiere Party!  Thank you to all those family members in our audience.  The kids put on a wonderful show today! Look for another blog in the next week or so when the movies have been uploaded to YouTube.  I'm so proud of their creativity, teamwork, and hard work in producing these movies.

We challenged our algebraic thinking skills with a Hands On Equations assessment.  These results will help us know what next steps to take with our Hands On Equations lessons.  Some seemed to struggle, so they may want to review our Hands On Equations videos on Edmodo or Office 365.

We followed that with a divergent thinking activity, a creative collage reading task, and more math problem solving.

Finally, we read another chapter of our novel, The Way to Stay in Destiny.
 We watched a short video and had a good discussion about why one of the main characters was so upset about the treatment of veterans of the Vietnam War.  The kids completed a critical thinking reading activity, which some have taken home to finish.

HW:  Edmodo Question about Destiny

Until next time,
​Dr. Kraeger

The kids finished their movies today--well almost!  A few have small finishing touches to add before our Premiere Party on Thursday, March 17th, 8-8:30am.   We hope to see you there as we share all four student created movies! 

During our Thinking Stations, we worked on algebraic thinking with more word problems.  We also tapped into convergent thinking with a logical problem-solving task using our Versatiles.  Our final station was reading a chapter in our novel followed by a critical thinking reading response.

We finished up our day with novel reading and a discussion about rules, values, and perceptions.  The kids had some interesting insights and great connections with real-life experiences.  They ended this time with a critical & evaluative thinking reading response.  I'm eager to see what they think about "Fair Weather Friends".

HW:  Edmodo-Way to Stay in Destiny question
Until next week,
Dr. Kraeger

 Our day started with catch-up work and movie making!  It's interesting that each week we do the "Catch-Up" list, there are fewer and fewer names on it.  I guess the kids are figuring out that it's easier to get the work done and REMEMBER to turn it in on Target day, than re-doing missing assignments later.  Great life lesson!

The movie making is going full-steam ahead with most groups nearing completion--only final editing to to.

Please mark your calendars for our Movie Premiere Party on March 17th, 8-8:45am.  We hope you can join us for our Movie Premieres!

Affective Skills:
We continued our study of Growth Mindset with Big Ideas #4.  We followed that with a reading about growing your intelligence.  Then the kids used their critical thinking skills to apply these concepts to examples from their own lives.  

Later we worked on our mindfulness practice with Finding Peace

​Algebraic Thinking:
We continued our work with Word Problems.  This higher level skill is pretty challenging, but more of them are really catching on.  

Critical Thinking:  
We worked on our convergent thinking skills with our card game, Set.  Then we continued our novel, focusing on analysis of the story with responses on Kahoot.  Check it out here:  Ch.14-14 Kahoot.   
​
HW:  Edmodo Question about Way to Stay in Destiny

Until next week,
​Dr. Kraeger