We started off with a math Versatiles, which the kids thought was too easy for March of 4th grade.  So, I've taken their advice and will put it in for next August! 

Unit Study:
We honed our evaluative thinking with a Poster Gallery Rating Session.  We had an in-depth discussion of what makes work excellent, including barriers to express your creativity on a project.  The kids had some insightful comments and really enjoyed the activity.  
Next, we worked on our Frog Projects.  Our crafty kids are making good headway with their projects.  So are the techy kids with their Sway presentations and "Choose Your Own Adventures".  I can't wait to see the finished projects.

Algebraic Thinking:
We continued our Hands On Equations lessons.  The kids are making good progress as they add new strategies to solve more challenging equations.

Affective Skills:
We continued our work on Perfectionism by looking at the comparison with Excellence.  We saw a presentation about Excellence that included some good ideas about excellence being a state of mind and a habit.  The kids had some fantastic connections!
We kept up with our Mindfulness Practice by using a short "2 Minute Breathing".  The kids enjoyed the peaceful moments to transition back to our classwork from Specials.

Novel Study:
We read a bit more of our book and used our understanding to answer some critical thinking questions about being a "Fair Weather Friend".  Many of the kids wondered about that term.  We also began a discussion about the Vietnam War, since that comes up a bit in our book.  We had a brief overview today and will look at why people protested the War in our next class.

No HW!  Enjoy your Spring Break!

Until next time,
​Dr. Kraeger
​

We started out strong by challenging our Math Skills with a Versatiles activity.

Stations:
Today in the target classroom we have been working on logic puzzles and analogies using G6, Communication and G7, Collaboration, in addition to Convergent Thinking. Why do we need to use these standards you ask? Well we need to use communication because it is very hard to do these logic puzzles without talking about it and sharing knowledge, believe me, I know. We also need to use collaboration because we need to share ideas and collaborate so we can get it done as quickly as possible. We do logic puzzles every week, even on early release days. -Alina

Algebraic Thinking: 
We reviewed our most recent Hands On Equations lesson before moving on to the new concepts next week.  The kids did a great job and seem ready for our next challenges!

Unit Study:
We continued our work on the Frog Projects.  The kids are making good progress and will have a few more class periods to work before presenting in late April.  

Novel Study:
We read a bit more of our book.  The kids used critical thinking to create a Tweet from the perspective of one of the characters.  The results were funny, insightful, and well done!

Affective Skills:
We started an activity about Perfectionism today with a white square.  The kids damaged their square every time they heard a negative Perfectionistic comment from the story.  We had a good discussion and reflection about being perfect and the pressures of that.  We'll continue this activity next week. 
HW: Edmodo-Frog Poll
​
Until next time,
Dr. Kraeger

Despite the short day for Early Release, we packed in a lot of learning! We challenged our mathematical thinking with a Versatile activity.  This was a bit harder than we've done before, but we eventually had success with it!

Algebraic Thinking:
Today in HOE we did lesson 14, while the other group did lesson 11. HOE is pretty hard, when you come to think of it. It gets even harder. HOE is fun because it makes your brain try very hard! The standard is G2 Algebraic Thinking.- Christian M.
​
Unit Study:
Our current target unit is Frogs. Its amazing! I am doing the Fire Bellied Toad, and this research is really fun! I am very excited to dissect them, although a little scared. I'm excited to present once its done, and I'm confident it will be great along with everyone else's. - Catherine

Novel Study:
We read a bit more in our novel.  We found out that the money for Miss Sister's gift was stolen, and that Mrs. Johnson thinks it was Theo.  Hmm...a mystery to solve!
​
HW:  Edmodo- "Who do you think stole the money?"

Until next time,
​Dr. Kraeger

We started our day with a math Versatiles.  The kids had some good debates & discussions while trying to solve this task.

Unit Study:
Today in target we did some research, on what you ask? Frogs! we are doing research on different frogs, each student has a different frog. We use G4, evaluative thinking, and G10, self directed learner. We use evaluative thinking because we need to evaluate what strategy to use to present our information. We need to be self directed learners because our wonderful target teachers cant do our work and research for us, and if we lose our information, then it's our fault. We have been doing things for about a month now and will be continuing for a few more weeks. -Alina

Algebraic Thinking:
In target we do H.O.E, or hands on equations! Today we did word problems, and I really did struggle. It was hard, and confusing, and I wanted to quit! I wanted to rip the paper in half, it was a struggle, and I needed help. With Mrs. Lobello's help, I did it! H.O.E is amazing, and now that I understand, i feel like I can do so much! -Catherine S

Stations:
Today we did Logic puzzles using G1 Convergent thinking. We also did 4th grade analogies using G6 Communication.- Maggie W

Novel Study:
We  read another chapter in our book.  This week we compared our decision of what Theo should do about the metal box he found with what he actually did in the story.  We also found out what is inside the box!
​
HW:  Edmodo-Project Update
Until next time,
​Dr. Kraeger