We started our day with some creativity by making Word Clouds using Tagxedo.  Check it out in your child's Target Folder.  Please make sure you sign your child's Assignment Sheet each week.  

Unit Study:
We continued our work on Survivors!  The kids generated a list of things they would bring, if they had to leave home.  After creating the list, they discussed and defended their choices.  Kind of hard to defend bringing a game system or 10 cases of bottled water! They continued their work with a partner to start brainstorming ideas for their Survivor Audition video, which they'll film next week.  We also had our second Tribal Challenge-"Move the Bugs!"  We ended with a 3-Way tie, so all Tribes will earn the Reward for next class!  Loved the teamwork and positive comments during our Challenge today!

Novel Study:
We continued reading our Survivor-themed novels today. The focus was on questions we have about the book, as we get more into the story.

Affective Skills:
We did an interesting Group Dynamics lesson called, "What's My Value".  The kids were given a playing card to hold on their forehead without looking at it.  Then, they had conversations with comments according to the "Value" of the card.  Without looking at their cards, they lined up by how they felt after the game.  They figured out pretty quickly whether their card was high or low value after seeing where they fit in the line.  We followed this with an excellent discussion about judging people's value based on superficial traits or appearances.  I was impressed with their insights and connections!

HW:  Edmodo Question
Until next time,
Dr. Kraeger

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We got our day off to a good start with a divergent thinking activity.  The kids described what school would be like without Target.  The answers were funny, creative, and definitely 100% kid!  Check them out by our classroom!

Unit Study:
We continued our work on Survivors!  The kids generated a list of skills/traits that would be helpful for survival.  Then they met with a partner to start brainstorming ideas for their Survivor Audition video, which they'll create next week.

Novel Study:
We started our Survivor-themed novels today.  The kids each chose the novel they wanted to read from our list of 4 books.  We enjoyed reading the introduction in each of the books, and a little bit of background knowledge about each story.  We're looking forward to working with Mrs. Hayes, as she joins us on this novel study.
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Algebraic Thinking:
We began our math work with a short review of Hands On Equations, Level 1.  After that, we took a Pre-test to assess our knowledge from Level 1, before placing kids in appropriate learning groups for our math time.  The groups are flexible, so if a child makes quick progress, he/she can move to a more challenging group.  Likewise, if the pace is too quick, we can find a group with a bit slower pace.

Divergent Thinking:
We stretched our brains in creative ways with our first F2OE of the year.  We reviewed what Fluency, Flexibility, Originality, and Elaboration are.  The kids liked the variety of tasks and rated which they found easiest and hardest.  We'll do variations of this task throughout the year to help us grow our creativity.

Affective Skills:
We did a fantastic Group Dynamics lesson called, "Broken Square".  The kids had to work together without talking, pointing, or grabbing to create 5 perfect squares from a variety of pieces.

We continued our Mindfulness Practice with a breathing exercise, 4-7-8 Breathing.  Most of the kids found this pretty challenging, but did much better after the second try.  This is a good way to relax or help quiet the mind at bedtime.

A Quick Note about Edmodo:
I only assign one question for Homework each time.  The kids will see it at the top of their posts.  Edmodo sends out an optional Question of the Day.  The kids don't have to answer that,--it's just for fun.  I'll be sending home Parent Sign-Up forms for Edmodo next week.

HW:  Edmodo Question

Until Next Time,
Dr. Kraeger

We had a blast getting our day started making a Chatterpix of our Target Wishes.  The kids LOVE this app--so much fun!  We created our own Name Cards and had a few minutes to play Chess or Checkers.

Next, we worked on our evaluative thinking, Creative Problem Solving, and collaboration with the Cup Stack Challenge. The kids learned a lot about what works and what doesn't.  It will be interesting to see how they do when we repeat this activity with new teams in January!

We learned about a new strategy called "Sketchnoting".  Here's a video for your information about what's behind this method and why I think it may helpful for the kids to learn.  Their preview video was a short clip showing the how/why of sketchnoting.  We learned how to draw different types of people today: i people, h people, bean people, and star people.  And YES, I drew too--even though I am NOT an artist!  We practiced our sketchnoting skills by creating a Rules & Procedures for the Target Classroom page in our Notebooks.  The kids are enjoying getting started with this idea.

After lunch, we focused our attention with some Mindfulness Practice.  We'll do this each week to find ways to relax our minds.

We also watched an introduction to our Survivor Unit.  "Ten Year Old Boy Survives the Wilderness" was a perfect kick-off to our unit.  Stay tuned for more news of Tribes, Challenges, and all things Survival related!!

Finally, we signed up for Edmodo accounts.  A few of the kids were having trouble with their passwords.  They've written their username and passwords on a card to take home.  If they try to type it as written and they still have trouble, please have them stop by the Target room for me to reset the password.  

HW:  Edmodo Question

Until next time,
Dr. Kraeger