We had a fabulous day of learning in Target!  The kids outdid themselves with their creative Book Character costumes!  They are SO creative, and so are their parents! 

We started our day off with some catch up work, and then got right down to new stuff!

Novel Study:
We watched the Front Desk-Global Read Aloud Week 4 video and then started reading.  The kids learned that change isn't easy for real people or for book characters, but it can be a good thing.  They also realized that writing letters can bring good results in books and in real life.  

Unit Study:
We continued our investigation of Quality Education, looking a bit more at gender equality in education.  We also focused on what kids can do to have a positive impact on increasing Quality Education around the world, beginning with this video, "SDG 4-Quality Education".  After discussing the ideas about making a difference, we took a closer look at educational opportunities in Chad with this video, "Rain School".  We followed this up with more research in the computer lab, to learn more about the Global Goals and our countries.  
Finally, we shared the Model U.N. Finale Checklist with the kids.  This details requirements for the Culminating Activities, which will be held on Wednesday, December 11th.  Parents/families are invited for the Country Sharing portion of the Activity.  We will do this from 8-9am on December 11th.  We will hold our Model U.N. Debate in the afternoon, with just our Target class.

Affective Skills:
We continued our Mindfulness Practice with "2 Minute Relaxation".  

HW:  Parent Signature on Model U.N. Finale Checklist

Until next time,
Dr. Kraeger

We started our day with lots of good thinking on our creative activity-"Waker Upper".  

Stations:
We used our divergent thinking to SCAMPER a pencil.  The ideas were incredible!  The kids also flexed their convergent thinking muscles with a choice of a Grid Logic Puzzle or a Perplexor.  

Unit Study:
The kids learned about Global Goal 4-Quality Education.  They watched a brief overview of the Goal and then a picture book, Armando and the Blue Tarp School.   The kids were very surprised about the barriers to education that exist for kids in other countries.  They did some research about their own country's progress toward meeting the Quality Education Goal.  

Novel Study:
We watch the Global Read Aloud Week 3 video with Kelly Yang.  The kids were deep thinkers about the tough situations our main characters faced in this section of the book.  

Affective Skills:
We continued our Mindfulness Practice with Easy 2 Minute Mindfulness.  

HW:  Edmodo Question

Until next time,
Dr. Kraeger

It was a whirlwind of great learning today!  

Novel Study:
We read a section of our book this morning, after watching a fun video with the author answering reader questions.  The kids want to submit their questions too!  The book discusses so many important social/emotional factors the kids face in school and in life.  The discussions are fantastic!  

Later, we read another section of the book and did a related fluency activity listing American Customs or customs from another country.  It was FUN!

Unit Study:
The kids had "Fish for Dinner" again!  We watched an amazing teen activist plead with the members of the United Nations to support Climate Action.  It was stirring!  Then the kids read sections of a Climate Change article, sharing the key points with small groups.  The activity went pretty well this time, with most kids enjoying and learning from the activity.  

HW:  Edmodo Question
Until next time,
Dr. Kraeger

The kids came in eager to begin learning and working.  They have become adept at finding games and puzzles that interest them.  They enjoy the jigsaw puzzles and completed a 300 piece puzzle this morning before class started!  Love that teamwork!

Stations:
We worked on a Perplexor to develop our convergent thinking skills.  Then the kids stretched their creative thinking by transforming a key.  Some didn't get to this and will finish this up next week.  I can't wait to see the amazing ideas the kids come up with!

Algebraic thinking:
We used various strategies to solve an array of different types of math problems.  The kids found some of it really challenging, and had an easier time with some of the problems.  

Novel Study:
We dug into our book, Front Desk, in two session today.  The kids had some excellent comments and questions during our reading today.  There were some pretty intense topics, so we spent a little while in extra conversation.  The kids are growing in understanding of some of the struggles immigrants might face, especially through the eyes of our ten year old narrator.  We didn't finish the last chapter, so the kids can watch it here: Chapter 21.  

​Unit Study:
Today we learned about Global Goal 13-Climate Action.  The kids watched a wonderful video with David Attenborough imploring us to take action!  It is posted on our Target Glog-4th Grade Page.  The kids are also doing research about Climate Action and what steps their countries are taking.  I am working on adding Climate Action Tabs for each country that kids are studying, so give me a couple of days to get that set on the LiveBinder on our Target Glog.
​
Affective skills:
We continued our mindfulness practice with "Kick Logic Back Into Gear".  The kids thought of many really wacky "Worst Case Scenarios" which made the real potential scenarios seem pretty tame by comparison.  This is a great strategy for helping to calm anxiety about performance or competition.

HW:  Edmodo Question-Do you think Hank was treated fairly? How would you feel if you were Hank?  How do you think Mia feels about all of this?

Until next time,
​Dr. Kraeger

We squeezed in as much learning as we could around the hearing and vision screening for the 4th Graders this morning.  

Unit Study:
We learned so much about the Global Goal of Clean Water and Sanitation.  The kids know more about illness resulting from poor water sources and inadequate sanitation than they ever wanted to know.  We also learned about the team from Georgia Tech that is working to create a fully complete Toilet System that leaves no waste, is 3 feet by 3 feet, and costs under $450.  This project is being funded by the Gates Foundation.  Cool stuff that will really make a difference in the health and lives of so many in developing countries.  The kids also experienced jigsaw learning and sharing that learning through a "Dinner Party".  They had "Fish" for dinner and LOVED it!  

Novel Study:
We finally started our novel, Front Desk.  The kids were glued to it from the first word!  We didn't quite get finished, so here's a link to Ch. 6&7 and Ch.8&9 so the kids to listen to Ms. Rhone and I read.  

Algebraic Thinking:
We reviewed a bit of our previous lesson before we move on next week.  The kids seem to be ready to move on, learning a new concept next time.

Affective Thinking:
​We continued our mindfulness practice with "Mindfulness Bell".  The kids really enjoyed this one! 

HW:  View the video/audio of the chapters your class didn't get to read yet.  Then, log in to Edmodo and complete the question about the book.  If your child has trouble logging in to Edmodo, he/she should stop in to see me in the morning to review username/password.

Until next time,
Dr. Kraeger