Although we got a late start because of Kindergarten Testing, the kids jumped right into some math activities and games that challenged their algebraic and convergent thinking skills.  

Novel Study:
We finished Ungifted!  The kids loved the ending!  After reading, we spent some time creating either a new chapter or a continuation of the story.  The kids have done a good job using the style and voice of their character, and I can definitely see their humor and creativity in this writing!

Unit Study:
We reviewed the main principles of Game Design and then the kids had a substantial amount of time to get down to the business of creating their games.  The work we saw was excellent!  They are definitely on the right track to creating some fun and engaging games.  There are some very creative ideas!

HW:  Game Creation Progress Check In

Until next time,
​Dr. Kraeger

Our day started off with a Math Problem Solving Challenge.  The kids used their critical thinking and algebraic thinking to solve a variety of math problems.  

Novel Study:
We read a couple more chapters in our book.  The kids are trying to figure out who helped Donovan cheat to stay in the Academy, but so far we don't know.

Unit Study:
We watched a video on Game Design to give us some background.  Then the kids used a Game Design Plan to flesh out their ideas for their individual games.   Later, we started creating our games.  Some are creating online games, most are creating card or board games.  The kids have some VERY creative ideas!  This should be a lot of fun!

HW:  Edmodo-Game Design Check In

Until next time,
​Dr. Kraeger

Our day was packed with learning from start to finish!  It was great to have the kids for a full day!

Algebraic Thinking:
We marched on with Hands On Equations.  Our beginners started Level 2, which introduces -x.  This will help so much next year in Math 6/7 or Advanced Math 6.  Our middle group learned about representing their problem-solving using drawing.  It's a good back-up plan to solve equations using our Hands-On methods, even without the pieces we usually use.  Our third group is almost to the end of the Hands On Equations lessons, with 24 of 26 lessons.  It's getting pretty tough because we're using EVERYTHING we've learned in each of the equations.  We'll need to spend another week on this one, but that is just fine.  

Novel Study:
We read a couple of exciting chapters leading up to the State Robotics Meet for our characters from the Academy of Scholastic Distinction.  Our hero Donovan wants to help them win, but he's been kicked off the team and has to avoid his arch enemy, Dr. Schultz.  We'll see if the team wins next time!

Affective:
We finished our Dream Poems and illustrations.  Please take a look outside our classroom.  The kids did a fantastic job, with so much creativity in their writing and artwork!

Unit Study:
We watched a couple of interesting videos about Games, The Dawn of Video Games and The Psychology of Gaming.  The kids were fascinated by how much people really liked the early video games and how big the first computers were.  

Later, we worked on learning to code by completing a project on CSFirst.  The kids used the Scratch programming language to create Earth Day Logos for Google.  The clever and fun ideas I saw were amazing!  It was an incredible afternoon.  Imagine...35 kids coding at the same time, most of whom have very little experience with coding.  The best part, they all learned enough today to successfully create their logos!  SUCCESS!  Some of the kids may use this knowledge to create a video game for their Game Project, or at least part of a video game.  A big shout out to Karim for his patience in helping all of our newbies, since he has lots of experience with Scratch!  A very nice bonus to this activity is the $100 Donor's Choose Gift Card we'll earn because of Goggle's partnership with Donor's Choose.  For each coding project the kids finish, our class earns $100, up to a total of $350.  That's fantastic!  We're working toward another iPad for the Target Rooms.  

HW:  Edmodo-Finish the Coding project

Until next time,
Dr. Kraeger

We had only a half day, but we got a lot of great learning done!

We read a couple of chapters in our novel, testing our critical thinking with a ghost game of Kahoot vs. last year's 5th graders.  Our kids did very well!

We continued our Game Unit with our Board Game Session.  The kids enjoyed using their convergent, divergent, and evaluative thinking skills with different games.  At the end of the session, the kids analyzed and evaluated the merits of various games.

HW:  Edmodo-Sign up for CSFirst in our class section.

Until next time,
​Dr. Kraeger