Algebraic Thinking:
After our pretest, we knew that some extra time with Hands-On-Equations was in order. So, we started our HOE double sessions this week. This meant a regular HOE lesson in the morning and verbal (word problems) lesson in the afternoon. All the kids stayed with it during our "twice-a-days"! You may remember those from high school sports--two practices a day at the beginning of the season? Killer sometimes, but a great way to get back in shape fast! That's our goal too! Because not everyone started at the same level on our pretest, we grouped according to readiness. Groups will continue to change as the kids start to pick up the pace and learn the new skills at different rates. Our highest group is pretty excited about tackling the hard problems that are coming up in later lessons. I can tell you this, they involve trains traveling in different directions, at different speeds... Does that bring back memories? It did for me, and they weren't good! With Hands-On-Equations though, those impossible to solve algebra problems are almost EASY!
Focus Unit:
We read more of our novel, The Gollywhopper Games. More of the backstory is being revealed, letting us know how Gil got into this situation to begin with. From there, we watched a video called, "The Game that Can Give You 10 Extra Years of Life". It's a Ted talk of video game creator Jane McGonigal explaining how gaming and simple techniques can increase emotional, physical, social, and intellectual resilience, leading to a longer life. Check it out, if you like. There is a short section in the middle that we skipped over because it talks about a pretty serious time for Jane, but rest of the video is pretty extraordinary! We learned so much about the main reasons that games make us happy.
Convergent Thinking:
The kids knocked the figural analogies and logic puzzles out of the park! Great work on this!
Affective:
We watched a video about "Seizing the Day" and setting goals. It lead to an interesting, thought-provoking discussion.
HW: Complete the "What if...?" scene from our novel.
Ready for learning--always!
Dr. Kraeger