Happy Summer!

Happy Summer to my wonderful, hard-working students! Unplug, get outside and enjoy that beautiful sunshine.

One of my favorite sites to start summertime is Start with a Book. Pick a topic of interest--from inventions to dinosaurs to cooking to money--to find recommendations on great books, hands-on activities and projects, writing ideas, related kid-safe websites, mobile apps, a meet-the-author video, and more.

If you do find yourself with some screen time, here are some places to find more to do this summer.

• The Coding page on this blog to log on to your Code.org account (available all summer) or to check out other coding websites and apps
• The Reading page on this blog to find links to digital books, Lexia, and games
• The Math page on this blog to find links to games
• Article: "48 Ultra-Cool Summer Sites for Kids and Teachers"

Enjoy!

2nd Grade Visits Museum of Modern Art

Well, sort of. 

All 2nd graders explored the Museum of Modern Art in New York through a virtual tour. Students chose a piece of art to research more in depth, took notes, and typed their reports using Microsoft PowerPoint. Each student made 1 slide. The slides were combined into a class presentation. All artwork and information is from the MoMA website.

Kindergarten Symmetry Art

 Kindergartners used their mouse control skills to dabble in symmetry art. Students moved the mouse with precision, chose colors and thickness of brush strokes from menus, and practiced clicking and dragging to create their designs.

Kindergartners created and saved their individual pictures using Magic Mirror Paint from ABCya.com. I combined their creations into a single class collage using PhotoCollage.com.

The Families of Area A and P7A

First and second graders in Area A and P7A thought about things that make their families special and typed those words using Microsoft Word. They used the "return" key to type on a new line and saved their work. Second graders also learned to copy and paste their work between applications using both the menu and the keyboard shortcuts. They pasted their words into the Word Cloud maker from ABCya.com. Here are some of their Word Clouds.

A1

 

 

Area B Book Talks

Second graders in Area B recorded book talks using the iPad app ChatterPix Kid - By Duck Duck Moose. No, really. Their books are talking! Listen to their videos to hear about their current books.

B1

  

Busy as a Bee-Bot

Students in kindergarten, 1st grade, and 2nd grade have been programming Bee-Bot robots these last few weeks. Students work on sequencing by putting the steps of an algorithm in order to then program the Bee-Bot.

Next students programmed the Bee-Bot to move to a certain location on a double-sided "Challenge Mat."

Here are some of the ways students used the mats.

1) Partners pick a number on the mat, then try to find more than one path to get the Bee-Bot from "start" to the target number. The great thing about this challenge is that there are several right answers. Students have to think about multiple paths around the mat and are not satisfied with only the simplest or most obvious option. Students are asked: Can you program another way to get to the same number? Can you create an algorithm that doesn't go through 0?

2) Students receive cards aligned to grade-level Common Core math standards. As partners they solve the problem or answer the question and then program the Bee-Bot to go to the number on the mat showing the answer. For example, Area A and P7A solved problems of addition and subtraction within 10.

3) Area B took the last challenge a step further. The whole class received the same problem of addition or subtraction within 20, and the teams raced to solve the math problem, plan out the algorithm, and program the Bee-Bot to move to the correct answer. Speed, accuracy, critical thinking, and teamwork all played a role in a team's success.

This was just one type of Challenge Mat. In future units students will program Bee-Bots on a variety of mats to explore other grade-level math and literacy concepts.

"Unplugged" Algorithms

Students learn computer science vocabulary through many ways including body movements, chants, and hands-on (or "unplugged") activities. For example, all students in kindergarten through second grade can tell you with gusto what an algorithm is: a list of steps.

First and second grade students participated in unplugged activities to build the foundation for understanding what an algorithm is. Students sorted visual directions, determined which steps were needed, and put them in order. Area A and P7A determined the correct sequence to plant a seed. Area B sequenced and then followed their algorithm to make a paper airplane. This activity showed students that algorithms can be found in many real life scenarios. It also reinforced that steps need to be in the right sequence to reach an intended outcome.