Today we finished our PBL presentation videos! To think back and reflect on our growth within the process of PBL, we watched this video and thought about all the wonderful examples of being self-directed, kind safe and fair, and collaboration in action. I had them write all the good/noteworthy stuff they saw and used their words and reflections to compose this wonderful word cloud. I feel the word cloud captures the heart of what we were practicing and showing in our group work (which wasn't always a walk in the park). The words that stand out are: sharing, constructive, ideas, working, helpful, listening and truthful, however, more than once I read such strong words like: criticism, supportive, focused, work, safe and feedback that show the challenge and growth found within the group process. Enjoy!
Fraction Action!
For the past 2 weeks we have been covering fractions during our Math Block. This includes the Math vocabulary of numerator, denominator, equivalent fractions, and partition. By now we have covered how to read fractions, show fractions as part of a set, part of a whole, and on a number line and can make and explain equivalent fractions! As we continue to polish up our fraction understanding, I added the menu option of creating a board game that helps practice understanding of one of the standards we have covered. We have such a creative class! Here are some examples of what they produced either individually or in small groups. Some are incredibly original and combine multiple math operations and problem solving which others are refined games that truly test your fraction understanding. It was a great opportunity to let the students construct their own learning and output path! | |
A Class of Green Thumbs!
| Plant Science is upon us! We have successfully planted Wisconsin Fast Plants and in (literally) a matter of days, have watched them take off growing! We are making observations of how fast they grow and how they change. Pretty soon I am going to open up a class seed bank and see what else we can grow! I have always wanted to grow an avocado seed! Now I have a class full of experts that can support me in that effort! |
Last Notes:
We have a field trip coming up soon! As a final culmination of our PBL and in conjunction with our beginning science unit on plants, the two third grades are heading to the Arboretum! The field trip is April 9th, a Wednesday, and details along with a permission slip has been sent home last Friday. We signed up for the Plants 201 Course: The interconnected nature of life is explored through observation, data collection, digging deeper into plant parts and their functions, and continued learning with a take home experiment!