This post is part of my continuing series of weekly lesson summaries. My goal is to give parents & caregivers in our school community the resources needed to extend student learning at home, and to share my professional practice with teacher colleagues around the world in the interest of improving my craft.

Week ending 04/06/12

Kindergarten

What we covered / did / explored:

• We warmed up with a quick game of “Cut the Rope,” a highly addictive and cognitively challenging activity designed to test understandings of simple physics and cause & effect. I love that this game lets you skip levels that are frustrating because no one likes to stay stuck. We did the first few levels as a class to understand how to play and then sent the kids off to do their best.
• Today’s lesson was about working/playing together. I asked the students to think of a really fun play date with a friend or relative. Who were they with? What did they do? What made it fun? Then we asked the students to think of a play date that was NOT so much fun. What happened? Why? What could be done about it? The discussion was wonderful as it always is with this lesson with kids relating great details and offering great explanations. We concluded the discussion by talking about the things that worked (and the things that did not.)
• We watched Crawford & Harriett Work Together (the entire series is great and free to watch online). We discussed what we thought would happen as the movie played out. At the end of the movie I asked each student to use Tux Paint to draw a representation of a good (or bad) play date showing the people involved and what happened.

What I learned / observed / inferred:

• Kids are overwhelmingly positive. Although several shared some “bad” play date experiences orally none chose to illustrate one.
• Almost every student spelled their name correctly and used initial capital letters.
• Fine motor / mouse control skills are improving steadily.

What students can do at home:

• This lesson is easy to replicate with Tux Paint or any other painting/drawing program. Encourage your child to incorporate as many details as possible – then let them explain what’s happening. You will be amazed!
• Play ”Cut the Rope” together. Explore. Strategize. Try to improve. It’s fun!

First Grade

What we covered / did / explored:

• We warmed up with a quick game of “Cut the Rope,” a highly addictive and cognitively challenging activity designed to test understandings of simple physics and cause & effect. I love that this game lets you skip levels that are frustrating because no one likes to stay stuck. We did the first few levels as a class to understand how to play and then sent the kids off to do their best.
• Today’s lesson was about fractions and a basic exercise in PowerPoint. I provided the students with a template that required them to identify quarter, half and whole objects, to delete or remove objects that didn’t match, and (optionally) to write a simple sentence in the area to the right of the image(s) they chose. They also got to choose a design template.

What I learned / observed / inferred:

• Students did well identifying fractions visually despite not having spent a lot of time on them in the classroom.
• Students had no problem repositioning and resizing PowerPoint objects or entering text.
• Students love choosing design themes…it’s all about the visuals.

What students can do at home:

• This lesson is easily replicated at home with a variety of common objects and software. Try gathering items around the house or taking digital pictures and have your child identify them. A program like Tux Paint would work well also.
• Play ”Cut the Rope” together. Explore. Strategize. Try to improve. It’s fun!

Second Grade

What we covered / did / explored:

• We warmed up with a quick game of “Cut the Rope,” a highly addictive and cognitively challenging activity designed to test understandings of simple physics and cause & effect. I love that this game lets you skip levels that are frustrating because no one likes to stay stuck. We did the first few levels as a class to understand how to play and then sent the kids off to do their best.
• We then had a discussion about animal adaptations and identified common examples. We discussed how adaptations help animals survive.
• We then used http://www.buildyourwildself.com/ to make some crazy creatures. First we showed how to represent themselves (without animal adaptations) and then modify their “wild self” using different adaptations. To select the adaptations in question, students used a special spreadsheet template I prepared that randomly assigned “attributes” they needed to accomodate via their selection. Click here for an example. Students created creatures accordingly.

What I learned / observed / inferred:

• This lesson is always a student favorite. It would be most powerful if presented when students were working on their annual Animal Report projects. We didn’t get the chance to do that this year, but it’s still a fun exercise that gets students thinking about nature.

What students can do at home:

• Visit http://www.buildyourwildself.com/ and “go wild!” Beware, though – your printer may run out of ink quickly!
• Play ”Cut the Rope” together. Explore. Strategize. Try to improve. It’s fun!

Third & Fourth Grade

What we covered / did / explored:

• We warmed up with a quick game of “Cut the Rope,” a highly addictive and cognitively challenging activity designed to test understandings of simple physics and cause & effect. I love that this game lets you skip levels that are frustrating because no one likes to stay stuck. We did the first few levels as a class to understand how to play and then sent the kids off to do their best.
• We introduced Glogster EDU, a great tool for creating vivid, interactive digital posters. NCS (elementary AND middle) gets the “School Premium” service for FREE because I’ve agreed to periodically blog about their wonderful service. Students use it heavily in middle school in several classes including the Media Center.
• Students in Third Grade are working on an Internet Safety Glogster project while Fourth Graders are doing a variety of Glogster projects in different curricular areas (Science or Social Studies).
• Here’s a quick video illustrating the basics of this tool:

• As is the case with all well-designed programs, the learning curve here is very gentle. Kids figure out the basics quickly and then explore and show each other the more advanced features. This allows the teachers in the room to roam around and make sure the students’ focus is on content.
• Students will be finishing these projects next week.

What students can do at home:

• Glogster EDU is available at home (or any Internet-connected computer). Students will need the username and password I gave them at school. Contact me if they need the credentials.
• Play ”Cut the Rope” together. Explore. Strategize. Try to improve. It’s fun!