Color, Coding, and Constructing

It was a wonderful Wednesday!

After reading more about Tua and her elephant (things are getting complicated), we prepared for our buddies.

We began our time with our buddies sharing a read aloud called Red is a Dragon.


This book not only had a connection to our region of study, but allowed us to share something we all knew and love… COLOR. Yesterday, we started to write “I am…” poems related to being a risk-taker, so we used that same format to help our buddies write poems about a color. This was a tad challenging, but with patient and persistent prompting, we were able to craft some creative, color-filled poems. It was nice, at the end, to just share some quiet reading time with Eric Carle books.

      

After recess, we had another appointment… this time with sixth graders. For the last several weeks, sixth grade students have been preparing a lesson to teach us how to use Ozobots. A small groups of student leaders communicated regularly with Mrs. Rupp, gathering information about our class, sharing ideas, and receiving feedback. All their planning culminated in today’s big event. Upon our arrival, we were greeted by the sixth grade students and invited to sit in pre-established triads. The group leaders then shared a brief presentation establishing expectations, setting the purpose, and sharing the agenda for our time together. With clear signals and expectations, sixth grade students divided and conquered. The challenge… use the iPads to design a dance for the Ozobots, which would culminate in a dance off. Fourth grade scholars, along with their sixth grade coaches were completely engaged in the process the entire time, experimenting with various designs, patterns, colors and codes. Students were willing to take risks and receive feedback. It was especially interesting to see how everyone from both classes showed a number of learner profile traits – open-minded, communicator, knowledgeable, risk-taker, principled, and reflective. After the dance off, students then had to create a color-coded pattern for speed in preparation for a final race.  Exciting!!

            

To end our day, we worked to represent our data on a line plot. The trickiest part was creating the number line. As it happened, after we started, we had to revise and redo our line, so all our data fit without being too tight.

Literary Symbols, Lotus (and other) Seeds, and… Livia

Today, we read another text set in Vietnam, The Lotus Seed by Sherry Garland. Once again, we read with our minds focused on our central idea:

Sometimes species are faced with circumstances that force them to struggle or stretch and strengthen causing them to either succomb or succeed (survive).

Sparked by curiosity about the pictures and content, students posed questions, which prompted a particularly powerful discussion that allowed us to ponder BIG ideas related to power. This discussion crossed countries and continents and connected texts we have been reading and on which we have been reflecting.

Our literary focus was on the significance of symbols. Authors often embed simple symbols in their stories to convey significance. By repeating the symbol, authors promote deeper meaning, create a mood or feeling, or support a theme or message. After our initial reading today, we took time to identify the key events in the story, each connected to the lotus seed. Tomorrow, will we evaluate the emotions related to each event and the role of the lotus seed at each stage.

The Significance of Symbols

Check out this episode of Reading Rainbow, which features the reading of The Lotus Seed. The video also highlights the experience of several young people who emigrated from:

  • Vietnam.
  • Yemen.
  • Russia.
  • South Africa

They compare and contrast their home countries to their new country. They also share some of the things with which they have struggled as they adjusted and how they are not only surviving but thriving in their new homes.

As you watch, think about what learner profile traits are exhibited by each person. Also, pay attention to what “symbols” they mention that allow them to stay connected to their homes.

For some of us, the story of the lotus seed also connected to our research in our nonfiction science readers. Using Cornell notes, we continued our research and our diary entries.

Challenge:

  • How can we connect the story set in Vietnam to the topic of plant reproduction.
  • How are the struggles to survive between people and plants similar and different?

In addition to reading The Lotus Seed, some of us also read The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle during buddies today. We then used seeds to help our buddies count and create a collage of beans.

             

Despite being a short day, our Wednesday was full and finished off fabulously with… cupcakes, marshmallows, and chocolate sauce in honor of Livia’s birthday. We are grateful for the gift of Livia who lights up our lives each and every day!

             

Visualizing… Vietnam

Today we started looking at another country in our region of study… Vietnam! Right next to Cambodia, Vietnam also provides us with an opportunity to inquire into our central idea of struggle and survival.

We started our new book, Goodbye, Vietnam by Gloria Whelan, which prompted us to make prediction and connections to Chu Ju’s House, by the same author.

To get a glimpse of what life might have been like in Mai’s village, take a tour of these villages. How might where Mai lives be connected to our central idea?

For math today, we played with a practical problem set right here in Kinshasa – a traffic jam! By visualizing the road and the long rows or cars, we made connections to arrays and PARTitioned rectangles. We connected the visual representation to a numerical representation of partial products. In addition, we wrote equations to represent our process. We will continue looking at this tomorrow and extending our thinking over the next few days.

At the end of the day, we were introduced to sketchnoting… a new strategy for all of us. While we only began to get a glimpse of the building blocks, we already see the potential for academic doodling.

Rewatch the videos from class and continue learning how to sketchnote at BrainDoodles.

The Making of… a Movement Movie

Today we embarked on a project that will allow us to mull over and muse about the form and causation of movement as a change agent. After reading and ruminating on a reading about earthquakes, volcanoes, and/or tsunamis, each a type of fast change experienced in Japan, students synthesized the information to share with their target audience – a team of geologists, sociologists, and artists. While that might sound like a odd combination of people, each one is uniquely affected by these types of change. It was the task of each scholarly news reporter or documentarian to determine the positive and negative implications of each form of movement and COMMUNICATE (our trait for the month) those effects clearly.

     

GRASPS Task & Single-Point Rubric

Finished products will be posted to the blog.

Trait of the Month: Communicator

I see… I think… I wonder…

… about movement. Today, students examined sets of images depicting various aspects of life in Japan. Images were grouped to promote thoughts and wonderings about Japan and movement as a change agent. As we continue our inquiry into how the world works, we will revisit these images, making connections and exploring ideas more deeply.

         

Resources:

Challenge #2: October Break Outdoor Observations

Over the break, whether you are traveling or sticking close to home, you have an opportunity to be a eagle-eyed observer. As a scholarly sleuth, search for clues proving weathering, erosion, or deposition has taken place. If you suspect that wind, water, ice, or roots have caused weathering, erosion, or deposition, get a picture of the evidence with the hashtags:

#wandering&weathering

#erosioniseverywhere

#dropinondeposition

Also, be on the lookout for landforms and bodies of water – mountains, hills, valleys, plateaus, cliffs, caves, sand dunes, bays, ponds, lakes, rivers,… and so many more. If you see a landform or body of water, get a picture with the hashtag:

#Look! A landform

Secret agents, are you ready to accept this challenge?

Send all photographic evidence to Mrs. Rupp’s email.

Walls and Talls

Did you know…

as of 2017, China had 586 buildings 200 m or more tall.

Yesterday, we put our math-magical minds to work to compare and order a set of 64 of China’s tallest towers. Students dove in to thoughtful conversation about the different identified characteristics of the buildings, debated the importance of different units listed, and discussed the effectiveness and efficiency of sorting strategies. During this process, key ideas about place value were explored and applied.

        

As we worked, a group of teachers, along with our visiting math consultant, Ms. Holmstrum, watched our work, wondered with curiosity, and walked away with some fresh ideas about math.

Today, we took time to review some key ideas, reference important information, and reflect on other resources and strategies we could use to push out thinking to the next level. There are still other pieces of this problem to ponder.

A representative from each group shared his or her experience with members from each of the other groups and took time to consider different points of view. In addition, we reflected on the traits of problem solvers and how those traits were applied to this problem.

If you are interested in learning more about eh Great Wall of China or some of China’s “talls,” check out the following resources.

Walls

UNESCO World Heritage List

Kiddle Encyclopedia: Great Wall of China Facts

Talls

Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat

The Skyscraper Center

Wikipedia: List of Tallest Buildings in China

 

 

Sustainable or Unsustainable? That is the Question.

Today, we had the opportunity to witness another lively debate between eighth grade students regarding the sustainability of population growth. The middle school students had thoughtfully prepared their positions, allowing us the opportunity to put our essay writing skills to practice… in reverse. As we listened, we were able to identify each side’s thesis or claim and document the supporting evidence. We realized the importance of clarity and relevance.

Take a peek at this video that shows population growth over time. What do you notice?

Which side of the debate do you think could have used this video to support its claim or refute the other side’s claim? How?

This related map and timeline might also be of interest.

World Population History

The following site highlights a number of success stories of Education for Sustainable Development projects… including one right here in Kinshasa!

Education for Sustainable Development

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