Fourth and Fifth Grade:
A warm welcome goes out to all our new 5th Graders who started Target class this week. We're glad to have them part of the program.
As a way to learn not only about our new students but our returning students, each student answered “If you were an ocean animal, what would you be?” They were to associate some of their characteristics with an ocean animal that shares some of the same characteristics. This activity allowed the students to reflect upon their own abilities, recognize the strength of others, and value individual differences.
Which animals have been around for more than 300 million years, long before the first dinosaurs roamed the earth? The answer is sharks, and in fact, they've changed very little in this time. We watched a video called "Sharks and How They Live." We learned that the shark is a fascinating creature, surrounded by myth and misconception. It is often vilified as embodying the ultimate ferocity of the natural world. Hopefully over the course of the next few months, we will learn that these creatures don't deserve the nasty reputation they have. Students did some research to compare and contrast bony fish and sharks. They learned that sharks are fish, but unlike bony fish, sharks have no bones; their skeleton is made of cartilage.
Homework: Fish Comparison: What is wrong?
Second and Tird Grade:
We began our day with an introductory activity called “Who are you?” Each student was given two cards. On one card students wrote their name, on the other card students illustrated one of their strengths. Once they were finished, they scrambled the cards at their table and another table of students tried to match the cards of their classmates. Afterwards, students were asked to share their strength to the class to help us get to know one another better, and to build a sense of community in our classroom.
“Are you me?” is the next question students were asking. Each student was given a card with a picture of an aquatic insect. Some of the pictures were the adult form of the bug and some pictures were the bug as a larvae or nymph. Students walked around the classroom trying to find the other students with the same animal as they had, just in a different part of the life cycle. This was difficult because many bugs look very different in the earlier stages of the lifecycle than they do in their adult form.
Next, students watched a short presentation called “Macroinvertebrate Lunch.” This video introduced us to macroinvertebrates and allowed us to understand why they are so important in monitoring our stream.
We found out in the video that pollution has a huge impact on our macroinvertebrate friends. So, in our next activity, we learned that Granville has polluted rivers, lakes and wells. Students used facts about pollution to prove townspeople in Granville “Guilty or Innocent.” Students read up on five individuals and their daily practices with water. Students then decided whether they contributed to the pollution problem or not. Upon completing this activity, we realized that not only were all the Granville people guilty, but that we are all guilty. We discussed that every little things that each of us do adds up to quite a big impact when it comes to our natural resources, so we all have to be mindful of our daily activities and their impact on the world around us.
Finally, we wrapped up our day by working on Hands on Equations (3rd grade) and Primary Algebra (2nd grade). Hands on Equations is a program that uses manipulatives and a balance to teach students about equations and how to solve them.
Homework: Brainstorm things that change and complete a before and after picture of your best idea. Pictures should be colored and have lots of details. Also, please return your field trip form by next week.
First Grade:
Welcome to our newest Target members. This year we will be using some tools for "thinking smarter" and exploring how Target helps to learn more about ourselves, through a unit called "P.A.C.E." This is an acronym for Primary Algebra, Affective Growth, Cognitive Growth, and Extension of GPS.
We began the day with an Affective Growth activity that made the connection that just as a family is its own small community, our Target classroom is also a community. Using a visual Target and four arrows, we discussed four important components of the Target community: self-reflection, input of others, self-directed learners, and respect for others. Students worked on their personal arrows reflecting upon their strengths and weaknesses, respect for others and their points of view, and perserverence in the face of obstacles. We have saved this visual in a student portfolio which will follow them throughout their elementary Target lives.
Teachers then shared their Personality Box (homework for this week), reminding students that three of the items they include should be related to the child's personlity traits. (For example a curious child might include a magnifying glass, a kind child a bandaid, a funny child a joke book.) Ask your child to share what things were in their teacher's box and the meaning they had.
We then introduced Primary Algebra and the mathematical meaning of "equivalence" to solve problems by giving one student 3 Skittles and another student 2 Skittles, asking whether the distribution of candy was fair. After much heated debate, we guided students to undestand that fair is an opinion and equality is measureable. We discussed the mathematical symbols to represent their relationship. Then we talked about the meaning of prefix and introduced the prefix "equi-" which means equal.
Homework: Students should be ready to share their personality boxes next week. Three of the items should be related to the student's personality traits. The other items can reflect the interests and abilities of the student. The boxes may be decorated and should have the child's name on the outside.
