Caps for Sale, Kindergarten and Design

Our kindergarten classes are exploring jobs and I read the classic, Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina which is about a job that is no longer, a peddler.  The students love this book, especially the part where they get to be monkeys-copying the peddler as he shakes his finger at them, etc.

Cap Design-Art in the Library

I drew a cap so that the students could design their own cap with their favorite colors, objects, designs.  The sky was the limit and they really enjoyed it.

Check out the smiling face!

His favorite thing is sharks!

Makerspace Club Third Grade-KEVA Building

I started an after-school makerspace club for students in Kindergarten through 3rd grade.  Each grade meets once a month for an hour and at their first meeting it was exploratory time at each section: LEGOS, magnet wall, KEVA Planks and Ozobots.  At the second meeting they will each face a specific challenge.

Third grade students were challenged to create a house for their pig (a stand-up paper pig) that could withstand the big, bad wolf (hairdryer with ears and eyes) using only the KEVA planks.

Plan, Design and Reflect

First I read Paul Galdone’s version of The Three Little Pigs.  These days you can’t rely on every student being familiar with traditional folk tales.

Then each student recorded what the problem was and how they would solve the problem and drew their design.

Building, Adjust and Test

It was interesting to see the process of the building, adjusting, borrowing of ideas.

When they said they were ready I brought out the “wolf” and began blowing, getting progressively closer and closer.  If there was structural failure most of them decided to make changes to see if they could improve their design.

Reflection

Afterwards they wrote about what worked and didn’t and how they might improve the next time.

They had such a good time.  Lots of conversation, sharing and laughing.  Next week second graders will take up the challenge.

Fourth Grade Reflects with Padlet

I wanted to share the book, The Wolf, The Duck & the Mouse by Mac Barnett (illustrated by Jon Klassen) with students.  It’s a quirky, interesting book that can spur discussion. It has some different points of view for them to consider. I read it to the fourth grade classes and then asked them to reflect on it.

We used Padlet as I wanted to expose the students to the choices available for expression.  I encouraged them to explore the voice and video recording options and many did!

IB PYP Learner Profile and Reflection

I asked the students to consider the attributes of the IB PYP Learner Profile and if they woud have made the same decision as the duck and mouse to remain inside the wolf.

Students wrote their answers out on index cards before accessing Padlet.  Having the students write in advance really helps the process when they start using Padlet.

Padlet-Tool for Reflection

Part of the motivation for using Padlet with students in the library is to expose teachers so they can feel comfortable using it in the classroom.   Padlet is also very easy to use for both the creator as well as the students.

 

Fourth Grade and Website Evaluation

I try and touch on website evaluation every year with fourth and fifth grade students. So many topics and so few weeks!

I created a poster using Kathy Schrock’s 5 W’s of Website Evaluation to use as a visual as we cover the different points.  Sometimes I use the old State Farm commercial with the two young people talking and the young lady says they can’t put anything on the internet that isn’t true.  Sad, but some students do believe everything on the internet.

 

Fourth grade students start to learn how to be effective users of websites by evaluating those websites as a source of information following Kathy Schrock’s 5W’s of website evaluation (who, what, when, where, why).  They looked for the places where the reader can find information about the website, the header and footer.  They also examined URLs for clues about who created the website.

At a second meeting, working in teams, students turned into website detectives to look for clues about the who (who created the website) and the where (where is this organization located and can we contact them?).  I use as many local organizations as possible for the examples so students can recognize and relate to the websites.

Fifth Grade Creates LEGO Mazes

You know it’s going to be a fun time when the fifth grade students cheer on entering the library when they see LEGOS spread down the center of the tables.  The last week before Christmas break is tough and I decided we needed some fun!

Fifth grade students demonstrated their creativity, problem-solving skills and the IB learner profiles while creating a maze for a jingle bell.  Students had to consider things such as width of the bell, angles, and corners when they assembled a maze in which they rolled a jingle bell from the starting point until the bell exited the maze.  Trial and error and grit played a part of the student’s success.

I borrowed this idea…not my original thought!

   

Third Grade and ChatterPix Rock!

Third grade students were beginning their unit of inquiry on rocks and minerals.  I created a Livebinder curating online encyclopedias and websites and students chose which websites they wanted to use.  Their only directions were to write interesting facts on notebook paper.  No guidelines, just whatever they found interesting.

After succesfully collecting 5-7 facts the students used those facts to write their first person script, as if they were the rock.

ChatterPix app

I pre-selected some images of rocks to speed up the process.  After editing the scripts the students chose an image and used the app, ChatterPix to record themselves.  They had a blast!

This activity incorporates a wide variety of different skills: reading non-fiction, determining important facts, recording information, writing scripts, verbal skills (reading aloud) and self evaluation.

Sharing to a Wider Audience-YouTube

After recording the ChatterPix video, I upload them to YouTube and then share the link with the teacher.

Check it out!