Second Grade Update: Life's Ups and Downs

This semester has been all about roller coasters! In our last update post we told about some of the coaster research we'd done and how we'd explored some of the science behind coasters. Now, it was time to put all that knowledge into action and build our own mini-coasters.

Student groups were given miscellaneous supplies, such as wooden dowels, cardboard, paper cups, construction paper and tape and asked to create a roller coaster for a golf ball. There were different levels of challenges, including a basic drop, a hill, a double hill, and a loop.

This was true problem-solving and innovation! Were there lots of dead ends? Absolutely! What would be the point if it were all laid out for them? The successes felt so much better because the students had truly earned them.

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First Grade Update: Detective Work, Tangrams and Brainfocals!

This semester we've been meeting several different characters from the fictional "Crystal Pond Woods." Each of these characters represents a particular type of thinking. The students learn the uses of each type of thinking and practice using it to find solutions to problems and scenarios.

We started with Dudley the Detective, a dog who loves to solve mysteries using logical, or convergent thinking. Dudley inspired us to find solutions that required linear, logical, deductive reasoning. 

Next, we met Max the Magician, a rabbit who is totally passionate about visual/spatial reasoning! He loves puzzles, patterns and visual eye-teasers. After meeting Max we explored tangrams and other geometrical tools for thinking. We even made ourselves little Max the Magician hats. :)

Most recently, we met Isabel the Inventor--she is a master of divergent thinking (generating several possible solutions to a problem). We were introduced to brainstorming as a thinking tool and made our very own "brainfocals"--special glasses that help us see the world from new angles!

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Student Challenge: Triple Riddle Challenge

Answer all THREE of the following riddles for a blog point.

1. What 5-letter word becomes shorter when you add two letters to it?
   
2. What letter comes next in the following sequence? D R M F S L T_
   
3. What's full of holes but can still hold water?

Submit all three answers to Mr. Koch in an envelope!

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Student Challenge: The Wolf, the Goat, and the Sack of Grain

This marvelous mind-bending scenario was submitted by Borchardt 3rd grader Brian Zhou!

A man needs to cross a river to get home. He has with him a wolf, a goat and a sack of grain. However, his boat only has room for him to carry one of the three at a time. This is the dilemna: left unguarded, the wolf will eat the goat and the goat will eat the grain. How does the man get home (across the river) in way that ensures nothing will get eaten?

You know the routine: submit your answer to Mr. Koch in an envelope. Have you checked the blog points board lately? It's a tight race!

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