Kinder Update: A Running Start into Problem Solving and Logic

Although we've only had a couple meetings so far, you can't say our Kinder students haven't already hit the ground running in some important thinking skills.

First, we've been introduced to a thinking system developed by Dr. Edward De Bono called "The Six Thinking Hats." It is a system used in schools and in the corporate world for approaching problems. Each of the six hats has a color and represents a different lens through which to view the problem. We started at the knowledge level--just understanding each of the hats--but are now beginning to apply the hats ourselves.


Second, we've been introduced to an entertaining but deceivingly difficult logic game called SET. It incorporates visual reasoning through the use of attributes. I could try to explain it myself, but the web site of the manufacturer does a pretty good job. If you go to the "Set Daily Puzzle" section and click on the man with the hat, he'll walk you through a tutorial: www.setgame.com/set/daily_puzzle

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Fifth Grade Update: The Rise of Civilizations

Bit by bit throughout the year we've been inventing and developing our own civilizations by taking inspiration from real civilizations throughout history, both real and fictional. 

Most recently we've added two new attributes to our civilizations and both gave the opportunity to also practice our creative thinking skills of FFOE and SCAMPER.

Constellations

After studying constellations and their associated myths and legends from various cultures, students designed their own and then wrote a myth to accompany it. The myth needed to somehow form a piece of the mythology of their civilization and reflect something about their civilization's geography, resources, beliefs, etc.

Fruits

Every classic civilization has it's staple food crop. After watching a clip from the intriguing documentary The Fruit Hunters, we decided to make our staples fruits. We got inspiration from the adaptations of real life rare and exotic fruits and created our own. To call our fruits "exotic" would be a huge understatement!

Next up is the culmination of our civilization project in the form of a dynamic, reader-interactive story using the online site http://www.inklestudios.com/inklewriter/. Watch for those stories to be posted before the end of the year.

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4th Grade Update: Blueprints In Progress

The mysteries of The Wright 3 continue to deepen as our 3 main characters are gradually unraveling the strange but true history of the Robie House in Chicago. Along the way, though, we let the book send us off on related thinking challenges and projects, and one of those projects is to slowly design our own homes. Little by little we've learned some basic concepts of architecture and also focused on the Math that architects use. We've created a basic layout for our homes designed to suit a family of 5, and then drawn a scaled version of the home (1 inch = 5 feet) aiming for a perimeter of about 200 ft. We've also learned about the aesthetics of a "facade" and explored using repeated elements to create a visual pattern that is pleasing to the eye.

Blueprints in progress

Calculating perimeter

Repeating elements to create a pattern on this "facade"

We've also pulled out the 3-D pentominoes in order to follow the thinking of one of our main characters in The Wright 3. We try to model his constructions, but also explore by making our own.

Here's some of the art glass in the Robie House

One of the most beautiful traits of the Robie House are the art glass windows designed by Frank Lloyd Wright himself. When I came across some old "transparency sheets," the perfect project idea came to mind. "Let's make our own art glass windows!" It was also a nice moment to discuss the "ancient classroom technology" of overhead projectors and transparencies. We mimicked Wright's designs but gave them our own unique flair of personality, first on graph paper and then transferred onto the transparencies. They look A LOT better on a sunny day, but the pictures below should give you an idea...

We've also taken time these last few weeks to review/practice our deductive reasoning skills with the help of logic grids. If you've seen our younger grade updates you'll see they've been practicing as well. We never stop doing them--they just get more and more complex!

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2nd Grade Update: Toys as Tools (for learning!)

You can imagine the excitement the first day of class when I announced our topic this year would be toys! What we soon discovered, however, was that there was a lot more to it than simply "playing." First, we used toys as a tool for exploring the power of brainstorming and practiced FFOE creative thinking skills.

Next, we used the book Tomorrow's Alphabet as inspiration to create our own alphabet called Yesterday's Toy Alphabet. Rather than try to explain the logic of the concept, read some of the student entries below and see if you can infer the methodology:

C is for stuffed animal, yesterday’s Cotton. (Vale) 

C is for puzzle, yesterday’s Cardboard. (Regina) 

E is for painting, yesterday’s Empty paper. (Vale) 

F is Nerf bullet, yesterday’s Foam. (Angelo) 

G is for bunny, yesterday’s Glass. (Vale) 

M is for lunchbox, yesterday’s Metal. (Angelo) 

P is for bread, yesterday’s Plastic. (Regina) 

R is for action figure, yesterday’s Rubber. (Vale) 

S is for horsey, yesterday’s Stick. (Angelo)

W is for blocks, yesterday’s Wood. (Crystal) 

W is for car, yesterday’s Wheel. (Vale) 

W is for doll, yesterday’s Wood. (Vale) 

Y is for kite, yesterday's Yarn. (Regina) 

Y is for sweater, yesterday’s Yarn. (Crystal)

There is a tricky combination of logic and creativity that goes into each entry and the students did quite well!

Next, we got out the LEGOs and used them as a tool to discuss attributes and do some sorting. The peak of that challenge was sorting pieces by attribute on a triple Venn diagram!

 Of course it was also fun to end that class period with a collaborative creative problem solving challenge. They had to build a garage for a sports car!

Next week, we begin a research project on the history of LEGO.

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