4th Grade StopMotion Videos

Today was an exciting day filled with critical-thinking, creativity, and laughter! Students created Stopmotion videos using iPads. They had to create a story in which Fred (the gummy worm) faced a challenge and solved the problem. Check out the videos. (They are all included in the slideshow below.)

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5th Grade Collaborative Problem-Solving!

5th graders had to work together using clues and communication to correctly create a perfect example of Sierpinski's Triangle - a mathematical design of repeating triangles. Their discussions and teamwork is fun to observe! Check out the short video for a peek in the classroom.

Mr. X: Math Magician "Wows" Us!

We were lucky enough to have a surprise visit from Mr. X this week. He amazed us with his mathematical performance! All of his magic has a math foundation. As a former gifted and talented teacher (30 years), he related his performance and tricks to problem-solving and critical thinking especially for our class! Check out the video for a peek at the performance. Thanks Mr. X!

Working towards a Growth Mindset

Today third graders were introduced to the concept of "Mindset" based on research by Carol S. Dweck. This year, we are exploring what it means to have a growth mindset. A growth mindset embraces challenge, learns from criticism, celebrates the success of others, and realizes that success comes from effort. As our intro lesson, students had a building challenge where we focused on learning from other's successes, and also from failures. During the activity, several students pointed out that they learned what "not to do" from their experience. Check out some of the towers created.