Catapults, Levers, Ted Talks!

Today we began by reading a short article and having a discussion about the three types of levers. You can identify the type of lever by looking at the direction of the force/effort and load and the position of the fulcrum. I invite students to look at home and see if they can find examples of the three types!

Afterwards, students continued working on their catapult models, and then we did a group test session, launching marshmallows across the classroom. Congratulations to the group who had their marshmallow go the farthest! For all groups, we reviewed the engineering design process and reflected on what we would do differently next time. Some students have decided they enjoyed this so much they would like to continue building catapults during free choice time tomorrow with the supplies we have available.

Following recess, we went over some language arts skills to strengthen writing. First, we looked at some of the common symbols used when doing editing, which can be helpful when editing your own work or that of a peer student. This sheet will be kept in the unit binder as a reference. Second, we looked at transition words and phrases, which make writing flow more easily and connect ideas throughout a writing piece. For homework, students have two worksheets to finish which we began in class called Order, Order and Lost in Transition, for practice. We are working on writing skills to help with our TED TALK project, during which we will be writing a speech and presenting it on an idea of our choice. We watched a TED Talk by Sarah Kay today about spoken word poetry. See here for other TED videos appropriate for kids. Students were asked to watch one video for homework tonight.

Finally, we ended the day with music, finishing French quizzes, and open work time to catch up on things and organize our work binders. We also went over the fine arts rubric together, as I passed back some art projects. Students had the choice of taking the projects home or putting them in their black portfolios as records of our work.

Just a reminder to wear boots and/or coats — the weather is getting nasty and it has been cold, so dress appropriately!

See you tomorrow!