Happy Friday November 20th!

Today the MACC 4/5 group had a good day of both work and constructive free time activities.

During the morning, they were given time in class with our laptops and iPads to work on their French PowerPoint presentations. We went over the criteria again and everyone was asked to do a peer and self assessment on their presentation when finished. These presentations are due on Monday by end of day, but many students are almost done or already finished given the amount of time that has been given in class.

If the PowerPoints were complete, then they worked on their TED TALKS. The written version of this project is also due by Monday end of day. I will give some more time on Monday to finish up. The final draft should involve taking the paragraphs from the outline we did in class and putting them into a finished essay. It should be done on lined paper or on the computer. When working at home, students should complete their drafts on their own, as it is a marked project. They should refer to the rubric I provided. We will begin working on the speaking part Monday.

If anyone is wanting to type, and they are still using the “hunt and peck” method of typing with two fingers, then I have suggested to everyone that typing practice is probably something to focus on for the year so they have this skill and can produce work more quickly. If you want a fun game for practicing typing with two hands, please see the BBC Kids Dance Mat Typing.

We also had open time to continue working on Rube Goldberg research, which is a short sheet provided yesterday. It is due on Monday by end of day. On Monday, we will start planning our own Rube Goldberg machines by writing out our plan and making drawings.

In the week ahead, we will have opportunities to share our PowerPoints, build our machines, and do a short quiz on simple machines (Wednesday.) We will also talk more in Math about word problems related to work and speed, while also beginning to look at some review of standard skill areas, as well as geometry. Hopefully by Thursday, students will be ready to present their TED Talks. We will be recording them using the iPads, but before we do, we will do more talking about effective speaking. Finally, as promised, I will be bringing out the fuel cell cars, and we will also have opportunities to share the hydraulic robotic arms which some of our students built for the class during Free Choice Time today.

Free Choice was great today! Some students focused on art projects using embroidery thread and pearler beads. Others build independent projects using supplies available, adding to their catapults or making small toys. Some were building the hydraulic robotic arms, while others began making meccano machines or worked with the large set of lego borrowed from the District Library. Overall, it was a positive way to end the day, and before beginning our activities, we all took a moment to share something positive about others in the classroom, acknowledging what each of us brings to our small MACC community. Thank you for your positive, caring thoughts!

I hope you have a good weekend!