MS. DETERRA'S MAKER STUDIO

Hello everyone!

It was a full day of Rube Goldberg building in the morning, and then TED Talk presentations in the afternoon!

This morning, we began by reading two books about what people do with IDEAS. The first is a great picture book I found at Kids Books called What Do You Do With An Idea?, which has excellent illustrations using the art principle of emphasis. Both books we read talked about what people do with their creative ideas, even when other people around them think the idea may not be the best. We also read a book about a woman from Africa who found a way to clean up her village of plastic bags by creating complicated art accessories with them. We discussed how ideas that may have seemed silly at first can soon become powerful ways to make change in the world around us.

With that in mind, we then went back to business, building and creating. Our classroom became a giant maker lab as just about every square inch of space was being used for building Rube Goldberg machines. I asked students to keep journal entries of their design process and how they are using at least four simple machines. The simple machines they use should be in active use, not just attached randomly to the machine. For example, if someone is using a wedge, the wedge should be doing work, not just sitting there, attached for aesthetic reasons. Day 2 entry for homework should be one page long and talk about how the building went today, what you would change, what new adjustments did you make today, what materials will you need to finish, etc., and also include a quick sketch of your machine as it is right now. Tomorrow, we will have a final building session together to wrap up this creative project.

Many students had an opportunity to present their TED TALK speeches today. Students had the option of either presenting in front of the class or recording them on the iPads. We were finding it difficult to record today due to noise inside or out, and so tomorrow, students who have not presented can either record their speeches in a quiet space in the school building or present in front of the class. Either way, we will complete them by end of day tomorrow and everyone should ensure they have turned in their written copy.

Today, we also had some thinking questions on the technology articles we read, and the Think, Pair, Share sheet is due tomorrow to the inbox. Students also continued working on their math for distance, speed, and time. If anyone has completed the word problems already and finds them easy, please let me know, as I have another sheet of challenge problems which involve higher math and some basic algebra thinking related to D=RxT. This is only for students who want the extension, as the problems come from higher level math and are not required.

Tomorrow, don’t be late! We will have a special presentation from 9-10 AM tomorrow by an engineer from the Association of Professional Engineers in BC. He will be doing a brief activity with us and showing a PowerPoint about engineering!

Next Monday, we will construct our fuel cell cars, and Tuesday we will try running them. I say this because I have had several students asking every day about it! I am glad you are excited.

I also have a fake X-Mas Tree I hope the students will help me put up in the classroom on Monday so we can put some of our creations on it! If anyone has an extra string of lights or tinsel you could offer us for the three weeks, please let me know via email!

For tonight, please take the time to reflect on how our Rube Goldberg building went today! Write one page in your red journal. Tell me how it went, what went well, what you would change for tomorrow, and what new materials you may need to complete the task. Also, please tell me about what four simple machines you have used in your building.

Please also practice your Ted Talk, and I will give you some time in class to practice with a peer again before we go forward and hear your speeches. When you complete your speech, you should have a printed copy to give to me so I can evaluate it, as well as the rubric for both speaking and writing.

Just a reminder, no school on Friday due to a Professional Development Day.

There were lots of overdue library books today for our library period, so please mark Tuesdays on your calendar as the day when library books must be returned.

A pink notice went home today about the Poinsettia fundraiser. Also, the Holidays Scholastic, for those who wanted it, went out. Orders are due on Thursday of this week, please. Sorry for the short timeline, but if items are wanted before Break, we need to make sure to order as soon as possible. Please take into mind when you order that you never can know how long orders will take to arrive, as that is up to Scholastic!

Thanks and have a good evening!

Hello everyone,

Quick update this evening just in terms of homework and ongoing projects:

1. TED Talks will be presented either out loud in front of the class or videotaped on an iPad by Wednesday end of day. Students should practice at home. It does not need to be memorized, but should be well rehearsed.
2. French Power Points were due today along with the rubric. If you haven’t turned either of those things in, please get it to me as soon as possible, either via email or by tomorrow morning.
3. Rube Goldberg research should be done. I was going to collect them today, but we ran out of time during art, so they should be put in my INBOX tomorrow morning.
4. Math Focus right now is formula for Distance=RatexTime, as well as how this equation can be used in many different ways depending on what variable you are solving for. The worksheets I provided with word problems — please complete at least two pages. If you find all of the problems easy, I recommend you find another word problem related to this online that you think would be challenging and bring it in tomorrow.
5. Rube Goldberg Machines: We will start these tomorrow. Students know what machine they are doing, but they need to think about and collect supplies. Anything brought from home MUST come to school labeled with a name if you want it back and in a bag. There are some supplies here, but if you want a toy or specific building item from home, that is okay!

Thanks, and have a good night!

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!

Good evening!

The last two days we have been focusing on math and physics combined by working on problems related to speed, distance and time. For those with more advanced math, it was optional to practice word problems related to acceleration. Then, we read about how work is measured in joules and practiced using the formula of work = distance x force.

Yesterday, I introduced students to Rube Tube which is a website dedicated to Rube Goldberg and his contraptions! Two particular favourite videos of these machines are the music video and the Honda Commercial. I encourage students to watch the other videos on the Rube Tube site that we haven’t seen yet or any others they find! Tonight’s homework is to complete some research on Rube Goldberg and to investigate whether he was a serious scientist or an eccentric innovator. I will give some time tomorrow, but this is due by end of day Friday. Our next step will be to design a Rube Goldberg machines of our own (a mini version) using the simple machines we have been looking at, so I am asking everyone to think about what task they have in mind for their machine and what kinds of materials they think they may need.

Thank you to everyone who participated in the Caribou Math Competition! Results should be available shortly, most likely by tomorrow. Just as a reminder, this competition is completely optional and not required. While I encourage it as an extension of math in our class, these exercises and scores are not something I look at for evaluation of the student or for marks. Best of luck to all who completed the test!

Students are finishing up their French PowerPoints, as well as their TED Talks. I will provide some final work time on these tomorrow. Most students are close to being finished with the PowerPoint. Both are due on Monday and students can work on them at home as well as in school.

Half of the day today was dedicated to the Young People’s Concert Series, and we attended the show Pied Piper of Hamlin by Axis Theatre. We enjoyed the production and I look forward to seeing our next one in January.

Have a good evening!