4th Grade Idea Lab Update

We had a wonderful end to our architecture unit!  Students did a marvelous job presenting their home designs based on their client's requests.  I really enjoyed hearing their rationale for their designs.  Having clients like Christina Starspeeder of the Jedi Academy added a fun element.  

Many students shared ways that they would change their designs if they could have an opportunity to design again. Figuring out where to place hallways and doorways presented some challenges, and I loved the reflection that occurred after the initial design process.


With this being the first home design for our students, it was impressive to see how accurate the room sizes were based on the client's requests.


Adding things like sidewalks, driveways, and yards presented new challenges as well. The students' perseverance when things became difficult was extremely impressive!


When the students presented their designs, we did not feel like we were in a room of 4th graders. We really felt like we were in a room with young architects explaining their design ideas. Truly creative and inspirational!

Many architects added a pool as a feature that their client could possibly add in the future. The designs were very convincing!

The end of our architecture unit was during February's Black History month, and students researched and presented about a notable and exemplary black architect. We learned about some amazing architects like Duke University's west campus architect, Julian Francis Abele.


It was wonderful learning about inspirational architects like, Robert Robinson Taylor, who was the first black American to attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.), Allison Williams, a talented modern architect who served as vice president at AECOM, and Paul Revere Williams whose forward/modern thinking attracted many Hollywood clients like Frank Sinatra, Lucille Ball, and Desi Arnaz.
In early March, we began our archaeology unit, and the students have been so eager and excited to literally dig in!  We will continue to keep you updated with our learning throughout the year.  

Scratch Computer Coding

We really enjoyed our recent computer coding unit using Scratch, a programming unit developed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. From problem-solving, critical thinking, and creativity, there are so many reasons to learn programming skills.

Both 2nd and 3rd graders participated in our computer coding unit. Our first project: Animate a Name involved trying out one or more of the following: making letters change colors, adding a sound, adding a backdrop, making letters spin or glide, or even changing the size. Students could animate their name, initials, or their favorite word.

After experimenting with letters, students gained more in-depth experience as they tried to bring a character to life with animation. A Sprite is a character in Scratch. Students were encouraged to make their Sprite jump, fly, glide, or talk! If a problem with a code occurred, students had to problem-solve and find a solution. Many times students discussed with classmates and gave tips to each other.


As students' skills advanced even further, they began to create short stories with characters. Students created a setting (sometimes multiple settings), characters, a plot, and sometimes even a problem/solution. Writing skills integrated into coding? Yes, please!

Here is Darla walking us through her thinking when she is creating her story.  


Finally, to integrate social studies/history and Black History Month, students created a code to teach us about a black inventor, scientist, activist, or other difference-maker. Students chose the person that they wanted to research and teach us about.  These projects were informative and inspiring!  


If you would like to see your child's projects, please ask them to show you.  They can explain Scratch to you and how it works.  Some students have really gotten into coding and have created their own games or projects.  Check out  Anton's project that he completed on his own time... it was basically an app! I think we have an app like that on our Ipads. It was great to see the connection between coding and creating something practical for others to use.

Our next unit, Africa, will be a very enriching, hands-on unit!  We'll even put our I-pads down for a bit! I am proud of the hard work and new learning that took place this quarter.  Way to go! 

First Grade Idea Lab Update: Divergent Thinking

Isabel, the Inventor, was a popular P.E.T.S. specialist in 1st grade as we delved deep into divergent thinking! Divergent thinking is so important for young developing brains. Put simply, it is the ability to interpret a question in many different ways and the ability to see many different answers to a question.  Divergent thinking encourages spontaneity and imagination.   For example... taking a cup and making it into something new and different like a hole in one game, a volcano, a new and improved cup with a handle, a mouse house, a telescope, a snake catcher, and a bracelet (in that order)!

Divergent thinkers see things from various viewpoints. We also call this... thinking outside of the box.

Speaking of box, some great books for divergent thinking that we read are Not a Box and Not a Stick by Antoniette Portis.  If you had a box or a stick, what would you pretend it would be?  

We learned that the game Scattegories is a great way to practice divergent thinking too! We rolled a letter (like the letter C) and came up with objects within a set of categories.

Another fun way we practiced divergent thinking was to create a collection of items and have our classmates guess the name of our collection.

S.C.A.M.P.E.R.ing objects pushed our divergent thinking in many directions.  We learned that to S.C.A.M.P.E.R. you can substitute something, combine things, adapt or add things, make something bigger or smaller, put something to another use, eliminate something, or rearrange something.   Here are our SCAMPERed donuts!  

We will continue to encourage divergent thinking throughout our years in Idea Lab through play, curiosity, experimentation, and creativity!