Città dei Bambini Field Trip

Students in 4th grade went on a field trip today that involved elements and topics from our last unit: Inventions That Changed the World.  We boarded Cairo Car and headed to Città dei Bambini.  Here, the students were separated into two groups: one group did a workshop on Leonardo da Vinci, an inventor we studied in our former IPC unit, and the other group got to explore the science based activities in the centre.  After an hour, the groups switched so that students could participate in all aspects of the trip.  It was a great day!  The students seemed to have a lot of fun and were very well behaved.  I am a proud teacher! :)

The students blogged about their trip on Kidblog this afternoon.  Feel free to peruse our writing to see all that we did and learned today.

Città dei Bambini blogging

Kid Inventors

As our unit end project, students in 4th grade purple were asked to make an invention.  Each student was responsible to create a drawing of their invention, list the materials needed, do a TAG activity where they discussed their invention with their peers and received feedback which they could then turn and use in making the final product, and create a model of or the actual invention.  4th grade purple has some wonderful inventors in their mix and we had all sorts of interesting projects: from mobile cat beds to a full rain cover, from a fishing tool to keeping your shoelaces tied, and more!  We are hoping to display our inventions the week after the break to share our creativity with our school community.  Great job students!!

Technology Jigsaw

During IPC today students participated in a jigsaw activity with technological inventions.  In groups of 4, students read and elicited information about a specific technological invention.  They then formed an independent opinion of whether that invention makes life better or not and why.  Next they jigsawed.  So one person from each group came together to make a new group: a person with a different invention comprising each group.  The inventions and information were shared as well as the perspectives on if this technology made life better.  I was pleased at how most groups really took well to this task and held some focused discussions.

TAG for Inventions

Students are creating their own inventions for IPC.  A week ago they were given their task with specific outline of events and a couple of different due dates.  Today, students had to bring a visual design, list of materials and be prepared to share their invention idea with others.  In small groups, students shared their inventions and then they with their group members participated in a TAG activity: Tell one thing you liked about the design, ask a question, give a suggestion.  At the end of the period, students had talked about their design with two other people and were give value feedback and suggestions to consider that they may use in the next week as they prepare a model of their invention to share with the class next Wednesday.

Collaboration

4th Grade Purple is really working hard at collaboration skills.  We're learning to listen to everyone's ideas, allow everyone the time to present their thoughts, and how to come up with a single answer for a questions through constructive discussion, especially when there's a disagreement.  Some of us have it already!  Way to go!

Researching Inventions

Using World Book Online, students today worked on researching, locating and noting information about inventions.  We've been talking about how to glean information from text and then write it in our own words.

Our Favourite Inventions

In our IPC unit, the students have studied a variety of inventions thus far.  Keeping these in consideration, students choose one and wrote about it today during language arts.  They told which invention they liked, why they liked it, if it's a useful invention and why, and what changes they'd make to that invention if they were an inventor and had the opportunity to do so.  Feel free to click on the link below and check these out. :)

Our Favourite Inventions

Toilets

As we learn about different inventions, we come to realize that they aren't always novel or complex as we originally think.  It's fun to see the students recognize that even the simplest, nondescript things are inventions, such as gum, pencils, stools.  So today, when we got to read and analyze the toilet, students showed great amusement in learning how this invention came to be the process it underwent in becoming what it is today.  This is definitely an invention we are happy to have!

Learning to Fly - Inventions

Students were learning about flight, and all the inventions related to it, today.  In groups, they used information found in our readers about flight from 1485 to 1900s.  They took this information and put it into a timeline showing the evolution of air travel.

Inventions

As we study inventions, the students are starting to get into the mindset of what invention they would create if they could invent anything they wanted.  We decided to share these via Kidblog.  We'd love to share our wonderful, imaginative creations with you.

Inventions

All About Inventions

We are studying inventions in IPC this unit.  Students are looking at what defines an invention (vs a discovery), learn different types of inventions and the history behind them, as well as learn about patents, trademarks and copyrights related to them.  Here, students used a pyramid graphic organizer to illicit information from an  article "All About Inventions".  They then shared their answers in groups, and had to sign off on each other's work.  There were a lot of great conversations happening as well as reasoning to answers given.

Multimedia

As we learn new skills in technology, the students aim to incorporate them with curricular outcomes and learning.  Today we integrated Word and images via internet access with IPC in creating title pages for our upcoming units.  Since we don't always utilize the tech skills needed for this project on a daily basis, students are encouraged to collaborate to solve any unknown issues and to experiment with the program to find out what different elements do.  In a way, students inadvertently become teachers to one another, and explorers.

Invention vs Discovery

Students began their IPC unit on Inventions that Changed the World today.  Their first task was to illicit the difference between an invention and a discovery, and then using pictures in a powerpoint decide if certain items (ie penicillin, Americas, bubble gum) are inventions or discoveries.  Next we investigated some of the big ideas we'll be studying in this unit, and as per the other units we've worked on, the students are coming home with a sheet that they'd like to share and discuss with you.  Then, in partners, students began to find out information about different inventions and determine whether these are good or bad inventions and why.