This past Friday was a much anticipated day at Laurel Mountain (and not just because we had a 3 day weekend coming up). Friday, January 13th was the first meeting of our 2nd and 3rd grade enrichment clusters. Everything went smoothly, even for a Friday the 13th.
This year, our 2nd and 3rd grade students had sixteen different enrichment cluster topics to choose from in class. The enrichment cluster descriptions were sent home a few days before selections were made in class. That way, our parents had a chance to discuss the different options with their child and help them make the best selection in class. This part is sometimes the hardest part for our parents, not having an "official" say in what their child ACTUALLY selects in class. However, one of the core philosophies of the Schoolwide Enrichment Model and Dr. Renzulli is that enrichment clusters should be student driven. This means, the kids have the final say in how they rank their cluster choices, NOT the parents. I know this is hard for "us" parents, but it is very important for our students.
Once all of the students ranked their top 4 enrichment cluster topics, the data was entered it into an Excel spreadsheet. This was sent off to Eric Deal, one of our fabulous LME parents. Mr. Deal enters the data into a computer program he wrote that randomly sorts the students into the different enrichment clusters. There are a few factors that we look at when sorting the students into the enrichment clusters. First of all, we try to keep each cluster around 15 or so students. We give students who received their 3rd and 4th enrichment cluster choice last year, their first or second enrichment cluster choice this year. Finally, in very popular enrichment clusters (like clay) we try to make sure that there are no repeat students from last year. That way, more students get an opportunity to experience a popular topic.
Once the computer worked its magic, we had 161 students receive their first cluster choice, 65 students receive their second cluster choice, 17 students receive their third cluster choice and 11 students receive their fourth cluster choice.
Below, you will find the summaries of what took place at the first meetings this past Friday. Continuing to develop the whole child...
Game On! In the “Game On!” enrichment cluster, we listed as many sports as we could in three minutes. Then we went outside to play 'circle soccer' game. After that we came back inside to watch a PowerPoint of unusual sports played around the world. We watched clips of the different unusual sports. Students were asked to think about a name for the cluster. They were also asked to come up with ideas of what they wanted to do in the cluster for the next 7 weeks.
Performance Painting In “Performance Painting”, students were introduced to the pop art of the 1960's and 1970's, such as the mass-produced work of Andy Warhol, the comic strip-inspired paintings of Roy Lichtenstein and the unusual sculptures of Claes Oldenburg. Then they followed Andy Warhol's example by making pop art paintings featuring the same item repeated six times, in different colors.
Rainforest Heroes In the “Rainforest Heroes” enrichment cluster, we watched the Planet Earth video on rainforests. We discussed where the rainforests are in the world and noticed that they are all near the equator. Most of us want to research endangered animals so we can become heroes of the rainforest!
LME Animal House Our enrichment cluster had a ROARing good time at our first meeting. “The Crocodile Hunter”, Steve Irwin, kicked things off with a look at some WILD animals. Crikey! We then got into our wildlife biologist groups and the kids had a great discussion while choosing which animal to specialize in. We brainstormed all we knew about the animal, and wrote plenty of research questions too. We’re ready to dig in!
Roaring Chefs The “Roaring Chefs” had a delicious first meeting! We began by watching the chefs on Top Chef compete in a cookie competition judged by the Cookie Monster himself! We also watched a young girl show us how to make heart-shaped pizza for Valentine's Day. Then it was time to make our first snack! We made Puppy Chow, not dog food, but a fun treat to eat. We also learned the names for measuring cups and spoons. While we were snacking, we made a list of things we would like to learn how to make over the next seven weeks. We have decided to make various foods, desserts and snacks in our Roaring Chefs enrichment cluster!
Inventing Minds This week during our first enrichment cluster we watched a short video about a company that makes people's ideas into reality. We discussed where inventors get their ideas. We discovered that inventors are usually trying to solve some sort of problems. These problems tended to fall into two types: problems of convenience or basic need. We brainstormed inventions in each category. We put together inventor's notebooks and started brainstorming what we want to do in our clusters.
Space Rangers Houston, we are ready for take-off! The “Space Rangers” are ready for our mission. During our first meeting, we watched a video and made a list of all the interests we had about space. Together, we shared facts, ideas and experiences with each other. There is so much excitement stirred up in this group and we are ready to begin our mission. We will spend the next few weeks, brainstorming, researching and learning about satellites, space crafts, astronauts, planets, asteroids and even space junk. We are ecstatic to begin our journey into space.
Take Two The “Take Two” enrichment cluster experimented with flip cameras and Movie Maker today. Students worked in pairs taking video around the school to get familiar with the flip cameras. Each student practiced exporting his/her movie from the flip camera and importing the video into Movie Maker. Next week we will explore some of the editing techniques and discuss the rules for exporting music onto our videos. We will decide on a final product(s) and a name for our cluster.
Friendship Bracelet Fanatics This week in “Friendship Bracelet Fanatics” we decided to make three sets of bracelets-one to keep, one to share with friends, and one for use as a way to help others. We learned the basics of measuring and making knots then started making our first friendship bracelets. The time flew by because we were so engaged in our work! We are looking forward to next week when we get to finish our first bracelet.
Violent Volcanoes and Quivering QuakesThe “Violent Volcanoes and Quivering Quakes” enrichment cluster began with a small group activity for students to draw pictures relating to why they chose the cluster, what they already know about volcanoes and earthquakes, and what they would like to learn and do in the cluster. Students then joined back together to introduce themselves and explain their posters to the larger group. We ended our first meeting by learning about the various gases emitted from volcanoes, and how that gas is harmful to the environment and ozone layer. We will likely spend most of our time together learning about volcanoes, as that was the group’s main interest. We look forward to learning and experiencing more about this topic in the next 7 weeks!
Card Makers The “Card Markers” had a wonderful discussion about the various types of cards. We also talked about how people might feel when they get a card: happy, like someone cares about them, like someone was thinking of them, glad etc. The Card Makers are thinking about what they would like to do while they are in this cluster. Some ideas are: make cards for new students to LME, make and send cards to hurt military people, make and send cards to friends, and make a set of cards for them to keep and give out when they want. The Card Makers spent lots of time using stamps to create pictures. They learned how to use markers to color a stamp and to use colored pencils to fill in the picture. The Card Makers are excited to learn new stamping techniques and to brighten the day of whomever they send their cards to!
Clay Masters First, we learned about the history of pottery and the basics of clay. We found out that there are different types of clay such as the clay made from lava in Hawaii and the clay made by the Pueblo people in New Mexico. After watching a demonstration of the technique by Ms. Schorn, each of us started making a pinch pot. Also, we are taking turns using the potter’s wheel to create an original pot, bowl, or vase.
Under the SeaOn Friday, January 13th, fish enthusiast and future oceanographers met for our first “Under the Sea” enrichment cluster. We began this adventure sharing fishy stories, our interest in the ocean and things we’re curious to learn about the magical underwater world. Next, we watched the movie Ocean Habitats: Light and Dark Zone. We learned cool new facts about the ocean and saw fascinating animals of the ocean. We ended our cluster by looking through ocean books and creating sea animals made out of modeling clay. We look forward to meeting again next Friday to dive back into the deep blue sea.
Dreamy Drawing As an introduction, in the “Dreamy Drawing” enrichment cluster we learned about comic strip writer and illustrator, Ray Billingsley and author, illustrator, David McPhail. We discussed how these individuals are passionate about their work and where they get their inspiration. In addition, we brainstormed ways drawing skills are used in the real world. The students discussed types of products we can make with our drawing skills (cards, art work, mazes, murals, comics, illustrations, etc.). We also talked about the variety of tools used by people who draw. Each student received a sketch book that we will use over the next several weeks. In the weeks to come, we hope to have guest speakers and plenty of opportunities to draw!
Perfectly Prepared Pies The first cluster meeting of “Perfectly Prepared Pies” was great! The enrichment cluster brainstormed ideas for the types of pies we will be making, as well as ideas as to what our service project will be. Our first pie will be apple! We are thinking about selling our pies to raise money to give to one of the local children's centers. We each made a batch of pie crust to use in the next few clusters. We were busy, but had lots of fun!
Scaly Friends Did you know that a snake cannot hear? It can only feel vibrations through its scales. We learned this fact and more during our first “Scaly Friends” enrichment cluster. We even got to see a complete product idea about snakes to help us figure out what we want to create and display during the showcase. The highlight of our cluster was watching a corn snake swallow a dead mouse in one large piece. Awesome!
