The fourth and fifth grade students at Laurel Mountain began their journey in their enrichment clusters this past Friday, October 12, 2012. Enrichment clusters provide our students the opportunity to pursue an interest in a small group setting. The enrichment clusters for these students will last until December 7, with an Enrichment Cluster Showcase on December 14, 2012. This year, the fourth and fifth graders were able to choose from nineteen different enrichment clusters. Out of the 296 fourth and fifth grade students, 201 were matched with their first choice, 63 were matched with their second choice, 25 were matched with their third choice and 7 were matched with their fourth choice. Below are the summaries from the first enrichment cluster meetings.
Are Robots Taking Over???? In our first enrichment cluster meeting, the members of the "Are Robots Taking Over????" explored some of the ways robots assist people with problems in everyday life. We saw examples of robotic cars, games, and even social robots that help with tasks like babysitting or caring for the elderly. The kids brainstormed a list of real problems here at LME and how a robot might be able to help. Next week we will begin the design phase, planning how robotics can make a difference in our experience here at school.
Printing Imagination Station: For our first Enrichment cluster, we talked about ways people first printed books and other important papers. Screen printing is one way to print multiple copies. We watched a video by Bill Nye the Science Guy on early printing. Next, we learned the steps of screen printing. There are two basic ways. Now for the fun part, each student printed two book marks and began creating artwork that may be used for printing. The students are excited about the possibilities of creating their own design to be used on a t-shirt/tote bag/ or apron. Let imagination begin...
Monsters and Mysteries: We entered through a partially-covered doorway into a dark room. We brainstormed all the different things we think of when we hear the word “monster.” The kids listed them on Post-It notes and we put them on the board, and then categorized them. Mr. Holmstrom told a scary, scary story. He also had a box with something in it, something that made a loud thumping noise when the box was shaken. We still wonder what was in there. We know that next week we’ll be talking about the Loch Ness monster, Sasquatch, and Yeti.
Future Think: The “Future Think” enrichment cluster had a blast into the future! We divided into groups and created worlds we thought might be around in the future!
Global Food Expedition: The “Global Food Expedition” got to experience a European staple during our first cluster meeting. Mrs. Loomis came and taught us how to cook three different versions one of Europe's favorite dish: Eirkuchen, an egg-based German pastry, Crepes, the lighter French version, and Emperor's Mash, the meringue-based Austrian version. Not only did we get to cook and eat these three delicious global foods, but we also got to practice some foundational cooking skills such as measuring dry and wet ingredients, breaking eggs, using a spatula to flip the frying pastries, and decorating a lovely plated dish. The students discussed some of the best ways to share their knowledge of global foods in the same ways that professionals might. Some of their ideas are cook books, cooking shows, and for friends and family in their homes. Everyone has the job of thinking about foods from other cultures or more European dishes they may like to explore in the future.
QR-Code: At our first meeting, we defined "QR-Code", demonstrated how they are created, and showed how they can be used in treasure hunting on campus. Students were then grouped in teams of 3 or 4 and sent on a (paper-clue based) treasure hunt through our Preserve, Edible Garden and other outdoor learning spaces. Next week, the cluster will include an interactive lesson giving students directions for creating QR-Codes. Additionally, students will identify areas and research projects in our outdoor spaces they wish to include in the seQRet treasure hunt they create.
The Sports Fitness– Inspire a Generation: “The Sports Fitness– Inspire a Generation” enrichment cluster is a high energy group of students. We introduced ourselves and shared our interest about one of the 36 sports played this past summer at the Olympics. We watched snip-its of videos from the 2012 Olympic events before noting our favorites. Some of the top choices include athletics (track and field), basketball, football/soccer, hockey and more. We ended our time doing what we like to do most….participating in a sport.
Cartoon Workshop: What a great time the “Cartoon Workshop” had for our first cluster meeting. We watched a few quick videos by cartoonists and learned how animation works with both clay and drawings. Our new cartoonists then made up their own cartoon characters which they then shared with the class. Some characters were funny, others scary, but all were awesome. We had a great time and we'll be doodling and cartooning again next week.
LME Computer Institute: Our enrichment cluster had a very successful meeting. We started things off with a discussion about how much computers are part of our daily lives. Next, we moved on to an interactive history of computers, seeing their humble beginnings and how they have changed over the years.
Mr. Jurecka mentioned that today's newest gadgets will seem like ancient history in just a few short years and to illustrate the point, he showed a video of modern kids attempting to interact with early 1980's technology like a tape deck and vintage personal computer. It was an eye-opener for many of them!
The enrichment cluster also opened some modern computers, looked inside and examined how the individual parts work together. Finally, we predicted what computers will look like in the future and sketched out our thoughts.
Topics of interest for future meetings included making video games, typing / keyboard shortcuts, how to make a computer from parts, how to program computers, how to fix computers, how apps are made, creating web pages, and learning what a virus is. We're going to be busy exploring the world of COMPUTERS!
POWERpoint Cluster: The "POWERpoint Cluster" began by creating a list of what we knew how do using the PowerPoint Software and what we wanted to learn how to do. Then, members worked on sample PowerPoint presentations, adding information about themselves and Laurel Mountain. We decided that it would be a terrific idea to create a power point introducing LME to our new families; we want to duplicate it on CD's and distribute copies to our new friends. There are so many possibilities!
Webmaster Workshop: The “Webmaster Workshop” started off with a presentation on what a webmaster is, a brief history of the Internet, why we create websites, the three main steps for creating a website, and do's and don'ts for website creation. The students were very engaged and had a lot of insight into websites and how they work. After the presentation each student shared what it was they were hoping to do in the cluster and online games was a prevalent theme. With this information, the students started brainstorming about what their cluster 'product' would be. The students decided they wanted to create a website where other Laurel Mountain students could go when researching for IIM projects. The students are going to individually or in pairs, create research content for a page on their website, which is going to be called,
www.multiimfo.weebly.com. Next week the students will begin creating content for their pages and designing a logo for the website.
Treats for the Tweets and Puppies & Pals: Today we had fun making stinky, goopy catnip treats for cats! We learned that cats love catnip – just like how we love our favorite candy and that catnip is a member of the mint family. We worked in teams and learned how to follow a recipe, double ingredients, measure, mix and bake. We cleaned up really well and voted on what we wanted to do next Friday.
WILD WILD WILDLIFE Cluster: In this enrichment cluster, we talked about how different organizations such as Metro Goldwyn Mayer (movie corporation), our school and Canyon Vista use wild animals as mascots. We decided this was because most people like the freedom and strength these wild creatures exhibit. We then brainstormed the different jobs that people can hold that have an interest in wild animals.
Today we focused on the job of scientist. Mrs. Jackson taught us about two types of observations: strict observations and deductive observations. Strict observations are easily seen and right in front of you. Deductive observations are observations that require you to make an inference. One example that we thought of was when you see a leaf with part of a leaf missing, which could indicate that an insect has been eating it. Even though we did not see the insect, we can deduce that it was there.
We then went into the preserve to make some strict and deductive observations of our own. The kids carried magnifying glasses and a clipboard with a paper that stated different things to look for. We saw many interesting things including snails, scat, animal tracks, signs of human interaction, shells, fossils, tadpoles and wild mushrooms. Stay tuned for what else this wild group will discover.
LME Ambassador Society: The LME Ambassador Society was greeted at the door in person by Mrs. Justice and crowned with colorful beaded necklaces, much like in the Hawaiian culture who welcome visitors with flowered necklaces, or lei’s. We took some time introducing ourselves, talking about our backgrounds, and discussing why we were interested in this cluster. We were encouraged to hear that many of us share an interest in helping other people, making new friends, and helping new students feel welcome at our school. Some of us were interested in technology, while others shared a passion for creative and artistic products.
We spent most of our time today taking part in a culture-shock simulation, called “Bafa Bafa”, where we were immersed into a new culture of trading people (the “Betas”) who spoke a different language and used body gestures to communicate with each other. We got to learn their customs and basic language, and then were set off on a task of trading colored and numbered cards in an attempt to make a set, which helped us gain social status and make friends. Many of us found this task to be quite difficult since our native backgrounds were so different from the culture of the Betas, and we often reverted to our familiar verbal and body language customs with others “like us” to have more effective communication and help us feel more comfortable within the new culture of Beta. We debriefed the activity at the end of the cluster. We discovered that our successful and frustrating experiences in joining the Beta culture are probably very similar to the experience that students new to Laurel Mountain might be going through when they first come to our school.
We look forward to using our creative, technological strengths and helping personalities to craft a plan and product design for welcoming students to Laurel Mountain in the many years to come. Stay tuned for exciting developments as we take an eight week cluster and transform into… the Ambassador Society.
Game-agination: The students wrote down the reason they chose this cluster. Most wrote that they like games, especially computer and video games like Mindcraft. Some wrote that they liked other games like cards or sports.
The next task was actually writing down all the different kinds of games they could think of. The students wrote a game name down on a sticky and categorized them up on the white board. The categories that were grouped after this activity include: computer games; video games; board games and sports. Mindcraft was the most popular game submitted.
Mrs. Marshall surveyed the group to find out if they would like to play Mindcraft as part of this cluster. She is going to explore the feasibility of the group being able to play online during cluster time.
In addition to other games mentioned, Mrs. Marshall and Mrs. Kaplan introduced a role playing game called Argyle and Crew. It is about sock puppets or Soppets that come to life and have adventures. Each student was able to select a sock and some extra features such as eyes, mouths, hats etc. The students began designing their Soppets. At home, the students will finish making their Soppets and write down characteristics of them. The characteristics may include where they get special powers from; what their strengths are ; what their weaknesses (flaws) are; what they look like and how they act.
Not Your Average Arts and Crafts: In “Not Your Average Arts and Crafts”, students worked in groups of three to make a piece of art out of recycled materials such as toilet paper tubes, plastic jugs, paint, apple juice bottles, bowls, cups and paper. The theme for their piece of art was anything that represented Laurel Mountain. Interestingly enough, all five groups produced different types of lions. Next week, we will continue to create works of art and decide what our product or service will be.
Texas Endangered Animals: Our cluster got off to a great start with Ms. Teresa Nusbaum from the Williamson County Museum. Teresa taught us about several endangered animal species found in Williamson County. We learned about the sneaky cowbird that threatens Black Capped Vireo’s. We also learned how loss of habitat has endangered golden cheeked warblers. Finally she told us about the Georgetown Salamander. Some people think they are endangered, while others do not. We are excited to explore the chest of endangered animal resources Teresa left for us to explore.
Cool Clay Creators: Clay, clay, clay! Where does it come from? What can you make? The enrichment cluster, “Cool Clay Creators” (cleverly named by the students here at LME), introduced techniques and processes in the clay process. Each student will have the opportunity to “throw” on the potter’s wheel and then create additional hand-formed pottery using the “score” and “slip” technique.
Stop Motion Animation: The "Stop Motion Animation" enrichment cluster rolled off to a great start. We viewed several examples of stop motion films created by adults like Wallace & Gromit and examples produced by other LME students. We discussed and identified the characteristics of a stop motion type film and how it is created. Students listed the characteristics, like using multiple scenes and simple story lines. Then they used post-it notes to create a flip book. They took a simple sequence, like throwing a ball, and broke it down into individual scenes portrayed by slightly adjusting the repetitive scenes.
