B.Y.O.Ball
“B.Y.O.Ball”
started with an introduction from Mr. Hance's Scientist-in-Residence partner, Robin Hartman,
who was on a nationally ranked Ultimate Frisbee team when she was in college at
the University of Southern California. Ms. Hartman introduced the
students to Ultimate through an initiative called Ultimate Peace, which brings
together kids from Israel and Palestine to meet, compete and friend one another
through Ultimate Frisbee. The class agreed to create a Google Classroom
as a platform to create their final product, which will include some demonstration
of a connection between philanthropy, community building and sports. From
there, teams were selected, and the kids, Ms. Hartman and Mr. Hance spent 40
minutes playing a wicked-good game of Ultimate Frisbee and finished the hour
celebrating their sweaty t-shirts with high-fives and salutations
until next Friday. For the next several weeks, students will participate
in different sports, ranging from familiar games like basketball and football,
to less familiar, like Olympic lifting and yoga. For more on Ultimate Peace,
visit:
Games! Games! Games!
The students in the Games! Games! Games! Enrichment cluster
generated a list of specific games and types of games they'd like to
play. We also learned to play a dice game called Snake Eyes and divided
into two groups to play Scattegories and another game called Blurt! Students
developed a calendar for what we'd like to do each week when we meet. And, we
also brainstormed and discussed a couple of options for some sort of service
project to benefit our community.
Boxes, Boxes, Boxes
In “Boxes, Boxes, Boxes” enrichment cluster today
we explored a variety of arts and crafts ideas & projects using cereal
boxes. Each student went to a website to see different ideas for creating
cool cereal box projects. They used a planning sheet to narrow down their
top two creations and listed all the materials they will need to complete these
tasks. From personal journals, to airplanes, to boats, to shadow boxes, to
endless ideas….and some decided to do something completely their own. We
can’t wait to show off our cereal box creations. It’s all about
boxes in our cluster!!
Moviemaking Institute
For our first
cluster meeting, we had Mr. Roby Brown, Director of Video Services for RRISD, come
in. He is the RRISD video expert, and he showed us several different ways to
create a movie. We then acted out and performed it for the class. In the next
few weeks we will introduce the students to different video strategies that
will help them produce and edit their own videos.
The “Explorer's
Guild” had a great first meeting. A short Reading Rainbow segment hosted by LeVar Burton kicked things off on
a spooky note as we gave a first look at the classic monster Bigfoot and the
mystery of UFOs. Then our guild members were encouraged to come up with
their own monsters or mysteries that they would like to investigate. In
the coming weeks, I'm going to encourage them to perform research and think
critically as we look at the evidence. Are these monsters and mysteries
real or fake? How did we come to that conclusion? We look forward
to sharing our findings with you at the showcase in December!
Photography Fun
The “Photography Fun”
enrichment cluster met on Friday and shared what photography was; the
study of drawing with light and shadows. We discussed Elliott Erwitt's
quote, “Photography is an art of
observation. It has very little to do with things you see and everything
to do with the way you see them.” We shared ideas on what product or service we
wanted to have from our eight week cluster. The group decided they wanted
to learn the basics of photography which includes how to compose an image,
checking background, and style basics like finding a point of interest, rule of
thirds, and perspective. They were interested in learning about Macro
photography and using editing software.
After learning about the basic parts
of a camera; how to turn it on and off, keeping it safe while not in use, and
using the flash, the students created their very own "Press Badge" by
taking their picture and adding their credentials.
Minecraft Masters
At the first meeting,
the students established guidelines for how to interact in the game, and then
we played through the tutorial world to make sure everyone knew how to play.
Some of the kids found secret passageways or raced through mazes, while others
focused on mastering Minecraft PC controls. During future meetings, students
will decide what product they might like to create and work together to achieve
that goal.
Voracious
Volunteers
The Voracious Volunteers began our
cluster by discussing what we know about volunteering and talking about why
people volunteer. We learned about the
difference between philanthropy and volunteering, watched a couple videos to
teach us more, and brainstormed possible audiences for a product or service our
group might take up in the next 7 weeks.
Halfway through cluster, we hosted the guests Mrs. Andrews and Emma (a
golden retriever) to teach us about the Austin Dog Alliance and the Bow Wow Reading
program. Mrs. Andrews talked about how
volunteering is meaningful in her life, while Emma provided a fun interaction
time by being sweet and letting us pet her.
We will host a couple more speakers from local non-profit organizations
in the next few weeks to help us learn about them and how volunteering is
important within their organization. We
will then get started on a service project or two of the students’
choosing. We look forward to serving a
need in the community and combining our efforts for the benefit of others.
Serious About Science
Our “Serious about
Science” enrichment cluster first meeting was a BLAST.....literally! We
used film canisters, water, and Alka-Seltzer to create a chemical reaction
ending in an explosion! In teams of two we explored physics by creating
catapults (simple machines) out of school supplies and shot marshmallows into
our partners’ cups. Exploring centrifugal force is always fun so we
created spooky Halloween sounds by putting a hex nut in a balloon, blowing it
up, and spinning it in circles. Students are considering science lab books,
more experiments, and their own science show as possible products!
WRITING IS RIGHT!
In the “WRITING IS RIGHT!” enrichment
cluster, we . . . wrote! But first, we played a game of “Whose Line?”
where the kids wrote a random sentence on a strip of paper. Two
improvisers acted out a scene and, at the appropriate time (like “I remember
when my granny said to me…”), pulled out a slip and read the sentence. It
was very funny and fun and made us feel “fun.” We talked about dialog, we
talked about settings, and we talked about the structure of the class. If
the kids want to write and want Mr. Holmstrom to just let them do that, then
that’s what those students will get to do (at least 95% of the time).
I’ll share scripts so they can see the correct format, we’ll talk about
types of poetry, and we’ll talk about . . . whatever they’re interested in.
But, mostly we’ll write. The kids will guide us to an end product,
but I’m going to suggest writing about something that is taught at school and
have their writing inform as well as entertain. We’ll see!
B2
In the “B2” enrichment cluster, we
created magnets, coasters and
decorations with bottle caps in all different colors. We used our imagination along with some Mod
Podge, stickers, glue and gems. We can’t wait to come back again and see what
we will create.
Games, Giggles, and Greatness
“Games, Giggles,
and Greatness” was a HIT!!! Students paired up for an egg toss with a
partner, walked, ran, and hopped around the track with an egg on a spoon and
competed to see who could say their name with crackers in their mouth.
Students brainstormed other competitions and games they would like to test next
week. Whether we become the 1st Annual LME Guinness Book of World Records,
share our Fun Games with an audience, or put together a video of our
competitions or something else, the students will lead us there!
Artistic Edibles
On Friday in
the” Artistic Edibles” enrichment cluster students grabbed a plate and
unleashed their imaginations! Utilizing healthy fruits and vegetables
students explored their own creativeness creating works of art! Who would
think a simple grape and strawberry could be transformed into a beautiful
flower arrangement? Students will narrow down their service project
this coming Friday; expect something delicious both on the eyes and in
your mouth!
Jr. Wildlife Explorers
In the “Jr. Wildlife Explorers”, the
students brainstormed what they wanted to learn about animals. We watched some
videos on animal rescue groups, ways animals have helped save people's lives,
and unusual animals.
Clay Creators
“Clay Creators”
watched two short videos about hand building pottery in New Mexico and an
artist inspired by the volcanoes in Hawaii using the potter's wheel, glazing
and firing with the Raku process. Students used the pinch pot technique to
make their own creations. They are very excited to use different techniques to
create their ideas.
The Future is Coming…Soon
“The
Future is Coming…Soon” enrichment cluster is full of creative minds bent on
creating a better future for us all. In our first meeting we spent some time
discussing some of the challenges facing our future population. Members shared
ideas of their own and we spent some time learning about innovations others
around the globe have developed. There were so many amazing ideas floating
around that we decided to create a shared google document to catalog them over
the week. We are going to change the world!
Ready, Set, Play
In "Ready, Set,
Play," our first day began with an obstacle course challenge that
consisted of eight different obstacles. Each obstacle physically challenged the
student's athletic abilities ranging from core and upper body strength, to
agility, coordination, balance and endurance. Each student showed a great deal
of determination and excitement to push through the course. After all students
completed the course we viewed two video clips of worldwide events in which
people participate in to challenge their physical abilities as we did in
our opening activity. The two events are "The Spartan
Race" and "Ninja Warrior." We then discussed what different
activities we could participate in to stay physically active, while still
challenging our athletic abilities at the same time. Half of the cluster had an
idea to create a new game stemming from traditional games while the other half
was interested in designing and creating an obstacle course. So, in the next
few weeks we will be experimenting with a variety of equipment and modifying
games to create a new one, as well as, begin to design an obstacle course/fun
run.
