Hangouts and Prepping for our Invention Fair

We have been busy this week in our final preparations for our upcoming "Trash to Treasure" Invention Fair (next Thursday).  As you can see display boards are taking shape.  Students will have these on display, along with their invention, at our fair next week.  

Along with our display boards our building librarian / media specialist has began filming all of our fifth grader's infomercials.  Word on the street is they are turning out great this year!  Those will be played on a big screen, in the gym, at our fair.  

As it seems like it year to year, our invention fair is really coming together great.  It is hard to believe that we accomplish the creative part of coming up with an idea, send the idea home for students to work on with friends and family, research a famous inventor, write their own script for an infomercial, film an infomercial, create a display board, and soon present ALL of their items.  Not to mention, we also use the Invention of Hugo Cabret as our literacy piece all month.  We have for sure been busy.  It is great to work with a team of such hard working individuals and professionals!

Today we also had two Google Hangouts!  After attending #edCampMKE (edCamp Milwaukee) I met another educator who does an invention project and fair.  We thought..."HEY...LET'S HANGOUT!"  So we did...today!  It was great.  Each of us had seven students/groups share their ideas with the other class.  The experience was wonderful!

Our second Hangout today was with staff members at Milwaukee's Discovery World.  They spoke to our students about the inventor of the electric guitar (and Wisconsin native) Les Paul.  They also shared with our students some of the cool things they will experience on our field trip there on June 9.  We can't wait!  What a great experience!   

Google Hangout with a Patent Attorney 2014

Today we had a great opportunity to have a Google Hangout with an old friend of mine, who is now a Patent Attorney in the Twin Cities (MN) area.  This is our third year uniting for a 1 hour session.  In the short screencast (Screencast-O-Matic) below (15 minutes (not that short)) you can see how our attorney shares mostly about what a patent attorney does, what a patent is, and is able to answer a few questions.  What a great experience..as always!

During our Hangout we were also had the opportunity to have our own inventions critiqued.  Here are some of the pictures from the experience:

"The Fun Hunt"

"The One and Done"

"Light My Way"

"The Sanitation Shirt"

"The RC Turkey Decoy"

Divide Fractions with Number Lines

In math we are currently learning how to take a whole number and divide it by a fraction...actually a decimal fraction.  Today we thought about how we can break down a fraction in terms of what it equals to 1.  For example, how many tenths = 1? 10...so 10/10 = 1...got me?  

We figured out then that if 1 is made up of 10/10s, then 0.1 x 1 = 10.  

So...we can quickly then figure out that 3 x 0.1 = ___ (using the above idea that 0.1 x 1 = 10) simply multiply the answer by 3...so 3 x 0.1 = 30.  This means that 30=tenths make up the number 3.

Our final problem today asked the following:

Amber bought a 6-meter roll of ribbon.  She needs pieces that are 20 centimeters long.  How many pieces will she be able to cut from the roll?  Show your thinking.

This problem assumes something significant...that students know how much of a meter 1 centimeter equals (1/100) OR how much of a meter 10 centimeters equals (1/10).  

A couple of my students figured this problem out using a number line version by taking meter sticks and determining the answer...great way to show their thinking:

Another group of students determined the answer by using what they already knew about meters, centimeters, and newly acquired information about division (and multiplication) of fractions and decimal fractions.

This is exciting to see students really using what they have learned throughout the school year in order to solve one problem.  COOL!

Learning about Early 1900's Films through the Invention of Hugo Cabret

Those not familiar with Brian Selznick or one of his novels The Invention of Hugo Cabret may or may not know that Brian takes extreme effort in understanding and expertising his writing by thoroughly researching his topics.  One awesome aspect of the story of Hugo is learning about Hugo and Isabelle's fondness for silent films.  This could easily be passed over, unless of course you bring the films into the class.  Today we brought in a few of the films mentioned (so far):

• Safety, Last! - we watched the most famous scene (also mentioned in Hugo) where the character is trying to climb a building and has many mishaps along the way 

• The Clock Store - mentioned as a trailer prior to the start of a movie in the early 1900's:

• Le Million - the movie that Hugo and Isabelle go to watch at the movie theater (this is only the trailer): 

We had a great time watching these films.  They provided some needed perspective as to how different, but also how much alike, our lives are to those who lived in the early 1900's.  We are excited to see what movies pop up as we move along.

We are also in the process of wrapping up our famous inventor cubes.  These cubes contain information about all sorts of inventors.  They will be displayed at our "Trash to Treasure Invention Fair" on June 5.

#edcampMKE = End of the School Year Revitalization

@amyuelmen and @g5changeagent21

This past weekend I thoroughly enjoyed my #edcampMKE experience, which began with an early morning meet-up with our districts instructional technology coordinator @amyuelmen for a quick drive down to South Miklwaukee High School....of course not before a selfie (or is it not a selfie since there are two of us) for the edCamp Milwaukee's Instagram page / Picasa Web Album.

Pitch and Plan "BEFORE"

For those not familiar, edCamps are a relatively new idea of professional development.  It is professionals joining forces to create the conference on site, with no actual leader determined for sessions, but rather people chiming in.  To organize this, the edCamp organizers begin the day with a "Pitch and Plan".  The slate is literally clean.  

Pitch and Plan "AFTER"

After 30 or so minutes of pitching and planning, the slate is super messy and awesome!  This messy board is then transferred to a shared document for all to view and choose their learning direction for the day.  The best part of the choosing is that if you enter a session that does not peak your interest, you get up and go find a different session that maybe will.  The conference sessions are about you and what you want to get out of them.  

At #edcampMKE I was fortunate to be able to attend three sessions and also collaborate with colleagues and new colleagues over a multitude of ideas.

My first session choice was: #Gamification - Here is what I walked away with:

• Gamification is not all about games - that is a large part of it though - it builds around the idea of changing the landscape of a classroom to be more game based
• Gamification can be more of a classroom attitude (I think) - challenge students to score points and climb leader boards within the classroom - issue awards (badges)
• I am considering the following badge website: classbadges.com 
• To learn more about Gamification check out this video: http://goo.gl/QQYhvB 

My second session choice was: Google in Grades 4 to 6 - My take aways:

@g5changeagent21 (me)

• As a whole, our group was psyched about the possibilities that Google Presentation holds for classrooms
• Google's Research Tool can become a critical tool for students looking to add information / images into anything Google Doc related and also for citing information
• Use hashtags in Google Doc titles as a way of labeling them - try it - hashtag multiple titles, then search that hashtag - voila: #rad

Third Session choice: Lessons that Even Students Would Pay For:

http://goo.gl/srvi03

• this session was packed with professionals ready and willing to spill the beans on lessons / units they do that fully engage students into learning - whether or not they want to be
• I was able to share our invention unit with other teachers - they were able to share their invention units (we are FOR SURE going to Google Hangout at the end of May) - also learned of a grant via Kohl's Department Store for getting some cash-o-la for next year's Discovery World field trip
• excited to purchase and read Dave Burgess': Teach Like a Pirate - I think this book could have a great impact in a school as a book study - I want to set this up via Google Groups this summer for some fun, casual conversation among peers and professional development

Final Choice: Hang with Peers

• we all have great stories to share of successes and epic failures from our classrooms - we can only get stronger as teachers
• Twitter is a great place to hang out and learn from others - I either spent the day Tweeting or waiting for a Tweet - Loved using TweetDeck (kept me organized and full)
• Pizza is a recipe for delicious discussions about iPads, Chromebooks, tech integration, and life in general 

#edcampMKE was a great experience for me.  I truly enjoyed traveling there with my other Pulaski teacher friends and spending a day with dedicated professionals.  I feel revitalized!

@g5changeagent21 @MrsGeeLMS @amyuelemen @recessduty

Invention Unit: Week 1...so far...

This week marks the beginning of our first full week of May and the first full week of our "Trash to Treasure" Invention Unit.  Along with creating inventions from recycled materials, our students also are engaged into innovative ideas through various avenues.  A new piece we were able to add, thanks in part to a grant that was won by a local gas station (which donated the funds to our school), we were able to purchase 40 copies of "Discovery Kids: Inventions" magazine.  Since we are using the novel The Invention of Hugo Cabret for our whole group piece, the non-fiction magazine is a supplemental component added to our small group reading.  In just the first pages students have already learned information about Thomas Edison and his "Menlo Park" invention team.  According to Edison, his team's goal was to produce one small invention every 10 days, and one big invention every 6 months.  Additionally, he shared with our students (via the magazine) that "Inventing is 1% Inspiration and 99% Perspiration."  As we dive deeper into the magazine will practice text coding, while using informational text.

Another exciting way we kicked off the week was by having a guest inventor.  This year our guest was Nils Melberg, from En Novative Technologies, Inc.  Nils and his team assist in testing soil samples to determine if particular areas have too much or too little of "something."  This ties in also with our Ecosystem unit, since we test the PH levels of our soil to determine its basic and acidity levels.  Nils and his team are responsible for creating a mechanism, The En Core Sampler, which takes a soil sample safely from the ground, without allowing it to release the contaminants (that may be in it) through evaporation.  Nils also introduced our students to an inventing acronym: SCAMPER.

S - substitute another item

C - combine two other products

A - adapt an existing item

M - magnify or minimize another product
P - put another item to a different use

E - eliminate or subtract what is not needed

R - reverse or change parts

Our invention unit is off and flying.  Many of our students have already come up with some incredible ideas for inventions in just the few days we have spent brainstorming and investigating.

Let the Innovation Begin...

Today we kicked off our 2014 (4th Annual) "Trash to Treasure" Invention Unit.  At our school this unit includes a multitude of pieces related to literacy, innovation, and FUN!

We use the novel The Invention of Hugo Cabret for our textbook.  This book explores innovation from the eyes of a young boy growing up in some difficult situations in olden day Paris, France.  Throughout the unit students explore and research famous inventors.  They create their own invention, which they display at our annual "Trash to Treasure" Invention Fair.  Plus, they learn elements of persuasion through infomercials.  With those elements, they create and record their own infomercial, which is played throughout the invention fair.

Today is just beginning of a month long journey that will conclude at Milwaukee's Discovery World in early June.  LET THE FUN BEGIN!