Newsletter- August 2015

Dear Parents-

I would like to welcome you back for the 2015-16 school year. We have several exciting things planned for this year. First, we will be participating in Rock Our World (R.O.W.) which is a global collaboration project where students create music with GarageBand, Video Conference and learn with other students from around the globe. We will also be utilizing technology available to connect with literature and other classes from around the globe through Virtual Literacy Circles.  STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) explorations will be occurring often at all grade levels.  In everything we do the Florida State Grade Level Standards will be infused - with our main focus continuing to be on goals/standards that come from Florida's Framework for K-12 Gifted Learners.

If you need to reach me, the best way is through email at snyderf@manateeschools.net.

Supply List

-2 reams of white copy paper

-4 sharpened pencils

Thank you,

Frances M. Snyder (Francie)

Educator of the Gifted

Newsletter -January 2015

Parents-
It is hard for me to believe that this school year is already half way over and we have been very busy with several activities.
In December we participated with 91,755,200 others from around the world in the Hour of Code. This is a program put on by Code.org and serves as an introduction to computer programing. The students loved these activities and will be continued with other coding activities throughout the rest of the year.

We also worked really hard to complete and share our biography reports on our inventors. These projects are now hanging on the wall outside our classroom. To help students get a better grasp of when each inventor lived, what else was happening in the world and a bit of their inventors impact on society we have created a timeline, which is hanging just above these projects. Please feel free to stop by and check them out. Another activity we participated in while projects were being presented was a thinking routine entitled,”Step Inside”. This routine consists of the following four questions to guide student to think deeper about what was presented. These questions were written about and discussed.

What did this person see, notice or observe?
What did this person understand, know or believe?
What did this person care deeply about?
What did this person wonder about?

A fourth grader after participating in “Step Inside” for the first time said,”Before I was looking at what he did, but now I am really seeing who he truly is."

During the third quarter our fourth and fifth graders will begin using the Challenge Based Learning (C.B.L.) Framework to guide our invention process. I for one am looking so forward to seeing what problems they will choose to solve with their inventions. The primary students will be participating in a CBL challenge entitled “Germs Make Us Sick”. They be exploring the topic through research and science experiments. From there students will work together to build a campaign to prevent the spread of these germs. 

Also, starting in February the fifth grade students will be working with students in Iowa on Virtual Literacy Circles. We will be reading and exploring literature together using video conferencing and other online tools. This is a project that Gina Hill, an educator from Iowa and I created and participated in during the spring of  2011 with much success. Personally, I can not wait to get started.

 As a reminder, I have an open door policy and if you have any questions and/or concerns please contact through email snyderf@manateeschools.net.

O.R.E.O. Project

  A couple of months ago we finished up our work on The OREO Project,  which I became aware of through the Discovery Educators' Network (The DEN). This annual project put together by Jen Wagner and found on her Projects By Jen Website.  It is the projects 15th Year and extend Math, Language Arts, Critical Thinking, Health and more. 

During one part of the project students stack the original Oreo Cookies, collect, graph and analyze the data. As the students, each took turn doing each of the following jobs: the stacker, data collector, and photographer. They took some great shots and I thought I wold share them here. 

     

October 2104- Newsletter

Dear Parents-

We spent the first quarter exploring the characteristics of a true inventor. Each students also explored real life inventor; such as Ben Franklin, Grace Hopper, Steve Jobs, The Wright Brothers, Temple Grandin...After these projects are complete we will be spending some time comparing and contrasting a few based on their characteristics of these inventors.

Also, this quarter we participated in a couple of quick projects to get our creative juices flowing. First students had a blast building spaghetti and marshmallow towers. In teams they were given the challenge to build the highest tower they could using a set number of dried spaghetti and marshmallows. Some were very successful and everyone learned a great deal. The other creative activity we engaged in was entitled What's in the Bag?. This idea came to us via some friends from The Discovery Educator's Network (The DEN). Each student was given a bag filled with a variety of art supplies with the following directions: Inside this bag you will find a variety of items. Please create something using as many of these items as you can. You may only use the items in your bag scissors,
a stapler and glue. We truly ended up with some wonder ideas.

Finally, starting this quarter we will begin the inventing process. To help us with the process we will be in contact with quirky.com. Quirky is a company that takes individual’s (or team’s) ideas for a product that solve a real world problem and then manufactures some of those product. They will spend sometime with us laying out their process from how they decided which products are manufacture to distribution. After learning about Quirky we will use The Challenge Based Learning  (CBL) Framework to help guide us through our process from defining a problem to our plans for an invention (or our solution).

Since I am only on Oneco’s Campus on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday the best way to contact me is through email snyderf@manateeschools.net.

Thank you,
Frances (Francie) M. Snyder
Educator of the Gifted

Writing Our Own Rules

Like everywhere else on campus our Gifted Laboratory has rules and here the students worked to help develop them. Before we put our heads together to establish a set of rules we first explored the reasons why rules exist. 

We spent some time with the Cougar Expectations:

 We explored the P.A.W.S. expectations by using the following graphic organizer and exploring what each would look like, sound like and feel like in our laboratory.
 We then participated in a thinking routine entitled Chalk Talk.  During a Chalk Talk there is a piece of chart paper with an open ended questions in the center of the group and students are asked to respond to that prompt in written form only. They may respond directly the question or they can respond to another person's thoughts. 

On our Chalk Talk questions were: 
-Why should rules be followed?
 -What would happen if there were no rules? 
-Why do we need rules? 

 

Finally, we spent time writing a set of rules for our time in gifted and signed them in agreement. 

Spaghetti Towers

            This week we had a blast building spaghetti and marshmallow towers. Students were placed in teams and given the challenge to build the highest tower they could using a set number of dried spaghetti and marshmallows. Several tips to aid them in the challenge were shared and teams were given time to plan their strategy. Some were successful and everyone learned a great deal. 
Please enjoy some pictures of our fun!

 

After each trial,  I asked students to spend some time reflecting in their Interactive Gifted Notebooks (I.G.N.) and here are few of my favorite quotes:

"There are a lot of things I learned like even if you are smartest person on Earth you are still going to face challenges and things that our tough. Today was tough!"
                                                             -4th grader

"United we stand, divided we fall. If everyone only wants to do their own thing and won't listen nothing is going to work." 
                                                                             -5th grader

What is in the Bag?

         During the first week of gifted, we engaged in an activity entitled What's in the Bag?.  This idea came to me via some friends from The Discovery Educator's Network (The DEN).  The idea was simple fill a bag with a variety of art supplies. Give each students a bag with the following directions: Inside this bag you will find a variety of items. Please create something using as many of these items as you can. You may only use the items in your bag scissors, a stapler and glue.  I also asked my students to tell personal narrative or a few things about themselves with their finish product. 

Take a look at the fun we had!