ALPHA News
Updates about ALPHA from Mrs. Casey
Happy Summer!
Next school year, our topic of study will be "The New Age of Exploration." We will be cruising through history to learn about the world's explorers from ancient civilizations to modern times and looking towards the future. Our 1st & 2nd grade ALPHA students will be researching inventors and creating an invention. Our 3rd through 5th graders will be researching how inventions/ideas have changed society and will be coming up with their own ideas/inventions to solve a problem. All students will showcase their research products in our annual ALPHA Showcase along with the 3rd through 5th graders competing to go onto a district ALPHA Showcase (more details in the fall on this). So if your student would like to keep a sketchbook (it could be white paper, a spiral notebook, notepad--whatever they choose) of ideas/inventions over the summer, this would be a great head start.
Below, I have included a book list for you to keep up the curiosity of learning. These are only suggestions and not mandatory reading.
I will be sending out details when they're available in August on when you can stop by during meet the teacher night to learn more about ALPHA--The New Age of Exploration. Until then, have a fantastic summer and I will see you in August!
~~Mrs. Casey
Books You Might Like to Read
"The Travels of Marco Polo"
Author: Ronald Latham
ISBN 9780140440577
"Around the World in a Hundred Years"
Author: Jean Fritz
ISBN 9780698116382
"Amelia to Zora: 26 Women who Changed the World"
Author: Cynthia Chin-Lee
ISBN 9781570915239
"10 Explorers who Changed the World"
Author: Clive Gifford
ISBN 9780753461037
"10 Inventors who Changed the World"
Author: Clive Gifford
ISBN: 9780753462591
"Always Inventing: Alexander Graham Bell"
Author: Tom Matthews
ISBN 9781426322174
"Amazing Leonardo da Vinci Inventions"
Author: Maxine Anderson
ISBN 9780974934426
"Mr. Ferris & His Wheel"
Author: Kathryn Gibbs Davis
ISBN 9780547959221
"Tinkering: Kids Learn by Making Stuff"
Author: Curt Gabrielson
ISBN 9781449361013
Coding!
NOTE: If you are a new ALPHA student reading this and want to work on some fun computer coding this summer, contact me at susan.casey@nisd.net and I can easily set up an account for you.
Franklin 1st/2nd grade page:
http://studio.code.org/sections/TYGDYX
Franklin 3rd grade page
http://studio.code.org/sections/CCTLKA
Franklin 4th/5th grade page
http://studio.code.org/sections/YECUMF
Scarborough 1st/2nd grade page
http://studio.code.org/sections/slopkm
Scarborough 3rd grade page:
http://studio.code.org/sections/REMEEI
Scarborough 4th grade page
http://studio.code.org/sections/QWUQWQ
Scarborough 5th grade page
http://studio.code.org/sections/ZWXMRT