GT October Newsletter
Mrs. Kruse
GT is off to a great start!
1st/2nd- First and second grade have been exploring convergent thinking using logic elimination puzzles. Students combine information from various clues in order to determine a correct solution. Each student was given a logic grid and worked on organizing clues to figure out the logic problem.
1st grade- First grade is reading a story called "The Greedy Triangle". Students will be rewriting their own scenes, making their own props, and creating a class play. This project will be lead by guiding questions- What shape will play the main character? What will cause the main character to decide what he or she wants to change? What will happen to him as a result of the changes? They are so excited about putting all this together. We will continue to work on this for the next couple of weeks.
2nd grade- Second grade completed their first Mind Mission. This mission involved students learning about the Statue of Liberty. Then, students were asked to apply their understanding of the symbolism within the Statue of Liberty in order to create a human statue for the purpose of welcoming newcomers to their school. Students were also introduced to Lego’s WeDo robotics. WeDo is meant to introduce the students to robotics, engineering and programming.
3rd grade- Third grade has started exploring the history of the local community and gaining awareness of ways in which people in the local community and other communities meet their needs for government, education, communication, transportation, and recreation. Students will compare and contrast a variety of urban and rural locations, and study how cities evolve over time. They will also examine how humans modify or adapt to their environment and how cities form around natural resources. This project has each group developing a plan for their vision of an ideal city - A Utopian Destination. Students will develop a town, structure of government, identify services in the city, and generate maps and brochures that they can pass out to new members of the city.
4th grade- Students have been introduced to Lego Mindstorms EV3s. Students will work in teams to problems solve as they build and program their robots. Fourth grade also worked on a Mind Mission in which they learned about aerodynamics in an effort to create a paper airplane that was able to make loops.
5th grade- This year fifth graders will expand on their programming skills as they continue to build and program with the Lego Mindstorm EV3. The students have been presented with their first challenge: Create a mythical beast—a dragon, a unicorn, a zombie, or any other imaginary animal. Show us something about your creature—how it moves, what it eats, where it lives. It can be big or small, scary or funny, but it must respond to its environment in some way. Students will then create a video, short write-up, theatrical presentation, etc., in order to showcase their robot to the class.
Important Dates
Celebrate Calm- Tuesday, October 17 6:30pm – 8:30pm Prosper High School Auditorium / 301 Eagle Dr. / Prosper
Kindergarten GT information Meeting- Tuesday, October 24th @Rogers Cafe 6:30 p.m.
GT 3rd Grade Field Trip/October 25th- Visit with City planner, John Webb at admin.
Websites to use at home
https://giftedandtalented.com/challenge-zone
http://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/mysteries/archive.html
www.chesskid.com/learn-how-to-play-chess.html
http://txgifted.org/web-resources-parents/
www.wonderopolis.com
www.dailysudoku.co.uk/sudoku/kids/
http://www.timeforkids.com/kid-reporters
www.brainbashers.com/showpuzzles.asp?puzzle=ZKRG
two dynamic, laugh-out-loud funny parent events. The events are FREE and there is no need
to register.
Mrs. Kruse
Email: wmkruse@prosper-isd.net
Location: Judy A. Rucker Elementary School, South Craig Road, Prosper, TX, United States
Phone: 469-219-2100
Twitter: @GTProsperISD