Fifth Grade AIM Update
@norton_AIM
This Week in AIM
Welcome to AIM 2017-18! After a quick tour of the classroom we jumped right into a brief discussion about goal setting in AIM. Every class at Norton is focusing on teaching students about the importance of setting and reaching goals. Each student wrote a quick reminder on a laminated circle of what their personal goal for AIM was going to be and then they worked in groups to come up with a table goal (such as working as a team etc.,). At the end of the class we wrote our personal goal in the middle of a yellow sticker and drew an emoji face around it depending on whether we reached the goal or are still working on it. We will be making an effort all year to understand the power of goal setting.
To begin our study of the American Civil War I have decided to really commit to the PBL (Project Based Learning) model that I had been studying this summer. In PBL’s students take an active role in identifying and resolving a real-world problem or project. Your child will be gathering information, researching from a variety of sources, and asking deeper questions in order to contribute to the problem resolution.
Our first project scenario is;
The year is 1859 and the United States is preparing for the upcoming 1860 Presidential Election. Tension is rising between the Northern and Southern States. You have been hired as a consultant to advise your candidate on any and all major voter issues. If your candidate is blindsided it will be your fault. How can you fully prepare your candidate for the upcoming election activities?
After presenting the scenario, together we made a huge list of what we KNOW and what we NEED TO KNOW. From this list we decided to first spend our time investigating what life was like in the North vs. South. After some time researching we came back together and shared what we had learned. WOW they knocked my socks off! Just a few of the reflections included;
The North may not have had slaves but they treated their factory workers horribly.
The North is not as innocent as they think because they had no problem taking the cotton from the South (who had used slaves to pick it) and sell it for a profit.
Slave owners must have thought they were better than slaves, which might be why they treated them so poorly.
Women had very few rights in the North and the South.
We had a great conversation about why we study events like the Civil War and that this is not about laying blame or feeling guilty about the deeds of past relatives. We study the past to learn and grow and make sure we don’t repeat mistakes.
Growth Mindset Escape Room!
After lunch we had a lot of fun participating in an Escape Room Challenge focused on having a Growth Mindset, we have a few that are still working on it but I know they won't give up! Next week I will introduce our science PBL on electricity and we will continue working on our Civil War PBL . I am looking forward to a great year with this group!