Fourth Grade AIM
@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.
The fourth grade curriculum is one of my favorite to teach because it offers so much flexibility and creativity. This year we will once again be participating in the TPSP (Texas Performance Standards Project) along with all of the other Allen gifted programs. Students will select a “type” of project to work on and present it at a district wide showcase in May. The first part of the year allows for us to obtain new skills that will help us with our TPSP idea. We are also going to be participating in a PBL (Project Based Learning) focused on electricity! 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 for electricity is;
You are a newly hired employee at a home design construction company. Your first assignment is to work as part of a team to design a showcase house for a new futuristic neighborhood. Your role is to ensure that power (electricity) requirements are planned appropriately and are adequate for this new home. The home will serve as a model for future home owners around the world. Your training in college stressed home design and not electricity but this is a huge opportunity for you to impress your boss!
After presenting the scenario, together we made a huge list of what we KNOW and what we NEED TO KNOW about electricity. From this list we decided to first spend our time teaching ourselves the basics of what electricity is. After some time researching we came back together and shared what we had learned. WOW these kids really made the most of their research time.
Rocketz Business
After lunch we jumped right back into the little rocket business that we had started last year. We are changing our focus to have it be a fundraiser to purchase water for our friends in Houston. More information will be coming as we develop our product and marketing ideas. It’s going to a great year with this group!