Third Grade AIM Update
@norton_AIM
Goal Setting!
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.
Our focus this year...
To create a nice balance in our time and interests, this year Third Grade AIM will have two major unrelated topics to investigate; Ancient Greece and Electricity! To begin our study of both 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 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 a little bit of what we had already uncovered. Throughout the year, our research will be accompanied with experiments to test what we have learned before we build our houses!
After lunch...
After lunch we had a lot of fun participating in an Escape Room Challenge focused on having a Growth Mindset. Next week I will introduce our Ancient Greece PBL and continue helping them explore electricity! It’s going to be a great year!