Think Tank in Third
Weekly Update- September 2, 2016
Our Week at a Glance
Reading: Continued 1st 20 days from NAPLS Reading Curriculum. Students are loving our flexible seating spaces, and are begging for more independent reading time. :)
Math: We finished our introductory lessons from www.youcubed.org and students are doing an awesome job of using critical thinking skills to problem solve and collaborate. Next week we will begin our Numbers & Base 10 unit.
Genius Hour: We introduced Genius Hour this week, and an informational letter came
home. Genius Hour will take place every Wednesday, and we are so excited for students to begin stretching their thinking. You can check out our portal for more information. Click here to see more detailed information and to watch a video about Genius Hour.
Social Studies: We have continued working on building a positive classroom culture, and responsibility. We will soon begin talking about government, and we are so excited to be teaching this during an election year!
Book Talk Tuesday
"What is Book Talk Tuesday?"
Click here to see the schedule and detailed information on our portal.
Homework
Homework has officially started in The Think Tank!
Click here to see the first homework menu, which is due on September 9th.
Coding
What is this coding "stuff" ?!
Click here to read an article from Forbes magazine titled "Teach Kids to Code and You Give Them a Skill for Life." (When you click the link you will have to then click "continue to article").
Click here to watch a video from on "CBS This Morning" that explains the rationale behind teaching students coding at a young age.
Think Tank Tip of the Week
Our Brains Think About Math Visually
Does your child use his/her fingers or draw pictures when solving a math problem?! This actually isn't a bad thing! So often using fingers for math is seen as "babyish", when in reality, knowledge of your fingers can actually be a better prediction of math performance than traditional tests. Students who use their fingers a lot and know them very well, often do better in math than those who do not. Fingers are important for brain growth and math performance!
Click here to watch a video about how your child's brain stretches when they visualize math.
Mathematicians See Math Visually
Mathematicians Justify Their Answers
Mathematicians Use Tools
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