GT Times
Welcome to Miss Hunt's GT Classes!
Issue 1, November 22, 2019
The Wonderful World of Mousetrap Racers!
Checkpoint #1
November 21, 2019
The next checkpoint is Wednesday, November 27th, where they have to attach a photo of themselves with their construction to this point. Check Google Classroom for details! Have fun!
Birds of Prey...Up Close with the Philadelphia Zoo's
"Zoo On Wheels"!
Charlie
Gianna Ross talks about Charlie with the students
Austin
November 20, 2019
First, they were introduced to Charlie the Burrowing Owl, Austin the Eastern Screech Owl, Oberon the Barred Owl, and Shenandoah the Red-tailed Hawk. With each, they were able to compare and contrast size, color, habitat and what each ate. They also got to hear Oberon's call, see Shenandoah's nictitating membrane cover her eye, actually see how long a Burrowing Owl's legs are, and compare an actual hawk pellet to an owl pellet!
Throughout the presentation, Gianna expertly answered questions about each of the birds, while also being impressed by the students' knowledge of these raptors. Students also had the chance to find out what a Conservation and Education Educator does at the Zoo, thus making real world connections to our studies of birds of prey. All in all, it was an exciting, once-in-a-lifetime experience that the students won't soon forget!
Oberon
Preston P. show a hawk pellet from Shenandoah
Shenandoah
WordMaster Challenge
November 19, 2019
Modular Origami Mayhem!
November 12, 2019
The fifth grade Gifted and Talented students have just completed a curricular unit on modular origami. Modular origami is a type of origami that uses multiple units that are assembled to create an often complex model without using glue or tape. Most of the models are symmetrical geometrical shapes called polyhedrons, and are created from units called Sonobe units. Each of these units is folded to contain pockets. When other units are inserted into the pockets, a tension or friction is created that holds the model together.
Students researched several types of modular origami models and chose what they wanted to make. As a result, they created models such as cubes, colliding cubes, triangular hexahedrons, tetrahedrons, stellated octahedrons, transforming stars, and the more difficult icosahedron. Each student created a minimum of two pieces that they were able to keep after the project. Though many found the project challenging, they were all proud of themselves with their finished products. Who knew that folding paper was so tied to mathematics!
Cami made a transforming star.
Diana shows her finished stellated octahedron while Lia works on her colliding cubes.
Kadie shows her origami cube.
The Miller Zoological Park!
November 6, 2019
"You are an employee of the Miller Zoological Park. Your job is to acquire or purchase animals for various zoo exhibits. The latest exhibit to be installed is about birds of prey. You have the opportunity to purchase the following species:
Barred Owl - Miss Bower
American Kestrel - Mrs. Campbell
Red-tailed Hawk - Mr. Conley1
Burrowing Owl - Mr. Conley2
Great Horned Owl - Miss Foshini
Harris Hawk - Miss Li
Eastern Screech Owl - Miss Sepulveda
Your task is to build a Google slide presentation with photos and specific information about them so the Board of Directors can decide which species they will authorize you to buy."
As they worked on this project, students learned valuable skills, such as how to work with others, how to meet deadlines, how to conduct research online, and to follow specified directions. They also gained valuable experience utilizing Google Slides to create their presentation, learning transitions, animations, proper slide compilation, and such . What they didn't realize is that they were actually conducting research for a visit from the Philadelphia Zoo!
ULTIMATE ORIGAMI PROJECT
October 29, 2019
Each person in the group had to create at least four unique pieces of origami to be used in their display, but the entire display was a mixture of origami and other elements, including real rocks, sticks (for trees), and lights. As part of their grade, each group had to present their display to their peers and explain the story it told. They were then scored, using a rubric, by their peers.