Thomas PACE
2016-2017 Winter Newsletter
Happy Holidays!
When we return from break, we will be wrapping up some of the current units and introducing our new units. New unit information is listed below:
1st Grade - Creative Thinkers (continued from Fall)/Ancient Number Systems (spring)
ANCIENT NUMBER SYSTEMS
PACE students will study the evolution of counting by learning various number systems and then comparing them. They will also locate places on the globe and learn higher level mathematical concepts.
2nd Grade - Coding (finishing)/World of Wonders (Spring)
WORLD OF WONDERS - students will be exploring family traditions and culture; sharing information about their own history, and using Photo Story to design a presentation. Students will travel to a “Wonder of the World” from each continent. Finally, students will choose a Wonder destination and present highlights of their research. Students will also use an atlas and other sources to study maps, latitude and longitude, scale, and time zones.
3rd Grade - Logic & Reasoning (finishing)/Genius Hour (Spring)
The Genius Hour unit is designed to create an environment where students can fully take ownership of their own work from start to finish. Students begin by learning proper research strategies which include searching key words on a topic to narrow down results and deciphering the results. The unit progresses through a thorough description of what Genius Hour is, and gets students thinking about topics in which they have interests. They will then formulate a Driving Question which will become the foundation of their research. Throughout the research process, lessons will be taught on how to read and glean information from articles and websites, proper note-taking skills, references, plagiarism and bias. Finally, students will work on selecting a method of presenting their research also known as a product. The means of creating a product are extensive so students will work on selecting one which matches their research most effectively. The final step is to present student work. Since this lesson will be very fluid depending on student progress, students do not necessarily have to have a fully completed product in order to present. They may simply present their research up to that point.
4th Grade - Robotics /Leadership (Spring) - will run concurrently
LEADERSHIP This unit is a motivational, interactive, and interdisciplinary unit designed to stimulate the student’s thinking about leadership while emphasizing communication skills in its many forms. Students will develop, enhance, and appreciate leadership in themselves and others, while incorporating writing, speaking, research and higher order thinking skills.
5th Grade - Law (finishing)/Stock Market Game (Spring)
In the Stock Market Game, students will be able to independently use their learning to develop an economic way of thinking and problem solving useful to manage one's financial resources effectively for a lifetime of financial security. Students will understand that economic trends affect everyone, investing in stocks is worth the risk, and successful investors rely on research, diversification and trends. Given a fictional $100,000 to invest in the stock market, students will put their knowledge into action.
5th Grade
2nd Grade
3rd Grade
1st grade
4th grade
2nd Grade
Links to student digital presentations
Bill of Rights - 5th grade
Technology in PACE
We use many technology tools in the classroom. Integrating technology to extend learning is a very important part of our class. Below are some of the tools we may use in PACE.
- Google Classroom
- Socrative
- Quizizz
- Padlet
- Blogging
- Powtoon
- Google Slides
- PowerPoint
- Animoto
- Prezi
- Kahoot
- many more
Bloom With Books!!
The purpose of Bloom with Books is for students to grow to love words, reading, and literature.Books were selected for their rich use of language and high interest for advanced PACE readers.
Coming Soon!
Kinder PACE TESTING - 1/9-1/13
PACE TESTING (2nd-5th) - 1/30-2/3
Word Masters Meet #2 - February
CML Meet #3 (4th) - 1/12
CML Meet #3 (5th) - 1/17
CML Meet #1 (3rd) - 1/12
History Fair - March/April
iCode - 3rd-5th grade after school club - invitations coming in January!
1st grade - 44BJUR
2nd grade - YP9DUX
3rd grade - UDXZU9
4th grade - 2A27FV
5th grade - DQ7UXK.
Ayanna T. Black
Email: ayanna.black@pisd.edu
Website: about.me/ayannablack
Location: 1800 Montana Trail, Plano, TX, United States
Phone: 469.752.3543
Twitter: @ThomasTxPACE