Day 8 - Our Final Day

Today was just amazing!  We had so many visitors for our Health Fair (even my very own parents!), and the students did an incredible job of sharing their research with others.  I truly appreciate all of you who were able to attend today.

I am immensely proud of the solid work these students prepared in such a short window of time.  I wish we had another two weeks!  I hope you all enjoy the remainder of your summer, and will see some of you again in the fall, and hopefully others next summer for another learning adventure!

Day 7

Our opening activity today was a fantastic exercise in self reflection.  Each student placed themselves along the spectrum for each of the items  We then went outside on the playground, and I had the students physically place themselves along a line to show where they had marked for each item.  We discussed the reasoning they had for each.  Once we returned to the classroom, we discussed how our self-perception could differ from the perspectives of our parents, friends, and siblings. One student asked, "Then how do we know which is true?" We came to agreement that somewhere in the average of "scores" from people from as many aspects of our lives, we might find such "truth."  **It's not official homework, but hopefully your child will ask you and others to rate them on these items to see a comparison.  I'm excited to hear tomorrow about these research results!

We had two more presentations today:

Each student created a Kahoot Quiz for their chosen topic. (We were able to play many, but not all.) It was great to see how much knowledge has been gained through these presentations!

**Another reminder that our Open House Health Fair is TOMORROW June 30th, from 10:30-11:30.  We'd love for you to take a few minutes to visit & learn from us! :o)

Day 6

The students were so excited to finish up their presentation boards & rehearse, they were barely patient enough for our opening activity! ;o)

They were asked to prepare a mock-up of a newspaper front page all about them! As you will see, some invested more into this activity than others.  We had a gallery walk when we finished, and everyone learned something new or different about each of their classmates. Here is the link.

Following a frenzy of glue, glitter, and rehearsal, our second portion of the day included the following presentations. We all learned new things today! Each presenter also fielded follow-up questions from their classmates. I am very impressed with their research skills, presentation creativity, and confidence.

**We do have a few more presentations tomorrow.

Day 5

We jumped right in with an activity about goals.  Some students came up with short term goals, other with longer term goals.  We had discussion about them, but I do believe we were most excited about the invention of a teleportation device for travel!

Here is a link to see all the ideas!"Extra, Extra, Read All About It!"

Our TedTalk today was about the edible world of insects!  We learned many new things about how many insects we already eat, cultures where insects are considered a typical part of the diet, and ideas about how using insects for a food source can be beneficial in a number of ways.  We also looked on Amazon.com for insect snacks - here's a link to what they have! Students then discussed ideas with each other on the topic, brainstormed individual Pro/Con lists, and then we created a class list.

The second half of the day was spent independently creating display boards for their class presentations tomorrow.  I'm very  excited to learn from these bright students!

Reminder: Our Open House Health Fair will be this Thursday, June 30th, from 10:30-11:30.

Day 4

We began our day with an exercise in positivity.

We then added all the words we found and created this substantial list!

Our Ted Talk today discusses the idea that the reason why we see things differently, may actually have to do with how we literally see things differently. To follow up with this talk and our discussion about it, each student chose a design to color to demonstrate the idea that even though two people may be given an identical task, the results vary.

We had three presentations today from students who are unable to join us next week. :o)

Day 3

Today we began with this creative activity.

While there were many stories shared, there seemed to be a few themes involving flying around the world at incredible speeds, so as to have visit many places within the day. The amount of $10,000,000 came up a few times as well! Please ask your child to share their stories with you.

We watched another Ted Talk:Why Do We Sleep?  It not only covers why we sleep, but also discusses ramifications of poor or inadequate sleep. (**I muted the talk from 3:17-3:27) We then had a discussion about our own sleep patterns and experiences.  Again, flying came up frequently here as well.


We then followed this with a few rounds of Kahoot.  We played one each about sleep, exercise, nutrition, and mental health. **If you haven't yet played Kahoot, you ought to try it!  Fair warning though, they can often contain typos and other mild errors, so be patient.

The students continued their research today.  Here are the research questions the students have chosen to have as their focus:

1. What are some mental conditions and how do they affect the people that have them?
2. What foods are good for you?
3. What does exercise do for your body?
4. What are different types of flus, their symptoms, and how can we prevent them?
5. How do caffeine and sugar affect sleep?
6. What causes allergies and what are some ways to treat allergies?
7. How much sleep is good for you? Is it good for your brain, and if so, how?
8. What are dreams?
9. What kinds of diseases can be caused by obesity?
10. What happens to your body when you exercise? (how does your body get fit?)
11. How do antibodies affect our immune system?
12. How do emotions occur?
13. How does your body fight off certain diseases?
14. What are the top 5 best foods to eat? And how do different foods affect the body?
15. Why do we feel pain?
16. What will happen if you over-exercise?
17. How do you lose weight?

I am so excited to learn all they will have to share next week!

We will be hosting our health fair in our classroom (15) on June 30th from 10:30-11:30 and would love for everyone to attend.

Day 2

We began today with a discussion about understanding emotions.
Understanding Emotions. We used the following activity to take an initial inventory.

Understanding emotional competence will help you know yourself and learn ways to fine-tune your relationship skills.

Using the definitions listed on the right side of the page, place the letter of the correct definition on the space for each Emotional Intelligence Competency term listed. There is only one correct choice for each term.

1. _______ Stress Tolerance

2. _______ Independence

3. _______ Empathy

4. _______ Self-Regard

5. _______ Optimism

6. _______ Impulse Control

7. _______ Problem Solving

8. _______ Social Responsibility

9. _______ Assertiveness

10. _______ Flexibility

11. _______ Interpersonal Relationship

12. _______ Emotional Self-Awareness

13. _______ Happiness

14. _______ Reality Testing

15. _______ Self-Actualization

a. I am a responsible, cooperative and contributing

member of society. I am socially conscious and

concerned about others.

b. I am able to resist or delay an impulse, drive or

temptation when I choose.

c. I am able to achieve my potential and get involved in

things that lead to an interesting, exciting and

meaningful life.

d. I understand, accept and respect myself.

e. I am sensitive to what, how and why people feel and

think the way they do. I care about others and show

interest and concern for them.

f. I am self-reliant and autonomous in my thoughts and

actions.

g. I am able to look at the brighter side of life and

maintain a positive attitude even when times are tough.

h. I am able to identify problems as well as generate and

implement solutions.

i. I know what I feel and why I feel the way I do.

j. I am able to establish and maintain mutually satisfying

relationships. I am comfortable giving and receiving

affection.

k. I am able to withstand stressful situations without

falling apart by actively and positively coping with stress.

l. I feel good and at ease in school, work and leisure

situations. I am able to relax and enjoy my life.

m. I able to adjust my feelings, thoughts and behaviors

to changing situations and conditions. I am open to

different ideas and ways of doing things.

n. I am able to tune into the immediate situation and can

see things objectively; the way they are, rather than how

I wish or fear them to be.

o. I am able to express my thoughts and feelings and can

ask for what I need. I can defend my rights in a

constructive manner.

We also created our research questions and began researching our topics.  Please be aware that students are not expected to research at home.  We will have plenty of time in class for everything they need to accomplish.

Understanding Emotions
Answer Key
1. k Stress Tolerance
2. f Independence
3. e Empathy
4. d Self-Regard
5. g Optimism
6. b Impulse Control
7. h Problem Solving
8. a Social Responsibility
9. o Assertiveness
10. m Flexibility
11. j Interpersonal Relationship
12. i Emotional Self-Awareness
13. l Happiness
14. n Reality Testing
15. c Self-Actualization