Taking a break from studying Mars to play Banangrams!

Fifth grade GATE is off and running on a study of architecture, engineering, and design in our skyscraper unit.    We’re going to be building our own Spaghetti Skyscrapers,  researching the difference between “architecture” and “engineering” and even writing some poetry about skyscrapers.  Today, we started brainstorming with some similes… A skyscraper is like….

…a heart because it beats with the words of awestruck tourists.

…a drum, for it moves with the rhythm of the earthquake.

…a giraffe because it stretches and reaches above everything else.

…a GATE5 student, for it reaches and stretches above all else to touch the sky!

(–Written by GATE5 Students and Mrs. Venosdale)

Fourth Grade GATE students are working together to find out how our lives compare with the lives of those living in Ancient Greece. Did you know that men got their haircut in Barber Shops back in Greece? We learned this today and students created an original song to perform to teach the class about an aspect of life in Ancient Greece! We learned about storytelling, hairstyles, clothing, the Olympics, and even foods!

Are you studying Ancient Greece or want to learn more? Check out this site: http://www.mystery-productions.info/hyper/Hypermedia_2003/Miller/AM_hypermedia/Artifact/

If you were going to travel to Mars, what would you wear?  3rd graders figured it out!  You would need a suit for warmth, protection from sharp rocks, and something to help you with the gravity situation since Mars’ has only half the gravity that earth does!

This red planet is fascinating!  We look forward to building a space station in the coming weeks!

We’re off to Ancient Greece this week..

Webquest: http://www.teachnet.ie/stpats2004/ancientgreece/task.html

Daily Life in Ancient Greece
This is an easy-to-read resource on daily activities of the ancient Greeks. Includes classroom activities structured as events in the Olympic games, lesson plans, and descriptions of the cultures of different Greek city-states. NOTE: The site does include some broken external links. NOTE: This site contains ads.

BBC: Ancient Greece: Athens
This site for kids has information about Athens, Olympia, Corinth, as well as a glossary, a timeline, and more. Click on “Resources” for a link to the British Museum ancient Greek collections (through Children’s Compass, a virtual tour and instruction guide), sample writing and audio recordings, printable question sheets, maps, and art images. NOTE: The Talk link leads to a message board.

Enchanted Learning: Map of Greece
Print out a map of Greece. This page also has a link to the country’s flag, a printout of the Greek alphabet, and a map quiz.

Kingdom Creators Unite! Today you will be using your knowledge of medieval times to create a kingdom!   Calling All Kings and Queens!  Let’s get to work!

http://www.fairburyjeffs.com/tmans/WebQuests/Medieval/medieval_home.htm#INTRODUCTION

Knights

http://www.wallwisher.com/wall/medievaltimes

Squires

http://www.wallwisher.com/wall/Squires

Pages

http://www.wallwisher.com/wall/Pagesmedieval

Miscellaneous…

http://www.wallwisher.com/wall/medievalmisc

GATE3 is embarking on a new unit! Fairy Tales!  Today we’re going to explore what a fairy tale is and begin character development!

We’ll try out this Fairy Tales Webquest to get started.

Today we’re thinking about creating logic games! We’re playing a few games, boosting our thinking skills, and planning to create games with a creature and habitat theme.

We’re learning how these quick logic games work by trying out some online versions this site.

We also enjoyed Crayon Physics which is really similar to a game many students knew from the past “Fantastic Contraption” and “PlayAudiotorium“.    Then we found Little Wheel and Red Remover.    Or if you just feel like solving a quick, but TRICKY puzzle, try the ones at Unipuzzle.  These games all challenge your mind, stretch your brain, and are a lot of fun, too!

Try this out!  We couldn’t believe that the gopher can read your mind!  **We figured out the trick later! Can you?

http://www.learnenglish.org.uk/games/magic-gopher-central.swf