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WUSD Advanced Learning Update

March 22nd, 2024

WUSD AdvancedLearning UpdateMarch 22nd, 2024

1st Grade ELA: Fictional Narratives

Previous Steps:

  • Story element exploration through group and independent work
  • Comparing and contrasting story elements through group and independent work
  • Fictional Narrative brainstorm (creating character/setting on TinkerCad-3D digital modeling program)

Current Steps:

  • Fictional narrative planning (graphic organizer)
  • Draft 1

Next Steps:

  • Draft 1
  • Peer feedback and revision
  • Comparing and contrasting story elements between students' narratives

2nd Grade Math: Board Game Creation

Previous Steps:

  • Game exploration/observations
  • Ideation
  • Gamestorm pack (rules, objective, game board design draft)

Current Steps (varies between students):

  • Developing game rules that are specific and easy for players to understand (this is a challenging task) - Google Docs
  • Writing at least 20 multiplication problems and solving for answer key (varying strategies-array, skip counting, drawing a picture, repeated addition, area/box model)
  • Creating game cards-Google Docs
  • 2nd Draft Game Boards Design (will be used for test run and to determine needed revisions)

Next Steps:

  • Game test with feedback and revisions
  • Final game board (blank boards arrived and kids were THRILLED to see these in person)
  • Game pieces created
  • All game documents (rules/cards) printed and prepared
  • Board Game Extravaganza within school community

2nd Grade ELA: Stage/Set Model Design

Previous Steps:

  • Identifying, comparing, and contrasting setting between multiple versions of the same story
  • Set design sketch
  • Set design 2nd draft with cited text evidence (typed on Google Docs)
  • Final set design
  • Materials list

Current Steps:

  • Material selection/gathering (some students wanted to bring natural elements into their set designs)
  • Stage set up
  • Painting/building

Next Steps:

  • Complete set models
  • Go public! Display stage designs at school

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3rd ELA: Literary Entrepreneurs

Previous Steps:

  • Character trait identification
  • Character business ideation
  • Logo Design

Current Steps (varies between students):

  • Business web
  • Business plan questions
  • Business plan in Google Docs
  • Feedback/revision on business plan
  • Google Sites tutorial

Next Steps:

  • Create business website
  • Feedback/revision
  • Go public with site launch

3rd Grade Math: Board Game Design

Previous Steps:

  • Game exploration/observations
  • Ideation
  • Gamestorm pack (rules, objective, game board design draft)

Current Steps (varies between students):

  • Developing game rules that are specific and easy for players to understand (this is a challenging task) - Google Docs
  • Writing at least 20 multiplication/division problems and solving for answer key (varying strategies-array, skip counting, drawing a picture, repeated addition, area/box model)
  • Creating game cards-Google Docs
  • 2nd Draft Game Boards Design (will be used for test run and to determine needed revisions)
  • TinkerCad designs for Game pieces/elements (at Lincoln Ms. Deininger came in for a mini lesson on utilizing the TinkerCad design plane)

Next Steps:

  • Game test with feedback and revisions
  • Final game board (blank boards arrived and kids were THRILLED to see these in person)
  • Game pieces created
  • All game documents (rules/cards) printed and prepared
  • Board Game Extravaganza within school community

4th Grade ELA: Harris Burdick Short Stories

Previous Steps:

  • The Mysteries of Harris Burdick by Chris Van Allsburg read aloud
  • Illustration analysis and question generation
  • Illustration selection
  • Story ideation/selection
  • Story element graphic organizer
  • Story arc graphic organizer
  • Story arc poster
  • Gallery Walk Protocol
  • Revisions to story arc planner
Current Steps:
  • Feedback analysis (Start, Stop, Continue Graphic Organizer)
  • Draft 1: Google Docs

Next Steps:

  • Multiple feedback protocols (including draft exchange with a student form another school)
  • Revision
  • Final draft
  • Original illustration (digital or hand drawn) to go with short story
  • Publish!
  • Author reading/signing and book distribution

4th Grade Math: Coordinate Grid Playground Design

Previous Steps:

  • Skill development: coordinate grid vocabulary, navigating the coordinate plane, plotting points on the coordinate grid, integers on a number line, comparing/ordering integers, adding and subtracting integers
  • Project Launch: Coolest playgrounds video
  • Playground feature ideation
  • Feature layout on coordinate grid map of school
  • List of ordered pairs

Current Steps:

  • Final draft layout on coordinate grid map of school (in color)
  • Ordered pairs for each vertex typed in Google docs
  • TinkerCad designs of playground features (see first picture below)
  • Final presentation Google Slides
  • Addition and subtraction with integers practice/review

Next Steps:

  • 3-D Print one design (see 3-D print prep in last pics below)
  • Complete presentation
  • Present to group
  • Display map, ordered pair list, 3-D printed original playground feature
Getting some students' playground features prepped for 3-D printing!

5th Grade ELA: Podcasting

Previous Steps (varies between students):

  • Podcast listening sessions
  • 50 Things ideation protocol
  • Topic selection
  • Research/notes
  • Episode outline
  • Feedback/revision

Current Steps:

  • Scripting
  • Feedback/revision (script table reads with feedback)
  • Further research/notes where needed
  • Episode Art
  • WeVideo practice (see screenshot of WeVideo editing/production screen below)
  • Recording
  • Producing

Next Steps:

  • Final recording sessions (some have started)
  • Editing/production
  • Adding music
  • Upload to WUSD podcast channel (platforms TBD-likely spotify, iHeart Radio, Google Play, Apple)
  • Podcast Launch Party

5th Math: Rates, Ratios, and Proportions

Previous Steps:

  • Rate/ratio vocabulary
  • Rate scavenger hunt
  • Whole number long division strategies/practice
  • Decimal division strategies/practice (decimal in dividend, divisor, and quotient)

Current Steps:

  • Unit rates and prices
  • Grocery store unit rate activity
  • Connecting ratios, fractions, decimals, and percents
  • Brainstorm school area for scale model

Next Steps:

  • Select area of school for scale model
  • List components to include in model
  • Rough blueprint sketch of area
  • Take measurements
  • Select scale factor
  • Calculations
  • Blueprint with to scale measurements
  • Model building

Elementary School Spelling Bees

After break 4th and 5th Grade classes will be holding their Classroom Spelling Bees. Each class will advance a set number of finalists to the School Spelling Bee! Once in Middle School, students will have the opportunity to participate in their our Scripps WMS Bee and advance to regionals, state, and nationals! Elementary Bees are great place to practice skills and become accustomed to the format. Please feel free to reach out with any questions!

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Caroline Nelson
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