The JC Scholar: Winter 2019

Kindergarten kicked off their coding unit this month. These "unplugged" lessons helped our Kinders explore the computer science concepts of perseverance and sequencing, without using a computer.

First students were challenged to build a foundation that would hold up a book. Using only toothpicks and gum drops, students had to construct a tower that would not collapse under the weight of a small, medium, and large book, respectively. Students had the choice to work in partnerships or alone. They quickly realized they would need to "try, try, again" and rebuild (or persevere) despite collapsing structures. Small set backs did not stop our Kinders. In the end there were smiles for miles. What a sweet way to "fail forward".

In subsequent lessons, students explored the concept of algorithms and sequencing. Students learned that algorithms are a small steps to do a job. Everyday algorithms were explored, such as following a recipe, tying a shoe, brushing teeth. Kindergarteners were exposed to hands-on sequencing by planting seeds in soil and then cutting and pasting the steps they followed in the order that the planting took place. K's also explored people programming wherein they built a maze, used symbols to create algorithms, followed the algorithm down the path to get to the goal, picking up a (paper) robot! They then moved from programming themselves to programming robot mice to get to a hunk of cheese. Now that's learning how to code unplugged style!

To coincide with the 1st grade unit on coding, students began by exploring algorithms. Students created six-square illustrations which delineated a series of steps to complete a task. This helped students learn that many commands make up an algorithm and many algorithms make up computer programs. Next students moved from unplugged coding concepts to drag and drop coding blocks on computers to build algorithms. Using a variety of challenging puzzles from Code.org, students employed critical thinking skills to look for solutions.Characters such as BB-8, Scrat, and Laurel helped immerse students in the coding concepts of loops and debugging.

Did you know? In 1947 a real bug, a moth to be precise, was found in a computer, stopping it from working. Finding mistakes and getting rid of them is a really important process in coding and it is known as 'debugging'.

Loops, Debugging and Functions, oh my!

Programming, or Coding, is simply the way people tell a computer what to do using instructions that the computer understands.

Second graders have kicked off their coding experience using drag and drop blocks on the website Code.org. Drag and drop blocks are used at top universities to teach entry level coding. Underneath the blocks is the actual code, in our case JavaScript. Then second graders continued their coding work using the game Lightbot .

Second graders were exposed to the following programming concepts;

*Loops: a sequence of instructions that is continually repeated until a certain condition is reached

* Functions: In computer programming, coding an entire computer program often involves repeating a lot of steps. Luckily there's a shortcut that makes the process a little easier—Functions. Functions allow us to recall a series of steps with a single term.

*Debugging: finding the mistakes in your code and fixing them

Loops + Functions + Debugging = Persistent little coders!

This is the year when third grade students begin to become more independent coders.

They are exploring computer science concepts such as sequencing: to put things in a specific order, variables: a value that can change, depending on conditions, and events: programming clicks, taps, and typing to make a computer interactive so a user has influence over the program.

Using Scratch 3.0, students used computational thinking to create a story line that includes two characters (sprites) that find an unusual object. Students personalized their coded stories by determining the stage (background), movements, sounds, dialog, events, variables and more. Next students were given 9 video tutorials to choose from, so that they could decide which coding skills they wanted to learn to help them keep the story going. Storytellers who can program? You betcha!

4th grade has begun to explore force and motion by building Rube Goldberg Machines. Rube Goldberg was a cartoonist who liked to draw really complicated solutions to very simple problems. Instead of simply turning the page of a book, one might roll a ball down a ramp, causing the ball to hit a box. Then the box falls over and scares a hamster. The hamster starts running on its wheel, the wheel winds up a string, and finally turns the page.

Fourth graders were challenged to design a Rube Goldberg machine of their own, one that “Pops a Balloon”. They are in the process of designing these multi-step machine. Recently, small team of students, have brainstormed and sketched ideas, while keeping in mind two important rules:

1) In the end, the machine, needs to be able to run without any help from students, once the initial motion is put into play each step must be triggered automatically by the step before it.

2) The machine should be between two and five steps total, popping the balloon by the last step.

Students continue to persevere as they build and improve upon their machines. This project will unfold over a 6 week period of time. Perseverance in it's truest form. (See the video of our students in the throws of the planning stage below.)

Coding:

Fourth grade students at JC participated in an in school field trip. They met scientist, coder and Bruce Museum Fellow, Kate Dzikiewicz, who introduced Scratch, a programming language, to students. Students quickly learned to utilize the script editor (the motion, looks, events, control blocks and more) to create personalized projects.

Fourth graders also utilized events, sequence, and loops to code a game and animate their names, using Scratch 3.0 (a combination of Scratch Jr. and regular Scratch). After that, students explored X and Y coordinates in coding. Students learned that X, Y coordinates are respectively the horizontal and vertical addresses of any pixel or addressable point on a computer display screen. They also explored how to animate objects by relocating their position on the screen.

Students set personalized reading goals for 2019 by selecting a stack of books to read and choosing a reading goal. They were encouraged to branch out from their go-to authors and genres to try something new in addition to the books they are naturally drawn too. Students also thought deeply about the types of readers they currently are and about the direction they would like to strive for, before setting their own personalized reading goals. If students read once a week outside of school for pleasure, they were encouraged to read twice each week. If students read daily for 30 minutes, they were encouraged to add five to ten minutes to their time. Next up, students will create and share book reviews with peers to entice and excite one another about reading, thereby keeping the momentum going. These reviews will be posted using Padlet, a digital multimedia tool. Students can log on and access a book review in a snap. Happy Reading!

Teachers at all grade levels, and specialist classrooms, held a variety of read-aloud events on January 25th, 2019 to celebrate Children's Multicultural Book Day. At Julian Curtiss School we have thousands of multicultural books in our collection. These titles help raise awareness of the world around us through children's books that celebrate diversity. Principal McGuire and Assistant Principal Brush read aloud to students in the JC Library Learning Commons. In addition, students of class 1CH (first grade, Mrs. Harrison) had the opportunity to Skype with author and illustrator Juana Martinez Neal, author of Alma: and How She Got Her Name .

Reading builds intelligence.

Reading has been shown to enhance vocabulary, improve articulation, and increase creativity.

Reading nutures empathy.

Reading has been shown to improve one's understanding of others' beliefs and views.

Reading improves sleep.

Incorporating a reading routine into a bedtime ritual tells the body it's time to wind down and get some sleep.

New Year, New Books

The Julian Curtiss School added of 100 books to it's collection so far in 2019. We are kicking off the new year with lots of exciting new books. Please remind your child to stop in to visit the JCLLC today! No need to wait a week...students can exchange books Monday-Friday during help desk hours (8:00-8:30/12:30-1:00pm/2:30-3:00pm). Can't keep track of which books your child has check out? Not to worry! We have a new procedure to communicate that information to you. Be sure to look for the email regarding overdue books but keep in mind we expect students to keep their iPads throughout the year so you may feel free to disregard that portion of the overdue list.

World Read Aloud Day motivates children to celebrate the power of words and creates a community of readers taking action to show the world that the right to literacy belongs to all people. At Julian Curtiss School we continue to build a culture of reading by Skyping with authors near and far, across all grade levels. Students were able to meet authors (virtually), hear them read a story aloud, and ask these author questions. The authors and stories shared were phenomenal. See the pictures below for more information about the authors and books shared on this day below. Don't see your child's class listed? Not to worry. These events continue throughout the school year here at JCS.

A long over due thank you to the PTA and a team of parent volunteers, the Julian Curtiss School Book Fair was a huge success. Our library learning commons was converted into a book store of sorts for about a week. Students were able to browse, plan and shop for books. There were also raffles to support reading across the entire student body. Classrooms as well as students won books! Many thanks to the parents and the PTA who donated books to teachers' classrooms. The proceeds from the book fair go to the PTA who fund various programs throughout the school. Just another way to grow our readers together.

Email: heather_mcguinness@greenwich.k12.ct.us
Website: www.greenwichschools.org/julian-curtiss-school/learning-commons
Location: 180 East Elm Street, Greenwich, CT, USA
Phone: 2038691896
Twitter: @JC_LLC