Pruett's AIG Blog for IBJ

Our fifth grade CSG has reviewed the work of the Dutch illustrator, M. C. Escher. These students reviewed a brief history of Escher and have studied his 'mobius strip.' We also had a seminar discussion where we discussed Escher and his depiction of the infinite (the mobius strip). Today we put our study into action and created our own mobius strips. They are shown below. We may well continue this work by constructing a giant mobius strip in the coming weeks. Keep a look out for our work. BTW, you should ask them about our anagram work after our initial work! It was a lot of fun! AND..... Happy Halloween!

You may have seen the PRE-assessment work from fifth grade advanced study group in reading (ASGR) students on October 23. It is interesting to compare those reflections to the following - created by students after reading a readers theater play about Ben Franklin. Students will take home BOTH assessments, you be the judge as to how much they have learned! I should also say that the readers theater work directly supported IBJ fifth grade's focus on fluency and its role in literacy. Definitely check out the first scene from the play A Spark of Genius  on this blog from October 23! Fifth grade ASGR students continue this work with fluency by presenting readings of poems for two voices. Our text is Joyful Noise  by Newberry-winning poet Paul Fleischman. Look for Fleishman's work to come alive via this blog soon! Thanks for your continued support!

Here's a blurb of fifth grade ASGR students presenting Spark of Genius , a play about Ben Franklin's key and kite experiment. Check it out! While these students presented, the remainder of the class practiced more reading fluency activities, namely presenting poems for two voices - based on the Newberry Award winning author Paul Fleischman. Look forward to seeing these poems soon!

Fifth grade teachers identified reading fluency as a focus for the first quarter of school. To this end, our ASGR for fifth grade have been working on presenting a readers' theater play about Ben Franklin. Before the work began, however, I asked them to use words and pictures to describe what they already  knew about Franklin's experiment with a key and kite. This work, shown below, serves as a a pre-assessment of their knowledge. We will complete a second version of the work to see what they have learned! Check out their work, and prepare for the second installment! Also - I had a small group present the opening scene of the play, so I'll feature their work later on this blog.

I know IBJ frowns on external rewards for students. I can't tell you how much I agree! One way I would like to reward students is to feature them on this blog as an MVP for their class. Today's CSG had a clear winner! The student below was extremely  helpful in getting everyone logged into their Google accounts to retrieve an electronic assignment. He also was focused and completed his written reflection about our work with multiple intelligences. Awesome!!

Hola! Here’s some of what’s happening in our AIG groups: ASG Reading: Fifth grade students continue to work on the readers’ theater play Spark of Genius . This play about Ben Franklin’s experiments with electricity is a great opportunity for students to practice reading fluency and learn about history and the scientific process. We completed recorded rehearsals and will move forward to share a completed presentation in the coming weeks. These students will also be working to present “Poems for 2 Voices” – specifically using a collect from the Newberry Medal-winning poet, Paul Fleischman. Fourth grade has wrapped up introductory work with Junior Great Books. We have used a ‘do’s and don’ts’ list to help inform our discussions. We are moving to a more formal literature study with resources from the Jones Media Center –thanks Ms. Page! ASG Math: Both fourth and fifth grade students have been working with collaborative problem solving. In this work, students each have a pi

Our fourth grade math group warmed up for our lessons by playing "24." In this game students are given four random numbers to add, subtract, multiply, and/or divide to get the answer 24. It can be challenging and (sometimes!) impossible! Here are photos of solving students.

These students were able to solve the online Set challenge for 10/16/2014. The young lady in yellow solved it in 4:30.193!

Here are some snaps of students completing the daily SET challenge for 10/10/14. They are in an AIG comprehensive study group, a group based on aptitude. The quickest time, btw, was 8 minutes and 8 seconds.

Here's a shot of some positive/negative behaviors to help students grasp social skills needed in seminar instruction. This graphic if from Junior Great Books, an awesome literature program we are using in fourth grade ASGR. Fifth graders will work with this program after our current fluency unit.

Our fourth grade CSG continued work with the attribute game, SET. Today we used an online version, setgame.com. Our discussion centered on perseverance, the gritty determination to keep working in the face of challenge.  Abby, Evangelia, and Noah were able to complete the Set challenge for today! In the future I will reward students for their efforts by featuring them in a blog post.  Way to go fourth graders!

Our fifth grade advanced subject group for math is currently following the tracks of an infamous organization called The Gang of 15. Students track their movements around the globe, discovering the currencies and exchange rates of countries around the world. There are clues for students to find location and must convert foreign currencies into the value of $US! More to come, as our mission just began today....

Jones is filled with Global Teachers as well as Global Scholars. Check out their dancing from Friday's school assembly.

Duke University has long worked to provide enrichment opportunities for gifted students. Formally the Talent Identification Program, Duke's 4th-6th Grade Talent Search is available to students scoring at the 95th percentile or better on a number of approved tests. As site coordinator for Jones Elementary, today I sent home letters from Duke to qualifying students. One point I would make is that the ACS AIG program considers testing criteria at the 85th percentile or greater. This means that not all AIG students qualify for the Duke program. Another point is that this program is not free. However, there is needs-based assistance available from Duke. Please let me know if you have any questions, comments, or concerns about this program. There is also a toll free number on the application form which may be helpful. One other request I would make is to let me know if you find (or have found) this program to be helpful. I have some experience through my role as well as with