New Space and Microscopic Investigations

Here are a few of the things we've been up to for the past Two Weeks In Gifted.

Summerland AIM/ASPIRE Gets a New Home

Two weeks ago the Summerland group moved into a different classroom at Trout Creek Elementary.  It's very exciting because now we have:
- carpet!
- a sink!
- a 'treehouse'!
- easy access to the washrooms and water fountains!
I took great photos of the students enjoying their new space, but... my phone is on the fritz so you'll just have to imagine how thrilled they were with the 'treehouse' and other aspects of the room.

5 Card Photo Story

All of the classes tried their hands at a 5 Card Photo Story.  It works like this; students are shown 5 images, they then have 5 minutes to plan a story that involves each of the 5 images.  They can work alone or in pairs.  After the 5 minutes are up, the students take turns telling their stories to the class.  After each story is told, the rest of the students give appreciations--what they thought the students did well.  The students are getting quite good at coming up with interesting stories and with offering positive feedback to their peers!
Here are the images that the students had to use for their stories (link):

Microscopes

This past week the Wednesday classes (Penticton 4s and 5s) got the opportunity to work with some compound microscopes.  We talked a little about how microscopes are used to identify and match crime scene evidence.  Students looked at some of the following under the microscope:

- strands of hair (with and without glitter in it!)

- cloth fibers

- cookie crumbs

- torn paper

- coloured magazine images

- eraser bits

Again, I took some great pics of the students using the microscope, but my phone is on the fritz.  Imagine students in pairs eagerly viewing things through small student microscopes--sometimes with looks of astonishment on their faces at what they are seeing and you'll get the gist of things!  

We will be doing more with the microscopes in the coming weeks.

Project Time

Students are still working away at their projects.  Some projects are finished, or just receiving their final touches.  Other projects are further away from completion, which is just fine. 

Thanks for checking in to see what we've been up to!