Quick Update

Just a quick post this week. We have been spending a lot of time the Identification Project. Students are finding good resources, putting things together and learning a lot along the way on using their desired format. Students using BitStrips are learning how to create nifty effects and how to pose their characters, students using scratch are finding out new coding tricks, and our youngest students who are using Power Point for the first time are becoming adept at adding photos. As always--thanks for checking in!

Shoe Prints

Here are a few of the things that we did... This Week In Gifted!

Shoe Prints

Last week it was hair samples, this week it was shoe prints.  As you can see in the images below, there is quite a variety!  Why are we collecting all of these samples?  We're building up a dossier on identifying features of each student (fingerprints, handwriting, hair, shoe prints) in preparation for a mystery that we will be trying to solve in a few weeks.  Stay tuned!

Projects

Students continued to work on their projects.  They are collecting information and images and starting to put the information together in the form of; BitStrip comics, slide shows, radio interviews, games (created in Scratch or using the Smart Board or classic board games), stop motion videos...  It is going to be fun to see the final projects!

Drama and Storytelling Activities

Each of the classes participated in a drama or storytelling activity.

The Summerland AIM/ASPIRE class and the Penticton 4s played My Favourite Thing!  In this game a random item is selected and the students have to come up with a creative story explaining why it is their favourite thing.  Both classes cottoned on to this quite quickly and the quality of the stories was really good.  Students came up with wacky uses for a variety of things such as a small pink bucket, a stuffed martian, a Rubik's cube and more.

Great acting was on offer from the Penticton 2/3s.  They played Heads Up!, a charades style game.

There were hilarious skits from the Penticton 5s as they played Improv Bingo.  In 1s, 2s or 3s they had 5 - 10 minutes to prepare a short skit which had to include the following:
Person: a tightrope walker with hiccups
Place: in the kitchen
Object: a crown
Goal: climb to the clouds
Problem: there's a drought happening
The skits were fun and the audience was appreciative!

I'm looking forward to doing more of these activities with the students.  The activities foster creative thinking, allow students to work on their presentation skills, and, in the case of Improv Bingo, involve good collaborative skills.

Thanks for checking in to see what we did this week!

A Little Off The Top

Here are a few things that we did... This Week In Gifted!

Hair Samples

In preparation for a forensic mystery that we will be solving next month I collected hair samples.  Though many were reluctant to part with even a few strands of their luscious locks, samples were obtained from everyone.  When we do our forensic mystery we will compare strands found at the scene of crime against our database of suspects (aka the students!)

Project Time

Students spent a good chunk of time researching and working on their projects.  Many students are finding out more about Crime Scene Investigation techniques, some are learning how to identify different types of animals, and others are investigating secret identities of characters in real life and in fiction.

Project Time!

This week was the first week back after the winter break. After students had a chance to reconnect we got right down to business!

Project Time

Students are starting work on a research project.  They will choose a topic related to our theme; Operation Identification.

Online Research

To help us understand how to do effective online searches for our project we went through part of this lesson on choosing good search terms. We also watched the following video (link) on how search works.



We also defined terms like internet, web browser, and search engine.

Choosing Topics

This week students started exploring possible topics.  As long as the student can link the topic to our theme, it is fair game!  Some students are thinking about researching:
- fingerprint analysis
- DNA analysis
- Sherlock Holmes
- Crime Scene Investigation (CSI) techniques
- how to identify different groups of animals
- disguises
- identity theft
Students just had a short time in class to consider topics and so if they haven't decided upon a topic yet, that is fine.  We will have more time next week to explore.

Looking Ahead

Once students have chosen a topic they will decide on a format to present their research.  Again, students have a great deal of choice in the format.  Some have already started on Power Point presentations, others are going to write a whodunnit incorporating what they've learned in the story, and still others are creating computer games.

I will be working with students to define the questions they need to answer in their research.  Each project is going to be unique and I look forward to seeing what they produce!

Thanks for checking in to see what we've been up to and where we're going!

Taking a Bite Out of Crime

Here are a few of the things we did... This Week In Gifted!

 

Chomp Chomp!

All of the classes did a bite mark activity similar to the first part of this activity.  We made impressions of our teeth by biting down on sections of styrofoam plates.  Then we placed acetate sheets over the bite marks and traced them.  This allowed us to overlay bite marks from two different students to see how they compared.  These bite mark samples will form part of our data bank and will be used next term when we start to stage crime scenes / mysteries.  Stay tuned!

 

5 Item Story

Last week the students were introduced to BitStrips, an online comic creation application, and they created their avatars.  This week they were assigned an activity similar to the 5 Card Photo Story described here.  Their task was to create a comic strip story that included:

- a chicken or duck

- a musical instrument

- a doctor (or nurse or dentist)

- water

- a vehicle

The strip had to be at least 4 panels long and characters had to have poses and expressions that suited the story.  The students all got a great start on their stories.  The learning curve is steep and we are all learning together how to manipulate characters and scenes.  Completed comics are shared (once approved by me) to the class gallery.  You can see some of the comics here.  There are some single panel comics from another activity called 'My Favourite Place' as well as the '5 Item Story' submissions.  More '5 Item Story' submissions we be added soon!  

 

Instructions on how to sign on to BitStrips were e-mailed home last week in case your child would like to log on from home (and has your permission to do so).  If your child has forgotten their individual password please send me a quick e-mail.  

 

Last Class

This week was the last class for the Wednesday morning Penticton grade 5 class and the Thursday afternoon Penticton grade 2/3 class.  Next week (December 7th - 11th) will be the last class for the Tuesday afternoon Summerland AIM/ASPIRE class and the Wednesday afternoon Penticton grade 4 class.  All Gifted Program classes resume the week of January 4th.  

 

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

 

Comics

Here are a few things that we did... This Week In Gifted!

Creating Avatars

This week all of the classes got to sign on to BitStrips For Schools.  This site allows students to create comic strips.  This week we started by creating our avatars.  Though it was tempting for many students to sport mohawks, pink hair or monocles their job was to make their avatar look as much like themselves as possible.  Here's our class pic (the blank characters are students who were away and haven't had a chance to log in yet.)

A pretty good looking group!  After creating their avatars students experimented with making other characters; some were outlandish and some were pretty good representations of family members or friends.  We will be using this site in the weeks to come to create stories related to our theme, Operation Identification.

Visitor

Todd Manuel, SD 67 Director of Instruction for Student Services, dropped by the Penticton grade 5 class this week.  He chatted with students, joined us for circle, and generally got a sense of what happens in class.  The Gifted Program is one of the programs under the big umbrella of Student Services.  We look forward to welcoming Mr. Manuel again later in the year.

Mystery Prints

This week it was the Penticton 4s and 5s turn to solve the water bottle mystery!  One latent print from the scene of the crime and 28 suspect prints in our data bank.  They made quick work of identifying the culprit!  Some students then took their own prints and determined which prints in our suspect data base belonged to them.  We also watched the following video (link) on comparing prints.

Classes Wrapping up for Winter Break

Classes will soon be winding down for the winter break.  Here are the dates for the last classes--due to our staggered start, not all classes are ending on the same week.

December 2nd -- Last class for the Wednesday morning Penticton grade 5 group

December 3rd -- Last class for the Thursday afternoon Penticton grade 2/3 group

December 8th -- Last class for the Tuesday afternoon Summerland AIM/ASPIRE group

December 9th -- Last class for the Wednesday afternoon Penticton grade 4 group

Thanks for checking out what we've up to! 

Dusting But Not Vacuuming

Here are a few of the things we've been up to... This Week (and last!) In Gifted.

Ballooning Prints

The students are now experts at taking their own fingerprints, both using ink and using graphite.  A couple of classes also got to put their prints on barely inflated balloons, which when fully inflated really magnified the prints!

Dusting for Latents

The next step was to be able to dust for latent prints.  We tried two different techniques; dusting a dark surface with talcum powder and dusting a light surface with cocoa powder.  We learned a number of things in the process:

- dusting and lifting good prints is challenging and takes persistence

- it was easier dusting with talcum powder (though perhaps it was the surface we were using?)

And some students (the ones who did not heed their teacher) discovered that cocoa powder, though it smells really good, doesn't taste great.

Mystery Prints

The Summerland AIM/ASPIRE class as well as the Penticton grade 2/3 class pulled out their magnifying glasses and got to work trying to figure out who the culprit was in the water bottle caper.  A latent print was compared to prints from our databanks and students were able to make a match pretty quickly.  It was an open and shut case!  

Five Card Photo Stories

The Penticton 5s came up with stories involving the images in the slides below (link).  

Students were partnered up and shared ideas to come up with their stories.  The stories were told / performed in front of the class.  Students did a fantastic job collaborating on their stories.  We saw a variety of formats--some students used props and acted out their stories, one pair's story was a race that was told in play-by-play format, and a couple of pairs summarized their stories in song!  The audience did a wonderful job of giving 'appreciations' at the end of each story; highlighting what each group did well.

Thanks for stopping by to see what we've been doing!