Weekly STEAM challenges aren't enough for this 4th class! We also undertake weekly in-class experiments. Here's one from November when we used mirrors to create and test a simple periscope!
Mr Murray has assigned some weekly STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics) challenges using the Microsoft DreamSpace lessons. Its a weekly project which challenges students to manage their time and resources. Students have access to the in-class "STEAM Shop" if they can't find suitable materials at home.
Week 1 was the windmill challenge and Mr Murray was blown away (get it?) by the creativity and effort on show - see photos below! Week 2 is a board game challenge - to invent and create a new board game. In November we have taken to chess. Chess is great to build social and thinking skills. Most importantly its lots of fun!
2020/2021 is an unusual year in school and so we thought we would go with the flow and try something unusual too. A classroom photography club. With the help of Teams students can upload their creative photos according to an assigned theme.
We didn't stop there of course and drew on some local expertise when we held a Zoom call with Kinsale local and professional photographer, Giles Norman, who answered all our questions and give us some terrific advice. Thanks Mr Norman! We've added another dimension to school this year with Teams. Students can view photos and videos at home and upload photos for discussion in class.
Students can sign in here: https://www.microsoft.com/en/microsoft-365/microsoft-teams/log-in Here a How To Video on signing in: http://www.scoilnaomheltin.ie/home/how-to-login-to-microsoft-teams Learning about new styles/genres of writing is made even more fun as we're allowed to choose our own writing topic. Recount, report, procedural, narrative, explanations, poetry; we're going to try them all with the help of our special Genre Writing Memorandums!
In October, we used our data skills to survey 2nd class students about their preferences for a Halloween story. We used this data to create and write some scary stories for 2nd class before recording them on the iPad (with the help of the green screen) to share them with our 2nd class neighbours. Our goal is to have a 5 minute conversation as Gaeilge by the end of 4th class. Ambitious - we know - but we love a challenge. To help we learn a phrase each night and even record them on the internet to help us at home!
https://padlet.com/SNE5th2020/3n0igqi5wg3zk975 Check back for regualr updates on this website! A new year begins with 33 smiling faces delighted to be back at school following lockdown
|
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
December 2020
Categories |