February 21-25

 

February 21-25

During Session 5, the Eagles will be working on Technical Writing for Writer's Workshop. To get started this week, our Eagles evaluated mentor texts by attempting to build or make something following step-by-step instructions.  They enjoyed the activities and expressed how following the instructions made them feel: challenged, discouraged, frustrated, excited, encouraged, and accomplished. They discovered that finishing the task was not as important as evaluating the quality of the instructions. A great discovery as they begin to brainstorm their own instructions (that must be able to be completed by a friend!). 

During this session, Eagles are working in Teams to learn about simple machines and build one team arcade game (or more) including three simple machines.  Monday, they were able to work together to discover the 6 simple machines, give examples, and share what they discovered with the group. Wednesday, they had the opportunity to lead a Quest Launch about Pulleys and then build a pulley and experiment with it as a group.  Friday, they discovered Inclined Planes and learned how they help lift heavy objects, make areas more accessible, and more!

 

Due to the weather challenges this week, the Eagles had an opportunity to earn computer game time during Free Time on Wednesday. They were challenged to earn a certain number of points during Core Skills to award computer game time to the entire studio. Some friends worked so hard they individually earned enough points for everyone. This week has been full of quiet, hard-working Eagles during Core Skills.  As a group, they spent 45 minutes playing Bloxels online, including some of the games their friends created last session! 

Feb 7-11

This week in Writer's Workshop, our Eagles completed their letters by completing Community of Editors and learning how to correctly address an envelope.  Once their address was double-checked, they filled out their envelope, stuffed it with their hero's letter and prepared it for delivery.  

 

One of our learners already received a response from her hero, a scientist who works at BioNTech in Germany! What a great surprise and validation of her hard work.  Hopefully we see some more responses in the future! 

In Quest, Eagles were hard at work this week completing their board and video games.  Thursday, Eagles prepared for their Exhibition with a Build Day.  They began the day laying out everything they needed to complete; from printing programs to finishing their game boards, and preparing ballots for voting. 

Today was exhibition day! We started in the studio and the Eagles showed their parents what they had been working on in Writer's Workshop. Then, parents tested the Eagles' video and board games with a goal in mind: choosing the games that met 5 different standards.  The most aesthetically pleasing, best overall story line, the game that benefited the player the most, the board game most likely to succeed in the marketplace, and the video game most likely to succeed in the marketplace. 

Congrats to our winning Eagles! 

 

  

We ended the exhibition with an Eagle Panel where they answered Questions from their parents about the Quest, and then had a Badge Award Ceremony, where dozens of badges were handed out! What a great day of fun and celebration of hard work. 

Enjoy your Winter Break and we will see you Monday, February 21st for Session 5! 

Jan 31- Feb 4

 Before building their board games, Eagles created an Instruction Guide to accompany their game.  As part of the discussion, Eagles were challenged to find a game from the game cabinet they had never played before and play without reading any of the rules.  It was interesting to hear how some Eagles became frustrated by the lack of rules, whereas others enjoyed being able to play the game as they wished.  

     

Wednesday, Eagles brought their ideas to life! They gathered needed supplies and began creating their own board games. 

    

Once completed, Eagles gathered their peers together and asked them to playtest their game- giving warm and cool feedback to improve their game. 

  
Tuesday, a few wonderful parent volunteers gave their time as Writing Buddies.  They served as another step in the Eagles revising their letters.  Buddies gave feedback based on the voice within their letter to a hero, focusing on warm and cool feedback.  After discussing their experience, all Eagles expressed the benefit of an older, more advanced writing assisting them. 

  

Missing Thursday due to the crazy Amarillo weather, meant our Friday was stuffed with Town Hall, Writer's Workshop and Quest.  In Writer's Workshop, our Eagles worked in a small group called Community of Editors to edit their letters.  They signed up for an editing job, then passed their work around to their peers to correct mistakes in capitolization, punctuation, boring words, and spelling.  

 

Next week, Eagles will learn how to address and send off the letter to their hero! 

In Drama, Eagles' favorite warm-up game has quickly become Night at the Museum.  In this game, the guard patrols the museum for statues that have woken.  If the guard catches you moving, you are kicked out of the museum.  The last remaining statue wins!