Coding with Cups

It's Computer Science Education Week! We're doing many of the unplugged activities at code.org to learn some programming basics, including writing algorithms and debugging problems. I took pictures of several classes at work doing the My Robotic Friends activity.

Room 12

Room 13

Room 14

Room 15

Whoosh!

source: chrisbarton.info

The annual Rhode Island Children’s Book Award (RICBA) goes to the book selected by students in grades 3-5 as their favorite from a list of 20 nominees.

Students who read 3 or more nominated books may vote in February, and students who read 5 or more qualify to participate in the Rooster Games (more info on that to come). To give everyone a head start, I'll be reading a few of the shorter nominees to each class. 

One of these shorter books is Whoosh! Lonnie Johnson's Super-Soaking Stream of Inventions. Most kids enjoyed the story; here are some reasons they gave: 

• It had facts and true things.
• You can use your imagination to make lots of stuff.
• I want to invent one day.
• In the summer I can play in the pool with my siblings and we soak each other.
• It had good pictures.
• I like engineering and water guns.
• It tells you should never give up.
• The main character was a really smart kid.
• It was about inventing and I love making stuff and coming up with cool ideas like Lonnie Johnson.
• It taught me about another human's life.
• In summer I use the SuperSoaker all the time.
• I love science and want to be a scientist, so it was so cool!
• I like real stories.
• I enjoyed Lonnie's creativity.

You can learn more on the author's blog.

Now Playing: Ada's Violin

The annual Rhode Island Children’s Book Award (RICBA) goes to the book selected by students in grades 3-5 as their favorite from a list of 20 nominees.

Students who read 3 or more nominated books may vote in February, and students who read 5 or more qualify to participate in the Rooster Games (more info on that to come). To give everyone a head start, I'll be reading a few of the shorter nominees to each class. 

We started with Ada's Violin, since it was on the November discussion list for the RICBA book club at the Cranston Public Library. It's a true story that was actually featured in a documentary; here's the trailer: 

 


Most kids enjoyed the story; here are some reasons they gave:

• It shows that you can do whatever you put your mind to. 
• It teaches you what you can do with recycling.
• It shows how someone came from being small to big.
• We have a different life than them ... it was interesting.
• She started out not good but then she got amazing at it.
• I liked it because I play the violin.
• It shows how we can make a life of trash become a life of music!
• It was inspiring.
• It had a lot of creativity.