Week of October 26-30

This week, my 3rd graders learned how to solve problems with two variables by using guess and test with an organized list and by drawing a picture.

In 4th grade, we worked on making our robot do different types of curved moves, and we noticed how the values of the parameters affected how the wheels were turning. Check out the video above to see how the robot spins, pivots, and makes a wide turn. We also learned that by making the power negative, we can get the robot to go in reverse and end up back where it started.

In 5th grade, we continued to use the Design Recipe to define functions, and we used this to help us solve word problems.

Week of October 19-23rd

This week, the third graders continued to solve variable puzzles. Some groups also learned the cover-up method for solving equations that helped us learn how to use our math sense to solve for variables.

In 4th grade, we learned about different types of curved moves. We learned how the steering parameter affects the size of the turn and how the wheels move in different ways for different types of turns (spin versus pivot).

In 5th grade, we learned how to use the design recipe to define functions.
Design Recipe:
1. Write the Contract
2. Write EXAMPLES, circle what is varying (the variable) and give it a label
3. Write the definition by bringing down what stays the same in the examples and replacing what is changing with the variable label you came up with.

Week of October 13th-16th

Before reading about our week, check out this article about an awesome app that teaches kids to program using a phone! It's well worth the $2.99 price tag!
http://www.wired.com/2015/10/app-uses-kids-obsession-with-phones-to-teach-them-coding/?mbid=social_twitter

The one 3rd grade class I saw this week learned about variable puzzles and that, in addition to meaning a quantity that varies, variables can also represent a specific unknown. I'm looking forward to seeing the rest of my classes next week!

In 4th grade, we completed the Move Straight Challenge. All groups were successful in making the robot move from the start to finish line and back to the start using degrees, rotations, and seconds. It was interesting to see how many different ways the students came up with to do this. Some used guess and test, others found the circumference of the robot's tire, measured the distance of the track, and divided to find the number of rotations necessary. All groups realized that one rotation equals 360 degrees, so they knew that 3 rotations would be the same as 1080 degrees. It was amazing to see so much mathematical thinking being applied to a real world challenge!

The 5th graders learned how to name values in our programming language using define statements. We talked about how good programmers write something once, define it as a shortcut in the language, and then use the shortcut wherever they want in order to save time and avoid repetition.  One class actually got to begin defining values for their own video games and created screenshots of these games!

Week of October 5-9

This week, the 3rd graders wowed me with their own number tricks.  We learned that when something in our trick is changing, that becomes the variable.  One class also solved variable puzzles and learned that variables can also represent a specific unknown. Can you solve this multiplication variable puzzle?

In 4th grade, we tackled the "Move Straight Challenge" where we programmed the robot to move from a start line to a finish line and back to the start using degrees, rotations, and seconds.  We realized that using math skills can help us be precise.  Check out some video footage below!

In 5th grade, we continued to learn about contracts and how important it is to keep track of them when writing code. We learned how to flip, rotate, and size images, and some classes started to learn how to define variables in the definitions window.  All of this knowledge will be the foundation of our video game designs!

Week of September 28-October 2

This week, my 3rd graders learned a cool number trick and how the "magic" behind it is actually algebra!

In 4th grade, we started to program our robots and learned how adjusting modes, parameters, and values in our programming blocks will change the behavior of the robot.

In 5th grade, we are continuing to learn how to use racket code to program a video game.  We learned about contracts and datatypes.  See the pictures below for a refresher.