Expanding Coding Lessons with Osmo

This week in the Library STEAM Center, students were able to gather ideas from what they learned last week and apply it to the Osmo gaming system through Coding with Awbie.  "Osmo Coding Awbie uses hands-on physical blocks to control Awbie, a playful character who loves delicious strawberries. Each block is a coding command that directs Awbie on a wondrous tree-shaking, strawberry-munching adventure. Coding Awbie teaches problem-solving and logic skills."

To see the game in action, click on this video link...
Osmo Coding with Awbie

Students were also given the opportunity to get back onto http://www.code.org to further explore and expand their knowledge using Hour of Code activities.  Many students completed coding games and were able to print and take home completion certificates.  I encourage students to continue to enjoy these activities at home through our Library STEAM Center website.  

Computer Science Activities

What a fun month in the Library STEAM Center!  Code-On!!

Computer Science Education Week

Each year we celebrate Computer Science Education Week in the Library STEAM Center at Hornung.  This year the celebration takes place December 3rd-9th.  What is this week all about?

"Computer Science Education Week (CSEdWeek) is an annual program dedicated to inspiring K-12 students to take interest in computer science.  Originally conceived by the Computing in the Core coalition, Code.org® organizes CSEdWeek as a grassroots campaign supported by 350 partners and 100,000 educators worldwide.  CSEdWeek is held in recognition of the birthday of computing pioneer Admiral Grace Murray Hopper (December 9, 1906).  Code.org is a non-profit dedicated to expanding computer science education. The Code.org vision is that computer science should be part of the core curriculum in every school, alongside other science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses." ~https://csedweek.org/about

All JK-4th grade students took part in computer science education week at Hornung.  Our youngest students were introduced with the very basics of computer science with a visual representation of what coding is, and a new game to work on these basic concepts, Kodable.  Our 1st-4th grade students went to the Hour of Code website, linked through our Media Center webpage, and explored coding games such as Star Wars, Minecraft, and Dance Party.

The fun doesn't stop here!  Students can continue to access these resources throughout the year by going to our Media Center webpage dedicated to Computer Science Week.  

https://hornungmediacenter.weebly.com/computer-science-week.html

November Makerspace Week

Our students came back from our long Thanksgiving break to a week of Makerspace activities in the Library STEAM Center!  This is a "choice" learning environment, where students are given several options to explore.  Our Makerspace stations hit every aspect of STEAM each week.  This week, the students had the following options:

1.  Creation Station - we explore our innovative minds, problem solving and art when we create with recycled materials.  Such items this week were tubes, yarn, stickers, scrap box items, cards, etc.  Students created ornaments, games, cards for family and friends, Thanksgiving turkeys, snowmen, and other innovative creations.

2.  Osmo Monster (Technology & Art) - students were able to draw and play with their favorite monster, Mo.

3.  Osmo Detective Agency (Technology and Problem Solving) - *NEW - students play detective by helping to solve mysteries of missing items.  

4.  Osmo Super Studio (Technology, Art, and Storybook Creations) - *NEW - students were able to spend time creating storybooks with Disney Princesses and Mickey characters.

     

5.  Osmo Pizza Co & Tangrams (Technology & Math) - students in 2nd-4th grade worked on their math skills by following pizza recipes and making change for customers.  They build their Pizza Co business.  Students in JK-1st grade worked on their math skills with Tangram shapes, creating animals and puzzles out of shapes.

6.  K'Nex for Education (Engineering) - these are designed to maximize student engagement.  Students were invited to create their own structures, or follow challenge cards to create organisms or transportation creations.

7.  Playdough & Marble STEM Challenge (Engineering) - students were invited to create a marble maze out of playdough on cookie sheets.  They used critical thinking and problem solving skills to create a maze to see if they could get their marble to go through successfully.

8.  Lego Challenge Cards (Engineering) - students were invited to the Lego Wall and Lego Table to work on challenge cards.  They worked on an assortment of lego creations.

As with all of our Makerspace/STEAM weeks, students explore the stations through free choice activities.

BAS Pack of Dogs & Keyboarding Skills

As a continuation of our Nonfiction November studies, we spent time training our students on our new Social Emotional Therapy Dog, Shadow!  Beginning this week and continuing into our short week next week, our students are learning all about our BAS Pack of Dogs.  They are learning about what their job is, and how to learn with Shadow in our building.  They are very excited!  Here are some highlights of what they have learned, so that you are educated as well...

We are Social Emotional Therapy Dogs, and we have very important jobs at our schools!

• We help without saying any words.

• We help kids feel safe at school.

• We help students read by listening to their stories.

• We help students concentrate on their work when they feel anxious.
• We help students feel special by being their friend.

We wear a special vest to school, so that you know we are on duty!

• Ask the Teacher or Caretaker if you can pet him.
• Only 3 students at a time may approach one of our dogs.
• Do not put your hand in front of his mouth.  We do not want them to lick.
• Pet him on the back of his head.
• Please keep your personal pet away from a service dog.  They have a job to do.
• Do not offer him any food or treats.

You may see one of our BAS Pack of Dogs in the hallway.  When this happens, we ask that you do a “Drive-By”. What does that mean?  Just waive quietly and pass by. As you can imagine, they have a job to do and we don’t have time to stop for students to pet them everytime they are walking in the hallways.  

Thank you for respecting our “Drive-By”!

YOU are the most special friend that our Therapy Dogs have, and they can't wait to work with you!

     

In addition to the student training, our 2nd-4th graders go on Typing Club to work on their keyboarding skills.  This typing program is free and can be accessed from any computer with internet access.  The link can be found on our Library STEAM Center website, so they can practice at home as well!

https://hornungmediacenter.weebly.com/typingkeyboarding.html

After their student training, our JK-1st graders spent more time exploring Pebble Go to research their favorite subjects.  This link can also be found on our Library STEAM Center website, and can be accessed at home from any device with an internet connection.

https://hornungmediacenter.weebly.com/pebble-go.html

All of our students have done a great job exploring our nonfiction section of the library, and checking out at least 1 nonfiction book this month!

Nonfiction November

It's Nonfiction November, and that brings on excitement for the students to learn new facts about the topics they love.  We started out with a discussion on what their favorite topics are, and how to find them using the Dewey Decimal System.  They had fun "hunting" for their favorite subjects.

After our Dewey hunt, we explored our online research databases, PebbleGo and PebbleGo Next.  PebbleGo is the award winning database for reading and research.  The PebbleGo databases make learning  and improving reading and research skills fun, building on children's interest.  Databases are simple to navigate and offer key reading supports such as read-along audio and word-by-word highlighting.  

     

Throughout the month, students are expected to check out at least 1 nonfiction book, then their 2nd checkout book can be any other genre of their choice.  We have thousands of great subject areas for them to choose from, and some of their favorites are from our Scholastic Blastoff Readers collection.  Happy fact hunting, Hornung Students!

     

Halloween Makerspace Week in the STEAM Center

This week in the Library STEAM Center we explore our 1st Makerspace week of the school year, and there is a buzz of excitement in the air!  We have been preparing for this week with introductions to STEAM activities since the beginning of the school year.  The students were so excited to explore these stations, using their innovative, critical thinking and problem solving skills.  When we participate in Makerspace weeks, we hit all areas of STEAM.  This week our theme was Halloween with the following stations:

• S = Science, with computer science stations featuring Ozobots and OSMOs
• T = Technology, with iPads using our OSMO games
• E = Engineering, with our Lego Wall challenge, building with Keva Planks and Brain Flakes, and our ever popular Creation Station
• A = Art, with Osmo Masterpiece, Osmo Monster, and the Creation Station
• M = Math/Media, with Osmo Numbers and we never go without checking out our Library books each week

Let Their Imaginations Grow!

The week of October 22 - 26 brought such excitement about new books!  It was our Scholastic Fall Book Fair event, which took over our Library STEAM Center for the week in such a great way!  The theme for this season's event was The Enchanted Forest where students can let their imaginations grow with new books.  The students enjoyed two days of previews before a 3-day sales event took place, ending with our amazing school family event, The Monster Mash.

While the book fair was going on, we still had our regular Library STEAM classes on the stage.  We spent this time reviewing and learning about a wonderful resource available to our students, TumbleBook!  This is an online library of books that our students can enjoy.  "TumbleBooks are animated, talking picture books which teach kids the joy of reading in a format they'll love. TumbleBook Library takes existing picture books, adding animation, sound, music and narration to produce an electronic picture book. You can read it, or have it read to you."  Your child can enjoy this resource at home as well.  It is available on our Hornung Media Center website by following this link...https://hornungmediacenter.weebly.com/tumblebook.html.  Have them show you this great resource at home!

Connecting Literacy with Engineering

This week in the Library STEAM Center, all of our students JK-4th grade made connections with pumpkin stories and engineered models based on those stories. 

JK, K & 1st graders connected the "5 Little Pumpkins", discussing beginning, middle, and end of the story by engineering fences and seeing if they can fit 5 little pumpkins in a row on top of their fence.  If it didn't work, they reflected on their design and redesigned it.

Our 2nd, 3rd & 4th graders connected "The Runaway Pumpkin", discussing beginning, middle, and end of the story by engineering hills or ramps with a barrier at the bottom to stop their pumpkin.  If the barrier didn't stop the pumpkin, they reflected on their design and redesigned it.

Throughout the process, students worked with the engineering design process by understanding these steps:

1. Define the Problem
2. Plan Solutions
3. Make a Model
4. Test the Model
5. Reflect and Redesign

We are Thinkers and Tinkers in the Hornung Library STEAM Center!

We Are Internet Awesome with Google!

This week in the Hornung Library STEAM Center we continued learning how to be good Digital Citizens with Google's new curriculum called "Be Internet Awesome".  Here is a letter from us to our Parents...

Dear Parents,

When our kids are young, we do our best to help them get the most out of the Internet while
protecting them from the risks and downsides of the online world. As children mature into
teenhood, our role shifts to helping them learn to make their own safe and thoughtful
decisions as they navigate their digital lives. At Hornung Elementary School, we believe
in partnering with parents and preparing our 1st-4th grade students to:

• Think critically and evaluate websites, email, and other content online.

• Protect themselves from online threats, including bullying and scams.

• Get smart about sharing: what, when, how, and with whom.

• Be kind and respectful toward other people online, including respecting their privacy.

• Ask for help with tricky situations from a parent or other trusted adult.

This year, these efforts will include Be Internet Awesome, a multifaceted program designed
to teach kids the skills they need to be safe and smart online. One of the resources, Interland,
is a browser-based game that makes learning these skills interactive and fun – just like the
Internet itself. Developed by Google in partnership with educators, researchers, and
online-safety experts at iKeepSafe.org, Be Internet Awesome provides fun, age-appropriate
learning experiences built around five foundational lessons:

• Share with Care

• Donʼt Fall for Fake

• Secure Your Secrets

• Itʼs Cool to Be Kind

• When in Doubt, Talk It Out Smart

Safe technology usage can enable students to help drive their own learning and help our
school function better. We believe the Be Internet Awesome program will mark an important
step toward our goal of ensuring all our students at Hornung are learning, exploring, and
staying safe online, both inside and outside school walls. We invite you to check out the
resources for families that are available at g.co/BeInternetAwesome. We encourage you to
ask your student about what activities they are participating in and continue the conversation
at home – and who knows, you just might pick up a few privacy and security tricks yourself!

Sincerely,

Mrs. Richards

October Is So Exciting, It’s Frightful!

October brings new curriculum, engaging hands-on lessons, and the importance of keeping our kids safe online with Digital Citizenship!  This week, Hornung students were introduced to Digital Citizenship, where they learned:

•  to only go on pre approved sites from teachers or parents

• to keep their private information to themselves (don't give out full names, addresses, phone numbers, etc

• to not talk to strangers online.  They should only have their friends and family online with them.

• to stand up to cyber-bulling, and to be kind to everyone.

In addition to these lessons, they have hands-on activities to reinforce the material taught.  This week, students make Digital Citizen People out of pipe cleaners.  Their job was to take this character home, and put it by their home devices, so that they can help them remember to stay safe online.

If your child plays video games online, help them to stay safe by checking their "Friend" list often.

Starting Out The Year Right

We did it...it's a new year, and a chance to start out on the right foot.  We spent the beginning of the school year getting students logged into their classroom devices with orientations on how to take care of the equipment properly.  We are very fortunate to have access to these top of the line devices, and it's important to make sure that we are taking care of them throughout the school year.

The next few weeks were spent on Library orientations.  We spent some time reminding our veteran students how to take care of books, going over our Library rules, and playing some fun scavenger hunt type games to learn where different resources are located around the Library.  New students were introduced to our Library, our book care rules, introduced to checkout procedures, and we showed them how to find books around our Library.

We also celebrated International Dot Day with all of our students.  They learned the importance of creating our own mark in this world.  There were several activities surrounding Dot Day for them to participate in.  It was an engaging lesson.

September was a very engaging and important month for the Library STEAM Center!