Story telling about the Vikings

In the 3rd grade I have presented a story about a viking, named Ragnar. After that we have cut the story into 4 parts. The groups had the task to build the parts with our new storytelling sets. Some had also the time to try the StoryVisualiser-App on our tablet. In the end we presented the buildings and I prepared a comic for the class about the working process, so that they could see the possibilities of future storytelling.

                                                                            from Kristin Zeiler

LEGO-BEES

Let me introduce you to...

 LEGO BEES:

They are: PAULA, DANIELA, GONZALO, DAVID, MARIO AND SERGIO. Wonderful team. They have been working hard for weeks (even months) ...

on a project that required them to solve problems and work as a team. 

Little by little, work was progressing:

And finally, they were able to defend their project in front of some judges: they took part in FIRST LEGO LEAGUE JUNIOR.

It has been a wonderful experience in which we have collaborated teachers, parents and students...

...that also had a reward:

For me, it has been a very rewarding experience. I have been part of a wonderful team, LEGO BEES: it is a great luck to enjoy learning experiences where all the members of the educational process (parents, teachers and children) work together.

I have also  enjoyed the experience of  participating as a volunteer for the organization of FIRST LEGO LEAGUE in Salamanca:

Inventing a Board Game

Last year I shared this great activity:

 LEGO MATH GAME 

A few days later, my colleagues from Erich Kästner Grundschule (they are great) put it into practice:

LEGO BOARD GAME

Last week, I came back to that idea. I spoke to my 2nd grade students and asked them to invent a board game about addition and substraction using LEGO. I told them 1st grade student would later play the games invented by them. They really liked the idea. Here you can see pictures of them, fully engaged on creating the games for their younger friends:

Of course, as you can imagine, first grade students were also very happy when they entered the room and found the games ready for them to play...

A special game

With students from the fourth grade we went to visit the Sforzesco Castle in Milan in the section dedicated to the archaeological finds of ancient Egypt.
In class after we play " Domino"  with the following rules:
1  write a word related to the visit to the museum on a post it;
2. playing your word associating it with another and then explains the relationship with it;
3. if someone has played your own word, you have to write a new one.
This game allows you to recall the information, to share knowledge and rework together. Also with this game you find possible areas of  educational work.
In this specific situation, the children have identified three paths of thematic analysis: Egyptian writing, the pyramids and Pharaoh, the mummification.

Soon the study of these and other topics will be done ... but how?
A pharaonic mystery!

Nile calendar

In this history lesson the kids know and explore the land of Egypt.
They work in groups to produce posters. The children are divided according to their skills: knowing how to draw, how to produce a conceptual map, know how to plan a map, know how to produce a summary table.

After all together we have experienced in a practical way the calendar of the Nile, the river that has been his life for the Egyptians.
Using water, sand and a container children have simulated the different phases of the Nile up to observe the flood remembering that it brought a rich substance called silt.

A really useful and fun experiment!

From Sumer...to Egypt

The children of the fourth class are studying the rivers ancient civilizations lived about 4000 years ago.
In class we prepared the timeline from 5000 BC to date. Each student has achieved his notebook on that completes regularly inserting new civilizations studied.
We started with the Sumerians and we are now studying the Egyptians.

The Ziqqurat

First we made a brainstorm to find out what students know, what they would like to find out how and would like to study. From here we started.
Children express much interest in the use of information technology, group work and practical experience.

For this I planned different activities using various instruments: first lego blocks to stimulate the design, the creative and  the motivation of  students;
digital platforms as BLANDESPACE ( https://www.tes.com/lessons) where students can review lessons presented in class at the digital blackboard or other multimedia tools like HSTRY ( https://www.sutori.com/ ) to make time lines or PADLET ( https://padlet.com) to synthesize class work.
Finally I will use experiments, practical and manual workshops  to increase creativity and fun.

ANIMALS: LEGO + SCHLEICH

Today, I gave them a SCHLEICH  animal  and and a LEGO STORY STARTER SET per group. Them I told them to imagine the places where those animal live...

Jigsaw Puzzle Group Activity

As stated in the following website

https://www.jigsaw.org/

the JIGSAW CLASSROOM is a cooperative learning technique that promotes better learning, improves student motivation and increases enjoyment of the learning experience. Fifth grade students are studying one of the units on their NATURAL SCIENCE textbook using this technique.

First, I divided the class into six groups. Each group was in charge of a different part of the unit. They read and took notes about that part. Textbook is allowed only at this point of the process.

Second, you mix the groups . Every group is now composed of six members, one from every group. They must explain the other members their part of the unit and the others must take notes. 

Third: when all the members have spoken, the return to their original group. They have to put in common all the information the have collected. In this way, they will obtain all the information about the unit.

In the following pictures you can see students, fully engaged, during the second step of this process.