It's All Ones & Zeros

We are wrapping up a unit on abstraction that focuses on binary code or machine language. Students have dabbled in converting back and forth between decimal and binary numbers, and writing kind, positive words with binary code for uppercase letters of the alphabet. For the culminating project, we tried something new. 

We brainstormed words and considered symbols to represent binary code.

Next they created binary words and put them onto construction paper.

The final products are numbered and hung on posters around the classroom.

Getting creative with cardboard to make switches for their final project.

Students teamed up to create a variety of artifacts showing something about binary code. Some options included counting in binary, showing letters of the alphabet, or spelling out words and acronyms. I was excited to try this final project and love the creativity and enthusiasm I saw from all of my classes. 

Check out some of these gems by clicking on the links and videos. 

Welcome Semester 2 Friends!

We are off to a great start in the Innovation Lab! It was great to see returning students and to meet lots of new ones. On day two we followed up with a scavenger hunt to learn more about our space. 

Both fifth and sixth grade classes are getting to know their way around our learning space and the curriculum. We started with a short slide show, tour of the room also known as, "The Motherboard," and finally a scavenger hunt. As part of this experience students also identified their "street address," by number and name using their location and a map of the motherboard. The rows and tables in room 88 have street names related to computer things. Take a walk down Grace Road or find classroom supplies stored on Hard Drive.

Returning sixth graders had a chance to review their classroom constitution from last year. They are still FAB and they know it! Classes voted unanimously to move forward with their existing constitution, no amendments required. Fifth graders will complete some activities before finalizing their classroom constitution.

Both grades are learning about abstraction, one of the sub-strands under Computational Thinking in the Massachusetts Digital Literacy and Computer Science frameworks. Click here to download a copy. We are discussing using symbols and letters to communicate abstract ideas with a focus on machine language or binary code, base2. Currently they are learning to convert between the base2/binary and base 10/decimal systems using a tool called the Flippy Do which you can find on the Code.org binary numbers lesson, see Flippy Do below. 

I was excited to learn that the sixth graders are coincidentally learning about abstraction in Social Studies as they focus on the cuneiform alphabet and in Math they are exploring exponents. This provided a great opportunity for them to connect concepts across the curriculum. 

Next they will use "alphabytes" to create words and messages using an alphabet decoder key. Correctly completed student work will be displayed around the room and used in an upcoming Challenge. Stay tuned for more on binary code and abstraction.

Click the image to the left to make a copy of your own Flippy Do from code.org. To learn more about how you might use this tool see their lesson plan or wait for my next post to see how we used it in class.

Let it Snow

Since my last post my students were busy making snowflakes and stop motion videos with Google Slides. Boy do I love this tool! They began with some research to learn a little about the science behind snowflakes before diving in to "make a point" for their snowflake. 

Most points were made with simple shapes like hexagons and lines. The main requirement was that any shapes or lines had to show symmetry. Once they made their first point as simple or complex as they desired, they grouped the pieces together before they duplicated it. Next they flipped the copy vertically before they aligned both points so that these segments mirrored each other, more symmetry. Once these opposing points were aligned and grouped together, they made two new copies. Then they used the align center and middle features to stack these three layers on top of each other. To complete the snowflake they rotated two of the three grouped segments to create six points for their snowflake. They rotated the top layer 60° and a second layer 120° to create the perfect six-pointed snowflake. 

Finally their snowflakes were downloaded as png files with transparent backgrounds, something they learned about with their previously made avatars. If submitted on time, these snowflakes were used for the snowy day stop motion video.

Using the publish to the web feature and a URL hack they learned how to advance each slide two-tenths of a second. Take a look at the final products from my day 2 classes to see how some students enjoy snowy days. 

Check out my Google Slide how to to make a snowflake of your own.