Harbins Elementary 

What are we currently doing in FOCUS?

1st grade:  First grade students are planning a Fall Festival that integrates robotics, advertising, and creative writing. They will design and promote a festival ride using robotics, craft advertisements to attract visitors, and write imaginative stories about experiencing their ride firsthand. 

First grade students will also be engaging in evaluative thinking activities where they will think critically about information and ideas by comparing them, identifying their strengths and weaknesses, and making a thoughtful decision based on evidence. 

2nd grade:  Second grade students are exploring the school science fair and learning how to apply the design thinking process to identify and solve real-world problems. They will brainstorm, prototype, and refine innovative solutions that showcase their creativity and critical thinking. 

Second grade students will be exploring informational writing and the writing process.  Students will also can learn and explore visual thinking strategy games by using problem-solving, planning ahead, and thinking carefully about my moves to improve my strategy. 

3rd grade:   Third grade students are using divergent thinking to explore simple machines and the whimsical world of Rube Goldberg inventions. They are designing, building, and testing their own Rube Goldberg machines to solve a simple task in a creative and complex way.

Students will explore informational writing and the writing process, including breaking down and responding to prompts.  Students will also be able to enhance their vocabulary, practice spelling, and improve their strategic thinking skills by playing Scrabble, while responding to contributions of others, participating in small group discussions to argue persuasively or reinforce others' good points, and will question accepted practices, rules, and existing principles to discover new knowledge through practice and play.  Students will then shift to exploring the concepts of buoyancy, structure, and design through a hands-on challenge of building a foil boat to hold as many pennies as possible without sinking. 

Students will be using their research skills to learn about strange and unique animals. They will then create a habitat for their animal.  

4th grade:  Fourth grade students will be diving into the world of robotics to solve challenges using a variety of robots and tools. They are also reflecting on their learning through journaling, helping them build problem-solving skills and deepen their understanding of robotics concepts. 

Students will explore informational writing and the writing process, including breaking down and responding to prompts.   Students will also use strategic thinking, logic, and coordinate grid skills while playing Battleship.  They will use coordinates (letters and numbers) to locate positions on a grid in order to strategically plan moves and predict where my opponent’s ships might be. They will be able to explain how using coordinates helps organize and describe locations.

Students will also use creative expression including: a poetry publishing party, a formal debate, a Google Slides project presentation, and the use of robotics to recreate scientific phenomena like moon phases and the revolution of planets in our Solar System. 

5th grade:  Fifth grade students will continue their study of Shakespeare through Socratic Seminars and a close reading of Julius Caesar. They will also collaborate in groups to select, rehearse, and perform a play, deepening their understanding of Shakespearean drama and language. 

Fifth grade students will explore informational writing and the writing process, including breaking down and responding to prompts. They will also learn to play chess by understanding the basic rules, movements of the pieces, and strategies to checkmate an opponent, and strategies that involve thinking ahead to plan moves and anticipate opponent’s actions.

Fifth grader students will be digging deeper into endangered animals of the rainforest. Students will conduct research and then write an essay on the animal they chose. Students will also create a physical diorama or a digital diorama of the animal's habitat that includes the types of plants, predators and food sources the animal will engage with. 

Students will explore informational writing and the writing process, including breaking down and responding to prompts. 

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