Jedi Training Academy

May the 4th be with you! On May 4th, we transformed our room into the Jedi Training Academy.  We started the day with an opening ceremony.  All the first grades met to learn about what the next couple days would entail.  As always, we were going to work hard and play hard.  The Younglings were told they would be working as teams, as well as, earning individual Jedi points.  Jedi points were earned for displaying characteristics of the light side: honesty, effort, persistence, encouragement, respect, self control, and believing in the force.  They would be working on three teams: team Yoda, Kenobi, and Skywalker.  The students were ready to earn their points and get started on their Jedi journey.

Back to our classroom, we began some reading.  We read an article on May the 4th being Star Wars day.  The students had to read with purpose.  We talked about reading informational text more than one time.  The first read is like a Padawan, you read to get the gist.  The second read is like a Jedi, you dig a little deeper.  Then, the third read is for Jedi Masters and you are reading with the force.  Students had to read the article three times.  They had to answer some questions and highlight the text evidence in the article to prove their answers.  Many Jedi points were earned for hard work and team play.

In math, we did a light side/dark side sort with true and false equations.  We also had a math task with counting coins. The students had to count the coins on iPad slides and then transfer the answers on to a 1-120 chart to make a hidden picture.  This activity took a lot of persistence and patience.  The hidden picture was a picture of R2-D2.

 The students did get to take some breaks.  Whenever they finished work, they had some fun Star Wars choices.  Students could read about their favorite Star Wars characters and starships, work on a word find, or help complete a puzzle.  We even had Star Wars snacks!

In science, we learned about stars.  Of course!  We read some books and articles about stars.  We explored a new app called Star Chart.  It was awesome because we could see the stars in the middle of the day!  The app showed us the constellations and even where the planets were in the sky.  It is incredible what we can "see" using technology tools.

At the end of the first day, the students had done so well.  They worked really hard!  So...we needed to celebrate.  The individual point leaders for each team, got to do a light saber balloon duel to earn a few more points for their teams.  While the children had the dual, everyone enjoyed some Yoda Soda!  A perfect end to day one!

Day 2 of the Jedi Training Academy brought more rigor and fun!  Just another day of being awesome!  It was great to see many children dressed the part!  I love these first graders!  The students again worked hard to earn team and individual points.  They studied reading, math, and science topics all day long.  We learned more about stars by reading an article like a Jedi Master.  Look at the concentration! Oh, and did I mention our guest reader....Darth Vader himself!

At the end of the day, each student received an official Jedi certificate and their own light saber pencil.  Also, individual and team points were compiled.  Team Kenobi came out on top.  What a great two days of learning and fun!