This is How the Scientist do ItIt all starts with a question, such as, "Which will cause dry ice to sublimate more rapidly, electric heat energy or combustion heat energy?" Generate a thoughtful hypothesis, establish a plan and a way to quantify results, gather materials, experiment and then make sense of the experiments outcome. The crew is now in the final leg of completing their official scientific write-ups. Once done, they will each be published in our official Renaissance Journal of Scientific Discovery (Ask your child to share--the doc is in their Drive account). Below are a few photos that capture a bit of the process used to guide groups through their experiments. Students broke into small research teams, generated their own question and created a plan to attempt answering that question. Notice the drafting and redrafting of an investigable question, prep-work for experiment and the clear and concise note-taking and data collection. Ask your student about possible errors that potentially skewed their data--making it a challenge to draw up a clear conclusive answer.
Good Stories have a MoralAs much as I enjoy a mind-bending novel I believe I get greater satisfaction out of short stories that inspire me to ponder my own moral code. Our genre study in fables has come to end, relatively. We explored the classic work of Aesop and modern writers such as Cynthia Rylant and works from the Humanity Project. Identified fable elements, drafted, redrafted, illustrated and finalized an adorable story with a lesson. Last Friday Mr. G's first grade and Mr. Tyler's 4th grade visited our crew for the Fable unveiling. Renaissance Adventure Day (R.A.D)
Math
Being a Human
Gettin' our Andy Goldsworthy onLast week Ms. Jills' 1st grade reached out to the whole school requesting all interested students bring natural stuff from around yards, such as pine cones, sticks, bark..., for the purpose of spreading over the OLE so kids can simply play with raw natural materials. This video. The one sent out by the 1st graders reminded me of the renowned artist, Andy Goldsworthy, and his almost 100% environmental, land based art. I found a trailer capturing Goldsworthy's work, shared with the crew and wa-lah. After recess, this is what I found on the OLE. Important Dates:No School: 9/21
Fall Break: 10/8-10/22 Care Center: 10/23 No School :11/6 Care Center: 11/20 Thanksgiving Break: 11/21-11/23 Care Center: 12/4 Winter Break: 12/24-1/7 Care Center: 1/15 No School: 1/18 No School: 1/21 Fall Voyage: 1/22-1/25 Silver Heights Care Center: Service to Others There are many avenues to provide service for ones community. I believe one of the best ways to serve is share a little time with the generations that have come before me--those that have paved a way for the world I live in now. Keepers of an older American history, manifestations of a long life of being human and their humbling stories that intertwine their history with mine. I wish you all could have been flies on the wall while we were at SHCC. You would have been so incredibly proud and honored to witness how our young crew was so extraordinarily compassionate and friendly--they each just open heartedly stepped up, made a new friend and creatively assisted in helping make a crafty piece needed to brighten up the center. Below you'll notice the kids with filthy old-school glasses, rubber gloves, cotton in the ears and lights out- the purpose was to loosely simulate what it's like to loose our treasured faculties, making living more frustrating. Angela, our SHCC contact, considered putting rocks in each of the crews shoes. Apparently as we age our feet will begin hurting with higher frequency. Each time we visit the care center students will assist in the creation of some seasonal craft. Last Friday we made greeting cards with fresh apple stamps, paint and some creative language. Expedition:
Wednesday Math
Prime Time MathFor students I work with we continue to explore Prime Time. This unit explores relationships among factors, multiples, divisors, and products. This week and last we moved into:
Ask your child to tell you about Least Common Multiples and Greatest Common Factors, and how isolating LCM or GCF from a list of numbers can be used to solve complex problems. LiteracyThis week we finish writing and illustrating our fables. Friday, Mr. G's first grade crew will come visit our room and the 6th graders will present their fables to each of their first grade buddies. It just so happens that Mr. G's crew is studying stories with lessons now. Serendipitous. Hangin' With our First Grade BuddiesThe images below capture 6th grade guiding 1st grade through a Rose, Bud, Thorn debrief focused on helping 1st grade process their fall voyage. Important Dates:COGAT Testing: Week of 9/17
No School: 9/21 Fall Break: 10/8-10/22 Care Center: 10/23 No School :11/6 Care Center 11/20 Thanksgiving Break: 11/21-11/23 |
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