Coupla Things v15 (12/2/11)
Post date: Dec 03, 2011 6:45:52 AM
Good Evening All.
A strange thing happened today. I went to school feeling fatigued and slightly sick, and by the end of the day I was back to feeling peppy and invigorated. The recovery, I attribute to the healthy atmosphere, positive vibes, and healing power that pervade our classroom and the whole school! We'll see if I can keep the impending cold at bay for the weekend.
English
After reading the students' last two essays, I realized that one of the most important things that we need to work on is increasing the flow and organization of their writing. To do this I came up with the "Composition Composition" assignment -- a writing piece that describes the common composition of something. The writing process was quite structured in that the final product had to be guided by some deliverables, including an outline and extensive iterative drafts. It is my hope that the products are tight, non-tangential, and informative pieces high in both content and character. Parents, please take some time this weekend to have your student show you their outline as well as the final essay itself (which is due on Monday for most kids) -- from what I've seen so far, the results are going to be great!
In addition to the essay writing, there was also progress in reading world as well. The book club groups had good meetings on Tuesday and I showed them the list of (many) possible projects that they can choose from to show an understanding of their book. Today they saw some sample projects from last year's students and I think that many kids are eager to do a great project. They are due on 12/16, the last day of school before vacation.
Science
This week began with a fun little project in which the kids created "posters" that gave a visual summary of one section of the chapters covered in the current "Work, Energy, and Heat" unit. They dove right in and created some good stuff! Those posters will provide visual cueing for the relevant book section for the class activities of each day. My goal is to continue to do as much as I can to keep the kids informed about the pacing of book readings as well as strengthening the connection between those and the class activities. The kids also worked on some word problems on power, work, and energy.
Today the kids made simple catapults and then tested many variables to see which things (or combinations) provided the greatest transfer of the "elastic potential energy" into inertia. This week I resorted to showing a video and a half (one on simple machines and one on energy), followed by a quick quiz -- good stuff in small doses. There are still quite a few kids who have not done the solids separation activity but I'm confident that the stragglers will piar up and get it written up soon, even for partial credit.
Heads Up:
The semester closes in about 20 school days, and although grades are not the most crucial thing, it is a good idea for kids and parents to check PowerSchool and find any scores that are not up to par, and see if they can be improved. Each week the kids get an FYI list of any assignments with a 0 score in hopes that they will make them up. For low scoring assignments, students can redo them as long as they do so in accordance with the methods stated on the redo page of my website.
Thanks:
To the half-dozen parents who have been combing through the vocabulary sections of the students comp books this week.
To Kerry for picking up a waffle maker and supplies for "feed me Friday" this morning.
To Rani for taking an impromptu jaunt to the store to get marshmallows for the catapult activity today.
To the 13 book club parents for making Tuesday mornings very useful for the kids and easy for me.
To Mitch for reading the kids compare-contrast essays, validating the information, and writing great comments.
To Maria for keeping ahead of the game regarding every detail field trip planning.
Favorite recent video of the day: Taylor Mali on The Inarticulate Generation.
Sincerely,
Chris