Post date: Dec 16, 2012 9:30:17 PM
Hello All.
First things first! Parents, upon reading this line, please ask your kid "Are you ready for the chapter 10 test tomorrow?" Kids, upon reading that line, please find a quiet place to review (or read for the first time if that be the unfortunate case) the chapter and my notes if you like. If you have created and submitted test questions for me to use, please let me know right away, so I can use yours on this year's test.
Recap of Last Week:
On Monday we were graced, once again, by an interactive lesson by the now-infamous Dr. Youssef Ismail. The students constructed pulley systems and measured the mechanical advantage of each. They kept track of their results on a table and summarized their conclusions. With the myriad block-and-tackle applications on the Balclutha, the timing was perfect! That lesson, along with the completion and delivery of their machine projects, wound up our exploration of mechanical energy, and next we moved on to thermal energy.
Tuesday and Wednesday were mostly filled with viewing and discussing a NOVA video called "Conquest of Cold" along with this worksheet done in pairs, and then on Thursday, the kids from rooms 22 and 23 worked on an energy conversion "track" activity online. Those daily activities were accompanied by students' science demos, making for a full and usually entertaining daily agenda.
The Age of Sail trip for room 25 was blessed with great weather and positive attitudes, as evidenced by many of the student entries into the ship's log.
Coming Up:
As I mentioned at the onset, the chapter 10 test is Monday. Please keep in mind that I'd like to consider "tests" as formative assessments rather than summative assessments -- they should let the kids know what they still need to learn (via QAR or other means) from what they have understood and/or mastered.
This week also marks the beginning of unit five on atoms and elements. This means that you (parents) should soon expect the unit 4 packet to come home for your comment and approval, and for you students, it means a change in seats and the start of a new round of Question of the Day competitions.
Lastly, and most importantly (to me, at least) this week we will introduce and organize the first round of "Interest-Based Mini Courses" during one day of core time each week. These projects allow students to pursue areas of personal interest and explore them deeply and with various levels of academic integration. Topics from the past have ranged from "The Kinds, Causes, and Effects of Censorship on Kids" to "Sponge Bob and the Seven Deadly Sins".
Oh, and on Friday (a half day), the kids will have math during first period and then remain in homerooms for the rest of the time for various games and activities.
Thanks for reading, and reply if you have a moment.
Chris
PS: Students: I'm looking for a few volunteers to take responsibility for doing daily entries into a student-maintained "single source" g-doc that we 3 teachers can embed into our sites. The purpose of which would be to provide everyone with a one-page go-to place to find out what assignments and projects they should be working on for each class. Please let me know if you are interrested in being on that team.