Post date: Feb 04, 2012 5:44:10 AM
Greetings Y'all and Happy Friday.
Instead of giving a detailed account of the week and losing half of the "readership" half way through, I'll give less detail and keep it short -- a strategy suggested by the kids and certainly a promising approach. ;)
English: We further investigated persuasive media and the challenges of (finding) objective journalism. Coupled with the advertisement analysis of last week, the kids are becoming more discerning consumers of the information of all types. If there happen to be some high-cost advertisements on TV this weekend, we'll be looking at them with a bit of a different view.
The vocabulary exercise for the week was more challenging than usual. I used a SAT-prep book that grouped words into clusters of common meaning. This meant that the kids had to analyze subtle differences between words and their most appropriate usage -- a much harder process than before. Today they put 2 words from the convivial cluster and two words from the cantankerous cluster into their comp books, along with great definitions and sentences.
Next week we begin our Steinbeck books. On Monday the kids (and book club parents) will choose between Of Mice and Men, Cannery Row, The Grapes of Wrath, and perhaps Travels With Charlie and/or East of Eden (or others). The "great American author" genre is one with great potential, and one that the students will visit again often during high school. Parents, if you have any Steinbeck books at home or see any cheap ones in used bookstores, please snatch up copies and send them in.
Science: The highlight of the week, to me, was certainly the "Science Sleuths" simulation that involved using various resources (interviews, photos, lab reports, photographs) to solve the "Mystery of the Exploding Lawnmowers". It was a good view of real science in action as well as an interesting introduction to chemistry. We spent two days watching and discussion segments of a Science Channel program called Greatest Discoveries in Chemistry. It was nice to have a video that was at or above their grade level and provided some good understandings about the history (and future) of modern chemistry.
Amidst the usual lessons and activities of the unit, we've had some good discussions about learning styles and the controversy of writing, copying, and/or modifying reading notes. My "rule" had been that during the tests, the kids could use any notes that they write -- both words being pertinent. Those criteria work well for most kids, but some resist hand writing anything and so I approved typed notes. As you might predict, the authenticity of notes dwindled as kids shared, posted, copied, and printed each others notes. An understandable set of actions, but they've strayed far from my original intent and avoided the process or reading the material, understanding the content, and writing well-organized notes (wherein the value of book-learning lies). We ended up today with the agreement that if the kids type notes, they have to get initials from parents to verify that they are indeed taken by the student. Lots of fuss but necessary, I suppose.
La$tly: Debbie Perry informed me this week that our annual class budget ($300) has run out at this half-way point in the year. Knowing that I'm a sucker for a great buy deal on educational items and/or organizational materials, I realize that running on a $0 budget for the rest of the year is unrealistic. So, I've decided to put up a couple of hundred dollars into a matching fund to rebuild the classroom budget. If anyone is willing to contribute, I'll match them 1:1 for the next two weeks. If you send in a donation, just let Kim or Debbie (or me) know that it is for the room 25 budget, and I'll gladly match it. I'm fairly conservative with money but don't want to avoid certain activities just due to the lack of funds for required materials. No pressure, just motivation. :)
Thats All Folks -- shorter than usual!
Chris