Post date: Sep 30, 2012 8:44:23 AM
Dear Students and Parents,
A fun and busy Friday and Saturday have kept me mostly offline, so my usual Friday newsletter is now a Sunday morning delivery. This coming week will be an exciting one for all of us, with the onset of selectives in the afternoons, and parents beginning their in-class workshifts. I'm excited and a bit nervous, actually. I hope to live up to the tremendous potential of each!
Last week marked the end on unit 1 in science, which involved a test on Monday and packet formation on Thursday. Those packets, which are composed of all the work so far and a cover sheet that shows the scores as well as comments from the student and myself. As I explained at PA 101, these packets will be a valuable routine component of the parent-student-teacher triad of communication and accountability -- expect to review them with each other Monday night.
Unit two, covering forces and motion, began Tuesday with the students doing a 40 meter run with timers every 5 meters. The data was then turned into a line graph that we will use to calculate and understand acceleration. For much of the year, the activities that we do in class will provide experiences, experiments, and applications for the material covered in the book. The reading schedule, by the way, is shown on this calendar which is embedded into the assignments page of my site as well as listed on the unit outline.
The unrelenting routine of daily homework, grades, and a fast pace seems to be catching some kids by surprise (as indicated by packet comments and the grade spread), but I am very impressed by the signs of resilience I'm seeing. Learning (and some behavior change) does involve some level of disequilibrium and discomfort and adjustments (increased effort & organization) made now will serve the students well for quite a while!
After the quick overnight on Thursday, the week closed with an "Eyes of Nye" on pseudoscience which compared the stringent and formal process of the scientific method with various endeavors that are supported by less rigor and evidence. I found the approach a bit biased, actually, but still worthy of consideration. Ironic that one of the messages of the episode was "consumer beware"!
Next week we will continue with investigations into forces and motion, with more investigations into friction, gravity, inertia, and momentum. We'll also start to prep for the very important field trip to the Exploratorium, the experiences of which provide the basis for many lessons and discussions throughout the year.
In conclusion, thank you to everyone for the community we share and for the value you add to our time together. With some trepidation and much excitement, I eagerly await the times we have together in and out of the classroom.
As always, I appreciate a reply with any comments or suggestions.
Chris