Thinking, Deciding, and Fostering Pride in Learning

From a couple weeks ago (I forgot to hit 'Publish'):

It was one of those weeks where we tried to do everything. You know how that usually turns out... ...but on reflection we accomplished quite a bit.

Most importantly, the kids can think. Discussing the Rights of the Child, our techniques for making decisions in groups, and Greta Thurnberg (see previous blog post), the kids blew me away with their insights and questions. There is a movement afoot to allow 16-year-olds to vote in Canada, but I would be fine with 12. If they've done their homework.

We started a unit on storytelling and the elements of narrative, but it was an accident. The kids pestered me to tell 'The Bear Story'*, and I knew that the good version, honed by years of retellings and more than a bit of hyperbole, would take most of the block. So we looked at setting, character, story arc, building tension, connecting with an audience, storytelling as a collaboration... Good review, and a good springboard for writing. If you're thinking about Tim Roth's story from Reservoir Dogs, but without all the swearing, you'd be right. It's about the best stories we share and how we build community. The kids should now be thinking of crafting their own Personal Anecdote, and I can't wait to resume working on them. This will happen after the School Wide Write.


* The Bear Story involves two teachers, 12 kids, Eureka Peak in the Cariboo Mountains, and a very angry and persistant alpine grizzly bear. For the full story, please enroll in Grade 6 or 7. Oddly, the story arc closely traces the story arc of Tim Roth's "Comode Story". This was in no way intentional.

Class News and Tips

Class News - November 12, 2019

Hi! I hope everyone is well, all the candy is gone, and Christmas mayhem has yet to descend.

First off, please let me know if there is anything odd, surprising, wrong, unreadable, or confusing about the Point of Progress I sent out last week. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Also, the door is open if you want to talk, or just drop in and observe.

In this issue:

• Science
• School Wide Write
• Backwards Math
• French
• FSA Tests

Science
I really love science, so we sometimes leave it 'til last so I don't forget to teach kids reading, writing, and 'rithmatic. Otherwise, I can lead kids into a complete science rabbit-hole and we end up making trebuchets and hexanitrohexaazaisowurtzitane.
But the kids have worked incredibly hard on their core areas and we can happily get our feet wet in the sciences. Our overarching themes are Climate and Environment, with the goal of creating powerful, positive young scientists. It's about sharing absolutely critical scientific literacy while never placing the weight of the world on their small shoulders.
Lucky we have some great help. We'll be continuing work we started last year with the Canadian Space Agency concerning environmental sensing both in the classroom and on the ISS. Check it out here:
http://space.letstalkscience.ca/
Also, on a bit of a lark, I signed us up for the Fish Market Survey in which we sampled local retail fish for DNA testing. It's only useful in that it connects our own actions as consumers to the health of ocean species (and I really hope the Bio 12 classes also signed up) but is was a cool chance to get some free DNA testing done. We'll do some math with the data when it comes in, too. More here:
https://letstalkscience.ca/educational-resources/projects/fish-market-survey

We're looking at a range of climate mechanisms:

• Carbon Cycle
• Ocean Currents and Mixing
• Methane Clathrate
• Atmospheric Currents and Mixing
• Plants: absorbing CO2 and moderating temperature
• Radiance and Albedo
• Greenhouse Effect
• Permafrost and Sequestration

The goal is to have each team produce a working small-scale demonstrator for one mechanism, and we have a nice collection of tools to help: CO2 sensor, temp sensors, light sensors, etc. I'll be doing the methane clathrate demo if I can find a way to do it without any unexpected thermal events.* Come to think of it, perhaps I'll get a 3rd party to safety-check all our plans - a lesson in ethical science and personal responsibility.

School Wide Write
They've got the brains, they've got the ideas, but can they put them on paper in a coherent, organized way? That's the goal.
Topic Choices: 

• I am hopeful for the future.  
• I have concerns about the future.**

Mr Berendt has been working on idea-generation, note-taking, and outlining. I've been working on deconstructing a sample essay and analysing form. This week we'll write the actual essay, then use the results to guide our learning through the rest of the year.

Backwards Math
OK, I'll start calling it Algebra pretty soon. After all our work on computation (which we'll continue, lest we lose it!) we're taking a break to do formulae, equations, algorithms, and other fun stuff. This is a point where some kids get a bit freaked by all the abstract thinking, while others revel in all the nice, friendly, small numbers (and no long division!). Please, please say nice things about math at home. It makes all the difference in their confidence, and confidence is the biggest factor in math success. Not a single kid in the class is slacking- they all deserve that 'good mathematician' feeling.

French
We are very lucky to have Linda Suderman teaching our Core French this year. Stay tuned for French news! Students are encouraged to practice with DuoLingo, a bilingual relative, or tolerant pet at home.***

FSA Tests
Please feel free to contact me directly if you have any questions.




*Blowing myself up.

**My favourite thesis so far: "My message is that we'll be watching you." A bit creepy, but not completely off-topic.

***Dogs are especially great at listening without unnecessarily correcting grammar.