Wednesday!
What does toilet paper have to do with science?
This is the question with which we started our day. Answers included: toiled paper is made from trees, and trees are part of ecosystems; toilet paper is made of molecules, which are made from atoms, and atoms build everything in the universe; toilet paper is manufactured, which requires engineering, which in turn requires the scientific method; toilet paper is related to germs; toilet paper is used "to go potty," which relates to biology and human anatomy. These ideas came directly from the students, though we helped to articulate them succinctly. It was really quite impressive; a question like this requires synectics and abstract thinking, both of which are "higher order" skills.
For our purposes, toilet paper related to a scaled model of the solar system. Using rolls of toilet paper, we determined the distance of the planets from the sun and from each other. We noted that the terrestrial planets are all close together, but the jovian planets are not only a great distance away from the sun, but a great distance away from each other. The activity helped us to wrap our minds around how vast our "cosmic neighborhood" really is.
In Reading today, we continued to work in small groups. Students are creating and utilizing Categorizing BrainFrames in order to organize information in their Southeast books. They are also working on finding the MAIN IDEA in nonfiction news articles.
Mrs. Blair reminded them of important learning strategies when tackling questions: 1) Flip back to the article, 2) "if/then thinking" (i.e. deduction), 3) reread questions, 4) eliminate answers that don't make sense in multiple choice scenarios.
Additionally, we are reading Oggie Cooder, by Sarah Weeks, and learning various comprehension strategies by assuming the "roles" that students will eventually take on independently in Literature Circles. Last week, we talked about how to ask deep and meaningful questions in service of leading discussions. This week, we are talking about the importance of WORD CHOICE, using dictionaries to define words we don't yet know, and identifying other words that we think enhance our understanding of the text...either because they are surprising, interesting, evocative, or noteworthy in some other way.
In Social Studies, we've continued to celebrate the culture of the Southeast. This week, in addition to learning more about Nashville's country music scene with some line dancing to Kenny Loggins's Footloose, we learned about Habitat for Humanity. Students created chamsot to post in their homes, and will make some for the residents at Newbridge in the coming weeks.
Finally, some intrepid students joined me for a math lunch today. The goal of the lunch is to extend and enrich the math learning that is already happening in the classroom. It is meant to be a fun and social way to tackle more complex and challenging math. The concepts and skills we cover will differ from week to week, depending on what we are currently studying in our ThinkMath curriculum, and students will have the option to attend or not depending on their druthers. We are excited to provide them with this opportunity. Indeed, they commented on how enjoyable it was!
We will continue with our studies and explorations as the week continues, and we look forward to providing additional updates!
This is the question with which we started our day. Answers included: toiled paper is made from trees, and trees are part of ecosystems; toilet paper is made of molecules, which are made from atoms, and atoms build everything in the universe; toilet paper is manufactured, which requires engineering, which in turn requires the scientific method; toilet paper is related to germs; toilet paper is used "to go potty," which relates to biology and human anatomy. These ideas came directly from the students, though we helped to articulate them succinctly. It was really quite impressive; a question like this requires synectics and abstract thinking, both of which are "higher order" skills.
For our purposes, toilet paper related to a scaled model of the solar system. Using rolls of toilet paper, we determined the distance of the planets from the sun and from each other. We noted that the terrestrial planets are all close together, but the jovian planets are not only a great distance away from the sun, but a great distance away from each other. The activity helped us to wrap our minds around how vast our "cosmic neighborhood" really is.
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| Ready to roll! |
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| Michael is taking this VERY seriously. |
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| These are the humans in your neighborhood... |
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| Placing the planets. |
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| View of the sun (our class) from Pluto. (Yes...we know Pluto is no longer a planet...we just can't seem to let it go!) |
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| The Maples are using Categorizing BrainFrames to organize the information in their books, classifying features of the region as related to culture, industry, history, and geography. |
Mrs. Blair reminded them of important learning strategies when tackling questions: 1) Flip back to the article, 2) "if/then thinking" (i.e. deduction), 3) reread questions, 4) eliminate answers that don't make sense in multiple choice scenarios.
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| The feature story in this week's Scholastic News is about a volcano in Hawaii that has been erupting nonstop for almost 35 years. Eva is enjoying it! |
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| What is the Main Idea? Orli has flipped back to her article to search for "big picture" concepts. |
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| Eden is tackling multiple choice questions related to the headline story. Some require fact recall, and others call upon students' inferencing skills |
Additionally, we are reading Oggie Cooder, by Sarah Weeks, and learning various comprehension strategies by assuming the "roles" that students will eventually take on independently in Literature Circles. Last week, we talked about how to ask deep and meaningful questions in service of leading discussions. This week, we are talking about the importance of WORD CHOICE, using dictionaries to define words we don't yet know, and identifying other words that we think enhance our understanding of the text...either because they are surprising, interesting, evocative, or noteworthy in some other way.
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| The Elms are reading Oggie Cooder and thinking about the importance of WORD CHOICE and vocabulary development. They are also practicing their alphabetizing skills by using dictionaries to locate definitions of "frontier words." |
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| Jonah is enjoying Independent Reading. This is frequently a "productive" choice we offer to students when they've completed required assignments. |
Finally, some intrepid students joined me for a math lunch today. The goal of the lunch is to extend and enrich the math learning that is already happening in the classroom. It is meant to be a fun and social way to tackle more complex and challenging math. The concepts and skills we cover will differ from week to week, depending on what we are currently studying in our ThinkMath curriculum, and students will have the option to attend or not depending on their druthers. We are excited to provide them with this opportunity. Indeed, they commented on how enjoyable it was!
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| Talia, Michael, Orli, and Sophie attend a Wednesday Math Lunch. Today, they worked on simplifying numerical expressions and tackling multi-digit, multi-step addition and subtraction problems using a Magic Square model. |
