Sunday, September 8th, 2019

Welcome back!  Today began our first full week of instruction for the 2019-2020 school year and it was very productive.  Students were ready to learn, though a little sleepy.  Still, they did a fantastic job today, both academically as well as in their behavior choices.

Math consisted of a two-fold activity that involved problem solving and proof.   I emphasized at the beginning of the lesson that one of the things I love about math and science is how dependent they are upon actual proof.  I can say anything, I can make any claim, but it is meaningless without actual proof.

Each student was given a sheet of regular copy paper and were instructed to make a square out of that rectangle.  The idea was to make as large as square as possible and as close to a square as possible WITHOUT THE USE OF ANY MATERIALS.  They could only use their hands.  So, I saw a lot of creative ways to go around this huge restriction, which made it more fun!

Then, once they had their squares made, they had to make sure that they indeed made a square.

The next task was to convince another student.  So, students were paired up with the person sitting directly in front.  The stipulation is that they had to use actual math vocabulary (angles, measurements, etc.).

The last task was to convince me.  So what I did was assigned each student a number and rolled a 24-sided die (using a dice app) to randomly pick a student.  I chose three and they came up in front of the class and made their cases for having made a true square.  All of them did a great job!!!  I also verified it using the hard edges and corner of a book.

After specials, the students returned for science.  The first thing was to test their Chromebooks to see if they could finally connect to the WIFI.  

After that, we did a lesson on lab safety.  After discussing the importance of lab safety and why there are expectations in place, I showed them a short video on lab safety.

Then, the students each got a large sheet of chart paper - one per group, and were given the task to design a poster about lab safety.

In literacy, we are beginning what are called ARCH units 
A- Assessment      R- Routines      C- Choice     H- Healthy Community

Today's lesson was on finding one's identity as a reader.  I had a read-aloud of a book called Tea With Milk, about a character who struggled to find her identity in a larger community.  It was appropriate because often all of us struggle with that from time to time.  

​Then, students created a class chart with their reading identities on a Post-It.

Lastly, I told the class about a Magic Eye with a hidden message. This is something very similar to the Magic Eye pictures.  How do you see it?  There are two ways....

1.  Look at it very close up and then slowly back away while still staring at it.  Let your eyes lose focus.  If you practice enough, you will see the illusion of depth.

2.  Be about 25-30 cm from the image and try not to focus on it.  Act as if it is transparent or not there at all.

​If you do not see it, don't be discouraged!  It sometimes takes practice.