September 2 - 6, 2019

This week, we will use our understanding of the Math Block and number sense to focus on equivalencies.  We will also begin organizing our ideas on our driving question regarding living and farming volcanoes.

Monday

No School!

Tuesday

Math Block

Thought Exercise: Number Line

Thought Exercise: 100s Chart

Concept Study: Proportional Thinking - Equivalencies

Studio: Proportional Thinking

Wandering Wednesday

Science Block

We will continue to discuss the question “Why would people risk the danger of eruption and live and farm near volcanoes?”  We will be taking the bus to the Tennessee State Museum to explore our topic and learn about the history of food in Tennessee.  We will use this information to further our understanding of our question. Please note that on Wandering Wednesdays, as with every school outing, there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing choices!  Unless severe weather is in the area, we will do our excursions, rain or shine.

Thursday

Science Block

Using our technology, we will begin to formulate our hypothesis of why people would live and farm on a volcano.  We will work together to create a full understanding and begin working on a presentation of the information we have discovered!

FriYAY!

Students continue to work on their FriYAY projects!

August 26 - 30, 2019

We are off and running!  Our first week together was an overwhelming success!  This week, we will continue to build on our understanding of the Math Block and number sense.  We will also continue to discover how the interactions between living and non-living factors contribute to our society.

Monday

Math Block

Thought Exercise: Analyzing Algorithms

Thought Exercise: 100s Chart

Concept Study: Unitization - Associating and Distributing

Studio: Unitization

Tuesday

Math Block

Thought Exercise: Number Line

Thought Exercise: 100s Chart

Concept Study: Proportional Thinking - Percent

Studio: Percent

Wandering Wednesday

Science Block

UPDATE: Students will use their technology today and tomorrow as we will be delving deeper into our research!  We will go to Farm in the City on a future Wandering Wednesday. Today we will go to Crema to continue our research.

We will continue to discuss the question “Why would people risk the danger of eruption and live and farm near volcanoes?”  We will be taking the bus to the Farm in the City to explore our topic and learn about the benefits and pitfalls of urban gardening.  Please note that on Wandering Wednesdays, as with every school outing, there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing choices!  Unless severe weather is in the area, we will do our excursions, rain or shine.

Thursday

Science Block

Thursdays will usually be our day for research and technology will be used in classes on Thursdays. Today we will be reviewing the Design Thinking Process and using technology to continue to research our question in order to determine why urban farming may or may not be an alternative solution to farming on a volcano.

FriYAY!

Students continue to work on their FriYAY projects!

August 19 - 23, 2019

Welcome to the beginning of an amazing new journey!  I am so excited to be taking it with you. Even though this is the first week of school, you can plan to dive right in because we have some exciting new ideas to explore.  

Monday

Math Block

Mondays and Tuesdays will generally be maths-focused.  We will be looking at a new way to think about numbers that will provide a deeper understanding of value and require less rote memorization.  Based on The Number Lab in Austin, TX, we will be breaking our Math days into four varying sections.   Today, we will be experiencing the Concept Study on Unitization - Like Counts, the Studio focused on Unitization, the Thought Exercise using a 100s Chart, and the Thought Exercise on Translating Expressions. 

The Number Lab 100s Chart

Tuesday

Math Block

We will be continuing to learn the Math Block Process by reviewing some previous sections and experience some new sections.

Thought Exercise: 100s Chart

Thought Exercise: Number Line

Concept Study: Unitization - Definition of Subtraction

Studio: Unitization

Wandering Wednesday

Science Block

Wednesdays will generally be our day to journey out into the world!  As this is our first Wandering Wednesday, we will use our time to discuss group outing norms and then spend some time in the public green space across the street from the school.  Our first topic of discussion in Science this year revolves around the question “Why would people risk the danger of eruption and live and farm near volcanoes?” Individually, we will be creating a list of the things we already know, questions we have, and things we will need to know about our problem. We will then share to create a complete view of our understanding and what we need to learn. Please note that on Wandering Wednesdays, as with every school outing, there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing choices!  Unless severe weather is in the area, we will do our excursions, rain or shine.

Thursday

Science Block

Thursdays will usually be our day for research and technology will be used in classes on Thursdays. Today we will be reviewing the Design Thinking Process and using technology to research our question in order to determine who the people are that live and farm near volcanoes in order to further understand.

FriYAY!

Students will engage in their first FriYAY, engaging in a project inspired by what inspires them!