Friday, January 30, 2009

Learning Team Meetings...

...are just around the corner! In the spirit of progressive education, I wanted to share this "blast from the past" video which seems to support those snappy song lyrics: Everything old is new again! Check out "Progressive Education in the 1940s" to see what I mean!

With regards to your upcoming LTMs, each 8th grader has been presented with a list of questions to entertain as she conducts her final SGS Learning Team Meeting! Should you be curious, the worksheet is posted on our SGS homework blog at http://my8thgrade.blogspot.com/

We look forward to seeing you all at learning team meetings next week. Because my LTMs are scheduled back-to-back, I will greatly appreciate timely entrances and exits...as will your 8th graders, I'm sure!

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Forensics Labs Day 1




Black History Month Independent Study

Each February we present the girls with a Black History Month Challenge, in the form of an independent study, entitled: Black History Month 2009 - Mission Possible. The parameters of this assignment are published in their entirety on our SGS 8th Grade Homework blog - so be sure to check it out! We're envisioning a visit to the Northwest African American Museum on Thursday afternoon, February 12th - a meaningful opportunity within walking distance of SGS! You are encouraged to commune with your 8th grader on what invariably proves to be a most interesting endeavor. Recognizing that we're each on our own journey of awareness, our goal is to have each student identity and define her growing edge with regards to the African-American experience...and then challenge it! Your sage suggestions and ideas are always welcome!

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

World News This Week

Last week, we introduced the girls to our Geographic Areas of Concern (GAOC) program in which they are going to be taking their knowledge of the world's countries a step further. Each week, students will be responsible for one region of the world and will be asked to scan the news headlines for their region - from non-U.S. sources. Along with a partner, they will select one article to report in-depth on either through a short essay post to our GAOC blog or by oral presentation to the class, due every Thursday. Over the next ten weeks, they will cover all ten regions of the world and by the end will have written 5 essays and given 5 oral reports.

Each week, the GAOC oral presentations will give the whole class a sense of what's happened in the world that week. They'll be given a short online quiz the next morning to make sure they got it all. For girls who are absent, they will be able to review the articles on the GAOC blog and take the quiz when they return.

We had a few class periods last week to show the girls how to use Google News to scan for headlines and search for news from a particular region or country and also to practice and crtitique how to give a concise presentation of the news. This Thursday will be our first "for real" GAOC day with essays written and presentations done for all girls across all regions of the world, with lots more to follow in the coming weeks.

Friday, January 23, 2009

Pig Autopsy Position Paper

We wanted to give you a heads up about an assignment that we gave the girls over the weekend. The assignment is to answer the bioethics question, "Should I use a real pig to conduct a forensic investigation to simulate a human autopsy?" Today in class, we introduced an ethical decision making framework that they will use as they justify their position, noting key facts, questions, stakeholders, possible solutions and their ultimate decision and the justification behind it. The opportunity to perform a pig autopsy will come at the end of February and we want girls to be thoughtful in their decision on how to take part in this experience. There are many possible solutions to their involvement and we are open to ideas. If you have any questions about this assignment, please direct them to Darin or Bert.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Blood Splatter Lab















Inspired by the 8th grade girls ideas we are turning our science focus this term to forensic science by exploring C.S.I. type scenarios. Given specific crime science evidence we are learning how to build a case and make predictions using data collection and observation. In the Blood Splatter Lab last week, we investigated the relationship between height and diameter of a blood splatter. This hands-on lab engaged the girls to explore how they can take a given splatter found at the scene and use the mathematical pattern between height and diameter to determine the point of origin of the blood (it's not real blood but Pepto Bismol).

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Spanish Speaking World in Seattle

Hola Parents!

I'm posting the link to a website featuring details about great things happening in the Spanish speaking community in Seattle. These are good options for Culture Credit #2 due March 2, 2009.

Spanish Speaking World in Seattle

Look for more cool Spanish links coming soon!

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Chapter 7 Winding Down

Chapter 7 assessments are coming next week with the Pairs' Quiz on Tuesday and the Individual Test on Friday.

Students are reviewing the main math skills from the chapter including calculating slope, writing linear equations a.k.a., y = mx + b (given various pieces of information), writing equations for parallel and perpendicular lines, and solving rates of change-type story problems. Please check in with your daughter to see how she is doing and if she needs any last minute review before the quiz or test. There are several opportunities to get extra practice or help. Please ask!

Themes for Term Two!


So we're off and running with yet another round of themes based on our students' passionate interests! This time around, the process was much more streamlined - as the girls knew how to proceed and we didn't insist that they boil their selections down to one, huge over-arching theme. (à la Anthropology.) Instead, we allowed the girls to formulate several different themes that they'll delve into in the seven weeks that remain of term two. As you might expect, they came up with a list of riveting topics: Aspects of Outer Space, Creative Writing, Food and Nutrition, The Truth Behind Urban Myths (based on a favorite television show called Myth Busters) and America's Cultural History from 1950 to the present. Teams of three to six students are now in the process of developing their Theme Learning Contracts. Below I've included the details, to give you an idea of what we will be looking for. Feel free to grill your 8th grader for more specifics!

Guidelines for your Theme Learning Contract

The facts:
1. We have seven weeks with which to complete our theme work.
2. Your exploration must be educationally rigorous.
3. Your group must develop and get approval of a learning contract that you craft with the support of your teachers.
4. Your learning contract must contain a plan for a demonstration of learning.
5. Your group must complete all the requirements contained in your learning contract.
6. Your group must effectively craft and deliver a demonstration of learning.
7. Individuals in your group must meet weekly with their advisors to go over “goals and accomplishments and write a weekly “check-in” email. This email will contain both a self-evaluation as well as an evaluation of group dynamics.
8. Individuals in your group need to complete a self-assessment as well as peer-assessment.

Important questions to answer in your learning contract:
Step One - Define:
1. What is the definition and/or focus of your theme work?
2. Why is it meaningful and/or important to spend seven weeks learning about your group’s chosen theme?

Step Two - Develop:
3. What are your learning experiences going to be?
4. How are they going to contribute to your development and growth as a learner?

Step Three - Demonstrate:
5. What formats will you use to show what you’ve learned?
6. How will they effectively communicate the content and depth of your learning?

Learning Contract Expectations:
1. Your learning process must feel focused and deliberate, with obvious connections to your defined theme.
2. Your learning experiences must include opportunities to get academic content knowledge.
3. Your group must show clear intentions to collaborate in the learning process.
4. Your group must engage in consistent and continuous learning throughout the term.
5. Your group’s demonstration of learning must feel thorough and polished, with obvious evidence of effective group collaboration.


Gramma Sally's Sentence Sweat Shop!

As we move towards the FD (final draft) of our Anthropology Papers (which were mercifully delayed due to our three serendipitous snow days!!) we've engaged in a practice that we've "lovingly" dubbed "GRAMMA SALLY'S SENTENCE SWEAT SHOP." Basically, I've word-processed all the problematical sentences that appeared in the 39 RRDs (revised rough drafts)- we then turned them into "sentence strips" which the girls attached to scratch paper and then passed among themselves to re-write for the author. Each sentence received a minimum of three "re-writes" which were then presented to the author for consideration as she seeks to revise. The "sweat shop" aspect comes into play when you consider that we had 28 pages of problematical sentences!!

Preview of Coming Attractions: the FD for the Anthropology Paper will be due on Wednesday, January 21st.