The Importance Of Being Earnest

We Work Even Harder 

Students show their coins at MSI's Fab Lab.

Our student's visit to the Museum was so exciting. They actually had a chance to get see their first 3D prints. They made custom coins. This week, they put those coins on chain. I can't wait to see the finished products. 

This week: 

Experimenting with mixtures.

The 6th and 7th graders continued their study of Pure Substances and Mixtures. I've increased the number of formative assessments (those are like non-graded pop quizzes) to get a better picture of their daily development. I've increased the amount of support that I've given the class. Unfortunately, the classes test average was very low. My formative assessments showed me that the students were struggling with basic vocabulary. Yet, my students had little to no inquiry about what they were reading about. I felt their was little ownership of the material and all of the efforts seemed focused on a rote memorization of the vocabulary. The poor reading comprehension stems from poor reading habits that we are working on breaking. 

8th grade pretend to be ribosomes producing proteins.

8th grade spent this week visualizing the cell and it's organelles as a city: ComEd = the mitochondria, UPS= the Golgi Complex, factory workers = ribosomes. We even made an assembly line to represent the production of proteins. Most of the class did an exemplary job on their assessment. Please check Engrade and congratulate them on their excellent scholarship. 

Next Week:

6th and 7th grade will practice independent study in class. They will be broken into study groups and given study tasks that will start with creating an experiment and end with a presentation. I'm am concerned that many of my students are not "leaning in" and taking the initiative to understand ideas. One of the skills they will practice is called interrogative reading. They will be given text, they will have to read a portion of the text and use post-it notes to "ask questions" of the text. These questions can range from vocabulary to passages that are confusing or unclear. Then the student will have to answer that question. This is a skill that all readers have. If you are not asking questions... then you are not reading. 

8th Grade will build upon their knowledge of the cell to learn how they build organisms. They will also be doing specialized projects to visualize and understand how cells, tissues, and organs are related. 

Look out for information about Science Fair research papers. 

Cellular Service

Does It Really Matter?
(see flashcards below)
This Week:

Students have been getting into the fundamentals of the universe. 

Zari and Kennedy watch bubbles form in a mysterious
chemical reaction brought on by electrolysis. 

The 6th and 7th graders have been learning about the nature of chemical and physical properties and changes. They used electrolysis to split water molecules and create rust. They then learned about different mixtures and their definitions. We will continue to explore these concepts as time goes on. 

Trinity is demonstrating how phospholipids
pull water into the cell. 

The 8th graders have been learning about the cell. We experimented with cellular structures and functions. We even went on a "special mission" that allowed us to operate a virtual cell. We had fun  as we were able to actually see our DNA as it was freed from the cellular membrane. 

Both classes used their new 3D modeling skills to make custom "coins" in the MSI Fab Lab. The Chicago Public Library has a similar program. Click here to learn about it. 

Micah waits for the DNA strains to appear in a solution of
dish detergent, blue dye, and alcohol.

Next Week:

We will continue to explore these subjects as we take the IOWA tests. Please make sure those brains get the calories and rest they need to be powerful. Complex carbohydrates and and Omega fats are the order of the day (ask your 8th grader)!


Concerns from the Teacher:

I consider the parents of my students as my primary partner in the education of my students. What you do with them at home has a direct effect on what happens in my classroom. I believe the parents of my students are the real key to Cambridge's successes. So I need your help on 3 different fronts. 

1.Please talk to your child about public decorum and paying attention. We've been at the museum for 3 weeks now. The primary challenge that we have has been a lot of the students being off task. Some of them don't even finish in- class assignments. We want to get the most out of this experience. Please help them by talking with them about task management and personal discipline.  Unfortunately,  to maintain safety,  I may have to ask some of the students to stay behind if they can not remain focused and follow directions. 
2.Make sure you child is actually reading their homework!  My students are given weekly reading assignments. Most of my students do NOT do the reading. They "read over" the words without attempting to comprehend the text. It is my hypothesis that this is their primary struggle with reading comprehension. It's not that they CAN'T decode what they are reading, they don't CARE to decode. If you don't believe me, try this experiment. While you are speaking to your child, use a big word that you know they don't know. Later, ask them if they know what that word means. I predict that they will not know and they WILL NOT ASK. This is the primary cause of poor comprehension and small vocabularies among our students. Ask them about the text and hold them accountable. It will pay off in high school. Teachers often teach "flipped" classes where all of the lectures are done online, at home, and class time is only for labs. Children who do not read or SEEK to understand will be left behind. 

3.Watch more TV with them. Less reality TV and more educational TV. No television is just as bad as too much television. Sometimes I find that my students have a knowledge gap that I attribute to not seeing enough of the world. Television, although imperfect in a lot of ways, does a great job of delivering a variety of images and visual experiences that inform one's world view. A little History Channel or Discovery goes a long way. Nova Science Now! is an exciting and relevant sow on PBS. Television is like food. It makes more sense to judge the chef rather than the dish. (I LOVE metaphors!) See the Parent Resource Center to the right of this post for Nova Science Now! and the Mythbusters online video sites. 

Evolution of the Producer

Look What I Can DO!

Last Week:

Mr. Payne is SO happy
about his paper cell.

The GC6-DC2 spent the week reviewing concepts that we have not mastered. Some of our children have suffered when the lesson schedule takes precedence over mastery. If a majority of my students show that they are deficient in a skill or subject area, I feel I am obligated to put on the brakes, and do it again. That is where we found ourselves this week and the test scores were so much better. Please check Engrade and congratulate your child appropriately. 

Joshua Lambert uses InkScape to design his keychain.

The highlight of this week had to be our first of 10 classes and the Museum of Science and Industry. Our students took a tour of the Fab Lab. They learned that the lab they were in was one of hundreds around the world that not only provide the same services, but collaborate with each other in real time over video conference. We were fascinated at the large screen in front of us showed people working in a lab just like our in Germany, Africa, and South America. 

I am going to need each household to make sure the InkScape and Google SketchUp software on the right are downloaded and installed on each computer.  I will be sending homework to reinforce the skills that children will be learning at the museum. You may call me for tech support. You can click on the underlined words in this paragraph or the link in the Parent Resource center. 

Marquan watches as an infrared laser cuts plastic.
He can't wait until it's his turn.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with a Fab Lab, let me explain. 

As a teacher and again citizen, I have anxiety about this generations ability to MAKE things. We have become a consumer culture that do not know how the machines and electronics that we rely on work. Yet, we are increasingly dependant on them.

There students are proud of their creations. 

My goal for the students at Cambridge is to turn them into a class of students that knows how things work and how to produce things that are useful to themselves and to the world. This can be any skill from fixing electronics, making vehicles, to growing and cooking food. In my quest to fill the skill vacuum that is becoming larger in our society, I have a philosophy that I make each student memorize: "I am a producer, not a consumer."

Remember it!

History:

What does this man's dress
and facial hair tell about the time
in which he lived. 

We learned about timelines and how American music and Fashion have changed over time. Most of my students didn't get it. Many of them thought that Elvis was popular in 1910. I will own those misconceptions. At the same time, help your child's history teacher and watch historical films with them. Some suggestions: Roots, Shaka Zulu (warning: there is some tasteful yet frequent nudity in both), Titanic, Lincoln, Glory, Eyes on the Prize, Far and Away, Little House on the Prairie. The point, let them see how people behaved and acted at different times in history. This will give them a fundamental perspective that is so important to understanding history. 

F.Y.I. The phrase,"Back in the day," will be treated as profanity and has no place in my classroom. 

Next Week:

6th and 7th will be learning about the properties of Matter. I will be sending a message in Engrade with a "study rap" don't dismiss it just because it is fun. It is VERY informative. 

8th grade is also receiving a message that will have a song about the functions of a cell. They will be learning about cellular function and the organelles that carry them out. 

Family Study

Study With Me!

This week, I have learned how to embed study cards in my blog. Use the cards embedded below to help your child study for my difficult yet fair tests. 

Your child has also signed up for a Study Stack account (studystack.com). Please look it over for them and ask them for the username and password. This web site also works with several apps for iPhone and Android for in-transit study. 

GC6 and DC1



DC2