Soulful Chicago Book Fair

 Soulful Chicago Bookfair

Teaching Tech To Tots With Tiny Tips

The goal of my class is to teach children the skills they need to build technology outside of the classroom. The only way this happens is if the student practices at home. The best way that a student can practice at home is if the student can access the material at home and work independently.

In that spirit, I am making a list of software and hardware resources that you can use at home.

Coding Apps and Software:

code.org - a jump off point for teaching children computer languages, coding, and logic. The programming activities are simple, accessible, and don't require parents to actually LEARN a language. Just make sure the kid stays on task. For more involved parents there are lesson plans so you can pick and instruction path. It's a good introduction for kids who are intimidated. 

scratch.mit.edu - this is a "blocked-based" programming site that allows children to write code. They can make just about ANYTHING using this code. This is an online program with an offline program. So you can find the option that works best for your students. It also has extensions that allow you to program certain robots and other hardware.

Scratch Jr.  - Is a Pre-K version of Scratch. There are no words and it only works on tablets and some cellphones. It is a great alternative to YouTube or Subway Surfer. 

Make code is a resource where kids can use programming skills to program circuit boards, robots, and even Minecraft. The Microbit boards we will be using in class are inexpensive and can be bought from Adafruit technologies or Amazon.micro:bit

Hardware:

Micro:bit  is a programmable circuit bard. It can do so many things that the only limits are your child's imagination. It is low cost and high value. It works with computers and cell phones.

Raspberry Pi (YouTube it)- This is a LOW ($5-$35) cost computer that students have A LOT of control over. They use SD cards for Hard drives and they connect to flat screen TV's or monitors (with a special adapter). It comes with a lot of software to teach programming and you can plug things into the raspberry pi like lights, sensors, cameras, and servos and program them from the software. 

My Test!

Do my test.

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Welcome Back!

Welcome Back!

Welcome to the Dali! This is the newsletter that I use to keep parents in the loop on what we are doing in class. 

I try to keep things short and sweet. So let's go!

Course Work:
I will be teaching science and history. I teach science through research, inquiry, and experimentation. History is taught by teaching children to use primary sources and debate ideas. 

Homework:
I usually give homework four nights out of the week. Most of it will be reading and study questions. Grades for homework usually appear the day that it is due. It is graded "pass/fail". Completed homework will be graded with 100% for completed, 50% for incomplete, and 0% for missing. 

Tests:
Test are given weekly, on Friday. The tests will be on whatever we studied that week. Because I test on how well a student can apply the concepts taught, Thursday night cramming is fairly useless. Students should try to understand concepts as they are presented. 

Communication:
I can be reached by phone, text, or e-mail(your child should have the number in their notes). You can track your child's grades through Engrade. Click on these links to find the app for Android and iOS (Apple). 

You can track your child's behavior on Class Dojo. You should have already signed up for a parent account. You can also track your child's progress through the Class Dojo app (iOS and Android). 
  

Why Are We Learning This?

Last Week

Pierre reads his short story to the class.

A student holds Fahrenheit 451,
a book on the
Bucket List of Science Fiction

Because of a staff illness, we had to rearrange some plans in Science. While the students were asked to keep up with their Lesson 4 reading, we worked on building inference skills as we read They Are Made Of Meat, a short story by Terry Bisson. As we read, students were asked to write what they knew and, as a result, what they could infer, (ex: we know that the characters collect samples and study them. We can INFER that they are scientists.)

Children experience a "bomb drill" to get context about the
short story, "There Will Come Soft Rains" by Ray Bradbury.

We also touched on how authors have used science fiction to investigate how science and technology effects our lives now and in the future. Many science fiction stories investigate themes such as nuclear war, peace, and religion. As an exercise in narrative writing, I asked the students to write their own science fiction story. I was impressed and entertained.

I am editing them for grammar, spelling, and style. (this was a pass/fail grade. They received full points for completing it) 

As a bonus, I gave my students a 'Bucket List" of Science Fiction literature.
What would you add to the list. Feel free to comment. 

Next week

5th through 7th will focus on the WHY's of scientific research in preparation for the UNIT test on Friday. They can use previous tests and flashcards as study guides.

8th Grade will take a test on Tuesday on the history of life on earth. I predict they will do well. From there we will examine classification. They are already familiar with the vocabulary and concepts I expect them to do well.

They have already had access to the cards. I am sharing them with you.

The Best Plane EVER!

Last Week

5th, 6th, and 7th grades studied about how we get scientific

Osamu Imamura places a paper airplane in a
wind tunnel. His plan? To launch this plane
from space!

knowledge. They learned how and why we form new hypothesis and come up with new scientific ideas. As a lab, the students are working on a long-term project of testing airplanes to see which types flies the farthest.
Next week, we will be completing our experiment, looking at our result, and sharing our procedure with other classes to get consensus on our findings. 

This mosquito is trapped in amber. It may
actually have fed on dinosaurs!

8th Grade studies fossils! We talked about how fossils are formed and made our own "fossils" using Play-Doh. This lesson was important in understanding the proof behind the theory of evolution. 
     


    
Next Week

Dyson claims that its vacuum cleaners
are superior. Can we prove it?

5th, 6th, and 7th grades Will be finishing their paper airplane experiment. Can you help them by making air planes at home. What other questions can you think of that involve paper airplanes. We will also be studying and reviewing for our Unit 1 test. You can help by asking them questions about what they learned in this unit. 



8th  grade we will be learning about the geologic time scale and how we measure and record the age of the Earth and the life on it. 

Learn and Do!

         
Next Week

These students are learning about light refraction and reflection
after testing. Remember children learn by experience. Please watch
"5 Dangerous Things For Your Kids to Do"
 in the Parent Resource Center
(right pane of this page)

5th, 6th, and 7th grades will be studying about how scientific ideas are formed. The chapter will be broken into two sections. Your child will be served well if you read with them or, at the least, talk to you about what they have read. If you can't tell you much, then maybe you should have them read to you while you are doing another task (driving, cooking, working in the garden). Most of the poor grades in this class are due to poor reading comprehension. Fixing this is going to be a TEAM EFFORT!

Reading comprehension is a challenge for this generation. Science and History studies are CORE classes that help students with text-to-world connections. 

8th  grade will be studying the evidence of evolution. This is a very tricky subject for the student and the teacher. Our faith gives us one picture of creation while science, at times, gives us another. It takes wisdom to know which story to believe and, more importantly, when the two stories are saying the same thing. What do you know about dinosaurs and fossils? Have a conversation with your child about your experience and thoughts on evolution. All conversation is good conversation. 
Below is a video that might help to get the conversation started. 
          
Flashcards for 5th- &th are below... or just check Engrade. 

5th - 7th grade Flash Cards (Law vs. Theory)