August 31, 2007 (Day 10)

Reflections
In Morning Meeting, we prepared “good luck” cards for the faculty/staff of the preschool, the church, and the outreach center. In Spanish, we took our test and looked over the rubric for the Aztecs/Cortes research paper.  We will work on this for the next few weeks.  In Math, we reviewed the homework problems and examined various ways to approach probability and fractions.  In Humanities, we took our test and then discussed the Bull Island trip and connections to the Native Americans we are studying.  In Science, we took our quiz and reviewed yesterday’s expedition. In flex time, we delivered cookies and the cards to the faculty/staff on campus.

August 30, 2007 (Day 9)

Reflections
We went to Bull Island today.  We gathered at the school and then drove to the dock in Awendaw.  There we took the ferry to Bull Island, and our guide for the day was Ian Sanchez from Coastal Expeditions.

The 30-minute ferry ride at 9:00 AM was serene, and we learned how the estuary we passed through was the “nursery of the sea” After landing on the Bull Island dock, we got acclimated (bees, butterflies, and moths).  We then walked along the perimeter and identified and sampled some plants from the forest.  A highlight was standing on two Sewee Indian oyster shell mounds: similar piles were created over thousands of years by these indigenous people.  We then headed to the interior and surveyed the wildlife and plants of the freshwater impoundment ponds.  Shortly thereafter, we made our way to the beach.  Although we did not have time to see the Boneyard Beach up close (the result of the erosion of the north side of the island, exposing trees to the ocean), we learned a great deal from our explorations along the water’s edge. We identified shells, discussed the erosion process, and examined tidal cycles.

(L) Passing through the estuary.

(R) Learning about lichen.

(L) Walking to theshell mounds.

(R) Under the canopy of a massive oak tree.

(L) On the edge of the beach.

(R) The beach. 

(L) A Ghost Crab perched atop plastic debris.

(R) Exoskeleton of a horseshoe crab.

(L) An impressive collection!

(R) The interior of Bull Island.

We made it back to the dock at noon, and it was a pleasant ride back to Awendaw.  We ate our lunch and watched a pod of dolphins.  We thanked the ferry boat captain and Mr. Sanchez for an excellent adventure, and we headed back to school.  Upon our return, we reviewed what we encountered and formally integrated these discoveries into our studies in Science and Humanities.

August 29, 2007 (Day 8)

Reflections
The highlight of the day stemmed from our trip to the Shem Creek Boat Landing.  We spent some time writing about what we saw, and then we discussed changes from our last visit.  We saw the difficulty the changing tide posed for a boater maneuvering his craft onto his trailer: he began with the front of his boat pointed towards the dock to offset the power of the tide!  Our presence intrigued a local kayak/scuba guide, and he called us over.  Bob Weaver showed us a number of his finds from Shem Creek and the Cooper River.  They included pottery shards (thousands of years old) with a water/wave pattern, a spear point, an arrow head, the vertebrae of a shark and a whale, and a Great White shark tooth. We were truly astounded by the 6-inch Carcharodon megalodon tooth (a huge prehistoric shark that lived over 10 million years ago) and the mammoth tooth.  These finds linked to our studies in science, humanities (especially pre-history), and our changing planet (the oceans reached to the area around Columbia millions of years ago).

Assignments
Spanish
TEST FRIDAY
–  Activities for Wednesday afternoon/evening –    Do the study/worksheet with the vocabulary and conversations (write the Spanish for each)   With it completed, double-checked for accuracy, and studied,, test yourself by covering the Spanish and trying to write the Spanish again, comparing your answers with the paper’s. The written part of YOUR TEST WILL COME FROM THAT SHEET (both sides).

–  Activities for Thursday afternoon/evening – To prepare for the oral part of your test , try again to get on “studyspanish.com”, go to “cultural notes” on left, then to # 2, “El Alamo.”  Listen carefully to how the native speakers read it and pronounce each word.. Repeat and try to mimic it exactly.
If you can’t get on that web page, try “byki.com” to listen to correct pronunciation and practicing it.  If you can’t do that, then just read all your Spanish notes and words out loud, being careful to pronounce all vowels correctly.
BE PREPARED!!  If you do these things, I am sure you will do very well!

Math
* homework must always be submitted in paper format.  You can do it by hand or typed on the computer and printed out , but the process (your work and calculations) must be shown.
Corrections from earlier homework due (if corrections needed or not fully submitted)
#1) from 8/27 – hours in the school year (include estimations you make)
#2) from 8/29 – volume comparison of two cylinders
#3) from 8/29 – homework time averages
Today) there were four questions dealing with fractions and comparisons

Humanities
TEST FRIDAY
– the test will cover chapters 1, 4, 5, 6, 7 and the short story “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson
– format of the test will be matching, fill-in-the blank, short answer, and discussion questions

Science
– for Thursday – be prepared for Bull Island – you will pick up your field journal from our room before we leave for the trip

– for Friday – complete Scientific Method chart with the article – quiz on the Scientific Method

August 28, 2007 (Day 7)

Reflections (Anita, Tommy, Adam, and Anna Grace)

In Morning Meeting, we used the notebook computers to write up each student’s data on homework (the amount of time the homework in each class takes) along with a comment on the degree of difficulty.  The pool of data was then used as the basis for the in-class work in Math.

In Spanish, we went over homework and worked on the pronunciation of Spanish words. We also wrote out our homework in Spanish and learned what all of the words meant.

In Math, we addressed the following data and questions:
Answer the following questions about the time spent on homework for each class:

1. Determine the average amount of homework time for each class.
2. Determine overall average of time spent per night on homework.
3. Give analysis and recommendations based on the data [averages and range].

Spanish data range: 10, 20, 15, 35, 30, 30, 15, 15, 35
Math data range: 10, 25, 20, 25, 30, 25, 15, 20, 30
Humanities (longer class – English and History) range: 15, 5, 15, 40, 5, 30, 10, 35, 40
Science data range: 15, 30, 30, 30, 20, 20, 20, 60, 15

In Humanities, we went over lessons 7 and 8. We learned how Indians back in the 15th century lived life and made use of their surroundings. The Sioux Indians did not get along with other Native Americans when they did not understand them. We also learned that animals like foxes and wolves are making a huge comeback, and we also discussed how humans are moving into the Grizzly’s and Black Bears’ territory.

In Science, Mrs. Ewing set up her laptop and the projector. We talked about scientific method and the tide experiment on a slide show. Our homework is reading the “Good Coffee” article.  In preparation for the article, we walked to the Starbucks in the neighboring shopping center.  We made estimates of the time it would take us to walk there, and we gauged distance by measuring stride length and keeping track of the number of steps.

Mentor Zach Thames also spent the last hour of the day with us.

Assignments (Anita, Tommy, Adam, and Anna Grace)

Spanish
If you have not completed the puzzle and worksheets, then complete them and also practice your pronunciations at www.studyspanish.com.  Do lessons 1-8, 26, 28 and 38 – practice out loud.  Study the vocabulary: meanings, spellings, and pronunciations of the conversation.   TEST ON FRIDAY.

Math
We used a standard 8.5×11 piece of paper for making a tall and short cylinder last week, and we discovered through filling them that the short cylinder holds more.  Prove this mathematically (place into the grid used in class).
Pi = 3.14
Radius of a circle = circumference divided by 2 x pi
Circumference of a circle = the outside perimeter of a circle, 2 x pi x radius
Area of a circle = pi x radius x radius OR 3.14 x radius x radius
Volume of a circle = pi x radius x radius x height
Show your work in answering the following questions for both cylinders:

1. Base/circumference
2. Radius
3. Height
4. Volume

Humanities
The book cover is due tomorrow.  Please also review the short story – “The Lottery.”

Science
Read the “Good Coffee” article

August 27, 2007 (Day 6)

Reflections 
The students delivered their survival projects today (including a backpack with necessary items and appropriate attire) geared to their specific region of the Earth. The regions included North Africa, jungles of India, the mountains of North Carolina, and the North Pole. 

Assignments
Spanish
Keep practicing the correct pronunciation of the words we’ve been using in class. Be sure to KNOW what all the words of the conversation mean and how to respond correctly to each question. You should also have copied the cognates into your workbook. Check out byki.com and practice with the vocabulary from “Meeting and Greeting 1”

Math
– make corrections to Friday’s quiz
– in-class problem due (How many hours will you be in school this year?).  Show your work

Humanities
Book cover project is due on Wednesday. Each student has been assigned a chapter from the Hakim book to present to the class. Be ready to go on your assigned day.  Here are the eras of American history as presented by Joy Hakim:
1-The First Americans – up to 1600
2-Making Thirteen Colonies – 1600-1740
3-From Colonies to Country – 1735-1791
4-The New Nation – 1789-1850
5-Liberty for All? – 1820-1860
6-War, Terrible War – 1855-165
7-Reconstructing America – 1865-1890
8 – An Age of Extremes – 1880-1917
9 – War, Peace, and All That Jazz – 1918-1945
10 – All the People – since 1945

Science
Complete reports from today’s presentations.