The first thing you likely heard about today was Frankenstein. Your child will be able to tell you all about that if you didn't already hear about it. :) We discussed how he was a science experiment and created in a science lab. That got them very excited as they all said they were scientists, too! Perhaps they will invent something similiar when we begin our next big science exporatory investigation - magnetism, electricity, and circuits. :) Thank you to everyone who helped make this possible! Next week, we will be investigating volume as we go "across the disciplines" of science and math to apply what we have learned. :)

Speaking of "across the disciplines", it came to my attention that the last icon on the homework may not be as familiar to you as it is to us. For some children, they are still understanding how to generate a sentence (much higher level) while already identifying a sentence. The "across the disciplines" icon simply means that what is being discussed, read, or written involves more than one area of learning. Specifically, it might combine math, science, and technology.

Today we combined all STEM areas as your child practiced guided researching skills using iPads to research the first two structures in America made of stone (rock) that we are focusing on. It involves the vocabulary (language) of history, math, and government (the disciplines). Below are some examples of sentences written across those three disciples today after exploring three research questions on our iPads related to America Rocks! The parentheses show the disciplines that we linked in our research and discussion using the vocabulary critical to that field. Developing the "language of the discipline" (field) is critical to understanding and building background knowledge and explains why our class is designed around the Shining Stars in the Studio trying out the different roles. :)

- The White House (government) was constructed (engineering) out of sedimentary rock (petrology) called sandstone (petrology).
- We researched that the White House was constructed between 1792-1800 and calculated that it took eight years to build the house and work place of the President.  (Try this: Which disciplines or areas of study are involved in that sentence?)

While on the topic of homework, the article we read in class today is in the right center and involves the Tower of Terror. Our emphasis was on using context clues to determine the meaning of challenging vocabulary (apparitions, paranormal activity, and phantom). It's a short article stuffed with comprehension challenges, discussion of voice in writing, and a lengthy discussion on the author's purpose (shown to be a big learning opportunity for everyone in our class from previous activities). An author's purpose could include any of the following: entertain, teach, guide with a procedure, explain, describe, persuade, or inform. When reading at home, asking your child what the author's purpose likely was would be very helpful. That list is used in our class. What was the author's purpose of the article titled "Ghost Hunters Materialize at Hollywood Tower Hotel!" in the Disneyland homework for tonight? :) The homework tonight is simply for your child to tell you about the paragraph, explain a few new words and how they relate to the story from our discussion, and identify the author's purpose. :)

Speaking of authors, the biographies I ordered to teach the structure of a biography while learning about role models in all STEM areas arrived yesterday. Formation of our big challenge-based project is coming together and has formed a terrific link "across the disciplines" of history, science, math, and technology specifically. The big idea for the six weeks prior to holiday break will be Heroes Among Us: Change Over Time. :) Each night has been devoted to investigating ways to make technology do what I want to accomplish. It's very time consuming but is coming together into something that you will likely find amazing and a true treasure of the year. You will have a big part in the initial steps afterwhich your child will take over the process, then I will generate the final product consolidating the effort of everyone. True teamwork in action for a meaningful and impactful purpose. Since it's never been done before, it's taking many revisions and explorations. In fact, it would not have been possible without my connections to TED who have been allowing me to use a prototype (not even beta yet) through November when it should be released to the public. By then, many practice examples will be created and we should be able to create the big idea. I really want it to be as much of a surprise as possible for you, but your help will be needed. Stay tuned. :)

FYI-
Mrs. FF and I are taking off with the instructional and purposeful use of ipads in the classroom and will be meeting tomorrow afternoon to plan a way to get our math walls off the wall and onto iPads. :) The goal is to integrate apps that allow us to receive individualized feedback via a clicker app, report your child's exact answer to guide instruction/reteach on the spot, and collect itemized data on each element of our math and language walls. Since we create our own walls and know iPads well, we are eager to investigate a way to maximize the power of feedback from our customized content using iPads. Since we both have similar teaching styles and philosophies and worked well together in Cotsen for two years, we decided to team up. Wish us luck! :)

p.s. We have guest editors from our class now who enjoy reading the blog in search of errors. Since time is minimal, these posts are not reread as is always recommended in writing. Great writers always reread! :) :) :) It is very fun to hear what errors are found each day. The children are quite proud when they find them! They even find errors in printed book material and on websites. :) Fantastic! Happy hunting!

By the way, we are also on a QR code hunt collection. Please cut out QR codes you find on packages prior to throwing them away. :)