Friday, September 20, 2013

sept 20

Dimensions, units, scale, scale maps for 61

More draw squad for 62
sept 19

police guest lecture

math dimensions
Sept 18

62 science

control boxes

September 17

61 math

D5 and measurement quiz

September 16

61 math

D5
Measuring dimensions

62 science

in class survey
handback

61 prep

in class survey
interview questions
pepsi lab

Friday, September 13, 2013

September 13

62 science/

My responsibilities hand-out from the learning inventory.
What is science questionnaire
Garbage can definition

ALT/

Materials lab demo split between A and I. Clean up and report help walk around.

62/ math

D5
Games
Manipulatives
3D drawing of a rocket ship
September 12

62 Science/

1991 number puzzle
Pepsi re-do of hypothesis lesson

61 prep/

Daily 5 first run. Went really well. Did Strategy games and vocabulary (based on the measurment in different contexts hand-out) and teacher table introduction to 3D 2D and 1D.

62/ Math

Daily 5 first run. Tech was there for the whole period.

Parent-teacher night.

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

September 11

61/

Lumber relocation from RV garage and wood saw training.

62/

A was arrested during this period and S and JH were at eachother's throats. The Pepsi demo failed because the mini-cans did not function as the big cans do. Also, a look at MEasurements in different contexts.

61/

Bloom's taxonomy activity.

Tomorrow each class will run a demo of  the D5.
September 10

61/

Labyrinth and False Assumptions activity

62/

Survival/Contextual activity and 3-game rotation.

61/

False Assumptions continuation. CO2 demo.

Monday, September 9, 2013

September 9

62/

Prepared each students binders. Re-hashed the routine for math using the D5. Spent 20 minutes as a class on Frayer Vocabulary: Measurement, Estimate, Distance. Spent a few minutes on the Measure Mission hand-out.

Lit/

Introduced the news paper

61/

Grade level Assembly in the Auditorium. Binder organization.

62/

Science was in the schedule but we had a lot of unfinished business from math. I relented and let the class do math instead of science ... but it lacked the routine of math class and there were dissenters. Class broke apart and we were not as productive. It was the wrong call, lesson learned. Stick to the schedule.

We worked on the Measure Mission and then did some 3D drawing.

Saturday, September 7, 2013

September 6

62/

Finished McLuhan/Illusion presentation as a model for math problem solving behaviour.

Water cup experiment. So-so investigation.

62/

Stage talk and math D5 routine discussion including map on the board of rotating math stations.

Draw Squad Mars House lesson. Well received. Related it to vocabulary, drawing, and math and the value of D5; not everyone will be good at everything and that doesn't matter because this is true of everything.

Alt BBQ

S decided to quit Alt and come back to the WOTP.

Alt is a very different energy than WOTP. I was not expecting anything so profound. It was well described by SS as being the difference between needy students and independent students. My students in WOTP are needy and crave a parental relationship due to their child-like mentality. Naturally A, S, and myself all fall into parental roles with them. We chase after them and we show them affection and make it clear that they are valued and heard. It makes my classroom more like an elementary classroom than any other high school classroom.

Alt is the opposite. The students want nothing to do with a parental relationship what-so-ever. Their class is more akin to a Cegep level class than any other high school classroom. The don't wear uniforms, they wear hats, they curse, they live adult lives socially speaking, and refer to their teachers by their first names. It has almost a Res atmosphere, or atleast a frat house to some degree. These students feel disdain for the school and for authority and crave only their own space. Working with them will be a very different experience from WOTP.

Thursday, September 5, 2013

September 5

61/

McLuhan presentation. Illusions and modeling good mathematician behaviour. Illusions took several minutes to decode and the class was very supportive. The revelation when the illusions became clear is the mental activity that is to be sought out when solving math problems.

62/

Stage talk

S and R disruption dur to R from last year. Tried to broker a peace.

McLuhan illusion presentation. Only got as far as the two women.

61/

Frayer Vocabulary: Context and Measurement. We also did the water drop race lab to drive home the point that different context equals different behaviour when using water. Context change also resulted in a different priority list when using the survival items for a plane crash versus a zombie apocalypse. We also discussed ideal context for math class.

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

September 4

61/

More routine prep for D5

Frayer Vocabulary words: Counting, numbers, Billings

The Patti survival group activity with the zombie apocalypse context-shift

Zombie dice the game

61/

Draw Squad

Kicked T out for not participating, from now on it's get with the program or get out. I am no longer interested in tailoring this program to each student. I am a believer in the program, it isn't for everyone but it is for some. Hard line.

The water cup-paper inquiry lesson as a model for how to approach a math problem.

Jenga and Bataflash.
September 3, 2013

61/ Discussion about seating plans. Free choice right now but I reserved the right to relocate students. I would later do exactly that.

Used the post-it opening I found on r/teachers along with the tree-climbing comic to address accommodation.

Introduced the math routine of the Daily 5 (henceforth D5).

Developed objective seeking skills by dropping water drops on coins (predict how many will fit and then add water drops via pipette or dropper to coins, a real crowd pleaser).

Introduced the Frayer vocabulary model and used the words Life and Billings and Music as practice.

Discussed the WOTP program as a whole and the concept of stages.

62/ Same as above.

Lit/ Getting to know the students.

61/ Draw Squad alien house and stage talk.