We are starting to plant our vegetables (well, next week after we order the seeds). Each group worked together to figure out what their individual grow system could produce and how quickly it could produce that food. This process was a little more complicated than many students thought (and it involved reading the entire website). Today was a really productive and collaborative day.
Feel free to ask your child what they are going to grow and why!
We took a break from our look at the government and our community and instead focused on something out of this world: Mars (more specifically, the Perseverance rover). We looked at the amazing mathematical feat of landing the rover. Students calculated the rover’s speed and altitude while landing. A copy of our work can be found here. We also watched the landing video, which can be found here.
One of the things we focused on in class today was SNAPs (supplemental nutrition assistance program…or what we would previously refer to as food stamps). What I want students to be aware of is that poverty and hunger know no bounds. Many people facing poverty have families, have jobs, and have real struggles. It is not a race issues; but a societal issue.
Attached are some charts and graphics we used to discuss poverty and hunger (linked here). Please look over the document and bring up the conversation at home about hunger). Get your child to start thinking about how this issue does inflict our society, but how we can work to make this situation better/help those in need.
With the wonderful snowy weather this past week, we have made sure to get outside and take advantage as much as possible. We spend a good deal of our time sledding the hill (with recently found sleds mind you). It does get a bit cold and wet out there so please do your best to remind your child to wear weather-appropriate clothing to school (or at least bring some extra socks to school).
The transition back to physical school has not been completely seamless. There have been a few bumps in the road. One area I have noticed we as a class (not any one individual student, but something across the board) have struggled is that of shouting out, talking over each other, and generally not listening.
Today, we did some mini-debates. Students got different topics, had to prepare some research on those topics, and then “debated” with a classmate. They had to follow strict rules of listening and asking questions, not interrupting, and respecting everyone’s opinion.
It turned out to be an awesome activity and a way to get the kids to listen to their classmates and be respectful.
President-Elect Biden was sworn in yesterday, becoming our next President. Much of the news that followed after his inauguration was on what he was doing next. The term “executive order” was thrown around a lot, which prompted numerous questions from kids on what that meant.
Never fear, we covered what an executive order is and some historical examples (click on the link here). We looked at how some presidents have used those orders to enact wholesale changes. Afterward, students looked at some of the executive orders President Biden signed yesterday (linked here). Check out the list and start a dinner conversation tonight with your child concerning their thoughts on some of the actions of President Biden.
Regardless of political ideology, a Presidential Inauguration is an interesting and exciting time. There is lots of pomp and rituals surrounding the peaceful transfer of power.
Today, we will participate in the inauguration in our own way. First, students will come up with their own, briefer version of the inauguration address; which is designed to bring people together. Students will write their own version and hopefully, deliver their speech to their classmates (a copy of the assignment is linked here). Next, we are going to be watching whatever part of the ceremony happens to be on during our class (linked here). During this time, students will be playing a bit of an I-Spy game in which they need to find different people, places, and things along the way. The activity is linked here. Finally, students are going to be reading an article which highlight some of the plans President Biden has for the 1st 100 days he is in office (article linked here). From there, they will put forth some issues they believe the President should address right away while in office (the activity is linked here).
We now have a new president in power in our country (I am writing this before the inauguration so hopefully I did not jinx anything). My hope is that students can disregard whatever party allegiance they have and start to focus on working together to solve some of the issues that plague our country. Please discuss with them some of the things you and they can do to help make our country and world a better place.
There is link between poverty and hunger. If someone has limited amount of money, their ability to purchase food becomes strained. This should be common sense, but to many; it is not. For our students, we will soon better understand that connection.
Beginning today, students will track what they are eating during the day. They will write down what they eat (and the servings of what they eat) until the end of the day on Friday. This document (not to be shared with others; it is not meant as a way to shame or publicize what people are eating, but for a personalize view at what it costs to live) will serve as a springboard for our conversations about poverty, hunger, and government programs created to address those issues (such as SNAPS program).
Next week, after each student has successfully recorded their food consumption (on the document linked here), we will determine how much money we (or you, the kind and generous parent) are spending on food compared to how many of those in poverty afford to eat the food they do. In the meantime, I encourage you to speak with your child about the food choices they are making and the real costs associated with those choices.
As the House of Representatives moves to debate impeaching President Trump for the second time, we are left with the question of: should President Trump be impeached or not?
As difficult as it is, it is not my place to say to the students what I truly believe on the impeachment process. My job is to provide them with the information they need in order to make an educated decision and have an educated discussion. We as a class discussed the pros and cons of impeachment, as well as the actual structure of the impeachment process. All of that work culminated in the students answering the question: should we impeach or not impeach President Trump.
Students posted their opinions on our class Flipgrid (linked here). The next day, each student was asked to respond to their classmates, as well as students in other grades. The idea behind this posting is for students to share their informed opinion, provide evidence to support their claim, and question what others think is a respectful manner. Please feel free to check out our Flipgrid discussion and start your own at home.
The events from last week set off a firestorm of great learning opportunities for our class. One of the biggest touch points for our students thus far has been the banning of President Trump from numerous social media sites. Regardless of politics, this action by these companies creates an amazing debate and learning opportunity for students.
We started our discussion with a simple question: does social media have the right to ban President Trump? Students wrote their answers onto a semi-public platform (our Google Classroom discussion board). From there, we examined the actual 1st Amendment text, focusing on who/what entity the 1st Amendment focused on (the amendment is linked here). This alone created a wealth of conversations for our students, ranging from terms of agreements to bias in the media.
Lastly, we started to dip our toes into some more nuanced topics related to the 1st Amendment, specifically Section 230 (this has been popularized in the news as of late and some students were asking about it). Students watched a video and answered questions related to Section 230 (the video is linked here).
We will come full circle with our conversation by doing our best to applying Section 230 to media companies and try to answer the question of who has and who should have the right of censorship/controlling what people are saying. Is the power of censorship currently biased and in the right hands?
Regardless of your political leaning, I implore you to broach these topics with your child. Ask them what they think and press them when they give their answers (which are generally vague and without supporting evidence). By doing this, you are helping them develop numerous important skills and further expanding their thought process and opinions.