This blog began in Room 52 at AMG Junior and Senior Public School in 2011.
This site has followed me to a few schools since then and now joined the roster of retired blogs in the social media universe. The journey and reflection will continue in different and exciting spaces.
Room 52 remains one of the most significant places of teaching and learning for me and grateful to the students and staff who supported me there. Thank you.
This is a reminder of what a Myth is. It is not your typical short story. Here are a couple of videos to help with a re-explanation of it, in case you forgot.
Here is a sample:
Mathematics: Angles
To supplement our current lessons on angle relationships, there are a number of games posted on GC that will help you.
UPDATE: I was having some difficulty uploading some items to GC which relate to angle relationships. For now, I will post the 2 images here and post them when GC is working properly.
The drawing I did, which I want you to do. You will be given a handout to help you with remembering where the angles relationships are located.
As Ms. Carol pointed out: There are 2 grids on the protractor. With the angles highlighted in orange, you can see that one 1s 130 degree Obtuse one and one is a 50 degree Acute one; together they make a 180 degree angle!
Reading: New York Times'What's Going On in This Picture?
a) Since we have not done this in a while, I thought we might use this image as a group warmup:
b) Here is the one we will do today. It is due today. You must show it to me so I can record who has completed it. Lates are not permitted for this short exercise.
There seems to have been a major shift in the TDSB towards a Constructivist approach to teaching Math. What is that? Consider this definition:
"Students need to construct their own understanding of each mathematical concept, so that the primary role of teaching is not to lecture, explain, or otherwise attempt to 'transfer' mathematical knowledge, but to create situations for students that will foster their making the necessary mental constructions." (from http://mathforum.org/mathed/constructivism.html) I am of two minds on this approach. In the photo below, the class used some prior knowledge of angle relationships (check out the photo of KWL chart) to work on this investigation. We took up the answer and talked about it but, as I write this, I realize that a more detailed lesson will need to supplement this.
Some of these videos fill in the theory related to this investigation, but it is not a substitute for a solid review of these topics. This will happen on Monday.
My version of a note, recorded by the students
I am going to look at the homework I assigned on Friday and make a few notes on the questions and then repost them on Google Classroom (GC). This may be helpful to some students who found it initially a little confusing. I will do this before 7p.m.
As for my commentary on Constructivist approaches, that will also have to wait but here is a small commentary, in the form of an editorial cartoon:
I wouldn't agree and suggest that Constructivism is a "Weapon of Math Destruction." That is quite an extreme assertation. There are benefits to investigating and trying to make sense of Mathematical challenges. At the same time, I do believe there is a much needed place to learn foundational skills, which have unfortunately been referred to as a drill and kill approach to Math instruction. Balance, will all things in life, is key. It is not intent to write an essay here, but I thought I would share my thoughts on the matter.
After completing the first portion of homework, we will come back to this detailed video. There is a lot of information in it, so become overwhelmed!
For this test, a brief Study Sheet was required. This was assigned on GC and placed on the Homework board. The final test of this unit also requires a Study Sheet. I constructed one and will review the concepts in class today. I will place this in the appropriate section in GC.
Although the students are working on the note-taking Tide Pod Challenge article, I began 3 samples of note-taking for the class to see.
For today's exercise, we will reinforce some of your skills by looking at a topic that I heard about last week and was reminded about -- thanks, Simon -- yesterday. THIS IS A SERIOUS MATTER.
Before we begin, let us look at some facts:
You will be given a short article and in your table groups, you will be responsible for using 1 of the 3 methods, outlined below, to record some notes on this social media trend.
Before items are posted on GC, the homework is written on this part of the front board. Over the next few weeks, before the final reports of Term 1 are printed, we will be playing some catch-up on assignments. We will also be moving forward with Term 2 work. Take this opportunity to catch up on items. Our class is full of great, helpful students that you can ask for help or about an assignment you are uncertain about.
On Friday, my son Rhys came into the classroom to help me clean up a little. He wrote the class a note, which I will read on Monday and he wrote a couple of inspirational notes on the whiteboard. You will probably see it, but here is a shot of it.
I couldn't find my phone to take photos of this exercise, so I used the document camera instead.
The intention of this sample, demonstrated by me, along with the subsequent group work, was to support the short but involved homework questions, which will be taken up on Thursday.
Although it is difficult to tell, the student groups are working on constructing data using the coloured cubes.
Student sample with all the results being the same & results being distributed differently. In both cases, the MEAN is the same.
A more advanced question was then given out to the class, based on the homework. The idea behind this -- and I did not get to capture this -- was the teaching done in the small groups amongst the peer groupings. Feedback on the questions, along with additional information, is on GC.
Question: broken down
As Report Card season is about to begin, I want to inform you that the students are being regularly reminded of work they need to submit for evaluation. With that work, often, are samples, done by me to help model what is expected. I will often post reminders in the class or on GC.
Grade 8 trip to Oor Collegiate Institiute. It is very similar to Bloor Collegiate Institute.
Battles between the colonial powers of France, Britain, and Spain had consequences for many parts of the world. One of those regions is the Caribbean. For part of this lesson, we will learn a little bit about the geopolitical connections between Acadia and the Caribbean.
A more detailed set of photos will be posted on GC. For now, here are 2 of the 6 photos to summarize how we used some manipulatives to help understand mean, median, and mode.
As with all manipulatives, they should be played with before delving into how Algebra works to help understand some of the more complex aspects of this Math strand.
A very straightforward demonstration of how mean works, if we assume each column is a test.
In some cases, a mark may be missing and you will have to calculate the missing score. For ease, I left the total number of marks at 40. I illustrated the equation on the bottom of the desk.
With a couple of Reading Responses around the corner, I wanted to share the first of 2 examples. Here is the article I used. I suggest selecting something to read that you find interesting.
The next section of the unit on developing healthy relationships will be the last section that looks at looking after yourself. We will look at developing a list of resources to help our understanding around self-care.
I heard something on the radio this week about a familiar resource many of you are probably aware of:
The purpose of this lesson is to focus and pay attention to some of the unhealthy messages we sometimes see in the Media. But let's not stop with the negative. For the other part of this activity, you will think about what some healthy messages might be. In this way, you are allowed to imagine how things can and should be different. This exercise connects to the Healthy Relationships unit we are currently working on.
This original lesson comes from teentalk.ca
Myth & Reading Responses
During your work period, you should reference the board which has the handouts explaining the parts of the Myth assignment. Justin, I have given you some feedback on your work from yesterday and your notebook is at the front of the room to be handed out.
Information on the Reading Responses is posted on Google Classroom, along with a sample from one of Ms. Brougham's former students. I will model how to do one of the shorter responses on Friday.
Math: Data Management
You will slowly begin a new unit on the topics related to measures of central tendency.
This may be a review for a number of you, but we will be using some of the skills we have learned in the Algebra strand in this. More to come!
History
This was a note I began with 7/8C. It was a model of the jot notes I was taking from p. 84 of the textbook.
I will scan the History textbook pages into Google Classroom, in case you are not done.
In my note, there is a link to a page that has this video of the Citadel:
This version of the Citadel is the 4th version of it.
In 1796, Jamaican Maroons, who were brought to Halifax, as part of a peace deal with the British in Jamaica, helped build the third version of the Citadel. A number of these Maroons stayed in Nova Scotia, while others left for Sierra Leone (from the book Black Heritage by Livesey & Smith).
While I did not use this link in the jot note example, this link takes you to some spectacular shots and history of the fort:
One of the review questions/problems we did in class asked about a bike rental. The problem gave you the fee for rental, the price/hour and the total cost. The challenging part was figuring out how many hours the person rented the bike for.
In an attempt to find a "real life" example of this, I went to the bike rental place on one of the Toronto islands. On the webpage, you will find other rates for larger bikes. The question and a few select answers will be posted on the Google Classroom Math page for 7/8B.
group review/ problem-solving work
Language: pulling the Myth together
In the photo below, I have posted up the parts of the assignment which pull everything together. Copies of all of the materials, with the exception of my samples, are available in the Language folder at the front of the class.
Going clockwise from the top-left:
1. Initial brainstorming part of assignment where a t-chart was to be created and handed in to Mr. P for some initial feedback
2. two-sided graphic organizer to help organize the writing
3. Mr. P's sample of #2
4. Success Criteria and evaluation form (how the assignment will be graded)
Reading Responses: Brougham + Proudfoot
A couple of short assignments were handed out. I will post them on Google Classroom for you to see. The "Proudfoot" response is one the students have completed before. The Brougham one was shared with me and another approach to engaging with a book. They are different but have the same objective of improving students' reading comprehension.
As a way to ease back into a new calendar year, a few members of the class embarked on a Community Circle exercise to share some moments from the Winter holiday. I say embark because there are many students who have not completed this and need to on Tuesday.
This location and the surrounding areas became the settlement of Acadia. A comprehensive timeline of Acadian settlement can be seen here: http://www.cbc.ca/acadian/timeline.html. In the 17th Century, Acadian settlement looked something like this:
Just to be clear, no matter what is said about the Acadian settlement, it is important to recognize that the Mi'kmaq were the Indigenous people of this region. From my research, I have learned that the two groups existed very well together. The Acadians, according to this article, were not interested in expanding or pushing out the original inhabitants (http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/acadian-mi-kmaq-grand-pre-friendship-1.4243615).
The tensions between France and Britain were not confined to what was happening in North America. On the world stage, each nation was looking to be a dominant player for "commercial and global supremacy." Consider these two maps from the 1975's Historical Atlas of Canada:
While the British appeared to have control of Acadia, according to history, there was a fear of a sizeable population who would not swear allegiance to the British crown. Even though the Acadians had signed an oath of neutrality, there was still the fear that the Acadians could be a threat to the emerging British occupation of North America. So, the great -- or not so great -- deportation began.
This lesson can be seen as an example of Continuity and Change. The Acadian culture is alive and well. Although the deportation's intent was to rid the area of Acadians, many resisted, fought, went into hiding, and, after 1764, returned to the Maritime region. The original Acadian communities were now taken over by settlers from New England, according to the Canadian Encyclopedia. The culture of the community is tight and well preserved. Here is an old video from 2009 highlighting some of their collective histories:
I am reworking this short unit for you to develop some skills in note-taking. The curriculum expectation is Grade 7 specific -- the expulsion of the Acadians -- and the note-taking will be beneficial for all students.
Here is an example of some jot notes from p. 80 of the textbook.
For the Grade 8s, we will look at the issue of Louis Riel and the Northwest Rebellion of 1885. Like the Grade 7 exercise, we will use the textbook as a guide and supplement some of the work with posts on the blog. Each exercise will culminate with a short, open-book test and use some forms of Media (http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/search/?keyword=Acadians) to assess your inferencing and comprehension skills.