Lesson Review 1 ASE Morning April 2004
Thursday, April 29, 2004 7 Learners present. 3.25 hours
-- Recognize formal & informal systems
(Critical Thinking) create connections
between building blocks and
complexity
in our natural in designed world (Similarity and Diversity)
Two
Frameworks for Science
Some background concepts
for understanding Bacteria and Viruses.
The Linnaean Classification
system: (Kingdom, Phylum, Classes, Order, Family, Genus Species).
Humans are in the Animal
kingdom. They are in the chordate phylum. They are in the Mammal class.
They are in the Primate
order. They are in the Hominid family. Their genus is "homo". Their
species is
"homo
sapien" Marguerite thinks this
system should be called "The Pyramid of Life"
The "Building
Block" System (or "Structure inside Structure") subatomic particles < atoms < small
molecules < large
molecules < organelles < cells < tissues < organs < systems <
organisms < < <
Luz brought in a Biology
book that had some excellent diagrams to help focus our discussion.
We spent time naming these
systems.
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Wednesday, April 28, 2004 11 Learners present. 3.25 hours
-- Algebra - apply algebraic methods to
solve and represent problems (GED, workplace, real world math)
(Patterns,
Relationships & Functions)
Fractions,
Ratios, Percents, and Proportions
We looked at lots of
equivalent fractions where one of the pairs had a missing numerator and a
denominator of 100. We reviewed many ways to name the terms and
many ways to solve the equations.
We also looked at ratios (x
is to y or x:y or x/y) and proportions
(x is to y as a is to b OR x:y=a:b OR
x/y=a/b)
We looked at the steps involved in "Cross Multiplying",
and the mathematical principle:
If a/b=x/y, then
ay=bx. We used this principle to solve
the (percent) equations.
Then (by popular demand) we
came up with the following definitions.
Ratio - a relationship
between 2 values (it can be expressed as a fraction)
Fraction - a relationship
between a part and a whole OR a relationship between two values involving
division
Proportion - an equal
relationship between two ratios
Percent - a relationship of
one value to one hundred OR a part of one hundred
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Tuesday, April 27, 2004 11 Learners present. 3.25 hours
--Factors affecting
production, distribution and consumption (Production, Distribution, &
Consumption) make
informed
decisions or solve problems in household or community situations involving
science & technology (Using
Science
and Technology)
Financial
Literacy: Investment and Savings
Tim Cohen-Mitchell
delivered the third session on Investment and Savings after reviewing concepts
from
the previous two
sessions. Luz had done a spreadsheet
with a computerized and hand made pie graph of
her budget which she presented to the class. Tim did some amazing demonstrations with the
concept of
Compound Interest. (It
really pays to start saving early!)
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Monday, April 26, 2004 9 Learners present. 3.25 hours
--
Cake
Decorating (for fun and profit)
Cris Behilo (Sarah's Mom)
lead a demonstration of cake decorating techniques. (Louise had brought in
18 mini cakes with a nice
base of white frosting). They made
stars, borders, roses, dogwood petals and
many other varieties of
colorful saccharine curly-cues. Some
people ate their creations immediately.
Others took them home.
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Thursday, April 22, 2004 11 Learners present. 3.25 hours
-- human body systems
(physical, mental, social, and spiritual), their interdependence, and their
roles in health
protection
(Systems and Interdependence)
Development of comprehension strategies (Reading) Distinguish
between
fact & opinion (Critical Thinking)
create connections between building blocks and complexity in our
natural
in designed world (Similarity and Diversity)
Two
Frameworks of Life: "The Five Kingdoms" and "Structure inside
Structure"
Structure inside Structure:
>atoms>small molecules>large molecules>organelles>cells>
The Five Kingdoms: Monera,
Protista, Fungi, Plantae, Animalia
We also talked about
Prokaryotes (Monera - single celled organisms without nuclei) and Eukariotes
(single celled and multiple
celled organisms with nuclei . . . All animals including humans are
eukariotic.)
We also did a brief reading
on these topics.
The first 15 minutes was
excellent today. Joe did not have to
call the group to order. The class
started a
discussion about "How knowledge can become
understanding", "How older people understand the
world differently than
young people", Truth",
"Lies" ("Lie" is a concept much easier to define than
truth,
but we had trouble deciding
on a definition of "Lie".)
WE HAD LASAGNA!!!! (Thanks to Louise and Lil' Chris!!!!!!!!!!)
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Wednesday, April 21, 2004 10 Learners present. 3.25 hours
-- Development of comprehension strategies
(Reading) Represent and use numbers in
a variety of equivalent
forms
and in order relations (Number Relationships & Computation)
The
Meaning of Percent
Discussed a reading about
the meaning of percent. (Per 100 is the
same as "Divided by 100). The
reading also went over the
structure of some percent problems that are common to real life and to the
GED.
First we had a discussion
about how we can BEST use the first 15 minutes of class. (To Joe, today was
NOT an example of a good
use of that time.)
Then Amber presented her
idea of doing an online course s (either "Philosophy of the New Millennium
through GCC or Human
Origins and Variations through UMASS).
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Tuesday, April 20, 2004 9 Learners present. 3.25 hours
--Factors affecting
production, distribution and consumption (Production, Distribution, &
Consumption) how
creating
and using order and organization tools help solve life problems (Order and
Organization)
Financial
Planning Seminar 2: Budgeting
Tim reviewed concepts from
last week (Risk, Habits, and Discipline, SMART Plan making etc.) Also
looked at people's cash
flow records (homework) and some of their plans.
For Budgeting he introduced
the concepts of "Fixed" Costs v. "Variable" Costs: good
record keeping and
planning/budgeting can help turn "Variable" costs into
something more like "Fixed" costs - a good
business practice. Several record keeping concepts and
procedures were introduced (pay stubs, The
Envelope system, etc.).
Some savings concepts were also introduced (PYF).
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Monday, April 19, 2004 8 Learners present. 3.25 hours
--Learners'
"PLACE" in relationship to the rest of the world (Environments &
Interdependence)
Patriotism,
War . . . (and Resumes?)
Mostly a very informal
conversation . . . the Latin root of
the word "Patriot" (patria - fatherland, pater -
father, . . . Patronize). Patriotism is a term that usually has positive connotations. "Nationalism" is a
more neutral term for
"love of ones 'country'".
"Chauvinism" is a negative term for extreme
"patriotism"
that puts down other
countries. (Nationalism is associated
with the modern "Nation-State". We also
related some parts of the American patriots resentment of the
British occupation of Boston in the 1770's
to the current American
occupation of Iraq. Nuclear weapons,
other weapons of mass destruction and
terrorism were also a part
of the conversation.
BUT . . . We still have to
make plans for our lives and a resume is a way of taking stock of
ourselves.
We read the Resume quote.
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Thursday, April 15, 2004 9 Learners present. 3.25 hours
-- Strategic Reading (Reading)
Bacteria
and Viruses (Reading a Text)
Looked at our framework
again, but mostly used different text reading techniques to answer GED style
questions. (People used pictures, boldface headings,
skimming etc.) to find answers.
One of the
questions required some
very careful reading once you found the place.
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Wednesday, April 14, 2004 11 Learners present. 3.25 hours
-- Select & use appropriate methods and
tools (computer, paper, calculator, mental) for solving problems
(Number
Relationships & Computation)
The
meaning of percent
Cent means
"hundred". There is always a
100 in there somewhere whenever you do a percent
calculation. Some numbers are factors of 100. Those are the "nice" numbers when
they are in a
denominator.
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Tuesday, April 13, 2004 10 Learners present. 3.25 hours
-- Apply scientific reasoning and
technological problem solving to job and life problems ()
Financial
Planning I with Tim Cohen+Mitchell (YES)
Risk, Habits, and
Discipline
Needs v. Wants
SMART Goals = Specific +
Measurable + Attainable + Realistic + Time bound
Long Term Goals can be
broken down into Medium Term and Short Term Goals
Homework was to keep track
of daily expenses and income for a week
. . . AND to set a short or
medium term goal with some
specifics about time, cost, and weekly savings target.
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Monday, April 12, 2004 12 Learners present. 3.25 hours
-- Express thoughts in writing (Writing)
Resumes
and Success
Writing Topics: What does
it take to succeed in life? , If you're best was ever not good enough . .
.,
Remember a time when you
excelled.
We also talked about how to
succeed in this class.
(Don't goof off, Have goals, Remember that you are here by
choice, You have to want to be
here.
Break big problems into
little ones.)
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Thursday, April 08, 2004 13 Learners present. 3.25 hours
-- social, cultural,
political, economic, and environmental system, and how they impact health
(Systems and
Interdependence)
Express thoughts in writing (Writing) Strategic Reading (Reading) create connections between
building
blocks and complexity in our natural in designed world (Similarity and
Diversity)
Bacteria,
Cheese, Life, and all that
Looked at a framework for
life science: Atoms, Molecules, Organelles, Cells, Tissues, Organs, Systems,
Organisms + and related it to the making of Cheese. We looked at a reading about Cheese making
which involves bacteria and
certain key enzymes (like Rennet which is closely related to Pepsin which
gave Pepsi Cola it's name).
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Wednesday, April 07, 2004 10 Learners present. 3.25 hours
--Learners'
"PLACE" in relationship to the rest of the world (Environments &
Interdependence) Compute with
whole
numbers, fractions, decimals & integers using appropriate algorithms and a
variety of techniques (Number
Relationships
& Computation)
Field
Trip to Europe (actually Ware)
But we saw recently taken
slides of a trip to France (mostly Paris)
Some people stayed back and
did Math with Joe, Eva, and Amber
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Tuesday, April 06, 2004 15 Learners present. 3.25 hours
--Allocation of power and
authority (Power, Authority, & Participation) Strategic Reading (Reading)
BestWorks
Awards, Portfolios and Student Handbook.
Presented appreciations to
the successful completers of the Culinary Arts program at Franklin Tech.
Discussed portfolios as
something to take to a job interview or to an interview at a post secondary
school. Discussed the importance of resumes,
reference sheet, and application form templates. Looked
at other possible portfolio
items and the possible difference between someone's "best" work and
what is
required in a job search or
school/college application process.
Used "Instant Run-off
Voting" to decide what parts of the Student Handbook to read
together.
"Reaching your
Goals" and "Making
Progress" were tied for first place votes, but "Making Progress"
had more second place
votes. So, we read and discussed "Making Progress", Reaching your Goals",
"Getting
Started", "Safety in the Classroom", and at Joe's request, the
"Attendance Policy".
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Monday, April 05, 2004 16 Learners present. 3.25 hours
-- Express thoughts in writing (Writing)
Starting
a new Cycle with a lot of new students.
We introduced ourselves and
went over some of the class structure after writing about "The Hardest
Thing I Ever
Learned". People also talked about
their hopes, expectations, and fears for this class. Most
people are going on to some kind of post secondary education. Some just want to get a job once they
have earned their GED.
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