Lesson Review                       1 ASE Morning                       October 2006

                                                                                                                        Spacer

Monday, October 02, 2006                               5 Learners Present                3.5 hours

                                   W3.4b Practice all steps of the writing process:  (Writing: Strategies)

Writing:

The topic was: "The Complexities of Modern Life"

 

There was some discussion about the "Mobility of Capital" and how factory jobs have moved

south (including south of the border)

  Student Comments

Male                     16.00 -- 17.99

[What helped you learn today?] I learned that I SUCK at Math and learned [] how to add and subtract

Male                     18.00 -- 24.99

[Word Bank words:] panic, anxiety, agoraphobia, anticipatory, symposi[um], partitioning

[What helped you learn today?] look up the words in the dictionary and the meaning of the words

Female                   25.00 -- 44.99

Need more help in long division & fractions


Tuesday, October 03, 2006                               6 Learners Present                3.5 hours

        Influence of production, distribution, and consumption on individual decision making (Production, Distribution, & Consumption)

                                     R3.5a Take notes of key ideas while reading  (Reading Strategies)

                                   W3.4b Practice all steps of the writing process:  (Writing: Strategies)

                              CT1.2c Summarize and prioritize information (Critical Thinking: Problem Solving)

The Business Cycle (Abstract and Concrete)

We did a review of the business cycle (abstractly) by applying labels to a schematic diagram of

an "ideal" business cycle.  (When is there high inflation?  When are there low inventories? 

When are businesses hiring or laying off workers etc.).

 

Then we read a short booklet describing a Pittsburg area family's (Concrete) experience with the

 Great Depression and the start of New Deal.    People also wrote brief summaries of this book

(part of an oral history series edited by Alex Haley).  Some people had the time and the

motivation to type their up their summaries.

 

Our final discussion centered on how Democrats and Republicans see different roles for

government in the Business Cycle and  our culture.

  Student Comments

Male                     18.00 -- 24.99

[Next Steps:] work harder and show up more

Male                     16.00 -- 17.99

[What helped you learn today?] how the [G]reat [D]epression [a]ffected people.

Male                     16.00 -- 17.99

Wrote 2 paragraphs on the Great Depression.

Learned on how the business cycle worked and how it can change at random times.

Did not have time today for any math but I am bringing my book home to study on adding fractions.  I

want to learn more about adding & subtracting fractions.

[What didn't help?] was not feeling great[.]  I was in a really bad mood today but tried to come back in

Female                   60.00 +

I wrote one paragraph on the Great Depression[. W]orkers felt shame, hopeless, jobless, homeless

and they fear[ed] the future [].

Male                     18.00 -- 24.99

[Word Bank words:] pomposity, stipend

Wednesday, October 04, 2006                         7 Learners Present                3.5 hours

                                  N-3  Compute fluently and make reasonable estimates (Number Sense)

Individualized Math Effort

  Student Comments

Male                     18.00 -- 24.99

I worked on a summary and almost finished it.

[What helped you learn today?] alone time

Male                     16.00 -- 17.99

[What helped you learn today?] Class being quiet.  [What didn't help?] Joe being loud

Female                   18.00 -- 24.99

[I learned today because . . .] It was quiet and I had something to do.

[Word Bank words:] assassins

I forgot how to do fractions!

I really need to work on Science because I have passed everything else on my GED test.

Male                     18.00 -- 24.99

[Word Bank words:] impurity, iniquity

[What helped you learn today?] Joe said not to write math problem[s] in pen but in pencil or he will

send me back to Vietnam


Thursday, October 05, 2006                            5 Learners Present                3.5 hours

                                                  W1.2c Write lists  (Writing Expression)

                                 CT1.2a Group and classify information (Critical Thinking: Problem Solving)

The Role of Government in Science and Health: Brainstorm and discussion

A lot of US politics is (and has always been) about the role of government in the business cycle

and culture.  Today people were asked to list how government gets involved in health and

science.

 

This included:

o      Protecting the environment from industrial pollutants

o      Health and Safety regulations for workers and consumers (which lead to a discussion about

o      nanotechnology, a new product class)

o      Investment in Health and Science Education

o      Investment in Productive Technology (which lead to a discussion about the role of the military

o      and defense spending: The Springfield Armory to NASA)

 

There was also a discussion about the wording of some of these items.  Is "investment in

productive technology" a meaningful phrase?  Should people use big words like that?  Where?

When?  Do such words help build understanding or lead to more confusion?  Where? When?


Tuesday, October 10, 2006                               6 Learners Present                3.5 hours

                            W1.4b Compose a personal opinion of at least three paragraphs (Writing Expression)

              Identify factors that cause changes & predict implications of a particular change to a system (Patterns of Change)

                 CT2.1a Identify what’s known and what’s unknown about a topic (Critical Thinking: Cognition & Strategies )

Writing and Thinking:

Students were given a difficult (and somewhat misleading) prompt:

 

"'Why hasn't the sun ever fallen to earth?' Is this a foolish question?  Why or why not?"

 

People were asked not to talk at first but to just try to write it out.  At various times they were

also prompted to be honest and thoughtful in their writing.  They were also told that the question

 was somewhat "tricky".

 

A few said "because it doesn't" and one said, "because it would kill everyone on earth"

 

Many people did admit in their writing that they did not really know (or remember).  Many also

tried  to write about gravity and orbits.  We then talked a lot about the relative motion (and

speed/velocity) of planets, stars, and galaxies.

 

We also talked a bit about Newton (and later Einstein's) ideas about gravity - and how they did

(and DID NOT) relate to the question - even if it were changed to "Why has not the earth fallen

into the sun?"

  Student Comments

Female                   60.00 +

I don't know how the sun stay[s] in the sky.

Male                     18.00 -- 24.99

[Word Bank words:] gravity

Male                     16.00 -- 17.99

I'm working on my writing essay which is about how education ben[e]fits me.

[What helped you learn today?] Pudding!


Wednesday, October 11, 2006                         6 Learners Present                3.5 hours

                                  N-3  Compute fluently and make reasonable estimates (Number Sense)

Review of the news of the week before getting into Math.

We talked about the situation with North Korea and then started looking at maps.  We also

discussed the election and the way the two parties look at taxation.

 

Then most people worked on their Math programs.

  Student Comments

Male                     16.00 -- 17.99

[Writing Project Work Today:] Basically I wrote about how to create an online multiplayer video game.

Math Work Today:] worked on Unit 9 pretest on Scrap paper. Still need to work on some of the

answers

[Other Learning (or Work) Efforts:] Worked on my map skills of the United states along with all the

Male                     18.00 -- 24.99

[Word Bank words:] progressive, neutral, regressive, melancholy, frolicking, politeness

Male                     18.00 -- 24.99

I worked on long division

[Other Learning (or Work) Efforts:]

local taxes   Progressive     neutral   Regressive

                    rich pay more -->      <-- Poor pay more


Thursday, October 12, 2006                            5 Learners Present                3.5 hours

                                     R3.5a Take notes of key ideas while reading  (Reading Strategies)

        How the scientific method and the process of inquiry can be used to solve problems across the whole spectrum of life (Using

                                                        Science and Technology)

Nanotechnology: The Next Industrial Revolution?

We read an article from HowStuffWorks.com about nanotechnology and discussed implications

and vocabulary.

 

o      All matter consists of atoms

o      Cells are nature's nanomachines

o      a nano (nanometer) is 1 billionth (1/1,000,000,000) of a meter.

 

Nanotechnology involves manipulating individual molecules and atoms to create microscopic

machines and replicators. Eventually this technology could be used to manufacture things like

fibers, diamonds, or even food.

  Student Comments

Female                   18.00 -- 24.99

I started a new story because the one I started on was complicated.

[Your Current Math Efforts:] checking my work*  Started on the post test [and] finished Unit 1. 

[H]opefuly by next week I'll be on Unit 2.

[Word Bank words:] nanotechnology, lauded = praise, cells atoms, machines

[What helped you learn today?] I thought that today was good.  I liked having to open discussion.

[What didn't help?] I didn't find anything wrong. I got a[]lot of work done.

Female                   60.00 +

I asked a few questions on nanotechnology dealing with atoms and molecules.

[Word Bank words:] lauded means praise and bytes means bits


Monday, October 16, 2006                               5 Learners Present                3.5 hours

                           R3.3a Focus on chunks of meaning rather than individual words  (Reading Strategies)

                                     W1.4c Write a summary of an article or story (Writing Expression)

               CT2.2d Monitor understanding and recognize failures to comprehend (Critical Thinking: Cognition & Strategies)

Paraphrasing a Passage:

The passage was from Plato:

"When a man has committed an injustice, does not his courage refuse to stir?  . . . But when a

man is a victim of an injustice, does not his vigor  flare up?  And will he not persist in that

elevated state enduring hunger and cold or any hardship until he has conquered his aim or  has

perished?"

 

Many words (such as "man" ,"committed", "injustice" "courage", "stir" , "endure", "hardship",

"elevated", "state" "aim", "perish") were underlined and could not be used in the paraphrase.

 

Everybody did their best and (with more or less help) were able to acquit themselves sensibly

and honorably.

  Student Comments

Male                     16.00 -- 17.99

[Other Learning (or Work) Efforts:] word replacement

worked on writing a paragraph in my own words.  Had to change [a lot] of words that I didn't know

about.

[What helped you learn today?] learned something I didn't know much about. I was not good at

switching words around  in paragraphs.

Female                   18.00 -- 24.99

[Word Bank words:] vigor, stirred, endure, hardships, just, exalted, courage, flare, wrath, injustice,

persisting,

[What helped you learn today?] coming up with our own words in a writing p[ie]ce was helpful. I could

Male                     18.00 -- 24.99

[Word Bank words:] persistence, wraith, perished, exalted, endure,

Female                   60.00 +

I like[d] today['s] English lesson[. [I]t was on one of Plato's writing diolog[s]].


Tuesday, October 17, 2006                               5 Learners Present                3.5 hours

                                       Forces affecting continuity and change (Continuity & Change)

                             R3.4c Underline or highlight key ideas or words while reading  (Reading Strategies)

History: Reading a Textbook

As part of the Unit on The Industrial Revolution we read about the Bonus Marchers last month.

 Today we read the background text that accompanied the story of the Bonus Marchers in the

original textbook.  People had some instruments to help guide them, but they could choose their

own strategies.  (Most chose to read it through first with a highlighter or pencil).

We spent the last 45 minutes going over some key terms relating to the 1920s, a period of

prosperity and reaction.

  Student Comments

Male                     16.00 -- 17.99

[Word Bank words:] Red Scare - fear of com[m]unism.

[What helped you learn today?] the fill in the Blank Sheet

Male                     16.00 -- 17.99

The Great War - WWI

The Jazz Age - The Roaring Twenties

Conservatism - Resistance to change/modernity

Fundamentalism - Religious movement against modernity

[What didn't help?] was confused the first 10 minutes of class but still tried.

Male                     18.00 -- 24.99

[Word Bank words:] hysterical, communism, prestigious

I need to read more and understand more.

Female                   18.00 -- 24.99

[Word Bank words:] reaction, red scare, prohibition, Ku Klux Klan, The Great War, fundamentalism

[What helped you learn today?] The sheet that we had to do fill in the blanks. When I was in school I

remember reading [aloud] was one of the best ways to understand a textbook

[What didn't help?] not reading [aloud]  I was kinda struggling cuz I'm a little sick.

Wednesday, October 18, 2006                         4 Learners Present