Lesson Review                       1 ASE Morning                    September 2006

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Tuesday, September 05, 2006                          6 Learners Present               3.25 hours

                             Differences between fact, opinion, and interpretation (Perspective & Interpretation)

       WRITING - Communicate thoughts, ideas & information in writing; Create documents (letters, directions, reports, graphs) (Basic

                               W1.2d Compose a short message or note using a model (Writing Expression)

        CT2.2a Recognize learning strengths & weaknesses and use appropriate strategies  (Critical Thinking: Cognition & Strategies)

Went over the new monthly Math Trackers and did some Group Writing on what makes this

class most productive. Then people worked on Writing.

 

People decided that the two most important things for the class were:

 

           1. Being surrounded by serious and busy people

 

           2. Getting good feedback

 

(The balance between Group Time and Individual Time was definitely judged a secondary

consideration even if there could be consensus.)

  Student Comments

Male                     16.00 -- 17.99

helped someone with [their] math

Male                     18.00 -- 24.99

I don't think I that I could [have] done better then what I did today because I worked hard.  Today I

wrote about my son.


Wednesday, September 06, 2006                    6 Learners Present               3.25 hours

                          R2.3d Use dictionary to learn meaning of unfamiliar words (Reading Skills & Vocabulary)

                        OC1.1c Use new vocabulary with appropriate pronunciation (Oral Communication: Speaking)

                         CT1.3g Recognize logical fallacies & faulty reasoning (Critical Thinking: Problem Solving)

The Student Handbook (and Vocabulary)

There was a long list of adjectives (of differing levels of difficulty).  People were asked to read

the entire handbook and pick 5 words to apply to different parts of the handbook.

 

We also grouped words together has having similar meanings (prudent, sensible, reasonable) and

 grouped other words with opposite meanings (clear v. obscure).

 

Learners also had an optional crossword puzzle to help them get more familiar with some of the

more difficult words.

  Student Comments

Male                     16.00 -- 17.99

[Word Bank words:] inane, poignant

[What helped you learn today?] discussion after work[ing] on it alone

Male                     18.00 -- 24.99

Took notes[.] Ryan helped me out on the crossword puzzle

Male                     16.00 -- 17.99

Learned some new words and their meanings: Inane: silly, pointless    Prudent - cautious

[Word Bank words:] equitable, obscure

[What helped you learn today?] coffee/crossword puzzle

Male                     18.00 -- 24.99

(Current Writing Project:) No I didn't work on anything today because I was caught up in the class

assignment about voc. in the handbook and how it relates and a crossword.

[Word Bank words:] prudent - cautious

Female                   60.00 +

[Word Bank words:] obscure, inane, incongruity, prudent

A word that I asked about is patina which means a thin film of greenish blue color on old wood and


Thursday, September 07, 2006                       4 Learners Present               3.25 hours

                  W3.5a Observe how other writers express themselves and practice their techniques (Writing: Strategies)

                          How everything is made up of a small number of building blocks (Similarity and Diversity)

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

Elements, Compounds, and Mixtures

We struggled to use examples and discussions to figure out exactly how Elements, Compounds,

and Mixtures are different from each other. 

 

First we had to realize that being either an Element, Compound or Mixture has NOTHING to do

 with being a Solid, a Liquid, or a Gas.  We also had to make sure we were not talking about

living things (which have much more complicated structures.)

 

It took a lot of examples and a lot of comparing to get to definitions of the terms Element,

Compound, and Mixture.  It also helped to write thoughts down to identify "circular" thinking.

 

It turns out that the way different substances are bonded together is what is important in

distinguishing between elements, compounds and mixtures.

 

Elements have atoms as their smallest particles.  The particles inside atoms are bonded together

by strong nuclear forces.

 

Compounds have molecules as their smallest particles.  Molecules are atoms bonded together

with chemical bonds.

 

Mixtures may have no bonds at all - or just physical bonds.

  Student Comments

Male                     18.00 -- 24.99

[What helped you learn today?] note taking and talking about the group topic

Male                     16.00 -- 17.99

Class was fun because I learned stuff about atoms that I didn't know before.

Male                     16.00 -- 17.99

I learned that when you are trying to describe something you write it down

[What helped you learn today?] everythin[g] except the fact that I hate writing

Female                   60.00 +

It is better to call dirt soil because dirt refer[s] to cleaning.  Also soil refer[s] to minerals and organic

material matters (humus) -> living cells that become rot.

I know some of elements and mixtures buy not to[o] much on compounds

[Word Bank words:] humus atmospheric


Monday, September 11, 2006                          8 Learners Present               3.25 hours

                        R3.4b Seek key phrases defining unfamiliar words elsewhere in the text  (Reading Strategies)

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

The Second Coming by William Butler Yeats

This is one of the most anthologized poems in the English language with many memorable (and

quotable) lines.  It was written in the aftermath of the horrors of World War I.

 

Tomorrow, as part of the Industrial Revolution Unit, we will start reading about the Bonus

Marchers who were World War I veterans.

 

Today we read the poem for vocabulary and tone.  (Ominous)

  Student Comments

Male                     18.00 -- 24.99

[Word Bank words:] poignant

Male                     18.00 -- 24.99

[Word Bank words:] ironic, poignant, ominous, revelation

Male                     16.00 -- 17.99

Finished my first draft and looked it over.

[Other Learning (or Work) Efforts:] I learned that I really hate poems and they confuse me.

Female                   18.00 -- 24.99

I read a  poem and wrote down and explained the sentences that I could understand and what they

meant to me.

Female                   60.00 +

I wrote a few lines concerning Yeat[']s poem and I find it rather dark even in his time just like Edgar

Allan Poe.


Tuesday, September 12, 2006                          9 Learners Present               3.25 hours

                                   Complexity of managing and resolving conflict (Conflict & Resolution)

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

                            W3.3a Record thoughts, experiences, and reminders in a journal (Writing: Strategies)

                 CT1.1b Connect what’s read or heard with what’s known about the world (Critical Thinking: Problem Solving)

The Defeat of the Bonus Marchers (World War I and The Great Depression)

Started the class by writing down ideas and thoughts about the Great Depression of the 1930's. 

We also listened to "Brother Can You Spare a Dime" sung by Bing Crosby.

 

The Defeat of the Bonus Marchers is a true story about World War I veterans dealing with the

Great Depression and their Government.

 

Students had the entire class to read the whole chapter (17 pages) and turn in a sheet with 3

words, 3 facts, and 3 questions.   For support they also had our generic "Reading Notes"

template along with a handout of questions, ids, vocabulary, and a crossword based on the

vocabulary.

 

Near the end of class we spent about 40 minutes discussing the events in the chapter along with

their questions.

  Student Comments

Male                     16.00 -- 17.99

I did the [w]hole packet

[Words] comrade scuffle  democracy  [Facts] entered World War 1 in 1917[,] 1929 Stock Market 

Crashed[,] July 29, 1932 the battle ended  [Questions] Why did we join WW1?  Why did the stock

market crash?  Why were so many people disappointed?

Male                     16.00 -- 17.99

Learned on how the government sucked after World War I and during the Great Depression

[What helped you learn today?] I ac[t]ually wanted to read.

[What didn't help?] Hungry ! ! !

Female                   18.00 -- 24.99

Bonus Marchers were train hoppers. [T]hey didn't like being told to leave. [T]hey would soap the

rails[. Their] real name was the Bonus Expeditionary Force[.] Bonus Marchers is the name people

Female                   60.00 +

[Other Writing You Did Today:] filling out a paper on facts about the bonus marchers 3 key words

and questions to understand the reading better.

[I learned today because . . .] one of my questions was answer[ed.  It] was about hooverville[s] any

shanty anywhere in the US.

Male                     18.00 -- 24.99

[Word Bank words:] munitions, radicals, depression

[What helped you learn today?] reading [a] couple of times and know[ing] the spelling and know[ing]

the meaning of the words

[What didn't help?] I like to read in a group [but we read silently]


Wednesday, September 13, 2006                    7 Learners Present               3.25 hours

                S-3  Describe data using numerical descriptions, statistics, and trend terminology (Statistics and Probability)

Times Tables (and Measures of Central Tendency)

People timed the instructor on the Nines tables 3 times and then took an average of his time to

recite them.  Then they timed each other 3 times for each table and calculated averages.

  Student Comments

Male                     16.00 -- 17.99

[What didn't help?] Working with my partners

Male                     18.00 -- 24.99

We all did partner up and do multiplication table[s] and I did word problem[s] and got some right and

some wrong.  But I'll get better[.  N]ext time around I will read slower and understand what I am

Female                   18.00 -- 24.99

[What helped you learn today?] Working with others in the class (in a group0  I like doing the group

thing.

Thursday, September 14, 2006                       6 Learners Present               3.25 hours

                          How everything is made up of a small number of building blocks (Similarity and Diversity)

                 CT2.3a Employ clarification strategies after failing to understand  (Critical Thinking: Cognition & Strategies)

Science (Review of Elements and Compounds).

This time we looked at these  in the context of the framework of  subatomic particles < atoms <

small molecules < large molecules < organelles . . . . <<<

 

An element is a substance composed on only one kind of atom

 

An atom is a nucleus of protons (and neutrons) surrounded by an electron cloud.  Atoms are the

 smallest particle of any known substance

 

A compound is a substance composed of only one kind of molecule

 

A molecule is a group of atoms chemically bonded together.

 

The question was asked: "Is the universe just a vast mathematical problem waiting to be

solved?"  We discussed how a possible contradiction in the definition of an atom might be

relevant to part of that question."

  Student Comments

Male                     18.00 -- 24.99

[Word Bank words:] elements, compounds, organic

Male                     16.00 -- 17.99

[Other Writing You Did Today:] chatting on Geosense

[What didn't help?] Joe was in a very bad mood [because he was chatting on Geosense]

Female                   60.00 +

[Word Bank words:] hemoglobin, mitochondria


Monday, September 18, 2006                          6 Learners Present               3.25 hours

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

                            W3.3a Record thoughts, experiences, and reminders in a journal (Writing: Strategies)

                         CT1.3g Recognize logical fallacies & faulty reasoning (Critical Thinking: Problem Solving)

Stinking Thinking and Logical Fallacies

Learners had a long list of logical fallacies that were first identified in Classical Greece. There

job was to read this over and answer some questions about the types of faulty thinking that lead

to more confusion and poor decision making.  They were also asked to come up with their own

example of a Logical Fallacy.

  Student Comments

Female                   18.00 -- 24.99

Today class was good[.] I did ok and didn[']t have any problems with anything we did today[.]

Male                     18.00 -- 24.99

[Word Bank words:] ambiguity, anachronism, dilemma, bifurcation, clarity

Tuesday, September 19, 2006                          5 Learners Present               3.25 hours

                                  How individuals and groups interact with and impact systems (Systems)

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

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

                         CT1.3g Recognize logical fallacies & faulty reasoning (Critical Thinking: Problem Solving)

Analyzing the candidates for Governor.

Students received a sample ballot for the democratic primary, and a packet including Boston

Globe profiles of all three major contenders for the Democratic nomination for governor and

sheets to list the pro's and cons for each candidate.

We went over the difference between a primary election and a general election.  Then students

read interrupted only when someone asked a question about vocabulary (definitions were written

 on the board).

 

After discussing some  pros and cons for each candidate, students each wrote a paragraph

explaining which candidate was the best.  Then we tried to find vocabulary words that "went

together".

 

(Reilly got the most votes in this class.)

  Student Comments

Male                     18.00 -- 24.99

I read through the packets and learned the accomplishment that all the [D]emocrat[s] did.

Male                     18.00 -- 24.99

Math Work Today:] no don't have a  Math Book