Laguna’s Lessons

What do carbon fiber, hybrid cars, and spiders have in common?  You’ll have to ask Kush.  He did his independent research project on composite materials!  Slide show. Game.

One student was able to get an A on the pre-test for Chapter 2.  He has been working independently on a project about composite materials.  There are so many more project options now than when I was young.  Instead of a poster, model, or written paper students can create a podcast, movie, voice thread, power point presentation, or wiki.  Wow!  Kush decided to make a power point with a computer game follow-up.  To make it more interesting he animated and narrated his slides.  The funny thing is, his teacher (that would be me) didn’t know how to narrate a slide show.  So guess who was the student this time (again me.)  Now I know.  If you want to add narration to your slide show, I can now help with that but only because Kush taught me how!  Have you ever taught your teachers? 

What did I learn from my students today?  I learned who is afraid of spiders and who is not!  Here is a picture of Fuzz Head who was found lurking in the hallways before school.  I was called in to capture poor Fuzz Head and rescue him from a screaming teacher and students who were shouting,”Kill It!”  Poor Fuzz Head.  Do you think spiders are cute or creepy?  Interesting or disgusting?  Look how much more we can see when we look at the spider under the microscope?  What things do you notice that you can’t see without the microscope?

I read a lecture today that had these words at the end. 

“Attention IS our scarcest and most valuable resource. What we do with our attention defines us.”

The speaker said that our attention is valuable.  Every day we make decisions about who and what we will spend our attention on.   But are we paying attention to the important things like connecting with people, improving our world, and enriching our lives?  Paying attention is a choice we make, a gift we give, a way of life. 

As a teacher, I really appreciate the students who choose to give their attention to their educations and I try to make the things we do in class worthy of their attention.   Like group 5 in period 1 Science today.  Their full attention was on their lab experiment and as a result they came up with very creative ideas.  It made me realize how much more we get out of an experience when we focus our attention on what we are doing. 

Do you agree with the statement that what we do with our attention defines us, or makes us who we are? 

What is invisible but has the power to crush an aluminum can right before our eyes?  Watch our movie to find out!  We saw how strong atomospheric pressure really is.  When the pressure inside a can is reduced, the force of the atmosphere around us can easily squash the can. 

Sometimes things we can’t see can be stronger than we realize.  Here is a very different example.  On the radio this morning I heard a man say, “Toxic words can lead to violent actions.”  His point was that even though a person can be against violence, their words, if hateful, can easily lead others to act violently.   Our spoken words can be the force that crushes the feelings or hopes of other people.  (Was that comparison too much of a stretch? )

What things should be on the test?  I just watched a funny video that made fun of all the testing we do in schools.  Why do we have to take tests anyway?  I guess that schools test because students need to be held accountable for their learning.  Here’s how I really know if students are learning, but it’s not on the test! 

When kids are really learning they are talking about the subject they are studying.  They are asking really interesting questions that I don’t know the answers to but I can’t wait to research!  Students who are learning are thinking of ways to use the information they collect in class and are creating interesting projects.  They are finding ways to apply their new understanding to their own lives and making connections to their interests outside of school.  Students who are really learning aren’t bored, they’re curious and creative!  But that’s not on the test.   And it’s not always happening in class either. 

How do we encourage real learning in our classrooms?   I don’t know the whole answer but I can’t wait to research the subject!  I have to be accountable for my learning along with the rest of the class!  Are we all doing what it takes to be really learning?  Maybe we need to improve the test!

In our class we are building a great sense of community.  Students are helping students in their lab groups and we’re even working with students in Australia to share what we are learning.  I am interested in seeing how community building affects how we learn this year.  Will our efforts at collaboration inspire us to learn more?  I don’t think anyone would argue that building a community of learners could hurt, but I would like to see if it really does help.  In my opinion, people can learn at a much deeper level when they participate in conversations about the content.  If that’s the case our class will do great…we talk an awful lot!  My challenge will be to keep our conversation focused on Science and Math and not on our social lives!!!  But it’s a start.  Let’s see if we can keep the communication flowing and get everyone involved!

What are your suggestions for ways to get our class talking about the topics?  Can you think of more ways to grow as a community of learners?  I’m up for anything that helps us takes our learning to a deeper level.

 In the mid-1800s aluminum was more valuable than gold.   Click here to read more.

The word of the day is “value.”  Every once in a while a certain word turns up in my reading, conversations, tv viewing, classroom…and lately it is “value.”  How would you answer these questions? 

• What do you value more, your education or your free time?
• Do people value us for different reasons according to our relationships?  I mean do your friends value you for one reason, your teachers for another, your family for another?  Do people have intrinsic value regardless of their relationships to other people? 
• What values are most important to you?  Do you value friendship, family, character, hard work, determination, loyalty…
• Do you value the opions of others?  Do you feel like your opinions are valuable?

I value your ideas!  Please share some of your answers to these questions or tell your thoughts about the word value.

Everyone in class assumed that 50 + 50 would equal 100 but that wasn’t the case!  When we mixed 50 mL of water with 50 mL of Isopropanol we ended up with 98 mL.  This is more than a lesson about molecules and the space they fill…in science we have to learn to ignore our faulty common sense and start to look for answers that are often surprising!  Our understanding of the world develops from the time we are children. We form opinions about the way things should be based on our past experiences.  But get ready!  The more you study science the more surprising, interesting, and fun your world becomes!  Don’t let your past experiences influence your ability to see the world in a new way!

Can anyone think of other observations that seem to go against our common sense?  To share, write a response below.

 Molecular models from science class – Can you identify these models?

We have been working with the molecular model kits in class.  I am always amazed and how quickly the students learn to put the atoms together and draw the formulas.  Now, as we do some chemistry labs, we will see how the atoms of different molecules rearrange themselves to form new products in a chemical reaction.  In science we often learn from models since we can’t actually see things like atoms that are so tiny.  What do you think is more fun, modeling the molecules or putting real molecules together in the laboratory? 

I couldn’t believe it when I read the t-shirt from TSA that said “Just Imagine It!”  Imagination has been a topic that I have been contemplating for the past month or so.   Sometimes when I’m trying to figure something out, messages come to me from unlikely places like a t-shirt!

I also got the message from hearing Dr. Paul Sereno talk about his adventures as a paleontologist.  Here is a link to his talk.  http://www.davinci-center.org/rel032608.html  He said that if you didn’t use your imagination when looking at the bones you found, then you might miss out on a really important discovery.  You have to see the images on Dr. Sereno’s image gallery. 

Some people say that if you can’t imagine yourself reaching your goals, then you can’t possibly reach them.  I find that as long as I’m imagining a goal, opportunities come my way (just not always the one I was imagining!)