Why people have wars.
Andrew C.Andrew W., Kaydn, Caden
People have wars because they want something from a different country. They fight over food, land, skin colour, religious views and racism. They are not happy when their neighbours do things. They also want to protect themselves from other countries.
Friday, May 31, 2013
What is a Hypochondriac?
Abi, Alisha, Cody, Cameron
A hypochondriac is a person who worries or talks incessantly about their health. In a hypochondriac a headache is interpreted as a brain tumor. The person is obsessed with every little thing about their body. It involves the ideas that you are seriously ill. The symptoms may be imaginary or real. Hypochondria is a medical condition. It affects both men and women. It often is found with a history of abuse.
What is Insomnia?
Breanna, Madison, Skye, Kaiya
Insomnia is a sleep disorder that will not allow you to sleep well if at all for a number of days at a time. Some of the symptoms are depression, stress, fear, shaking, and lack of sleep. If you just stay up because you choose to and the only symptom you have is you can't sleep it is unlikely that you have insomnia. If you think you have insomnia you should contact your doctor.
Why do people go blind?
Lee, Nick, Owen, Sophia
It can happen accidentally or by disease or injury. It can be caused by extreme lighting such as lasers or sunlight. There is something called hysterical blindness when a severe trauma causes the brain to reject the ability to see. Tiny blood vessels in your eyes swell destroying the retina or optic nerve. Some people are born blind.
How do you make a movie?
Curtis and Stewart
You start off by recording a scene and then add props to it. When that is done you see the recording of it and see what you need to fix. Then you record the scene again until you get it right. In the end you watch what you have recorded and decide if it is good or not.
Why do some people sing better than other people?
Denyce, Emily, Adrian M., Dora
Some people have better vocal cords. They also have more practice at singing so they become better at it. Some people are more natural at singing. It is like everything else, with practice, effort, and desire you will become better. You can do anything if you try. It's very inspiring. Singing can play with your emotions.
Abi, Alisha, Cody, Cameron
A hypochondriac is a person who worries or talks incessantly about their health. In a hypochondriac a headache is interpreted as a brain tumor. The person is obsessed with every little thing about their body. It involves the ideas that you are seriously ill. The symptoms may be imaginary or real. Hypochondria is a medical condition. It affects both men and women. It often is found with a history of abuse.
What is Insomnia?
Breanna, Madison, Skye, Kaiya
Insomnia is a sleep disorder that will not allow you to sleep well if at all for a number of days at a time. Some of the symptoms are depression, stress, fear, shaking, and lack of sleep. If you just stay up because you choose to and the only symptom you have is you can't sleep it is unlikely that you have insomnia. If you think you have insomnia you should contact your doctor.
Why do people go blind?
Lee, Nick, Owen, Sophia
It can happen accidentally or by disease or injury. It can be caused by extreme lighting such as lasers or sunlight. There is something called hysterical blindness when a severe trauma causes the brain to reject the ability to see. Tiny blood vessels in your eyes swell destroying the retina or optic nerve. Some people are born blind.
How do you make a movie?
Curtis and Stewart
You start off by recording a scene and then add props to it. When that is done you see the recording of it and see what you need to fix. Then you record the scene again until you get it right. In the end you watch what you have recorded and decide if it is good or not.
Why do some people sing better than other people?
Denyce, Emily, Adrian M., Dora
Some people have better vocal cords. They also have more practice at singing so they become better at it. Some people are more natural at singing. It is like everything else, with practice, effort, and desire you will become better. You can do anything if you try. It's very inspiring. Singing can play with your emotions.
Stratosphere
Stratospehere by Micheal Fullan is an excellent read! Why? This book is written in such a way that it echoes exactly what I am doing in the class and where I plan to go next year with the students. He advocates students learning through research and suggeests that giving students a reason to be in school through examining social issues and making efforts to solve them.
Thursday, May 30, 2013
What are the fastest cars?
Lee, Owen, Nick
The fastest car today is the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport. It goes 267 miles per hour. It costs $2,400,000. It can get from 0-60 in 2.4 seconds.
The second fastest is a tie. They are the Hennesey Venom Gt and Koenigsegg Agera R. They go 260 mph. They cost a millions dollars.
There is also a tie for third. They are the Sec Ultimate Aero and 9ff Gtg-R. They go 270 mph.The next fastest are the PAgani Zonda Cinqua roadster, Ferarri Enzo Juaguar XJ220, They go 217 mph.
Lee, Owen, Nick
The fastest car today is the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport. It goes 267 miles per hour. It costs $2,400,000. It can get from 0-60 in 2.4 seconds.
The second fastest is a tie. They are the Hennesey Venom Gt and Koenigsegg Agera R. They go 260 mph. They cost a millions dollars.
There is also a tie for third. They are the Sec Ultimate Aero and 9ff Gtg-R. They go 270 mph.The next fastest are the PAgani Zonda Cinqua roadster, Ferarri Enzo Juaguar XJ220, They go 217 mph.
From Dora:
SOLE has given us so many different opportunities. We are making t shorts, hats, water bottles, pillows and so much more. All will have SOLE on them. Not only that but we learn so much more with SOLE. The students in the class feel together and the same now, instead of being 2 different Grades. They can share a wacky great idea just like it was a normal one. We feel more included. It also builds up our self confidence. We make many new friends with SOLE.
Let's see where it takes us!
SOLE has given us so many different opportunities. We are making t shorts, hats, water bottles, pillows and so much more. All will have SOLE on them. Not only that but we learn so much more with SOLE. The students in the class feel together and the same now, instead of being 2 different Grades. They can share a wacky great idea just like it was a normal one. We feel more included. It also builds up our self confidence. We make many new friends with SOLE.
Let's see where it takes us!
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Today we researched with Mrs. Dickson's Grade 3/4 class. It was fun!
Who invented money?
Cody, Aidan, Keeshan,Taylor
The first coins were made about 500 BC. The first paper money was in China about 960 AD.
What does ICU stand for?
Skye, Brady, Abi, Caitlynn, Emma-Leigh, Emily
ICU stands for Intensive Care Unit. Patients are placed in these places in hospitals, because they need a higher level of care. Patients in the ICU are typically hooked up to a bedside monitor that allows the hospital to closely monitor the patients. People in the ICU are critically ill and injured. That means they need a lot of extra attention. The ICU is also known as the critical care unit or intensive therapy unit in some hospitals. Some patients are in ICU for a longer time than others depending on the extent of their illness or injuries. ICU can also be found in emergency rooms. To make sure the patients in ICU are receiving proper care nurses are assigned to the patients.
How do you know if you are in love?
Breanna, Sophia, Kaiya, Maddie
You get a weird feeling in your stomach and you can;t stop thinking about them is a sign you could be in love. If you smile when you think about them and don;t want to tell anyone you might be in love.When you look at their pictures and smile and you miss them you could be in love. When you read their texts over and over again you could be in love. When you are with him or her and walk really slow you could be in love. If you feel shy around them or your heart beats faster or you smile when you hear their voice you could be in love. When all you think about is them and you would do anything for them and everything to see them you could be in love. If you write their name everywhere, You could be in love. It is a hard question to answer because it is a feeling but you know when you have it because you get major roller coaster syndrome. Yes, you could be in love.
Why does the moon appear to change it's shape?
Dora, Denyce, Alisha, Caoimhe, Aaliyah
The moon appears to change it's shape when it enters a new phase. The phase changes every 29.5 days and there are 8 phases a moon enters during it's cycle. The phases relate directly to where the moon is located as it revolves around the Earth. More accurately the moon reflects back the suns light to the Earth and so it changes shapes along with it's position relative to the Sun and Earth. The moon never really changes it's shape. As the moon circles the earth parts of it get darker so it looks like it changes shape. When the moon is between the Earth and the Sun it is called a new moon.
Who invented money?
Cody, Aidan, Keeshan,Taylor
The first coins were made about 500 BC. The first paper money was in China about 960 AD.
What does ICU stand for?
Skye, Brady, Abi, Caitlynn, Emma-Leigh, Emily
ICU stands for Intensive Care Unit. Patients are placed in these places in hospitals, because they need a higher level of care. Patients in the ICU are typically hooked up to a bedside monitor that allows the hospital to closely monitor the patients. People in the ICU are critically ill and injured. That means they need a lot of extra attention. The ICU is also known as the critical care unit or intensive therapy unit in some hospitals. Some patients are in ICU for a longer time than others depending on the extent of their illness or injuries. ICU can also be found in emergency rooms. To make sure the patients in ICU are receiving proper care nurses are assigned to the patients.
How do you know if you are in love?
Breanna, Sophia, Kaiya, Maddie
You get a weird feeling in your stomach and you can;t stop thinking about them is a sign you could be in love. If you smile when you think about them and don;t want to tell anyone you might be in love.When you look at their pictures and smile and you miss them you could be in love. When you read their texts over and over again you could be in love. When you are with him or her and walk really slow you could be in love. If you feel shy around them or your heart beats faster or you smile when you hear their voice you could be in love. When all you think about is them and you would do anything for them and everything to see them you could be in love. If you write their name everywhere, You could be in love. It is a hard question to answer because it is a feeling but you know when you have it because you get major roller coaster syndrome. Yes, you could be in love.
Why does the moon appear to change it's shape?
Dora, Denyce, Alisha, Caoimhe, Aaliyah
The moon appears to change it's shape when it enters a new phase. The phase changes every 29.5 days and there are 8 phases a moon enters during it's cycle. The phases relate directly to where the moon is located as it revolves around the Earth. More accurately the moon reflects back the suns light to the Earth and so it changes shapes along with it's position relative to the Sun and Earth. The moon never really changes it's shape. As the moon circles the earth parts of it get darker so it looks like it changes shape. When the moon is between the Earth and the Sun it is called a new moon.
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Why did the Pope resign?
by Lee, Maddy, Adrian M., Katelynne
One of the reasons the pope resigned was because of Old Age.He felt he could not do some the things he had been doing. As he was older the work was too much for him to keep up with. He more or less retired.
How did dogs get their name?
Dora, Alisha, Owen, Kaiya
Dogs were named after after an Old English word, dogge, meaning a powerful breed.The smartness of a dog depends on the brain of the dog itself and of the breed. Dog means male in the canidae family as opposed to the female dog which is called a bitch. We discovered some research that suggested cats are smarter than dogs. Some people believe this to be true while others do not.
Why do frogs eat flies?
Abi, Nick, Andrew W.
Frogs eat flies because they are hungry. It is a source of protein which the frogs need. They also eat anything smaller than them. They use their tongue to capture their food.
What is Progeria?
Breanna, Sophia, Andrew C., Emily
Progeria is a disease that makes kids age 8x faster than normal. They usually die when in their early teens to mid twenties. Most children are diagnosed with it in their first few months. One symptom is a skin condition. Once they are around 18 - 20 months old they will have had limited growth. They will have a small face with a tiny mouth and pinched nose. Later the condition causes wrinkled skin, kidney failure, loss of eye sight, loss of hair, tighter skin, cardiovascular problems and a more fragile body. As they age their bodies become like that of an elderly person.
Why do people smoke if they know it is bad for them?
Cameron, Denyce, Caden, Adrian D.
Kids do it to make themselves look more cool. They also do it to belong to a group. Sometimes they do it to rebel against their parents. Some people smoke because they are encourage to by seeing it in movies and on television. It still seems like it is too easy to get cigarettes.
.
by Lee, Maddy, Adrian M., Katelynne
One of the reasons the pope resigned was because of Old Age.He felt he could not do some the things he had been doing. As he was older the work was too much for him to keep up with. He more or less retired.
How did dogs get their name?
Dora, Alisha, Owen, Kaiya
Dogs were named after after an Old English word, dogge, meaning a powerful breed.The smartness of a dog depends on the brain of the dog itself and of the breed. Dog means male in the canidae family as opposed to the female dog which is called a bitch. We discovered some research that suggested cats are smarter than dogs. Some people believe this to be true while others do not.
Why do frogs eat flies?
Abi, Nick, Andrew W.
Frogs eat flies because they are hungry. It is a source of protein which the frogs need. They also eat anything smaller than them. They use their tongue to capture their food.
What is Progeria?
Breanna, Sophia, Andrew C., Emily
Progeria is a disease that makes kids age 8x faster than normal. They usually die when in their early teens to mid twenties. Most children are diagnosed with it in their first few months. One symptom is a skin condition. Once they are around 18 - 20 months old they will have had limited growth. They will have a small face with a tiny mouth and pinched nose. Later the condition causes wrinkled skin, kidney failure, loss of eye sight, loss of hair, tighter skin, cardiovascular problems and a more fragile body. As they age their bodies become like that of an elderly person.
Why do people smoke if they know it is bad for them?
Cameron, Denyce, Caden, Adrian D.
Kids do it to make themselves look more cool. They also do it to belong to a group. Sometimes they do it to rebel against their parents. Some people smoke because they are encourage to by seeing it in movies and on television. It still seems like it is too easy to get cigarettes.
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Monday, May 27, 2013
Teachers and kids in school, any grade, any school can sign up for Kids Got Sole. Go to our website www.kidsgotsole.com for more details.
Today was a slow day research wise. This morning we were off to O'Neill Collegiate to view Seussical the Musical. It was a pretty good performance. The Cat In The Hat was amazing. Dora and Alisha presented their research on Tobacco. Great job girls. They will write it up and have it posted here tomorrow.
Friday, May 24, 2013
Today's Questions!
Why do we have more than one gender?
We need more than one gender to reproduce and repopulate the Earth. It is important that We keep our species alive. There are female, male and transgender genders on earth. Transgender could be a man, a woman, or both. Often they are people who are in the wrong body. Some types of trans genders include, transsexuals, transitives, crossed dressed, androgyne and drag kings and queens.
Sophia, Alisha, Skye and Dora
Why can't men have babies?
Men can't have babies because they don;t have a uterus or ovaries and no eggs. They are missing a few necessary parts. Their body doesn't produce the hormones. That means they cannot make or support a baby. They have no place for it to come out. Men have sperm and sperm fertilizes the eggs.
Abi, Andrew W., Adrian M and Denyce
Why are some people treated better than other people?
Popular people are popular because everyone feels that if they are not nice to them then the popular person will turn their friends against them. Popular people often get more friends because they put people down which makes them a bully. Some popular people are trying to build a better life for themselves because they had a bad life. They are jealous.
Maddie, Kaiya, Breanna, Lee
What is flesh?
Flesh is under the skin and covers the muscles. Flesh is one of the most important parts of your body.
Stewart, Owen, Cody, Curtis
Why do we have a face?
We need a face so we can eat, smell and see with. It holds all these things on it.
Chelsey, Caden and Aidan
Why do we have more than one gender?
We need more than one gender to reproduce and repopulate the Earth. It is important that We keep our species alive. There are female, male and transgender genders on earth. Transgender could be a man, a woman, or both. Often they are people who are in the wrong body. Some types of trans genders include, transsexuals, transitives, crossed dressed, androgyne and drag kings and queens.
Sophia, Alisha, Skye and Dora
Why can't men have babies?
Men can't have babies because they don;t have a uterus or ovaries and no eggs. They are missing a few necessary parts. Their body doesn't produce the hormones. That means they cannot make or support a baby. They have no place for it to come out. Men have sperm and sperm fertilizes the eggs.
Abi, Andrew W., Adrian M and Denyce
Why are some people treated better than other people?
Popular people are popular because everyone feels that if they are not nice to them then the popular person will turn their friends against them. Popular people often get more friends because they put people down which makes them a bully. Some popular people are trying to build a better life for themselves because they had a bad life. They are jealous.
Maddie, Kaiya, Breanna, Lee
What is flesh?
Flesh is under the skin and covers the muscles. Flesh is one of the most important parts of your body.
Stewart, Owen, Cody, Curtis
Why do we have a face?
We need a face so we can eat, smell and see with. It holds all these things on it.
Chelsey, Caden and Aidan
This morning Martyn Beckett, Director of the Durham District School Board, dropped by our class for a visit. He wanted to see SOLE inaction. He was quite impressed with the work the students were doing. He commented particularly on the fact that it was all student directed, they developed the questions, they researched the answers and presented them to their classmates. He was also impressed with the way the students presented difficult topics, Why do we have more than one gender? Why are some people treated better than others? Why can't a man have a child? He liked that they were able to have informed and trusting discussion on the topics and that they accepted each other's opinions.
Great work class!
Great work class!
This week my class crafted a letter to Sugata Mitra. They wanted to tell him how much they appreciate SOLE.
Here is the letter:
Here is the letter:
Dear Sugata Mitra,
We have been working on SOLE and we all love it. We think your idea is amazing! Through your idea we have set some goals. Some of our goals are: go to the Google Office, make a website, make a blog, and get tablets. Through this we have also met some awesome people. One of those people is the founder of VizzEco. His name is Andrew Grieg. Since we started this almost all of the behaviour issues have gone away. We have also learned a lot. And being in a split class it feels like its 2 classes but since we have done SOLE we have blended. At the beginning nobody would talk to anyone but they’re friends ever since we started SOLE. All the grade 4 and 5 have become friends and we all talk to each other. We have learned about so many things and shared our ideas with the class. Some other classes have started using SOLE.
Thank you for coming up with SOLE. We have never been happier at school!
Would you be able to come and visit our class. We would love to meet you.
Pretty impressive stuff. Yesterday I e-mailed it to an address I had had found for him. It came back that he could not be found there. I gave it some thought and came up with another idea and it worked! This morning I opened up my e-mail and to my astonished eyes there was a reply.
Dear Bill,
Thanks for your mail. I am so happy you liked SOLE.
One day, I hope I will be able to visit you.
All the best,
Sugata
More pandemonium. Great joy!
Thursday, May 23, 2013
The Grade 4 students have been using SOLE to research tobacco. They have finished the research and are now putting together presentations to share with the class. The Grade 5 students have researched alcohol and have completed putting their presentations together. They are also researching individual projects on Ancient Civilizations. Chocolate, Mummies and pyramids are among the topics being followed. More on each of them as they near completion.
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Today was an interesting day. This morning some of us spent time exploring Google Hangout. We learned that sometimes wireless computing does not work like we expect it to. Some others did some research but time limitations prevented us from finishing. A few of us composed an e-mail to Sugata Mitra which we will present to the class tomorrow for their approval. Mr. Ferguson also presented to us his new venture kidsgotsole.com. He has partnered with Andrew Greig to develop this venture. Their plan is for kids to spend time developing projects that will benefit kids who are less fortunate than we are. Please check out the website for further information.
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Today we sent a letter to the Director of Education and some supervisory officers, inviting them to observe a SOLE session. He has agreed to come out on Friday morning and see how this works. We also looked at and talked about a website setup by Andrew Greig of VizzEco and Mr Ferguson. It is a new venture that encourages kids to use SOLE both at school and at home, to explore Google products , especially Google Hangout, and to share it with their friends. More about this later.
Sunday, May 19, 2013
The other day I was explaining to my students about open and closed minds when it comes to learning. While they sort of got it I found this chart that was developed by Carole Dweck to explain how it works. I spent a great deal of time explaining it and discussing it when one of them pointed out that the blue lines were semi circles and the green lines were fully formed and growing circles. When asked to explain it they said that more your mind is growing the stronger it becomes making your world a better place. (I'm paraphrasing here)
Friday, May 17, 2013
One more Grade 1/2 question. Thanks Cali!
Lee’s opinion, My opinion is that they pass things on to there kids or grandkids to get money for something or to keep it to remember them or to save it until it is worth a lot.
Our question is why do people pass on their things when they pass away?
Maddie’s opinion My opinion is people pass there things on when the pass away because people in their family have a more sentimental value when they have something from the person who passed away or they might pass a famous recipe thats a secret or something like that.
Abigail’s opinion, My opinion is that if they have something from the person that died then they would feel like they have a part of them or that feel closer. They also could worth a bit of money because usually they are a bit older and older stuff is more expensive . it could also be if there was 1 thing that meant something to them and they didn’t want to get rid of it because they got when they were young or they got it from their relative that has passed. and thats my opinion!!
Lee’s opinion, My opinion is that they pass things on to there kids or grandkids to get money for something or to keep it to remember them or to save it until it is worth a lot.
This week the Grade 1/2 class came up with many questions during a discussion. My class took the time to research some of those questions.
How Does Electricity Work?
The flow of electrons creates electric current. Electric current is always going right back to where it came from in a kind of circle. The official name for the circle is circuit. Household electricity and its current flow can be easy to understand, if you compare it to plumbing in your home. If you think about it both water and electricity enter and exit your home after being distributed to where they are needed. Electricity flows through a network of boxes or devices to reach its destination. Electricity is used for any appliance you can plug into the network.
Atoms may contain several protons and electrons. Atoms are the building blocks of matter that make up everyday objects. A desk, the air we breathe and even us, we are made of atoms. There are 90 naturally occurring types of atoms. Scientists in labs have been able to make 25 more.
Also opposites attract in electricity.
Dora, Cody, Curtis
Are There Really Aliens?
I think that there aliens are real because think of the eastern island how would the rocks get there they would need machine and they would not have that kind of technology yet and if there are life forms on earth and we call them aliens but what if they are trying to see if we exist and they call us aliens. By. Sophia
I think that aliens are real because they are just like humans but they look different and they also might be in a different planet and know one knows if they are real and that is why I think aliens are real. By. Alisha
I think there are different life forms and they are not on earth. I think there will life forms can be advanced monkeys or advanced humans. There might be different aliens or advanced life forms there. there might be advanced life forms on different plants like Mercury, Mars ,Neptune, Jupiter, Saturn By. Andrew
I think that aliens exist because I there are humans and animals who says that there aren’t aliens in different planets and different life forms because there are galaxies that we cant explore. Have recently found two planets with a sun and blue, green and white which means water land and clouds. All of those mean life
By. Kaydn
Aliens Don’t Exist.
98% of the people do not believe in aliens. People have gone into space and have not seen aliens. If they came to earth they probably would not be able to walk.
Katelynne, Stewart
How Does TV Work?
In the 1950's there were 4 TV networks in the United States. Because of the frequencies built into the TV the signals could only be received in a line of sight which means the signal was sent from the station to your antenna on your TV. People in Pennsylvania solved the problem by putting antennas on hills and running cables to their house. Skye and Denyce
What Was Before The Dinosaurs?
There were lots of animals before the dinosaurs such as Tetropods, coal monsters, bugs, insects, small lizards and water animals. The bugs and insects we know were a lot different than they used to be. They were usually bigger.
There were also a lot of tetropods and coal monsters. Tetropods had 4 feet, laid eggs and had scaly skin. Two of the coal monsters were Diplocerapis and Dimetrodon. Dimetrodon was up to 11 feet long and had a sail to change its body heat. The diploceraspis had a U shaped head, soft skin, skinny tail, front legs,. It’s front legs were bigger than its back feet. Diploceraspis were 3 - 5 feet long.
Cameron, Andrew C., Nicky
How Does Electricity Work?
The flow of electrons creates electric current. Electric current is always going right back to where it came from in a kind of circle. The official name for the circle is circuit. Household electricity and its current flow can be easy to understand, if you compare it to plumbing in your home. If you think about it both water and electricity enter and exit your home after being distributed to where they are needed. Electricity flows through a network of boxes or devices to reach its destination. Electricity is used for any appliance you can plug into the network.
Atoms may contain several protons and electrons. Atoms are the building blocks of matter that make up everyday objects. A desk, the air we breathe and even us, we are made of atoms. There are 90 naturally occurring types of atoms. Scientists in labs have been able to make 25 more.
Also opposites attract in electricity.
Dora, Cody, Curtis
Are There Really Aliens?
I think that there aliens are real because think of the eastern island how would the rocks get there they would need machine and they would not have that kind of technology yet and if there are life forms on earth and we call them aliens but what if they are trying to see if we exist and they call us aliens. By. Sophia
I think that aliens are real because they are just like humans but they look different and they also might be in a different planet and know one knows if they are real and that is why I think aliens are real. By. Alisha
I think there are different life forms and they are not on earth. I think there will life forms can be advanced monkeys or advanced humans. There might be different aliens or advanced life forms there. there might be advanced life forms on different plants like Mercury, Mars ,Neptune, Jupiter, Saturn By. Andrew
I think that aliens exist because I there are humans and animals who says that there aren’t aliens in different planets and different life forms because there are galaxies that we cant explore. Have recently found two planets with a sun and blue, green and white which means water land and clouds. All of those mean life
By. Kaydn
Aliens Don’t Exist.
98% of the people do not believe in aliens. People have gone into space and have not seen aliens. If they came to earth they probably would not be able to walk.
Katelynne, Stewart
How Does TV Work?
In the 1950's there were 4 TV networks in the United States. Because of the frequencies built into the TV the signals could only be received in a line of sight which means the signal was sent from the station to your antenna on your TV. People in Pennsylvania solved the problem by putting antennas on hills and running cables to their house. Skye and Denyce
What Was Before The Dinosaurs?
There were lots of animals before the dinosaurs such as Tetropods, coal monsters, bugs, insects, small lizards and water animals. The bugs and insects we know were a lot different than they used to be. They were usually bigger.
There were also a lot of tetropods and coal monsters. Tetropods had 4 feet, laid eggs and had scaly skin. Two of the coal monsters were Diplocerapis and Dimetrodon. Dimetrodon was up to 11 feet long and had a sail to change its body heat. The diploceraspis had a U shaped head, soft skin, skinny tail, front legs,. It’s front legs were bigger than its back feet. Diploceraspis were 3 - 5 feet long.
Cameron, Andrew C., Nicky
Thursday, May 16, 2013
I found the following chart on this website. I think it demonstrates why we are doing SOLE rather clearly.
http://www.floridatechnet.org/inservice/abe/abestudent/andravsped.pdf
http://www.floridatechnet.org/inservice/abe/abestudent/andravsped.pdf
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Some research on Castles
Motte and Bailey
The motte and bailey was the first castle made completely from scratch by the Normans
. It was completely made of wood, stone, and cow manure. The bailey and the motte were separated and were both surrounded by ditches. Some ditches were full of water, dirt, and some are just a ditch. It was made from 1066-1087. They were separated by wood bridges. A motte is a mound of dirt and a bailey is a courtyard surrounded by wall or fence. The soil removed from the ditches was used to build up the motte.
Concentric Castle
It was developed in the 12th and 13th century’s. It’s a castle within a castle. This castle offered the best protection against the attack. This castle is one of the only castles that offered fresh water supply. This castle included a drawbridge, murder holes, gate house, a moat, death traps, arrow slits, and lots of weapons. The space between the two walls were the death holes. They used mud/cow manure to stick the stones together like cement
.
-Dora, Alisha, Abi
Motte and Bailey
The motte and bailey was the first castle made completely from scratch by the Normans
. It was completely made of wood, stone, and cow manure. The bailey and the motte were separated and were both surrounded by ditches. Some ditches were full of water, dirt, and some are just a ditch. It was made from 1066-1087. They were separated by wood bridges. A motte is a mound of dirt and a bailey is a courtyard surrounded by wall or fence. The soil removed from the ditches was used to build up the motte.
Concentric Castle
It was developed in the 12th and 13th century’s. It’s a castle within a castle. This castle offered the best protection against the attack. This castle is one of the only castles that offered fresh water supply. This castle included a drawbridge, murder holes, gate house, a moat, death traps, arrow slits, and lots of weapons. The space between the two walls were the death holes. They used mud/cow manure to stick the stones together like cement
.
-Dora, Alisha, Abi
The whole class worked on today's question.
Why is the Earth tilted on it's axis instead of being perpendicular?
Answer:
Some people believe that the Earth is tilted because of the Ice Age. Some people believe that a long time ago, over a period of 4 million years there was a lot of ice and dust and rocks crashing into each other and eventually they all stuck together and formed planets. That process is a little messy and it caused the Earth to have a huge impact forcing it to move to 23 degrees.
Skye, Kaydn, Breanna, and Madison.
If the Earth wasn't titled then there wouldn't be any seasons. There would be a huge climate change. The sun would rise low in the sky and remain there during the day. The hours of day and night would be the same.
Abi, Denyce, Lee, Andrew C.
The Earth is on a tilt because it makes us have seasons. We have different temperatures because it is tilted.
Caden, Andrew W., Adrian
The Earth tilts because of the formation of the system around it. The tilt is about 23.40 degrees. Without the moon the Earth could go into an axial fall.
Stewart, Cody and Curtis
The Earth is 23.5 degrees from perpendicular. The Earth is tilted toward the sun. It makes a warm season when it is tilted towards the sun and a cold season when it tilts away from the sun.
Chelsey, Aiden and Katelynne
I think that meteors pushed the Earth so it tilted from the impact.
Cameron, Nicky and Adrian D.
The Earth is tilted at 23.5 degrees. When the Earth is tilted away from the sun the Northern Hemisphere is warm. When the Earth is tilted away from the sun it is cooler. In the warm season the sun is higher in the sky. If the Earth was not tilted we would not have seasons. Every day would be the same.
Sophia, Dora, Kaiya, and Alisha
Why is the Earth tilted on it's axis instead of being perpendicular?
Answer:
Some people believe that the Earth is tilted because of the Ice Age. Some people believe that a long time ago, over a period of 4 million years there was a lot of ice and dust and rocks crashing into each other and eventually they all stuck together and formed planets. That process is a little messy and it caused the Earth to have a huge impact forcing it to move to 23 degrees.
Skye, Kaydn, Breanna, and Madison.
If the Earth wasn't titled then there wouldn't be any seasons. There would be a huge climate change. The sun would rise low in the sky and remain there during the day. The hours of day and night would be the same.
Abi, Denyce, Lee, Andrew C.
The Earth is on a tilt because it makes us have seasons. We have different temperatures because it is tilted.
Caden, Andrew W., Adrian
The Earth tilts because of the formation of the system around it. The tilt is about 23.40 degrees. Without the moon the Earth could go into an axial fall.
Stewart, Cody and Curtis
The Earth is 23.5 degrees from perpendicular. The Earth is tilted toward the sun. It makes a warm season when it is tilted towards the sun and a cold season when it tilts away from the sun.
Chelsey, Aiden and Katelynne
I think that meteors pushed the Earth so it tilted from the impact.
Cameron, Nicky and Adrian D.
The Earth is tilted at 23.5 degrees. When the Earth is tilted away from the sun the Northern Hemisphere is warm. When the Earth is tilted away from the sun it is cooler. In the warm season the sun is higher in the sky. If the Earth was not tilted we would not have seasons. Every day would be the same.
Sophia, Dora, Kaiya, and Alisha
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
We have been researching tablets on the chance that we will be able to purchase some for our class. We have been looking at the iPad2, Google Nexus, Acer, Lenovo, Asus, Microsoft and Samsung Galaxy tablets. We examined the specs and made a chart. We then discovered that there were some things on the specs that we didn't know enough about to make an informed decision so we started to research those things. We will do more tomorrow but here is what we found today.
The Lightning Cord. The lightning cord is a smaller version of most cords that plug in for electrcity. It is easier to use because it is not as easy to jam it into the connector. It is lighter in weight and more portable to carry.
Maddie, Kaiya, Lee, Breanna
WIFi: Wifi is a wireless network that people use to connect with their devices and the internet. It sends radio waves to a hub.
Andrew W.
Anti Virus Protection: An anti virus protection system is a high leveled system to stop viruses from slowing you work or harming your tablet. It stops Trojans, worms, bugs, key loggers, hi jackers, dialers and other harmful things. It defends against malicious software.
Dora, Alisha, Adrian D.
Centtral Processing Unit: A central processing unit is the brain of the computer. It interprets and executes instructions and data programs. All the CPU does is run programby fetching instructions from RAM, evaluating them and executing them in sequence. The cpu breaks it into different parts and does different things.
Sophia, Nick, Cameron, Curtis
The Ice Cream Sandwich: The ice cream sandwich is an operating system. It is the thing in the tablets that makes it work.
Abi, Skye, Denyce, and Chelsey
4 G network: A 4G network makes the computer work faster. The more G's in the connection the faster the internet will work.
Stewart
The Lightning Cord. The lightning cord is a smaller version of most cords that plug in for electrcity. It is easier to use because it is not as easy to jam it into the connector. It is lighter in weight and more portable to carry.
Maddie, Kaiya, Lee, Breanna
WIFi: Wifi is a wireless network that people use to connect with their devices and the internet. It sends radio waves to a hub.
Andrew W.
Anti Virus Protection: An anti virus protection system is a high leveled system to stop viruses from slowing you work or harming your tablet. It stops Trojans, worms, bugs, key loggers, hi jackers, dialers and other harmful things. It defends against malicious software.
Dora, Alisha, Adrian D.
Centtral Processing Unit: A central processing unit is the brain of the computer. It interprets and executes instructions and data programs. All the CPU does is run programby fetching instructions from RAM, evaluating them and executing them in sequence. The cpu breaks it into different parts and does different things.
Sophia, Nick, Cameron, Curtis
The Ice Cream Sandwich: The ice cream sandwich is an operating system. It is the thing in the tablets that makes it work.
Abi, Skye, Denyce, and Chelsey
4 G network: A 4G network makes the computer work faster. The more G's in the connection the faster the internet will work.
Stewart
Monday, May 13, 2013
For those of you unfamiliar with Sugata Mitra he is the person who in 1999 took 2 computers to the slums of Delhi, cut a hole in a cement wall and inserted the computers. He put a camera on them and walked away. What he discovered astounded him. The students started by teaching each other how to use the computers. They started playing games and then discovered that they could look up things of interest to them. Only one problem. Most of the websites they needed were in English. The were in India speaking the languages native to them. So they taught themselves how to read English. They kept teaching their friends about what they learned.
Dr. Mitra has spent a great deal of time researching this aspect of it and developed his Minimally Invasive Education theory. And from there he developed SOLE, Self Organized Learning Environments. Which is what my students do every day.
Below are some websites where you can find some more information about Sugata Mitra. Happy reading!
http://www.ted.com/speakers/sugata_mitra.html
http://edf.stanford.edu/readings/ted-and-sugata-mitra-%C2%BB-sole-challenge
http://www.hole-in-the-wall.com/
Dr. Mitra has spent a great deal of time researching this aspect of it and developed his Minimally Invasive Education theory. And from there he developed SOLE, Self Organized Learning Environments. Which is what my students do every day.
Below are some websites where you can find some more information about Sugata Mitra. Happy reading!
http://www.ted.com/speakers/sugata_mitra.html
http://edf.stanford.edu/readings/ted-and-sugata-mitra-%C2%BB-sole-challenge
http://www.hole-in-the-wall.com/
How SOLE works in my class:
We discuss things that are of interest to the students. They develop their questions based on these interests. Some days we select one question for all to research and other days we select 7 questions , one for every 4 students.
Once the questions are selected, the students whose question is selected becomes the leader of the group. The other students decide which question they like and form groups of 4, joining the leader. They then have 30 minutes to research their question.
After the 30 minutes are up the students will present their information to the rest of the class. Sometimes they present as a group and at other times I choose one person from the group to present. This way they have to all be knowledgeable about the topic.
There are times when the presentation is developed in a different format. Slideshows, posters and illustrated diagrams are some ways it has been done.
We discuss things that are of interest to the students. They develop their questions based on these interests. Some days we select one question for all to research and other days we select 7 questions , one for every 4 students.
Once the questions are selected, the students whose question is selected becomes the leader of the group. The other students decide which question they like and form groups of 4, joining the leader. They then have 30 minutes to research their question.
After the 30 minutes are up the students will present their information to the rest of the class. Sometimes they present as a group and at other times I choose one person from the group to present. This way they have to all be knowledgeable about the topic.
There are times when the presentation is developed in a different format. Slideshows, posters and illustrated diagrams are some ways it has been done.
From todays research. 25 minutes to find the answer.
What is Leprosy?
Leprosy is a skin disease where 1 in 10 catch it now a days. Leprosy is formed by bacteria. People in Africa, Asia and South America get it most often but it can be found anywhere.
Back in the old days you could catch Leprosy very easily and you would likely die from it. People then didn't have proper medical care like we do now. One story said that a man got leprosy and got it really bad on his fingers. He had to get his fingers removed. Leprosy also could have been bad in the Medieval times. Once one person got it it is likely that someone in your family will get it too because it is contagious. .
Kaiya, Abi, Breanna, Madison
In Medieval times how did they get there armour, horses and shields?
Everything costs money. Horse were very expensive to buy and look after. Metal shields and armour were also quite expensive to purchase from a blacksmith. That is why poor people often made wooden ones.
Curtis, Dora, Caden, Katelynne
Who was the first god to have a name?
The first god to have a name was Zeus and the first goddess was Aphrodite. Before Zeus a woman named Gaia and a man named Orianos gave birth to the Titans. The very first Titan was Kronos and the second was Prometheus.
Chelsey, Skye, Andrew C., Nicky.
What is Leprosy?
Leprosy is a skin disease where 1 in 10 catch it now a days. Leprosy is formed by bacteria. People in Africa, Asia and South America get it most often but it can be found anywhere.
Back in the old days you could catch Leprosy very easily and you would likely die from it. People then didn't have proper medical care like we do now. One story said that a man got leprosy and got it really bad on his fingers. He had to get his fingers removed. Leprosy also could have been bad in the Medieval times. Once one person got it it is likely that someone in your family will get it too because it is contagious. .
Kaiya, Abi, Breanna, Madison
In Medieval times how did they get there armour, horses and shields?
Everything costs money. Horse were very expensive to buy and look after. Metal shields and armour were also quite expensive to purchase from a blacksmith. That is why poor people often made wooden ones.
Curtis, Dora, Caden, Katelynne
Who was the first god to have a name?
The first god to have a name was Zeus and the first goddess was Aphrodite. Before Zeus a woman named Gaia and a man named Orianos gave birth to the Titans. The very first Titan was Kronos and the second was Prometheus.
Chelsey, Skye, Andrew C., Nicky.
Saturday, May 11, 2013
More SOLE thoughts from Coronation Public School
My students were asked for an appraisal of SOLE. The following are their thoughts. In between there is a question and answer that were presented.What I Like About Researching
My opinion is that I love this way of learning because you get to see what other people’s opinions are. My questions are based on every single thing that I sit down in bed and think about. Everything like how did the first person on earth learn if he is the only person on earth? Or how was earth created? Why do we live if were just goanna die? Basically, every single thing I think about is going to be one of my questions one day. A few days after, I will find out the answer to my question. One of the cool things about my life is that I get to get to know a question’s answer every single school day. But it’s also good for my class because they were sometimes loud but when we started to do this way of learning everyone stops being loud and just goes really quiet and it just feels like everyone is on the same page. It just feels nice to see your class actually likes to learn about something. And you know that expression that you learn something new every day? Well it comes true when we start to do SOLE but it’s not just one new thing that we learn. It’s like finding out there is a whole other world that excites us. It is just great! I think it’s really awesome, great, fun, crazy, amazing new way to learn.
Madison
The question:
Why do we live if we are just going to die?
The answer:
There is a point to living. If we don’t live then nothing would be discovered. We wouldn’t do great things. We wouldn’t know what to do. We wouldn’t have any rights. As horrible as it is to think you are going to die we have to so that more people can discover, learn and create great things.
Madison, Sophia, AndrewGod gave us a life because he thought we had a purpose to live. He thought that we could learn life’s lessons and so we do.
Kaiya
What I Like About Researching
I like the research that we do every morning, in our classroom. People have great questions. I am very interested in political and mature subjects and I don’t have the time after school or on weekends to research them. Now that we have the time at school I am very happy. It helps us to learn better instead of the teacher giving us pieces of paper on one topic that he chose and having us write about it. Now we get a sticky note and get to write our own questions we want to learn about.
I don’t think there are any bad things about what we do every morning. It gets our brain working and it also gets us to be more creative.
Kaydn
A few weeks ago I submitted what you will read below to tedsole@tumblr.com to help inform others about SOLE.
SOLE makes so much sense to me in so many ways. I have taken to alternating short, student-decided SOLE projects with SOLE projects of a couple of days.
My students are working overtime to make their presentations the best ever. I have been making notes about what we are doing and am considering putting together a presentation to promote SOLE within my school board. I feel a lot less stress in teaching this way.
I have always believed that research was a better way of teaching students. Initially, there were no computers and research was so time consuming that it was done a few times but the levels of work were not always strong. After the advent of computers it became easier but still the access to the computers was an issue.
While access is still and issue, it forces us to be more creative about how we are getting the students online. With only two computers in the classroom, no lab time this week and I-Pods that were not functioning to capacity, we made the best of it.
I must say the students enjoyed the research process and 90% of my Grade 4/5 class were thrilled to be working using the SOLE method. I may have to modify it a bit from time to time to allow independent workers to meet their needs as well. This is all part and parcel of the learning process.
Below are some of the statements my class made when asked about working this way.
Student Responses:
- I liked doing it and being with different people in the class.
- I like how it helped us to work together. It is cool how we learned about cool things.
- I really liked this research because we get to learn things that we never knew. It’s always fun to do. I don’t like the groups. I wish I could do it alone.
- I really like using the computers because it is fun to be independent and work with friends.
- I liked the fact that we got to work as a group. I find that I remember things better than writing on paper.
- Researching on the computer makes it easier and faster to find facts or learn. I think it is a good idea.
- I think it was fun getting to be able to research a whole bunch of things. I liked that we worked as a team. The only thing I would change would be a grade 5 in each group
- What I really liked was everyone in my group was friendly. Plus I learned a lot with everyone in the class room.
- I loved what we have been doing because it gave us time to use our computers/I-Pods. I have also learned a lot more than usual.
- I really like doing this because everyone gets along and everyone is doing teamwork
- I liked it because us students can share what we know and teach your friends what you know. I didn’t like how some groups would be lazy and look at what website we were on so they could get the same information as us.
- Liked working with other people. I did not like that some people didn’t share the electronics and caused some fights.
All in all very positive responses.
We worked on a number of SOLE topics so that I could understand further how it works. Most were just discussion pieces about what they learned. Today they put together a small display of their knowledge and shared it with the class. I can see where this fits into my social studies and science curriculum and am eager to apply it in those areas. The Grade 5 students planned and executed an experiment on matter after researching absorbancy. They are working on their presentation piece.
I think the one thing they all noted was that in jobs in the real world people work as teams to become the best that they can be. They saw this connection clearly and think this is a great way to go about learning. I couldn’t agree with them more.
Friday, May 10, 2013
Who knows what they will think of next!
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