Second Semester, Week 14

Ladies and gents, we are officially in our LAST WEEK of Challenge A. This is the time to FINISH STRONG! By this time next week you will be done with Blue Books!

This week you all did a fabulous job leading discussions and staying on task. We were able to work through the morning without a break, and as a reward we got to meet up with the mid-county Challenge classes at Menchie's!

Next Monday we will meet at my house and we'll all be ready to start by 9 AM. If all goes as planned we will have time to do a full frog dissection as well.

Here's a recap of how to study for each strand this week, and what to bring with you to class. Manage your time well and put in your very best efforts. Leave it all on the field!!!

Grammar (Latin): Make sure you can fill out the principal parts chart (Principal Parts Chart). Then practice conjugating each verb in the present (present, imperfect, future), and one verb in the perfect (perfect, pluperfect, future perfect - remember that the endings are the same for all 4 conjugations, hence the need to only conjugate one of your verbs). Practice conjugating on blank paper, organized in a way that is clear to you (and hopefully to your parents). I'll send a picture to google hangouts of what I came up with :). (Present/Perfect Verb Endings)

*Here is how I chose to write out the verb info this morning (you can organize yours differently of course):

Remember to also review your vocabulary as well!
Bonus - practice filling out our handy-dandy declension chart: (Declension Chart)

Exposition/Composition (LTW): You can use your Blue Book time to write your Bronze Bow essay using Essay six outline and checklist. You can reduce your exam day workload by writing your essay this week (or at least starting it) and bringing it to class. If you already have your essay written, I will have a fun little exercise for you to do during this time.

Cartography: PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE drawing the entire world. Work on spacing, labeling, etc. You will have up to 2 hours for this on Monday.

Logic: Bring a problem and be ready to write out an observation/5CTs discussion.

Research: REVIEW DRAWING AND LABELING ALL BODY SYSTEMS. Over and over. You will be asked to draw a MINIMUM of three, but why not shoot for the stars??????

Rhetoric: Review all of the fallacies we have covered. Can you list them all? Can you define AT LEAST three? Could you write an example dialogue or comic strip illustrating AT LEAST one?

That's it! You know what you need to do...so get after it!

What to bring for our final class:

$8 for pizza lunch
Pencil/Eraser
Book or something quiet to do if you finish early
Bronze Bow Essay
Cartography Notebook with definitions (PRIZE!)
Research/Body Systems definitions (PRIZE!)

2nd Semester, Week 13

Oh, hello! Remember this blog? Sorry it dropped off so suddenly! I'm bringing it back for our last couple of weeks.

Grammar (Latin):

We may have gone a little overtime with latin this week! You all completed a vocabulary review puzzle, and then spent a few minutes writing down everything you could think of about VERBS. Pretty impressive. 

We discussed Pluperfect and Future Perfect tenses, and walked through 2 sentences from exercise 184, which you all thought were soooooooooo easy. Your homework this week should be a breeze, then! 

Key Latin Review for Blue Books:

Principal Parts Chart

Latin Verb Endings Chart

Noun Declension Chart! (Remember this?!?)

Exposition/Composition (LTW):

Heard three fabulous papers, briefly discussed The Bronze Bow (setting, favorite characters, generating an issue), and played an ANI chart game.

10 NOODLE REWARD: 

COMPLETE ANI CHART AND COMPLETE ALL INVENTION TOPICS (USE THE WORKSHEETS!)

Cartography:

You completed your final blank map assessment before the week 15 world map assessment. Remember to diligently practice drawing the entire world these last two weeks. Don't short change yourself and all the work you've put in this year by slacking off in the homestretch. 

NOODLE REWARD FOR COMPLETING GEOGRAPHY DICTIONARY. Also, there will be a prize on Week 15 for a finished geography dictionary!

Logic (Math): Really great math discussion today, led by Dylan and Chloe. Ethan and Emma are up next week!

Research: The assessment of the eye completed, but unfortunately we weren't able to have a discussion including definitions because no one brought them! I know you will all be prepared for this strand next week. 

Time to start reviewing those body system drawings! You'll want to have at least three of them memorized for week 15 (memorized = draw + label, NOT definitions), but strive to master as many as possible!

NEXT WEEK: We will be dissecting frogs!

Rhetoric: We discussed whole-to-part and either/or fallacies, then played a rousing round of "Truth or Fallacy".

FOR NEXT WEEK:

Next week, we are trying something new. Each of you students will lead a strand! You'll need to look at Week 14 in your Challenge guide and check the "In Community" section to see what you should prepare for. It'll mostly involve leading the class in review and discussion!

Grammar (Latin): Ethan

Expo/Comp (LTW): Dylan

Cartography: Me

Logic: Emma and Ethan lead math discussion using problems from home

Research: Chloe (after we do blank assessment of the ear)

Rhetoric: Emma

Get after it this week, everyone. You are awesome!

Whoops! Forgot to publish this post! And now it is Thursday...

Here is what you need to know!

Latin: Follow your guide and enjoy the slower pace. Keep committing the time to Latin!

LTW: Dylan did an awesome job reading his paper! We missed hearing from Chloe, though. The good news? We are repeating the process for Essay 5 with The Door in the Wall. This week is Invention - come up with an issue, use 5CT questions, comparison 1 & 2, and definitions worksheets to develop your ANI chart with 30 items per column.

Debate: I was genuinely impressed with your 'around the world Asia' drawings. Well done. By the end of this week, you will have drawn all of Asia. Week 6 will be your blank paper assessment, so keep up the daily practice.

Rewards for:
- Daily cartography drawing
- At least one cumulative map (but why stop at one?!?)
- Reading the geography sections in the cartography book
- Watching Geography Now videos

Don't forget your Geography Dictionary!

Logic: Emma and Dylan took it away this week! I'd love to have Ethan and Chloe go next week.

Research: Ok here we go. I'm sure you are already on it this week, but now is the time to finalize your Science Fair projects! Check your guide, check science buddies, and PRACTICE as much as you can to see if you can really communicate your project to an audience.

Science Log Book - make sure the sections are filled per the guide's instructions (you've been doing this week by week...)
Research Plan and Paper - make your final edits and print out so that they are ready to go
Board - Finalize your board, making sure you read through each section. Does each section make sense? Are your graphs clearly labeled and are you able to explain the graphs/tables? Do you understand the steps of the scientific method? Variables? Is your board visually appealing (it does NOT need to be fancy)?
Other materials - Gather any other items you want to have displayed with your project. Pictures? Maple candy (Emma)? Materials you used? Examples of your boats (Ethan)?
Presentation - Can you present an overview of your project in 3-5 minutes without reading your paper or board? Have you practiced in front of your family (and the mirror)?

I will say it again - please PRACTICE presenting your projects at home.

You all will do an awesome job.

Next Monday you will present your projects in front of the Foundations/Essentials students during opening assembly!

Biology: Let's not forget that you are starting your biology drawings this week. I introduced the respiratory system. You should be drawing the respiratory system every day (using the pictures in the back of the guide), and slowly working on defining each term. By the end of two weeks, you should have your best drawing and labels, along with a page of definitions for each system (use the nature sketch journal, a similar notebook, a binder...anything to keep your final work organized in one place). After two weeks you will have a blank paper assessment of the system in class. Look in the back of your Challenge A guide under Research to get an explanation of this process!

Rhetoric: We very, very briefly discussed chapter 18. Next week you will each have time to lead the class discussion, covering chapters 18 and 19. So make sure you are caught up on your reading.

And don't forget catechisms!

Don't be shy about asking questions if you need answers!

You are the BEST!

2nd Semester, Week 3

Here is the 411 on class. And I WILL have treats next week! And noodles!

Grammar (Latin): The pace is MUCH more doable this semester. This week we covered 2nd Conjugation - same tense (present), mood (indicative), and voice (active). So have some fun and use any extra time on reviewing your weak areas!

Exposition/Composition (LTW): Elocution week = paper time! Looking forward to hearing the Secret Garden papers from at least two of you. The new tool this week is antithesis and it's a fun one to play with.

• Note: This may be a more helpful antithesis worksheet than the one in the book: ANTITHESIS WORKSHEET

Debate (Cartography): Nothing new here...keep drawing Asia, practice AT LEAST one cumulative map a week, read the Cartography book about each region, watch Geography Now videos for noodles (yes!), and memorize those capitals and features! That's it 😜.

Logic: Math problems!

Research (Science Fair): Good job on your boards and abstracts! Each of you gave a basic run through of your abstract and felt what it was like to try to give an overview of your project while fielding questions from your audience. It was great practice! You will need to be ready to express your project clearly, focusing on the key components of the scientific method. Here is a load of helpful information to help you focus these last couple of weeks. You should do the following with your parent(s)!

• REVIEW THE BASICS: Look in your guide and on sciencebuddies.org and review the requirements for each step of the project. Do you know what an independent variable is? What is supposed to go on the board or in your research plan? Look at the resources you have, then ask me if you're still wondering!
•  Weekly Science Fair Breakdown
• https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/science-fair
• PRACTICE PRESENTING YOUR PROJECT: As you all realized in class yesterday, presenting to a group can reveal how well you really understand the elements of this project. It's tough! You'll want to practice presenting this week (especially after reading the tips below). Remember, your abstract is a summary of your project, but you don't have to use it as your presentation. Your MEMORIZED presentation should include all of the important project information. Here is a great site I just found to help you organize your thoughts:  PRESENTATION HELP
• PARENTS: You can use the following judging form to evaluate your student. (Note: I am not in charge of which judging form will be used at our Fair, but it should contain these elements) JUDGES FORM
• READ THIS ADVICE: Another Challenge Director got some feedback from their Challenge A/Challenge B Science Fair judges. These judges had science backgrounds and had some great tips! Note: not all of these tips can be followed at this stage in the game...no need to re-do your whole project! This is a learning process for all of us, so just do what you can.

1. Complicated does NOT make it better. Make sure you are testing only ONE thing.

2. Conduct multiple trials. They could not say that enough. This was our overall weakness with most of the projects. 

3. ALL the raw data does not need to be on the project board. The details should be recorded in the lab journal, but for the board, the judges want to see the data that led you to your conclusions. Superimpose the averages (because you should be doing multiple trials) on top of one another. This way the judges can CLEARLY see the differences in your results.

4. Speaking of results, the results should be something that is measurable. Saying that one plant has leaves that are more "vibrant" than another is subjective not objective. The judges really loved everything about the grass growing project, but when explaining his results he used words like best, sturdier, thicker with no numbers to go along with them. That was the only reason he didn't get a ribbon. He totally got the multiple trials part right, though.

5. Understand and clearly label your variables. Whether you use language like "independent, dependent" or "manipulated, responding" doesn't really matter. The students should understand those concepts and be able to explain how they used them in their projects. Definitely have a constant in there. 

6. On the graphs, make sure the horizontal and vertical axes are clearly labeled WITH the unit of measurement. It makes no sense to a judge when you have tons of numbers, but it is unclear if we are talking about centimeters or feet. These things matter.

7. Also, on the graphs, make sure the numerical intervals are the same. Look at the "Insulation Sensation" board in the pictures below. This student had fabulous graphs showing his results, but the numerical intervals on the vertical axis were different from one graph to the next. This makes it very hard to compare results. It would have been much better if he had put all of his lines onto one graph (use different types of lines or colors or something). It would have been much easier for the judges to see the comparisons.

8. Number, numbers, numbers! List your materials using quantities. In other words, don't just say flour, say how much flour. Also in your procedure, don't just say "scoop", give a measurement.

9. Express your question in terms of "What effect does (manipulated variable) have on (responding variable)? Or something along those lines.

10. Make sure the font of the text on the board can easily be read by the judge. They didn't like having to lean way over and squint. I saw it suggested on science buddies.org to have your text at least 16 pt. font.

• FINE TUNE YOUR BOARD: SCIENCE BUDDIES BOARD TIPS Now that you've identified areas of weakness, edited your presentation, and clarified any confusing elements of your project, you can now fine tune your board to reflect your changes. 
• FINALIZE YOUR OTHER ITEMS: Lab journal, Research Plan, Research Paper, pictures, visual aids, etc. 
• REMEMBER THE DATES: 
• 1/29 (NEXT WEEK): Bring your project and be ready to present to class again! Each of us will get a change to 'judge', and I'll have some questions that judges could potentially ask you. It will be great practice!
• 2/5 (Week 5): You will present your projects during the Foundations/Essentials opening assembly. It is a good opportunity to work out any last minute 'kinks'.
• 2/6 (Tuesday evening): SCIENCE FAIR!

Rhetoric: Mostly productive discussion this week (along with a bit of unnecessary goofiness). READ THE CHAPTER! HIGHLIGHT IN AS MANY COLORS AS YOU CAN! MEMORIZE THOSE CATECHISM QUESTIONS!

Have a great week!

2nd Semester Week 2

Laser Tag!

Fun class today! Remember that next week we are back at the church (so no more laser tag!).

Grammar (Latin):
Not much new this week! We talked about the interrogative participle -ne. This week's exercises will focus on translations and more translations. Get to it! Remember to work in some time to review your vocabulary (this week includes an assignment to review 3rd declension neuter nouns in particular).

Exposition/Composition (LTW):
It's Arrangement week! That means outlines, sorting, exordium, and amplification. And we added our new tool - definition. Go through ALL the steps and bring your completed outline with you next week! You also can begin reading The Door in the Wall, which you need to have read by week 4.

Division Example from Class

Debate (Cartography):
Today we covered Southern Asia. Remember:
- a noodle for doing cartography every day
- a noodle for EVERY cumulative map completed
- a noodle for every country (that we've covered) you watch on GEOGRAPHY NOW

Have fun!

Logic (Math):
Ethan, Dylan, and Chloe led us in an overall fabulous math discussion. Remember to come prepared with a thoughtful math problem to share next week!

Research (SCIENCE FAIR):
A review of our Science Fair Schedule:

January 22nd (CC Week 3): Your Presentation Board should be coming together, and you should be ready to present your 2-5 minute summary in class. The summary is basically the 1 paragraph abstract (see link below).

January 29th (CC Week 4): Bring your finalized presentation board and all materials. We will do a more formal presentation practice in class, and make a final to-do checklist for each of you so you'll be ready for Science Fair. Note: in the Challenge A guide, this is the week of Science Fair. Because we are joining the other campuses, the students get a bonus week to prepare.

February 5th (CC Week 5): You will do a final rehearsal by presenting your projects in front of the Foundations/Essentials students during their morning assembly. The students and parents will have a chance to walk around, take a closer look at your boards, and ask you questions. Note: we will already be onto our next Research segment, drawing and writing about body systems, so it will be in your best interests to get your science projects completed as close to week 4 as possible.

Here are the helpful weekly summaries:
SCIENCE FAIR, 2ND SEMESTER WEEK 1
SCIENCE FAIR, 2ND SEMESTER WEEK 2
SCIENCE FAIR, 2ND SEMESTER WEEKS 3-4

Questions?
1. Look at your guide, of course...

2. Check SCIENCE BUDDIES
Science Buddies Links:
SAMPLE FINAL REPORT
ABSTRACT INFO

3. Ask me!

This week you should be finalizing your Research Paper, Research Plan, Lab Journal, and writing your Abstract if you choose to do one. You will also begin setting up your board.

We're almost in the home stretch with this thing, so finish strong!

Rhetoric:
We had great discussion about chapter 16 in It Couldn't Just Happen. You should read chapter 17 this week and KEEP MEMORIZING THOSE CATECHISMS.

Have a great week!

2nd Semester, Week 1

We had a great start to our second semester. I loved spending the day with you all, but we definitely missed Emma!

This is a late summary (sorry!), so let's get right down to it.

Research:
Ah, Science Fair. Let's put our noses to the grindstone and finish strong!  You should be finalizing your Results, Conclusion, Research Plan, Research Paper, and starting on an Abstract (if you choose to include one). Here is a break down of these final weeks leading up to Science Fair:

Week 2 (1/15): Science Fair Week 1  Science Fair Week 2

Week 3 (1/22): Science Fair Weeks 3-4

Week 4 (1/29): Science Fair Weeks 3-4

Week 5 (2/5): Present Science Fair Projects to Foundations/Essentials kids!

Tuesday, February 6th at 6:30 PM: SCIENCE FAIR!

The good news here? The due date for your Science Fair project is Week 4, but we won't have our actual Science Fair until the following week. This gives you a little extra time to prepare.

Grammar (Latin):
We reviewed nouns and verbs, focusing on the 1st conjunction verbs. As I was studying the week's lesson, I wrote out the information in a way that made sense to me...here are some screen shots of my notes in case they're helpful!

Verb Overview Document: Verbs - An Overview

Keep up the daily work, you all are doing really well.

Expo/Comp (LTW):
I enjoyed our discussion of The Secret Garden! This was Invention week, so I introduced the topic of Definition and we walked through the process using many different words. As we get further into this curriculum, it's imperative that you really take the time to go through each tool we have covered, following all of the steps. Remember, the 5 Common Topics are places we go to get ideas, and the more you visit these places and explore, the stronger your thinking skills will become. The goal is for these thought exercises to become almost second nature, until you no longer need the worksheets at all!

Once again - watch the LTW video! (Essay 5, Definition) Seriously.
Read through the Teacher's Manual!

This week was spent in Invention - ANI chart, 5CT, Comparison 1 & 2, and the new topic Definition.

Debate (Cartography):
We've moved on to ASIA! We broke down and highlighted all the locations and features week-by-week, so that at the end of 5 weeks you'll be ready to draw a complete map of Asia. Must I remind you the importance of daily, careful, detailed map drawing? And don't forget your geography notebook.

Logic (Math): 
We only went through one problem together as a class this week, so next week I expect you all to come prepared with one problem to share with the class. Looking forward to it.

Rhetoric: 
We are still working our way though It Couldn't Just Happen. Please make sure you've read the chapter and highlighted at least the blues and pinks. We will play catechism review games as well, so be prepared!

1st Semester Week 14 and Blue Books!

I'm so sorry that this silly stomach bug prevented us from meeting today! The good(ish) news is that today was going to be almost all review, followed by a detailed discussion of blue book questions.

Here's the plan. I will coordinate with the moms, and we will find a time to chat on google hangouts tomorrow (Tuesday). I will talk you through the plan for the week and for next Monday.

But before we talk tomorrow ~ I'd like you to read through each strand below, where I lay out the exact blue book questions and what you need to do to prepare! I'll look forward to answering any of your burning questions tomorrow!

Grammar (Latin):

Positive = today was review, with no new material to cover.

Blue Book Latin Prompts (~40 minutes):

1. Create or fill in a chart displaying each of the five noun declensions. NOTE: YOU DO NOT NEED TO FILL IN THE SHADED BOXES (ie 3rd Declension Neuter i-stem and 4th Declension Neuter endings)

• I will provide the following chart for you to fill out: Noun Declension Chart
• Download this chart and print it out. Review it this week so that you are able to fill it in from memory. Remember, this is NOT a test. Do your best to learn and review the declensions, and do not stress if you don't have them all mastered by next Monday. It's a chance to celebrate what you do know!

Bonus Questions (do as many as you can in the time allowed):

2. List everything you know about at least two of the following sentences (NOTE: I can't add the lovely macrons on the blog...but they will be there for the test!):

• Flumen est altum. 
• Christiani pro amicis orant.
• Servi dominum bonum laudant.
• In Christo est spes mundi.
• Christiani in nomine Christi orant.

3. Translate at least two of the following sentences into latin:  

1. He is praying. 
2. You are brave. (HINT: decide who 'you' is in this sentence!)
3. The slaves were carrying the grain into the towns.
4. They are attacking the town.

4. List as many latin vocabulary words as you can, including translations.

Exposition/Composition (LTW):

Positive = We are repeating the process for Essay 4, so there was nothing new to introduce today!

Blue Book Exposition/Composition Prompts (~30 min+):

1. Name three canons of rhetoric that we use in our writing process and tell which problem each one solves. Give some examples of tools we have learned for each of these three canons. 

2. Using your Amos Fortune outline & Essay 4 checklist, write a persuasive essay. I will include the outline and checklist, but you need to come prepared to write your essay! This week you will use all the Arrangement tools we have covered so far to prepare your outline. And you could even start on your essay if you'd like! (Remember to ask questions if you get stuck anywhere along the way!)

Logic (Math):

Positive = we've been discussing math problems all year! You've got a good knowledge base on how to have a 5 Common Topics discussion about math.

Blue Book Logic Prompts (~30min):

1. Choose one problem (or write your own - thoughtful - problem) and write a plan for a 5 Common Topics Math Discussion. Solve the problem. I will provide the 5CT math sheet that we use every week. (Math Discussion Worksheet)

1. 47 x 39
2. Compare: 3x4 o 2(6)
3. x - 3/8 = 7/8
4. How can 32 people share $40.00?
5. Solve: 20 = 12Y
6. 18/100 = 90/p
7. Write 0.25 as a fraction
8. 3.56 = 5.6 - y
9. Round 6.857142 to three decimal place

You will need to write out at least one question from each of the 5 topics, and how those questions could be answered (i.e. "What do you see?" numbers, fractions, decimals, words, symbols, variables, etc.). Imagine you are writing out a typical discussion from class!

Debate (Cartography):

Today was supposed to be our blank paper assessment of Europe! Please try to do this at home this week! We were also going to practice on different sizes of paper to see which you'd prefer for blue books.

Blue Book Debate Prompt (~ 60+ min.):

1. Draw and label the Western Hemisphere and Europe (nations, capitals, and features).

• I will have a few different sizes of paper for you to choose from. You'll practice drawing EVERYTHING you know all week long. Focus on reviewing areas that need refreshing and spacing your continents out on paper. Talk with your mom about how you want to label your map (it can get crowded with all the names and features). Dylan is going to label countries and as many features as possible, but only put a dot to represent the capitals, then list the capitals separately. Your mom may not be concerned with capitals at all! 
• Next Monday, you will start with a blank sheet of paper and a pencil and you will draw everything that you can from memory. 
• Once you can't think of anything else, I will give you a list of prompts and a colored pencil that you can use to add more to your map. 
• I will also provide a table of all the countries/provinces where you may choose to write in the capitals (instead of writing them on your maps).
• Once again, WE ARE CELEBRATING WHAT YOU KNOW, not penalizing you for what you haven't mastered yet! Practice your maps extra hard this week!

Research (Science):

Today we were going to discuss science fair and do a fun experiment. Bummer! You need to review your material lists and procedures and check for any possible errors. Have your parent(s) look them over! I will also look through them next week, so bring your lab notebook and research plan to class! 

The goal going into Christmas break is that you are ready to begin your experiment, and that your Research Plan is complete. 

Read this summary: Science Fair Week 15

Blue Book Research Prompt (~ 30 min):

1. Consider two of the creatures you researched this year and explain the following:

• How these creations compare to one another (under the Canon of Comparison, you may create a "HAVE, ARE, and DO"chart to compare differences and similarities, or use one I provide). How are they different?  LTW Comparison
• If you have time, draw an illustration of both creatures.

Rhetoric:

I'm bummed we didn't get to have our two chapter discussion today! And my games! You'll need to review all of the chapters we've read so far in It Couldn't Just Happen. Look through all your highlighted sections and remember why you highlighted them! 

Blue Book Rhetoric Prompts (~30 minutes):

1. Write out 3 of your favorite Catechism questions. Why are they your favorite?

2. Over the past 15 weeks, you have read and discussed the book It Couldn’t Just Happen. It introduces some of the arguments and evidence against the ‘Big Bang’ theory and Evolution, and some arguments and evidence in favor of Creation. Reflect on your reading and

memorized catechism questions, then complete 1-4 of the following:

• Describe/explain 3-5 compelling reasons why the world couldn’t have just happened.
• Describe/explain some features of living creatures on our earth that point to a Creator who designed the universe.
• Create an ANI chart for the following issue: Should Evolution (with a big E) be taught in schools as fact. Can you come up with 10-15 items per column?
• Choose a catechism question and tell me more about it using the 5 common topics.