February 8, 2008 (Day 107)
Reflections
In Morning Meeting, we watched CNN Student News. The main story looked at Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s decision to drop out of the race. We also used Google Earth to gain a sense of the geography of the American College of Building Arts’ campus at McLeod Plantation on James Island. It was easy to see its proximity to the harbor, and we also noticed Charleston’s Plum Island sewer treatment plant. In our discussions of the relatively new college, it was also clear to us the value of the college to Charleston in providing skilled workers to support the care and restoration of the older homes in the Charleston area, and the comparison was made to the value of the culinary colleges in sustaining the great restaurants in the Lowcountry. In Math Class, our focus was on numbers and percents. 
We then headed to our Learning Outside the Classroom expedition to the ACBA facility at McLeod Plantation. Here we met 2nd year students who were prepared to show us the plantation and their skills as part of their communications class. We broke into two groups to tackle the two aspects of our time at McLeod Plantation: 1) touring the house, grounds, and former slave cabins for notable features and architectural elements; 2) moving through stations for demonstrations and hands-on practice with the artisanal skills the students are learning at the ACBA.
We marveled at seeing the symmetry involved In all parts of the plantation, from the Georgian home’s millstone at both entrances to the oak trees and slave cabins in perfectly straight lines. We also greatly enjoyed learning about metalwork, plaster of paris, brick laying, stonecutting, and timber framing. It certainly helped us appreciate the care involved in constructing and maintaining homes built using traditional techniques. As the students moved into an economics class, we took the time to eat our lunch on the beautiful lawn. 
Before leaving, we scrutinized the 400 year old oak tree that shades the house. Upon our return to campus, we worked on thank you cards and on-line projects. This involved examining the website created about the Orangeburg Massacre of 1968 and looking at more stories of DNA and archival research to present family trees to famous and everyday blacks (through the PBS series, African American Lives 2, hosted by Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr.).
February 7, 2008 (Day 106)
Reflections
In Leadership & Life Skills, we prepared for tomorrow’s Learning Outside the Classroom expedition to the American College of the Building Arts by reviewing its website and talking about the shrewdness of acquiring artisan-level skills. We also completed the Frontline special about a teacher’s lesson in discrimination – “A Class Divided. “ In Math, we continued our work in percentages from yesterday, and we also focused on multiplying decimals. In Spanish, we took a quiz and talked about preparations for assessments and Spanish major assessments in particular. Mrs. Rowland also guided us through an exercise on the correct conjugation. In Humanities, we explored the website companion to our history series — A History of US. We also analyzed a cartoon (“The American Rattle Snake”))in order to determine its date, content, and message. We were able to detect the visual allusions and pick up hints through the title, the text, the featured elements, and the web address (url) of the site. We also discussed the genealogical difficulty that faces descendants of enslaved Africans. However, modern research techniques and DNA are allowing for progress to be made in this area. This is seen in two webcast videos we watched from African American Lives 2 hosted by Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates. In these two examples, Chris Rock learns that one of his ancestors enlisted in the Union army in Beaufort in 1864, and Morgan Freeman discovers that his grandmother’s story was recorded by the Fedeal Writers’ Projectof the 1930s. We were familiar with this site because of our work in the fall on narratives from the 1930s about South Carolina during the Depression. This was a project done in concert with our reading of John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men. In Science, we took our assessment on the cell and cell membrane.
Assignments
Leadership & Life Skills
– for Friday, 2/8 – Moodle on-line reflection on skill sheet rankings and narrative comments from First Semester. Include goals for the rest of the year.
Math
– for Tuesday, 2/12 – p. 342 8-24 (identify part & whole)
Spanish
– For Monday, 2/11 – Copy and study the new vocabulary on page 111 & 112; complete Acts 28 & 29 on page 112
Humanities
– for Monday, 2/11 – short story due
Science
– none
February 6, 2008 (Day 105)
Reflections
In Morning Meeting, the start of the period was dominated by Super Tuesday debating and discussing. We then moved to strategies for more effective “start of the day” organization. We then completed our thank you cards for last week’s one-on-one lunches. In Math, we used numbers and election results linked to Super Tuesday to determine percentages – both absolute and for growth (and the difference between the two). In working on straight equations and word problems involving percentages, we were able to see how the presentation of numbers can be manipulated to affect perception (similar to what we saw in how the director of a movie or writer of a book can give a different view by changing perspective). Related examples of this were seen in the claims of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama that they “won” Super Tuesday. For example, Obama touted winning more states, and Clinto proclaimed that she grabbed the biggest prizes and most delegates. In Spanish, we reviewed the rubric for our major project this quarter. It involves presenting, using poster board, PowerPoint, or digital video, a series of likes and dislikes. We discussed the importance of citing sources for pictures, and we realized that we have the chance to pick the vehicle that we feel strongest about to convey our lists. We also learned about and made our first digital audio recording for Mrs. Rowland. This will allow us to send audio files of our speaking Spanish to her as attachments to email messages. In Humanities, talked about the Magna Carta and examined the areas of disagreement (including the basis for the different views) between the British and the American colonists. Mentor Zach Thames arrived during Science and remained for the rest of the day. In Science, we reviewed the organelles of the cell. We took a quiz and graded it, and then we discussed the function of each organelle. We received our corrected cell membrane tests, and Mrs. Ewing went over the correct answers with us. All of this served as preparation for our test tomorrow that whill include the cell and the cell membrane.
Assignments
Leadership & Life Skills
– for Friday, 2/8 – Moodle on-line reflection on skill sheet rankings and narrative comments from First Semester. Include goals for the rest of the year.
Math
– two uses or examples of percents
Spanish
– For Thursday, 2/7 – Study the new vocab on pages 108 & 109 and translate these sentences into Spanish:
1) I am going to the dance with Ana Gracia on Friday.
2) We do not go to school on Saturdays and Sundays.
3) My friends and I like to rest or practice sports on the weekends.
4) When it is good weather, we like to go to the beach.
5) I don’t want to play the piano today.
– For Monday, 2/11 – Copy and study the new vocabulary on page 111, complete Acts 27 & 28 on page 112
Humanities
– for Thursday, 2/7 – read and take notes on chapter 12
– for rest of week work on your short story
– for Monday, 2/11 – short story due
Science
– for Thursday, 2/7 – test on cell and cell diagram
February 5, 2008 (Day 104)
Reflections
In Morning Meeting, we had a guest presentation from Dr. Don Flowers, pastor of Providence Church on Daniel Island, about the value of religious literacy. He piqued our curiosity by introducing himself and then playing Don McLean’s American Pie. We followed along with the lyrics he shared with us. When finished, he explained all of the allusions the song contained to events in America from the 1960s, and one could only truly understand the song by being familiar with these events and the references to them. Dr. Flowers then shared other biblical and other religious allusions with us (including the use of the David & Goliath allusion by a sportscaster about Sunday’s Super Bowl), and we strived to see which ones we recognized and understood. As we have seen in our studies this year, becoming culturally literate and understanding allusions are the pay-offs for learning and striving to be smart. There is a similar benefit for learning about the different faiths of the world: one is then better able to talk with and to understand proponents of these faiths, and this will enable us to better coexist and work together. In Math, we continued our efforts to master fractions (with and without variables) and word problems featuring fractions. In Spanish, we began this class by spending time with Ms. Pat’s K-5 class. 
They read us a story first, and then Mr. Kreutner read The Lion’s Bed by Diane Redfield Massie. We then had fun with several of the play activities together. Upon returning to USL, we went yesterday’s Unit 3.1 test and discussed our new vocabulary. In Humanities, we took a short assessment on our most recent studies of the American colonies. We then discussed some of the background events and developments in history that are precursors to America’s founding documents (Declaration of Independence and the Constitution), and this involved examining antecedents such as the Magna Carta. We also spent some time getting familiar with an American Revolution webquest that will be the central vehicle for our study of this period. The most interesting aspect is that it places us in the role of the British, and this will steep us in this perspective of these crucial events in history. In Art, we moved ahead in our work in cartooning. We are now drawing multi-cell cartoons. The process involves sketching a rough draft in pencil and then crafting the final version with colored markers. Mentor Zach Thames arrived during Art and stayed until the end of the day. In Science, we reviewed the cell by confronting a “thinking question” posed by Mrs. Ewing. She asked us to create a University School cell in which the major components of the “cell” are comparable to their real cell equivalents.
Assignments
Leadership & Life Skills
– for Friday, 2/8 – Moodle on-line reflection on skill sheet rankings and narrative comments from First Semester. Include goals for the rest of the year.
Math
– two uses or examples of percents
Spanish
– For Wednesday, 2/6 – copy (write Spanish AND English) and study the new vocab on pages 108 & 109, complete Acts 23 (write the whole paragraph) and 24, write the complete sentence on page 110
– For Thursday, 2/7 – Study the new vocab on pages 108 & 109 and translate these sentences into Spanish:
1) I am going to the dance with Ana Gracia on Friday.
2) We do not go to school on Saturdays and Sundays.
3) My friends and I like to rest or practice sports on the weekends.
4) When it is good weather, we like to go to the beach.
5) I don’t want to play the piano today.
– For Monday, 2/11 – Copy and study the new vocabulary on page 111, complete Acts 27 & 28 on page 112
Humanities
– for Wednesday, 2/6 – read and take notes on chapter 12
– for the rest of week work on your short story
– for Monday, 2/11 – short story due
Science
– for Wednesday, 2/6 – cell diagram worksheet and the cell of USL – quiz on cell diagram; – for Thursday, 2/7 – test on cell and cell diagram
February 4, 2008 (Day 103)
Reflections
In Morning Meeting, we watched CNN Student news. The main story recapped the most recent Democratic presidential candidates’ debate. This gave us a chance to pause the webcast and review the latest poll numbers for the candidates in each party. Before viewing the numbers, we offered analysis and educated guesses as to the likely numbers as based upon our understanding of the elections to date, the geography and composition of each state, and the trends affecting each candidate. We did well and saw that John McCain’s hold on the Republican nomination is strong, and this is also seen in his Intrade numbers. As for Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, Clinton has a slight advantage when looking at all the states at play on Super Tuesday, but Obama has gained momentum and narrowed a lot of the gap that has existed in his Intrade number over the past week (in comparison to hers). The other story looked at the recent violence in Chad. As one can see in the geography of the region because of its location next to Sudan and the upheaval that has existed there in the past year, it was not a surprise to see that the unstable conditions had spread to Chad. We learned a lesson about former colonies and their connection to their once-colonial power – in this case France. France is providing military support to back the current government. The news report also mentioned the U.S. State Department’s travel advisory for Americans in or traveling to Chad. This gave us the chance to visit the State Departments website, get acclimated with it, and view the advisory for ourselves. We also previewed our schedule for this week. In Math, we took an assessment on mixed numbers, fractions, and word problems. From 9:00-10:00, we had our second of three shagging lessons with Mr. and Mrs. Rowland. After practicing the “basic” for a few minutes, we moved to turns. It took us some time to get the hang of it (and it was certainly a workout), but we did well and are beginning to look like real shaggers. In Spanish, we had our Unit 3.1 test. In Humanities, we hosted guest instructor Pamela Price for another lesson about music. Her multimedia presentation today focused on composition of a symphony orchestra, the variety of instruments seen in an orchestra, and understanding the notations in sheet music. In an endeavor that connected to our yearlong effort to improve our cultural literacy, we were steeped in the works of several of the major classical composers of the last 300 years. In Science, we worked independently and in our small groups on our Making a Difference projects. For some of us, this entailed arranging tours/presentations/information sessions for the class with experts in our area of study.
Assignments
Leadership & Life Skills
– for Friday, 2/8 – Moodle on-line reflection on skill sheet rankings and narrative comments from First Semester. Include goals for the rest of the year.
Math
– for Tuesday, 2/5 – p.222 #s 12-27 odd
Spanish
– for Tuesday, 2/5 – Read “La Cultura” on pages 106 and 107, take notes and answer the “Para Comprender” questions on page 107
– For Wednesday, 2/6 – copy (write Spanish AND English) and study the new vocab on pages 108 & 109, complete Acts 23 (write the whole paragraph) and 24, write the complete sentence on page 110
– For Thursday, 2/7 – Study the new vocab on pages 108 & 109 and translate these sentences into Spanish:
1) I am going to the dance with Ana Gracia on Friday.
2) We do not go to school on Saturdays and Sundays.
3) My friends and I like to rest or practice sports on the weekends.
4) When it is good weather, we like to go to the beach.
5) I don’t want to play the piano today.
– For Monday, 2/11 – Copy and study the new vocabulary on page 111, complete Acts 27 & 28 on page 112
Humanities
– for Tuesday, 2/5 – chapters 9 & 10 in history text
– for Wednesday, 2/6 – quiz (with notes) on chapters 1,6,8,9 & 10
– for Thursday, 2/7 – chapters 11 & 12 in history text
– for Monday, 2/11 – short story due
Science
– for Tuesday, 2/5 – organelle worksheet
– for Thursday, 2/7 – test
