Please update your bookmarks: http://s-k-5-6.blogspot.com/

We're changing the address of our class blog! 

If you'd like to keep up with our ongoing adventures, please visit: 

http://s-k-5-6.blogspot.com/

(For those of you wondering why the address is changing: This blog was originally created using my personal google account. In the interest of bringing everything into the summers-knoll.org domain, I'm moving things to that account. This will also make it much easier for me to update the blog quickly on the fly, for reasons that are entirely too dull to explain here.) 

Thanks! 

An Introduction

Welcome to the 2013-2014 school year! 

We've really hit the ground running this year, which has been tremendously exciting and gratifying. Unfortunately, it also means that the blog has gotten off to a slow start, even as things in the classroom have taken off. 

Expect more regular updates as we get up to speed (and sign up to have new posts sent to you via email on the right side of this page!).  

For now, here are a few snapshots of what we've been up to over the last two weeks. 

Each week begins with an all-school assembly. Our community continues to grow, and these weekly gatherings keep us connected.  

---

Our first theme of the year is Explorers of the World. In Science, we've gone back to some of the earliest recorded scientific thought. How can we learn about the nature of the world around us using only our senses and our intellect? 

We had some lovely, sunny days our first week back, and we took advantage of them to do a very old fashioned project. Sam Hirschman introduced us to one of the feats of the pre-Socratic philosopher Thales: While visiting the Great Pyramids in Egypt, Thales was able to accurately calculate their heights by measuring their shadows, then comparing them to the shadows of smaller objects whose heights were more easily measurable. 

We tasked the kids with determining the height of one of the light poles in the S-K parking lot by using the same trick. 

They set about their task by each selecting an object from school to measure, then measuring its height, and its shadow in the afternoon sun: 

We then created a class graph of all of our data, plotting both the height of the objects and the length of the shadow. 

We discovered that there is a linear relationship between our data points, which allows us to calculate the heights of large objects based on the measurements of their shadows. 

It's an activity that has spilled over from Science class into Math, and even a bit into Writing, as we stress the importance of keen observation of details and relationships. 

---

Rachel discusses digital citizenship with our class

We also spent time last week discussing digital citizenship and responsibility. As you may know, Summers-Knoll has a 1-to-1 laptop program at the middle school level, meaning that each student is assigned their own computer for school use. However, before issuing them, we are working to establish institutional guidelines for their safe and appropriate use. Our students have an active role in the creation of these guidelines, and we've spent time working as a class and in small groups to create a code of conduct. When is Youtube okay to use? Is Minecraft an appropriate use of school time? How private is a school email account? Should other people be able to use your passwords? These are some of the many questions we're navigating as a community entering the online sphere. It's an interesting discussion, and a necessary one. 

---

We even had our first field trip of the year last week, following the untimely malfunction of the middle school air conditioner on an abnormally hot day. Rather than swelter, we adjourned to the Kelsey Museum of Archeology and the University of Michigan Museum of Art. 

At the Kelsey, each student selected three artifacts that captured their interest, then wrote a little about each of them. They then placed each item on world history timeline, as well as on a map. 

At the UMMA, S-K Art instructor Monica took us to observe some of the pottery on display, tying in some of the work that has been done in class. 

The first of many class portraits!

---

We are profoundly lucky to have County Farm Park right across the street from our school. It's a wonderful place to play, study, observe, and contemplate. 

We took an early morning walk last week to discuss a few of its key features: woods, prairie, ponds, and the community farm. Karl also had them playing soccer in the park for PE. It's a fabulous resource and I suspect that we will be regular and frequent visitors! 

---

Finally, we've already had some class birthdays! It's a bit of a class birthday tradition that the birthday boy or girl gets to choose an activity for the class from a list made by me. It's usually a sizable list of options that includes things like, "Listen to Jason tell stories about the 80s," or "Handwriting Jamboree," but kids always seem to choose the "Recess" option. 

This week, however, we had two birthdays! One student chose recess, while the second chose "watch an episode of 'Star Trek: The Next Generation'." As it turns out, there was a specific episode that I had been planning on screening as a tie-in to our study of the Scientific Revolution. We've been discussing rational thought versus empirical data, so this episode was actually the perfect way to close out a busy Friday afternoon. 

Here's a scene in which an amnesiac Data is skeptical of some pre-industrial age science: 

As a teacher, I recognize, love, and dread that look on Data's face as he skeptically listens to that lecture. 

The kids loved it, and we paused frequently to discuss deduction, logical fallacies, and the fits and starts of developing scientific thought. It even allowed a little discussion about the power of using genre to convey ideas in interesting formats. 

---

This has only been a taste of what we've been up to! As you can see, we've been busy! I look forward to chatting with you all about the work we've been doing on Curriculum Night! We're off to a great new year! 

Last Day! We're Almost There!

Of course, there's always time for one more game of Gaga Ball...

Jason and the Argonauts, 2012-2013

(Click here for a much larger version!) 

Laurea tells us about Pickling

Our second session of EBs recently wrapped up, and kids are still excited about them. Today, Laurea tells us about In a Pickle, the pickling EB. 

---

Laurea, checking her wingspan.

We do EBs on Fridays. 

EBs are where we chose a topic from four or five choices. I am writing about the pickles EB. There were five EBs this season; Pickles, Flashmob, Comics, Guitar, and Horseback Riding. Mr. Chris Swinko taught this EB. We call him Chris. I hope you like my blog. :)

Session 1: 

We tried a lot of pickles. We learned about different types of pickles. There are salt pickles and vinegar pickles. With salt pickles, good bacteria thrives. It kills all of the other bacteria and the good bacteria pickles the cucumbers. With vinegar brine, it kills ALL of the bacteria. (Brine is what pickles the cucumbers.)  

Salt pickles

Vinegar pickles                         

Session 2: 

We made some vinegar pickles. Find a vinegar pickle recipe here. We also pickled some unusual things like carrots and cauliflower. The cauliflower was really good. We tried a little of the store-bought vinegar pickles. They were spicy, but good. You can buy the pickles we tried at Whole Foods. Their website is here.

Session 3:  

We started making salt pickles. We got our vinegar pickles from the last class. We started making salt pickles. Find how to make salt pickles here. We are going to interview people from various local pickle companies, one of them is The Brinery . We got to eat a lot of the ingredients, including fennel. We got to try our vinegar pickles from last class.

Session 4: 

We went to the Brinery and we got to see things. The Brinery’s website is here. We got to see how they do things and see how they make things. The surprising thing is they make everything by hand. They have a machine for shredding, but the majority of the process is without machines. We learned that pickle brine is being given as a drink to many major athletes. Pickle juice can replace many nutrients that gatorade cannot. We got to try some pickle brine and some pickles. They were good. Be sure to check out the link I gave you!

Lemon pickles

Spring Trip! DAY 2: Cave City and Mammoth Cave!

After a lovely visit at Serpent Mound, we began our long trip to Cave City, Kentucky. Google Maps says that it's a trip that should have taken us a little over four hours.

Google Maps is a liar.

We drove through torrential downpours, standstill traffic, more torrential downpours, and countless hills and valleys. There were points at which if felt as if we had driven all the way to the Gulf of Mexico. No matter how long we drove, the answer to "HOW MUCH LONGER," was always met with a tired, "about two more hours." This has since become an in-joke, a rallying cry, and an all purpose answer to all manner of questions.

The boys' cabin.

We eventually made it to Jellystone Park Camp, our home for the first two nights. Our amazing crew of parent chaperones called ahead and had a feast of pizza waiting for us, and we let the kids run around exploring together to burn off some of the energy built up by twelve hours spent on buses.

The lights-out portion of the evening went surprisingly well. It was late, and everyone knew we had a long day ahead.

The next morning, the kids rose with the sun, and they were treated to a feast prepared by our all-star parent crew. The parent cabins were equipped with kitchenettes, which were used to make toast, fry bacon, and scramble up several dozen eggs. There was also fresh fruit, yogurt, milk, and juice.

Then we loaded up the buses and headed to Mammoth Cave National Park. The drive from our campsite to the park is peppered with an assortment of local curiosities and attractions (a less charitable person might call them "tourist traps"). If you're planning on visiting Mammoth Cave National Park on a family trip (and I've already heard several rumors of people tentatively planning on returning), make sure to plan some time for bumper boats, the Mystery Spot, and the absolutely terrifying looking "Alpine Slide."

Our first cave tour was called the New Entrance Tour. The brochure sums it up:

New Entrance Tour

A wonderful complement to the Historic Tour, this trip includes a dramatic series of domes and pits, typical large trunk passageways, and a short journey through dripstone formations.

That description really undersells just how amazing it all was! First of all, the "new entrance" means exactly that. The entrance to this part of the cave is manmade, and looks nothing like what you would probably expect:

That utility door that that everyone is entering is the entrance to the cave. It looked much more like something out of the television show Lost than an ancient natural wonder.

DISCLAIMER: It is really, really difficult to get good photographs in caves. They are very dark, and frequently cramped. Rest assured that the views in person are amazing! The photographs that follow are... less so.

Just through the doorway is a damp, dank, manmade stairway. 

The manmade portion quickly gives way to the cave itself. Stainless steel staircases and walkways twist and turn through the passages. It's really, really cool. 

Aristea and Lev.

Here's a blurry shot of not-much, but if you look closely, you can get a sense of the scale of the interior. 

Again, this may give you a small sense of the scale of the passages. At the top of this photo, you can see a group gathered around a light. At the bottom, you can make out the ghostly silhouettes of people just in front of the camera who are about to climb the stairs.   

People were regularly exclaiming with wonder, pointing, posing, and generally having a wonderful time. Here are Aristea, Denali, and Margaret gathered around a light at a bend in a passageway. 

Each tour features a guide, who made frequent stops to tell us about the science and history of the cave.  We heard a lot about limestone, the sandstone cap (which is the waterproof barrier above the cave), and the colorful human history of the cave.

Following this two-hour excursion, we all enjoyed lunch together in a cafe in the park. Afterwards, Karl took a large group of kids kayaking above ground on the Green River, while I went with a smaller group on a second cave tour. I'll tell you a little about that tour in our next entry!

Spring Trip! Part 1: Serpent Mound

WE MADE IT.

By now, parents, siblings, and families have all probably heard many tales of epic adventure about our Spring trip. Between the parents, teachers, and photo-crazy students, I'm fairly certain that there are well over 11 million photos from this trip. Here are a few highlights from my camera. I'll start with Serpent Mound:

After a long, scenic drive through rural Ohio (and most of Ohio is rural), the kids were ready to run. Here we see them exploring the Serpent (and surrounding areas).

Of course, by "exploring," I mean "picking flowers" and "sinking into mud up to the knee..."

The mound sits on a ridge 100 feet above Ohio Brush Creek. 

A group shot on the observation tower. 

Serpent Mound was a really neat stopping point. It's out of the way (way out of the way), so we essentially had the place to ourselves for the duration of our visit. While there, I picked up a book called Indian Mounds of the Middle Ohio Valley. As it turns out, there are a lot of these mounds spread across Kentucky, Ohio, West Virginia, and Indiana. Serpent Mound is the largest, and generally the most well known. Others can be found on golf courses, in the parks of small towns, or tucked away in subdivisions. These mounds are often subtle, giving little clue that they represent the work of cultures that lived here one thousand years ago. (Artifacts found at Serpent Mound have been dated to 1030 AD.)

After lunch, a tour of the gift shop, and many, many photo ops, we loaded back onto our buses and resumed our long journey to Cave City, Kentucky.

The kids create their own serpent!