Computer Science Principles (CSP) Elective:
This week in CSP, high schoolers worked collaboratively in groups on rapid prototyping. Students were grouped based on diverse areas of interest and expertise. They were then asked to brainstorm ways in which existing technology could be improved in their areas of interest and/or to suggest an innovative new technology that might solve a problem in their area of interest. After brainstorming, each group decided on one idea to further develop by creating a prototype and displaying it on a poster. With only fifteen minutes to work, students were challenged to effectively communicate their ideas! Up next: sending binary messages!
~Mrs. B
Social Studies:
In the sixth grade history class, we have been working on getting to know each other and collaborating as a team. This has involved playing history charades, asking lots of questions, and discussing an overview of what we will study this year. On Monday, middle school students played a game for which the objective was to arrange the eras of modern U.S. history in chronological order, with the correct dates matching to each era. Students split into two teams, and they were able to collaborate and research to complete the task. Students were required to look beyond the headlines that popped up in their Google searches and dig deeper to find supporting evidence.
Seventh and eighth grade students have been reviewing the Civil War. We wrapped last year on this era, and students are doing really well discussing the reasons for the war and the effects that it had on the United States. We spent time today reading and discussing a few primary sources from the war, utilizing and practicing students’ skills of reading comprehension and critical thinking. The first was a source from Benjamin Butler, discussing self-emancipation. The second was a set of letters from a Union soldier writing to his children and the person who enslaved them. From here, we will move into Reconstruction and work to understand all that needed to be done to knit the nation back together.
We’ve begun the year with wonderful discussion in the high school Missouri and Local History class. Students are excited about the opportunities this course will present this year. Summit high school students are well equipped for this inquiry-based course that will require them to ask strong questions, do extensive research, and arrive at the significance and larger connections of various events. We take our first field trip soon, which should lead to some rich discussions about the Springfield area and open up additional questions to be explored through research.
Book club students are off to a great start, as well. We had a rousing discussion of books we enjoy on Wednesday of last week, and we were able to jump into a book set that was available at school – Red Berries, White Clouds, Blue Sky. Several students had finished the book by Monday, and we were able to discuss the historical context of the storyline: Japanese internment during World War II.
~Mrs. Smith
