How do you know of the process is working?

 How can you determine if a new process or program is working?  In addition to Composition, I teach Biology for our local Co-op.  I’m testing a new method.  In the past, when I teach Biology or Life Science, I include detailed comparisons of nine phyla in the animal kingdom.  Usually, I start with a slideshow, assign some coloring page, such as this planaria and move on.  This year, the kids are doing paper dissections, such as this Planaria Anatomy Craft, rather than a coloring sheet.  The kids are making detailed polymer clay models, too.  How do we know if this is working?  After all, I’m investing a lot of time on projects.  I asked the kids to tell me what they remembered about Phylum Porifera and Phylum Cnidaria.  They made lists.  Guess what?  They remembered nearly everything.  Okay, we had to review a few terms, such as nematocyst and Coelenterata.  No problem!  However, the kids are absorbing more by tracing, studying, and labeling diagrams and paper dissections.  

If you are unsure if a new method works, stop and ask your child a few questions.  If you are using manipulatives for Math, ask the child to show you how to use the manipulative for a new, math problem.  Why are we making a time line?  Their answers will help you decide if the method works.  As another example, if you want your child to read a book, watch the movie, and write a comparison paper, first ask the kid a few questions.  Did you think the movie captured the book well? Why?  Why not?  Was the movie faithful to the book’s characters?  Which did you enjoy more?  Why? Compare the resulting written essay with some of the child’s other writing.  Does this essay have more depth?  Sometimes success can be measured in a child’s willingness to do the assignment.  You shouldn’t pander exclusively to their interests.  However the resulting work is better when the child is engaged.

Debates

 Update: the teens started the debate; both sides delivered their arguments.  What I learned is that we hadn’t defined ‘processed foods’.  Does it mean highly processed or just preserved?  We clarified.  I used the example of Pringles versus a potato.  Pringles have added salt and preservatives.  ; potatoes are harvested and sold.  Preservation is used for both highly processed and whole foods. Lesson learned.  Next time, I need to define the topic.  Here are a few notes we used before the debate.  I made notes during the debate, as if I were judging a competition. Here is a rubric to help you act as judge.  

Today the Co-op Composition class started working on a debate: processed foods vs whole foods.  I wrote pro and con on craft sticks.  The kids partnered and started to research pros and cons for specifically processed foods.  The teens were instructed to be able to defend and refute one another’s arguments.  Today, they spent class researching evidence to support their sides.  I’m excited!  Is this composition?  Oh, yes!  The kids have to research, jot down ideas, edit,  organize their evidence—all before  speaking one word.

Let’s write rubrics!

 Okay, my rubrics are really checklists for the kids’ projects.  Here is a typical scoring rubric for a disease project.  Below is the rubric and point value I’m using for a disease project.  Here’s the difference: the kids in the Biology class wrote the rubric.  I asked them to determine which components should be present in their posters.  I typed the list and added it to Google Classroom.  Rubric done!  If they have all of these components, they earn full credit.  If any component is missing or confusing, I ask them to correct the problem before receiving full credit.  Sit down with your teen and determine the scope, parameters, and components for the next project.  One interesting note: kids tend to make harder rubrics than teachers.

Digital Storytelling

My Co-op Composition class is working at home on The Bridge to Terabithia project. Next week, we’re planning a debate in class.  This group of kids can write and all enjoy writing; we don’t need another research paper right now.  One of my goals for the Composition class is to expose the kids to a wide variety and different forms of writing.  Our next unit is Digital Storytelling.  Here are some suggestions for projects.  I like ‘Fractured Fairy Tales’ more than ‘Simulate an interview with historical character’.  Maybe the kids could do an interview with a ‘hysterical character’ instead.  Common Sense Media has 32 Apps for Storytelling.  There are no shortage of resources available.  I think we’ll start by retelling an Aesop’s Fable digitally.  

Debate Lessons

The Composition class is reading The Bridge to Teribithia and watching both the Disney version and the 1985 version.  While they finish reading and viewing, we’re creating lessons for next year’s Composition class.  We watched One Fish Two Fish Duo Finals, from NCFCA.  Several of the students in our Co-op participate and compete with NCFCA.  Our class is going to prepare lessons around specific topics relating to Speech and Debate.  Why?  Kids preparing for a speech or debate apply the same skills as in composition.  

I don’t have any background with Speech and Debate.  Last year, students recruited me as a judge.  I watched several training videos before the competition.  I don’t know very much.  However, the quality of the debates I judged were excellent.  Your family may want to see if there is a NCFCA group near you. In any case, this year’s Composition class is exploring the idea of Speech or Debate in terms of a composition exercise.  I’ll keep you posted.

Chemmatters Update

 So my Composition class read about Tattoos.  The kids discussed pros and cons, or risks and benefits.  Should you get a tattoo?  Do the pros outweigh the cons?  Vice versa?  Do the risks outweigh the benefits?  What do you think.  I took notes.  Basically, we’re working on this lesson for next year.  Here are the notes.  I acted as scribe for this lesson.   Next year, the kids will read the article and make a T-chart.  Finally, the kids will write a paragraph answering whether or not to get a tattoo and add a picture representing one reason people get tattoos.

Chemmatters

Have you heard about  Writing Across the Curriculum?  This is one of those trends that comes in vogue in education regularly.  Teachers are often encouraged to get students to write.  I agree!  One technique I have used is to start with an engaging article, such as Tattoos.  No, I’m not promoting tattoos.  However, the topic of tattoos usually generates a lively discussion.  Should you get a tattoo?  Why do people get tattoos?  Are there any risks?  One of my cousins is a tattoo artist.  I talked to him at length at a family reunion about the risks.  Did you know tattoos are addictive?  I didn’t know that before I spoke with Mark.  He also explained many of the reasons people get tattoos.  At the time I spoke to my cousin, I was teaching in a public school.  Many, many, many students there wanted tattoos—often for the reasons mentioned in the article.  This Chemmatters Issue has another article about tattoos and the recipe for ink.  

Here’s how I tackled the writing assignment with tattoos.  First we read an article from ACS about tattoos.  Next, we listed the pros and cons of tattoos.  The kids examined the question, Should you get a tattoo?, in an essay.  They wrote volumes!  Lastly, we did several art labs: Playtime Paint, Make Ink (Try to write with the ink.), Stain Glass Glue, and Colorful Lather Printing.

If you want to avoid the controversy surrounding tattoos, pick a top such as Art, instead.  Here is a Chemmatters article, ‘Authentic or Not?’.