Of Beetles & Angels: Happy Monday!

Good Morning Kenosha Kids,

      Today is Monday, December 7, 2015.  We spent some time last week reading together, practicing SQ3R, and becoming acquainted with Of Beetle and Angels.  This book will be our reading material over the next couple of weeks. 
We dove into the first chapter and were able to work in groups to make meaning out of what we read together.  We will be finishing our informal presentations today so that we can read ahead.

      Do you remember that SQ3R is a reading and learning strategy that has been around for a long time?  It is still relevant because it works.  SQ3R is an acronym that stands for SURVEY, QUESTION, READ, RECITE, REVIEW.  Let's continue to practice this as we read together this week to find central ideas and central messages in the book.

Finding a central idea and a central message from our reading.

Here is the Vsauce for the week.  Think about revisions, innovation, and mistakes while you watch.  As always, good luck and have a great day.

Love, peace, and taco grease,
Mr. C

SQ3R: Survey, Question, Read, Recite, REVIEW...

 Welcome Friends,

      This is Think Spot.  Think Spot is a classroom blog designed to facilitate learning, further understanding, and connect our classroom conversations.  Today is Thursday, December 3, 2015.  Yesterday, we were introduced to a learning strategy called SQ3R.  This strategy, when done well, forces us to ENGAGE PARTS OF OUR BRAIN.  SQ3R gets us thinking beyond the 4-corners of the text.  SQ3R can become a great habit that moves us to new places in our understanding of what we read and watch.

      Below, is a great video that shows another teacher explaining SQ3R as a strategy for learning.  Before we get into Of Beetles & Angels today, let's also look at this video briefly to figure out where we are in our own reading process.  

      SQ3R
    
      As we read and learn together today, remember that reading is a process.  Reading is a conversation.  Reading is thinking.   Thank you for hanging out on Think Spot and have a great day.

Love, peace, and taco grease,
Mr. C

From the cluttered mind of C, Teacher
Kenosha Unified School District

Day 3- The Sumerians: Bringing it all together...

Happy Camel Day Folks,

       Today is Wednesday, October 28, 2015.  We have been studying an early Mesopotamian culture called the Sumerians.  In doing so we have also began thinking about leveled questions.  We have focused on LITERAL and INFERENTIAL questions.  Below, are some of the questions we have tried to answer using text and media sources.

1. Housing-

What were houses made of?
How does the location determine where you are in the social hierarchy?
What would be one advantage of having farmland outside the city walls?

2. Ziggurat-

What is a Ziggurat?
What are some distinguishing features of a ziggurat?
What is the significance of placing the ziggurat in the center of the city?

3. City Wall-

What is the purpose of the wall?
Why was protecting the city so important?
What are some disadvantages of having the wall around the city?

4. Sumerian Wheel-

What is this artifact?

What was the original purpose of the wheel?
Why is the wheel so important to modern society?

5. Cuneiform -

What is Cuneiform?

If you knew cuneiform, what kind of job opportunities would present themselves to you?

Why do you think writing is one of history’s most important cultural advances?

Today, we will be using as much class time as we need to share the information we have learned with other groups.  For example, if you studied Sumerian housing then you will be sharing your information with the groups that  studied the ziggurat, the city wall, the Sumerian wheel, and cuneiform.  By the end of the day today, you will have information on all the topics.  Working together as a learning community can be more fun and more efficient.

Yours truly,
C

P.S. Here are the google sheets from A1, A2, A3, and A4. 


From the cluttered mind of C, Teacher
Kenosha Unified School District