Week 9

We changed up our schedule this week and saved review for a mega game at the end of the day - it was a lot of fun!  Here are the nuts and bolts for the coming week....

DEVOTION:

Ms. Thoma presented on self-control (Galatians 5:24-25).  When we get back, Mr. Markel will talk about discretion (Proverbs 22:3), and the following week we'll have Ms. Jones lead us on tolerance (Philippians 2:2). 

LATIN:

We're moving onto Lesson 9 - conjugating verbs!  Remember:

* VERBS CHANGE THEIR FORM TO EXPRESS DIFFERENT:
TIME (TENSE) (played = past; am playing = present; will play = future)
PERSON            (I play; he plays)
NUMBERS        (he plays; they play)

* When we study nouns, need to know the genitive case because gives us the stem for the word.  When we study verbs, we must learn the 4 PRINCIPAL PARTS OF A VERB:

1.  1st person singular present indicative active (laudō, I praise)

2.  Present infinitive active (laudāre, to praise)

3.  1st person singular perfect indicative active (laudāvī, I praised)

4.  Perfect participle passive (laudātus, having been praised)


*  The PRESENT INFINITIVE ACTIVE (laudāre) shows us which conjugation a verb belongs to.

* All verbs whose present infinitive active ends in  -ĀRE  belong to the FIRST conjugation.

* Finally, verbs must agree with subject in PERSON & NUMBER (e.g., Marīa ōrat. / Maria prays.)

Continue to work on the Mastery Review Vocabulary List for Units 1 and 2 (p. 91-98 in the purple book).  :)

LTW:

First, we have an extra week - please * USE IT *  :) to make sure you read, finish, and most importantly, ENJOY reading The Hiding Place, by Corrie Ten Boom.  This is a very powerful book that will influence and strengthen your faith and biblical worldview.  Don't rush through the book or save it to the last minute.  I think this is the most important book of the year for you to savor....Teachers, if you have not read it, you should take time to do so as well.  It's truly one of the most powerful stories I have ever read!

Now back to class...students shared their exordium, division, and proofs.  We also learned about antithesis, which they will incorporate somewhere in their essays this week, using essay template #5:

I. INTRO

A. Exordium

B. Division

1. Agreement

2.  Disagreement

a. Thesis

b. Counter-thesis

C. Distribution

1. Thesis

2. Enumeration

3. Exposition

a. Proof 1

b. Proof 2
           c. Proof 3

I look forward to listening to your essays - you have some great theses!  Don't forget to include:

- parallelism,
- amplification,
- exordium,
- division, and 
- antithesis!

You may notice the guide also tells you to include a simile.  This might be a typo, since we have not discussed similes this year yet (we will in a few weeks for our next paper!).  If you really want to impress us, you can try to fit one into next week's essay!  :)

sim·i·le -- an explicit comparison of two things different in kind but sharing a common characteristic; it uses words like "as" and "like" to make the comparison.  E.g., cute as a kitten, busy as a bee, blind as a bat, they fought like cats and dogs, watching the show was like watching grass grow.

LOGIC:

We dove into new lessons this week (#23-26), and things are getting interesting!  In lesson 24, Mr. Nance challenges the students to work through the 256 possible forms of syllogisms (appendix B) to determine which 24 are valid and which 232 are invalid. We worked through a chunk of them, testing by counterexample.  If you would like to watch Mr. Nance solve the entire challenge, he does it here: http://logiccurriculum.com/2016/10/13/challenge-accepted/

Over the next two weeks, continue to work on the new vocabulary, reread the lessons, and finish working through any exercises you didn't finish last week.

What's Ahead?  After break, we'll move on to lessons 27-29 (for only one week), then lessons 30-32 (two weeks), and finally, lessons 33-36 (for one week and then the semester ends!).

Since you have extra time before we meet again... ;) Here is a challenge for anyone interested to try - you can bring your answers to class:

Einstein's Riddle
(Supposedly, Einstein wrote this riddle and said that 98% of the world could not solve it.)

The situation:
- There are 5 houses in five different colors.
- In each house lives a person with a different nationality.
- These five owners drink a certain type of beverage, smoke a certain brand of cigar, and keep a certain pet.
- No owners have the same pet, smoke the same brand of cigar, or drink the same beverage.

The question is:  Who owns the fish?

Hints:
- the Brit lives in the red house
- the Swede keeps dogs as pets
- the Dane drinks tea
- the green house is on the left of the white house
- the green house's owner drinks coffee
- the person who smokes Pall Mall rears birds
- the owner of the yellow house smokes Dunhill
- the man living in the center house drinks milk
- the Norwegian lives in the first house
- the man who smokes blends lives next to the one who keeps cats
- the man who keeps horses lives next to the man who smokes Dunhill
- the owner who smokes BlueMaster drinks beer
- the German smokes Prince
- the Norwegian lives next to the blue house
- the man who smokes blend has a neighbor who drinks water

MATH:

For our lesson review, we discussed variables and evaluating (i.e., "finding the value of") them, adding and subtracting mixed numbers, and Order of Operations:

1. Multiply in order from left to right.

2. Add and subtract in order from left to right.

Keep reviewing your multiplication facts and Basic Math Facts!

SCIENCE:

Next week - we share our Science Shoeboxes!  I brought my shoebox on Hippocrates to class this week so the students could see an example.  There are also guidelines on p. 180 of your Guide.

Remember, use the contents of your box (at least 3-5 items) as clues to a riddle that we are to solve.  You will also make a bio card for your scientist (discussed on p. 180) and place it underneath your shoebox.  We'll first see how many scientists we can figure out without reading the bio card.  I'll have a form for you to write on - think of this part as a practice quiz for your timeline....Include as much information about each scientist as you would like to show off!  :)

We are also researching our final scientist in our History of Science studies: Albert Einstein! Your specific task is to provide a simple one- or two-minute explanation of Einstein's theory of special relativity both by definition and by example.  For your presentation, you will not be reading a paper, but you are allowed to use notecards.  The process of winnowing down your notes will help ensure you understand what you are talking about.  You are studying a REALLY complex idea - it took a genius, after all, to figure it out!  There are quite a few resources online to help you - try googling "Einstein's theory of special relativity for kids".

Finally, you only have one more week after our next class to come up with an idea for your science fair project, so spend some time over our "break" looking into that, too.  :)

CURRENT EVENTS:

In class, students divided into two groups and outlined presentations on either side of the issue:  Should the United States allow women to serve in combat roles?  We created an ANI chart during their presentations, then continued the discussion afterwards.  You did a great job this week of expanding on your proofs.  We also reviewed a few big holes in their arguments and how they might tighten those up next time.

We'll follow the same format next week: find one affirmative article and one negative article for our premise, write a notecard for each article outlining three proofs, an exordium, and an amplification for each side, and take notes or highlight your articles to show more detail and explanation for your proofs.  

We then had a great conversation about several issues in this year's election, and spent time talking about the Electoral College.  We considered several premises for next class, including whether Christians should abstain from voting in the 2016 presidential election and whether Donald Trump/Hillary Clinton is fit to be president.  Ultimately, the class voted unanimously to research the question:  Should the president be elected by popular vote instead of the electoral college?

For class, make sure to bring:

- both articles and notecards (with exordium, 3 proofs, an amplification, and subproofs or further support for your proofs - written down or highlighted in your articles), and

- a relevant Bible verse on this topic. 

We will also introduce issues surrounding human rights issues (North Korea, China, Iran, Syria, Cuba, etc.).  Our premise the following week will be Whether the United States should financially support countries that persecute Christians?

POSTREMO:

* Don't forget - no class next Monday!  Enjoy the break, and make sure to read and ruminate on The Hiding Place!

* How many of you have been taking a Mindful Moment each week in the strand mentioned in your guide?  Page 43 explains what a Mindful Moment is, and each week your guide directs you to do this in a particular strand.  This week, it's math.  Try it!  :)

* Finally, don't forget to be praying for each other's prayer requests - and I appreciate your prayers next week while half of my family is in Juarez, Mexico, and the other half is here in Colorado!

See you on October 31!

Week 8

We had fun Saturday night (despite the lame movie!) and the fun continued through Monday....Highlights from class included stiff competition during Bluff and Around-the-World, seeing Logic "click" even more in people's minds, watching everyone's enthusiasm and persistence in math, and listening to "dahs and dots" in science - impressive!

DEVOTION:

Mr. Markel led us in a devotion on sensitivity (Romans 12:15).  Next week, Ms. Thoma will present on self-control (Galatians 5:24-25).

LATIN:

We played Around-the-World and reviewed vocabulary and declensions.  We continue in lesson 8 this week, with some added exercises.  Be sure to work on the Mastery Review Vocabulary List for Units 1 and 2 on pages 91-98 in the purple book, as well as the declensions for Jesus and gravis (masculine, feminine, and neuter).

LTW:

The students shared their issues and favorite points from their ANI charts.  For Where the Red Fern Grows, we'll be using Essay Template #5.  This week, they are to sort their ANI charts and draft their outline.  We reviewed Division, which is added to the introduction.

I. INTRO

A. Exordium

B. Division

1. Agreement

2. Disagreement

a. Thesis

b. Counter-thesis

C. Distribution

1. Thesis

2. Enumeration

3. Exposition

a. Proof 1

b. Proof 2
           c. Proof 3

You should complete the assigned worksheets and develop your own division in your outline this week, as well as an exordium and amplification.  Bring your sorted ANI chart, final outline, and completed workbook pages to class on Monday.

Heads Up:  You should be starting to read our next book, The Hiding Place, by now.  We will have an "extra" week to finish reading since we have fall break before we begin discussing it - but don't delay starting!  It's an incredible book that you don't want to rush through!  :)

LOGIC:

We love our new review game BLUFF.  This week, I use some of the Logic tests and quizzes for the game.  The students seem to have a pretty good handle on things.  Here are the key concepts they should feel VERY comfortable with by now:

- Drawing the Square of Opposition and understanding what each part means

- Identifying the following parts of a syllogism: conclusion, major term, minor term, middle term, major premise (MP), and minor premise (mP).

- Writing a syllogism in standard categorical order (i.e., MP, mp, C).

- Identifying the mood and figure of a categorical syllogism and schema.

A good exercise would be to have the student teach/demonstrate each of these concepts to their teacher.  Let me know if you have trouble with any of them.

This week we move onto lessons 23-26.  Work on all the new vocabulary, read through these new lessons, and get started on as many exercises as you are able.  We will have two weeks (three with fall break) to finish the exercises.  

MATH:

For our lesson review, we discussed finding the area of triangles, converting between improper fractions, mixed numbers, and decimal numbers, bar, broken-line, and pie graphs, adding and subtracting fractions with unequal denominators, order of operations, and variables and evaluation.  Whew!

We had TWO perfect scores on the multiplication drill - woo-hoo!  We also quizzed the Basic Math Facts.  Most students have a bit of work to do still on those.  ;)  Keep practicing!  Everything is up on Quizlet.

I also told the kids I would prepare and distribute a document with samples of all the concepts we are reviewing this semester, and that some of them will likely appear on the Bluebook exam.

SCIENCE:

Nice work on your Morse papers and Morse Code demonstrations!  This week, we're researching Marie Curie - I had A LOT of fun reading about her!  Here are some links with great information:

https://www.aip.org/history/exhibits/curie/  (this site has a TON of information!)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEV4KJBJvEg (a video biography)

http://www.nobelprize.org/mediaplayer/index.php?id=1389 (a video of Curie in her laboratory!)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/curie_marie.shtml

The assignment is actually TWO papers (p. 179 in the Guide):  (1) write a brief essay (250 words) on what the Curies' Nobel Prizes were for and how they earned them; and (2) write another brief paper explaining how to use the periodic table of elements (the table was important to the Curies' research). I gave everyone a color periodic chart in class - use it here and hang onto it for second semester.  ;)

DON'T FORGET: 
* Scientist shoeboxes are due October 31 (Week 10 - see p. 180 in the Guide).
* Science Fair project ideas are due November 7 (Week 11).

CURRENT EVENTS:

In class, students divided into two groups and outlined presentations on either side of the issue:  Should the federal government require GMO (genetically modified organisms) labeling?  The students broke into two groups and argued their side of the issue.  We created an ANI chart during their presentations, then continued the discussion afterwards.  I encouraged them to go beyond just reading their proof - to expand on their argument, whether that's going into subproofs or explaining the proof further.  We'll continue our format next week (find one affirmative article and one negative article for our premise, and write a notecard for each article outlining three proofs, an exordium, and an amplification for each side), but students could add in some of the further details by identifying three subproofs for each proof, or highlighting further details for their proofs in their article (e.g., use a different color for each proof), etc.  One way to think of it is that they should be comfortable enough with their articles and proofs that they can talk about them and explain them without having everything written out.

Our premise this week is:  Should the United States allow women to serve in combat roles?

For class, make sure to bring:

- both articles and notecards (with exordium, 3 proofs, an amplification, and subproofs or further support for your proofs - written down or highlighted in your articles), and

- a relevant Bible verse on this topic. 

POSTREMO:

Ms. Baughman is organizing a hike at Castle Wood Canyon this Friday (10/14) at 10:00 a.m.  The plan is for everyone to pack a lunch and meet at the visitor center.  Please let your classmates know by Thursday whether you will be able to attend.  :)

Week 7

Thank you all for making my birthday so much fun on Monday!  The flowers, balloons, and cards made me feel very special and loved.  :)  I enjoyed spending the day with each of you!  It's hard to believe we are a QUARTER of the way through Challenge B already!

DEVOTION:

Ms. Baughman led us in a devotion on meekness (Psalm 62:5).  Next week, Mr. Markel has sensitivity (Romans 12:15), and the week following, Ms. Thoma has self-control (Galatians 5:24-25).

Don't forget to pray for the request you picked up today!

LATIN:

We did a mini-review of lessons 1-7 in class (boys versus girls - everyone was quite enthusiastic, and we ended in a tie at the buzzer!).  I created a document loosely summarizing those lessons that I'll circulate via email.  This week we're on lesson 8 (adjectives of the 3rd declension).

Continue to practice vocabulary on Quizlet (there is a Mastery Review Vocabulary List for Units 1 and 2 on pages 91-98 in the purple book), and take a look at the lessons summary I email, too.

LTW:

Excellent job on your final essays for Little Britches!  Everyone followed the outline for Essay #4 well - I enjoyed hearing your exordiums, amplifications, strong verbs, and parallelism.  Students are starting to expand from the outline and include dress-ups and deeper context and background in their introductions and proofs.  You are all becoming excellent writers!  :)

After sharing papers, we passed out Kleenex and discussed Where the Red Fern Grows.  ;)  This week, you are to create your own issue and an ANI chart that has THIRTY (30) items in each column (Affirmative, Negative, and Interesting).  We discussed the importance of defining our terms and considered what questions might help us create issues and ideas for the ANI chart.  Some suggestions:

- Which characters are your favorites?
- What parts of the story stood out most to you?
- Would you have made any different choices than Billy?  

LOGIC:

We've finished Units 1 AND 2 in Logic - woo-hoo!  We began class with a quiz to draw the Square of Opposition, and everyone nailed it.  Great job studying this week!

We're on lessons 19-22 for one more week.  We're learning how to identify the premises (because, since, for, and given that) and conclusion (therefore, thus, so, and in conclusion), major, minor, and middle terms, the major and minor premises (MP and mP), mood, and figure - all to be able to write a categorical syllogism and schema.  Mr. McInturff prepared a detailed summary that he emailed to everyone - thank you, Mr. McInturff!  Appendix B in the back of your workbook also lists the 256 possible forms of syllogisms.

Continue to work on all the new vocabulary, as well as finishing the lessons and exercises.  

MATH:

For our lesson review, we discussed finding the area of rectangles by difference and the perimeter of odd-shapes, and calculating the mean, median, mode, and range of sets.  Ms. Thoma also shared a great problem with us - thank you!

Everyone improved on their multiplication drill - we even had a perfect score!  Keep practicing - your hard work is producing great results!  We also reviewed our Basic Math Facts, and everyone went home with a copy of the answers for that form.  Start studying those as well.

SCIENCE:

Nice job on your Faraday papers and demonstrations!  We had magnetized nails, electromagnetic cars, and spinning copper wires.  After lunch, we showed the Foundations kids our demonstrations and they were impressed!  I also demonstrated Faraday's Cage with some aluminum foil and a couple of cell phones.  

This week, we're researching Samuel Morse - inventor of the telegraph wire and Morse Code.  We watched video footage of Jeremiah Denton, Jr., a Vietnam POW who blinked out Morse Code with his eyes during a propaganda piece the North Vietnamese forced him to do - signaling to the US that he was being tortured (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgelmcOdS38).  There is an old TV movie detailing his experiences (he later became a US Senator from Alabama) - if you want to watch the film, you can find it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vh_4qUH6dHQ  (around minute 51, you can watch the Morse Code scenes).

Here are a few additional links on Morse:

http://www.history.com/news/six-things-you-may-not-know-about-samuel-morse

https://answersingenesis.org/creation-scientists/profiles/samuel-morse-the-artist-who-invented-the-morse-code/

And a few on Morse Code:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyr_C_us4vQ&feature=youtu.be 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsDk5_bktFo  (this is a longer, detailed training on how to space your dots and dahs and achieve the correct rhythm!).  :)

Students are writing a "brief" biography on Morse's life, focusing on his scientific endeavors, and they are to translate Morse's first telegraphic message ("What hath God wrought!") into Morse Code and be prepared to tap it out in class.  If anyone wants to try to rig a telegraph and bring it to class, that would be fun!  

I also let everyone know who their scientist is for the Shoebox Activity (see page 180 in the CH B guide) - you will need to bring your completed shoebox to class on October 31 (Week 10).

CURRENT EVENTS:

In class, students divided into two groups and outlined presentations on either side of the issue:  Should private gun ownership be restricted?  I had students argue the side they least agreed with - it was challenging but they did a great job.  We created an ANI chart from their collective arguments, then the students continued the discussion after their presentations, taking the side they actually agreed with.  It was fun to have time to talk through the issues and their arguments.  We'll continue with this format next week, in which students find one affirmative article and one negative article for our premise, and write a notecard for each article outlining three proofs, an exordium, and an amplification for each side.

Our premise this week is:  Should the federal government require GMO (genetically modified organisms) labeling?

Mrs. Thoma found a good video explaining GMOs: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rixyrCNVVGA

For class, make sure to bring:

- both articles and notecards (with exordium, 3 proofs, and amplification), and

- a relevant Bible verse on this topic.

On Monday, we will also begin discussing the issues surrounding women in the military for our premise next week: Whether the United States should add women to the draft?  

POSTREMO:

I'm looking forward to seeing you all at my house for movie night THIS SATURDAY, October 8, at 7:30 p.m.  We'll start the movie (Where the Red Fern Grows) around 8 pm.  Feel free to bring a treat to share.  Moms, you are welcome to stay if you need a good cry.  ;)

Also, Ms. Baughman is organizing a hike at Castle Wood Canyon on Friday, Oct. 14, at 10:00 a.m.  Pack a lunch and meet at the visitor center.  :)