Nov. 16 – 24: bridge testing, group novel, and Pioneer Day at Crefeld

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and was able to enjoy being with their immediate and perhaps also extended family. In the midst of world turmoil and uncertainty, it’s important to remember how much there is for which we can be thankful. (I’ll be very thankful when our kitchen renovation is finished and we can enjoy our postponed turkey dinner.)

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Bridge-testing day is always exciting, and this year was no exception. We invited Diane & Jeri’s folks in to see the big event on November 17. All of our building’s kids were ready to cheer for every bridge that held the weight, and there was also some of the inevitable cheering when a bridge collapsed — although we did remind everyone that a lot of hours, planning, and hopes had been invested in every structure, so a collapse might be exciting in the moment but still needed some shared regret and support as well.

test_BenG_Dex_Ziv

test_Jabril_Django

test_Sofia_BenF

 

Our bridge project, like other “Progressive” classroom activities, embodies a very broad range of learning goals and essential questions:

> Math skills: measurement, scale drawing, angles, use of geometry tool

>Where do bridges come from? Who decides to build them, and who designs and pays for them?

> How can bridges change the communities that they connect? Are bridges always good?

> Geography: Where is your research bridge located, and what kinds of environmental issues were important to its design, construction methods, and impact?

> History: When was your research bridge built, and how did that time period affect its design, materials, and purpose? Was it involved in any major events?

> Innovation: Were any new materials or techniques created because of your bridge’s design and/or location?

•> Team/partner skills: communication, compromise, cooperation

> Speaking and presentation skills: creating a slide show to support a talk; working from notes but also looking up at the audience

> Research skills: Using an index in a print resource; creating an efficient search string online

> Note-taking: organization, brevity, completeness

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We’re well into our whole-class reading and discussion of Rob Buyea’s first novel, Because of Mr. Terupt. We’re meeting together to discuss the book in installments. Students are asked to make notes as they complete each character’s section (just a few pages of the book at most) and to pay particular attention to how each of the fifth graders slowly reveals his/her story and then grows and changes because of the evolving events and their changing relationships with each other. Parents are encouraged to find time to read the book, too. Although there are flaws, this engaging story connects well with what our own students care about and have experienced. It could be a basis for interesting family conversations.

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Every two years, the Crefeld School creates a “Pioneer Day” with their middle school students, and we always try to go. It was wonderful to see some of our recent graduates lead activities, share their skills, and show us how connected they are with their new classmates. One of our students, who was unfamiliar with the school, observed that it seemed a lot like Miquon and was surprised to learn that it had been founded by a Miquon teacher (Arnold Greenberg) as the “Miquon Upper School” many decades ago.

Activities included old-time games such as jacks, making butter to go with the bread and biscuits that were being cooked over an open fire and in an earth oven, splitting wood for that fire under the direction of alumnus Miquon parent David Dannenberg, making paper dolls and rag dolls (also known as “church dolls” because children could take them to church and know they would make no noise while they played with them), learning new things about caring for chickens from former Miquon teacher Erica Nelson who is now teaching mathematics at Crefeld, and more — including the glass-making shop which, although having only minimal connection with pioneers, was fascinating to many of us.

dolls

doll making — paper and rag

 

earthoven

an earth oven for baking bread outdoors

 

erica_chickens

chickens’ feet are good for digging

 

woodsplitting1

a wood-splitting tool that is easy to use

 

glass1

glass making — VERY hot!

 

We ended the morning with an outdoor buffet lunch. It offered food that would have been typical of what 17th- and 18th-century pioneers ate: baked chicken, Brunswick stew, cornbread and white bread with butter, succotash, and baked beans. The entire experience connected well with what some of our current sixth graders did last year during our simulated wagon train journey and seemed interesting to everyone. We’ll look forward to returning in two years, when some of our current students may be leading the tour.

 

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