Revel Recap: November 13 - 17, 2023
Spark Studio
Mindfulness
We kicked off our week in the Spark Studio, listening to an upbeat affirmation song full of positive messages. Next, we played a new game called Guess the Affirmation. We wrote I am... on a whiteboard. Sparks then tried to guess the letters until they discovered the missing affirmation. After they uncovered the word, we all repeated the affirmation together. As the learners walked into the studio on Tuesday, they were greeted with relaxing instrumental music. They got right to colouring some very detailed mandala pictures with inspiring messages. We participated in a guided yoga practice with an Encanto theme on Wednesday and had a musical start to our day on Thursday, playing the Boomwhackers. On Friday, we listened to the Gratitude Song to get us thinking about everything we are thankful for. We then continued our activity, where we saw pictures of different scenarios that could upset us and thought of things in each moment we could still be thankful for. Look for our gratitude board at the Exhibition next week for their awesome answers!
Quest
To begin our Quest each day, we continued reading fascinating weather books that helped us build on our weather knowledge. Our books included titles such as Curious George Rain or Shine, Meteorologist in Me, Weather Review, and Storm is Coming. As we read these stories, we had some great discussions, and it's clear the Sparks have learned so much this session! We continued to practice our Weather Song in preparation for our performance and have been tracking the weather daily! Next week, we will look for weather patterns we see based on our data collection. We also revisited our K.W.L. chart and jotted down some information about what we have learned for the "L" section.
After studying meteorology last week, it was time to put our knowledge into practice and become meteorologists ourselves! We watched a few more examples of weather reports and reflected on how the weather is described using wind, temperature, cloud coverage and precipitation. The Sparks worked hard this week to create weather forecast posters to serve as the background screens for their weather reports. Stay tuned for the live broadcast of the Spark Studio Weather Channel at Exhibition!
Geography
This week, we started by re-reading Me on the Map to get us thinking about the project we have been working on. We then completed our final additions: a picture of our home and a drawing of ourselves! It was finally time to put the whole booklet together! This session-long activity was a great introduction to geography and exploring our place in the world. Be sure to look for the final results next week!
Writing Workshop
This week, the learners started a new writing booklet. Each day, we are taking time to practice writing one letter together as a group. We have started with capital letters and will begin with lowercase letters after completing the alphabet. We are making sure to focus on the sizing and spacing of each letter and where it is placed on the lines. We continued our weekly Writing Workshop, this time making rainbow silly sentences. We set out cards that followed a rainbow pattern to create mixed sentences. Each sentence would contain an article or pronoun, adjective, noun, verb and ending punctuation. After choosing the cards, we read the sentence aloud and wrote it on paper. We also worked with some new flash words this week, moving on to decodable CVC words. We focused on two words: had and but. The Sparks used their knowledge of phonic patterns to read and spell these words.
Math
In this week's Math Workshop, we practiced using another great math tool, a ten frame. The ten frame is a valuable visual aid for counting and helps us continue developing our subitizing skills. Last week, we focused on addition, so this week, we explored subtraction. We used our magnet ten frames to explore various equations on the whiteboard. This movable ten frame is a great hands-on activity to visualize the process of taking away and getting a smaller number. After practicing several together, each learner set off to work on their own ten or twenty-frame subtraction questions. The Sparks demonstrated a strong understanding of this concept and utilized the ten frames to help them find their answers.
French
This week, we played Bingo "Clothing Edition" to continue working on using our French clothing vocabulary. We also coloured a paper doll to practice our colours, clothing, and body parts.
Art
Our Art Workshop on Wednesday was inspired by "The Snail" by Henri Matisse. First, we read Snail Trail: A Journey Through Modern Art. This book features Matisse's famous art piece. We learned a little about this renowned artist, including that he got sick and had to spend a lot of time in bed, but he still wanted to make his art. He started creating art by cutting or tearing pieces of paper into shapes and gluing the shapes on paper. We discussed how the concentric pattern in his piece is inspired by the spiral pattern in the snail's shell. After this, we each set off to create our own version. The Sparks worked hard making their pieces and using creative expression to decide the perfect place to glue them. The results were beautiful!
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Discovery Studio
Mindfulness
For Mantra Monday, the Rebels completed a manifestation exercise, focusing their energy on how they want to feel and what they want to have accomplished by the end of our second session! On Tuesday and Thursday mornings, Rebels selected their own mindful activities from a choice board, including mazes, dot-to-dots, breathing exercise prompts, meditation, zen doodling and floor puzzles. On Wonder Wednesday, the Rebels tried to play Connections from the New York Times. On Feel-Good Friday, the Rebels attempted to play Smashmouth's "All Star" using the Boomwhackers!
Launches
Monday's launch equipped the Rebels with a few highlights on the week's schedule, and they brainstormed ideas to revamp the Fantastic Flow of Fun Fridays for Session 3 into a Fantastic Fun Failures pyramid, with the hopes of celebrating our attempts and misses the way we celebrate our achievements. Tuesday's launch was split between those wanting to try the Mangahigh Math Rally and a cool connect launch about surviving a volcanic eruption! At Wednesday's squad check-ins, the Rebels updated their goal sheets and discussed their slime batch testing from Quest. Thursday's launch was a special two-part announcement from the Yearbook Club: first, a reminder that their cover art for the cover contest is due soon and two, that there will be a fall photo booth event every Friday for the next few weeks where they can come and have a fun candid snap taken for the yearbook! Friday's Current Events started with a Guinness World Record breaking Diwali event from earlier this week, with 2.2 million diyas lit for 45 minutes along the Saryu River in Ayodhya. Rebels discussed the logistics behind the horse that escaped on a plane and the special adaptations that make baby Emperor Penguins unique (and cute)!
Math Lab
In connection with their small batch recipe for edible slime in Quest, Rebels used the nutritional labels of three ingredients to put together a nutritional label for their products. This involved combining given parts for the Draw Rebels, like the amount of calories from the marshmallows, vegetable oil, and cornstarch, to find the total calories for one small batch. For more advanced Rebels, this involved using a given scale factor and applying it to the serving size provided. For example, if 30 g of marshmallows contains 100 calories, but you're using 90 grams in your recipe, how many calories do you need to account for on your label? If they still needed to complete the previous candy investigations, the Rebels also had time to go back and learn more about the different categories included on the labels, such as fats, protein, and sodium. Alternatively, some Rebels continued to work on their Problems of the Week or Operation Workouts.
French
This week, we chose the name of our museum and decided where it would be located and the layout for next week's Exhibition. We also assigned roles, including tour guides, security guards, and curators, before beginning to set up!
Civilizations
This week's read-aloud took the Rebels through life at the height of the Mongol Empire. Rebels heard tales of Genghis Khan and Kublai Khan and how they conquered a vast area in the east over a relatively short span of one hundred years. We mapped the empire's span in relation to the Black, Yellow and Caspian Seas and noted important locations like present-day Beijing. At the end of the story, the Rebels discussed what qualities augment a leader's likelihood of victory during conflict and maintaining power - some said their willingness to fight ruthlessly, while some argued it is wisdom and intelligence. When comparing the accomplishments of the two leaders, Rebels debated that Ghengis was greater for having built the empire. In contrast, others felt it was his descendant Kublai for maintaining the vast empire while also being emperor of China.
Candy Quest
This week's portion of the Candy Quest was a challenging feat! Rebels were back in the kitchen this week as they experimented with their edible slime base recipe. Test Batch 1 challenged learners to incorporate some of their Math Lab knowledge to modify the base recipe by half. Groups also needed to use different-sized measuring cups so while the actual recipe needed to be halved, many Rebels needed to double or triple their scoops and servings several times to achieve the correct amount of tablespoons, cups, and teaspoons required. Does oil make our slime more runny/wet? Does cornstarch affect the stickiness? Thinking back on what we learned about certain foods and their permeability, how might osmosis occur to or affect the marshmallow? Rebels tested several different amounts of each ingredient to secure a recipe for the perfect edible slime for their product/brand. After two days of testing, adding food colouring and flavouring to customize their slime, Rebels wrapped up Week 5 by planning what Revel's first Slime Show should look like. Rebels created material lists, signed up for emcee positions and voted on different visual presentations of how the gym should be set up next week. Excellent work this week, Rebels! We look forward to seeing everyone at The Slime Show next Tuesday!
Reader/Writer
Monday's Reader Writer workshop was an open work period for Rebels to continue to develop their stories. Using plot diagrams, character interviews, and reflecting on the different types of conflicts, Rebels began to expand their writing. We ended the work period with a debrief: Will you have a finished book at the end of Session 3? What part of your story have you focused on the most so far: designing the plot, developing the characters, writing the story, or creating the pictures? Is your writing the best it can be? How can you make your story even better over the next few weeks?
Additional Highlights
On Thursday, Rebels took turns sharing their Elective Passion Projects and then the team voted on whether or not they met the excellence criteria for showcasing. They are so excited to present and display the approved projects next week!
The spirit of competition is alive with the Rebels participating in the Mangahigh Math Rally - Rebels are flexing their math muscles and climbing the leaderboard for points towards a chance to win an Amazon gift card!
Exploration
Mindfulness and Launch
Monday, we completed a Monday Manifestation created by Ms. Mel. Learners thought about what they wanted to manifest, visualized what they wanted to see, have, and feel, wrote out three affirmations and created an action plan for the week! We then had time to try out the MangaHigh Math Rally! Interested Rebels will have ten days to participate in this math competition that will have them practicing assigned math skills while racking up the points for our school! Tuesday's pilates workout included several wall-supported movements to target the whole body. Rebels tried exercises to build strength, like wall push-ups, bicycle crunches, and actions to support flexibility and balance, such as arm circles and standing knee raises. With the end of the session fast approaching, we reviewed the Eisenhower principle and distinguished between what's urgent and important. Learners then made a list of action items and placed them on a matrix in one of four quadrants: important and urgent, not important but urgent, important but not urgent, and not important and not urgent. We hope this tool will alleviate some end-of-session stress while highlighting our priorities. We were invited to participate in the Fish and Wildlife art contest on Wednesday. Interested Rebels are welcome to create an art piece of either a Chinook salmon or brown bullhead. After learning about the two fish species, we played a Kahoot and began our sketches! Two Rebels led our yoga on Thursday, and they focused on stretching and ended with a silence challenge. Upon their return from the gym, the Rebels were introduced to the Monty Hall problem. This probability-based brain teaser is counterintuitive in nature and was a great discussion piece to begin our day.
Quest - The Science of Where
Rebels began their week of Quest with some tutorials for the different types of maps they will author for their final StoryMap project. They worked to create Express Maps directly in the StoryMap and to separately author more detailed maps in the Map Viewer application of ArcGIS. At the end of each work period, Rebels met to share frustrations and offer tech support for map creation and StoryMap building. On Monday, Rebels taught each other how to save their progress while building maps and workarounds for collaboration, like using Google Docs or assigning different work roles to each team member. On Tuesday, the Rebels focused on the pros and cons of Express Maps, noting how they are simple to make but limited in their application in "sidecars." This was Tuesday's feature tutorial - how Rebels can create sidecars in their StoryMaps! A sidecar is an immersive block with a side-by-side display - a narrative panel on one side and a media panel (like Rebel-made web maps) on the other. Rebels had uninterrupted time on Wednesday and Thursday to continue building their StoryMaps. They advocated for one more work period next week, and then we will conduct a peer review to ensure the StoryMaps meet the Rebel excellence criteria for Exhibition.
French
This week, we've been working on verb tenses in French. What are the different verb tenses (past, present, future, conditional), and how can we tell them apart? Speaking and writing in the past tense in French is very complicated, even for French speakers, so we will continue practicing and completing exercises to help us feel more comfortable!
Math Lab
It was a big moment for many Rebels this week as they worked to finalize their credit card statement and declare whether they were able to make it home! The first task was calculating the interest on their statement based on their purchases. They practiced determining the daily interest rate based on the annual rate linked with their chosen account. Then, they used a simplified version of their average daily balance to calculate the interest they incurred each day of their billing cycle. Another task was to use an online calculator to project how long it would take them to pay off their final balance, assuming they only paid a 2% minimum payment. For some, the results were shocking! Since we have a short week next week, it was the last work period to complete their journey, but some plan to work through itinerary roadblocks, and as long as they share their final credit card statement with Ms. Mel, they can still apply for their badge next week!
Reader/Writer
Rebels were hard at work this week during Reader/Writer as they continued to research and work on their Provincial Travel Guides. As the Exploration team edges closer to the end of another session, we launched our fifth workshop with a reflection on badge expectations and what a finished product should include to be approved. Learners created a "Rebel Edits" checklist that each learner will use to edit another Rebel's work before submitting their Travel Guide for Exhibition next week. Rebels spent the remainder of the workshop sharpening captions and descriptions of their province's tourism highlights to ensure the persuasive tone and voice were emphasized.
Civilizations
Why is an old piece of parchment considered such a powerful symbol of our rights and freedoms? The Magna Carta, published in England in 1215, is considered by many to be the birth of freedom as we know it. The document had a tremendous influence on the creation of governments and affected historical figures like Jefferson and Gandhi. Some people claim today that the Magna Carta's significance is overrated. After learning about the purpose and drafting process, Rebels put themselves in the shoes of the barons and the king in 1215. Would they have signed the document as a baron, risking prison, torture, and death by the current king, or reject the document and risk losing lands and standing with other leaders?
On Thursday, we turned our attention to the Black Plague, an incredibly devastating pandemic that took over 20 million lives from 1347 to the early 1350s. After learning more about the Black Death, learners brainstormed aspects of society in the Middle Ages that amplified the plague's spread and the immediate and long-term negative and positive impacts on civilization. Due to our recent experience with a pandemic, the Rebels could make connections to their lived experience, enriching the discussion. Our Rebels have been doing an incredible job leading these discussions each week, way to go!
additional highlights
The Exploration Rebels put in the work this week and logged hours and banked several points in the MangaHigh Rally! Nice work, mathematicians!
Launchpad
Classical Physics
To start our week, we began with an experiment! After conducting initial research, Rebels were tasked with building a pendulum clock that swings exactly 20 complete cycles in one minute. While no one was able to get it precisely accurate by the end of the class, everyone was able to improve their timing with each iteration! On Tuesday, we learned a valuable new tool to become a master engineer or scientist: the ability to break complex 2D vectors into their 1D components. What do we mean when we say 2D vector? We are talking about any projectile that isn't travelling straight up and down (90 or 270 degrees) or perfectly left and right (0 or 180 degrees). So, a ball thrown 45 degrees up and to the right is a 2D vector, but an arrow shot straight up in the air is a 1D vector. We then spent most of the week learning how to use kinematic equations to solve various projectile problems, such as the distance a cannonball would travel, the maximum height it would reach at its peak, and the total time it would be in the air based on various scenarios. While challenging, as you can only use kinematic equations to solve one dimension at a time, the Rebels became much better at deciding which equation to use for the various scenarios and working together to check their solutions. They also became more comfortable with Quadratics and using trigonometry either by hand or with the help of online tools. Lastly, on Friday, we began to prep for Exhibition. Rebels decided to each demonstrate one aspect of our Classical Physics Quest by showing our families how to solve problems we encountered. Each learner was given a problem set, and after taking some time to find the solution, we met as a group to review our answers to ensure we were all on the same page and clear up any confusion.
World History
The Roman Empire sought to impose its language and legal system on conquered lands and "to humble the proud and spare the subjected" in return for keeping the peace. Would this have seemed like an attractive bargain to you in a conquered land often beset by warfare? Learners spent the first thirty minutes of class researching and then took part in a learner-led Socratic discussion debating the merits of the Roman empire, its citizenship rights, and whether the virtues Romans prized, faithfulness and piety, were virtues we personally held highly.
On Thursday, we continued our study of Rome and how it was ruled by a republic, a system of government where the citizens elected representatives to govern. Rebels debated whether the Roman Republic was too complicated or an ingenious system of checks and balances designed to thwart tyrants and mobs. They also compared the Roman Republic to Athenian democracy and, in turn, our system of government in Canada.
Creative Writing
Our last week of this session's Creative Writing course was all about creative nonfiction. On Monday, we met to read short excerpts of various works representing various types of nonfiction to better understand the genre's breadth. We then discussed each piece and learned about the essential elements of creative nonfiction. Our second class allowed each learner to engage in stream-of-consciousness writing activities on the topic of each learner's own life using three timed writing exercises and three different prompts. It was then time to write on Wednesday! Using the writing prompts from the day before as a jumping-off point, learners selected a moment or topic to further develop into a two-page memoir, which they then shared with the group on Thursday.
Next Great Adventure
This week, most Launchpad learners began working on their "Rounding the Homestretch" challenges, beginning with "The Pursuit" and "With Sincere Thanks" assignments. With only a few weeks remaining in this first NGA Quest, Rebels are in great shape to begin Quest 2 in mid-December with several other Acton Academy Launchpads worldwide!
Potential Discussion Ideas or Questions to Ask Your Rebel:
Spark
How are you feeling about presenting your weather report at the Exhibition?
What were the two flash words you learned this week? (had, but) Can you find them in a book here at home? Can you show me how you write these words? (Encourage your learner to sound out the word!)
Gratitude Scenario: Uh oh! It's raining outside, and you have to stay inside for recess. You wanted to play at the playground with your friends. What can you still be grateful for?
French: How do you say coat in French? (manteau)
Discovery
How did your test batches go for your Edible Slime in Quest this week?
What did you learn about the ingredients in the Edible Slime? Was it harder or easier to make a second batch? Why?
How does the nutritional value of your edible slime recipe compare to the featured candies (i.e. Real Fruit, YumEarth and Smart Sweets) of previous labs?
What is your role/job in the Discovery French Museum? What are your responsibilities?
Exploration
Quest: How do you feel about next week's peer review and upcoming Exhibition? Are you in your comfort, challenge or panic zone with your StoryMap project?
Reader/Writer: What does your Travel Guide look like? Can I read it and find three persuasive examples in your writing? Can I offer you some warm-hearted and tough-minded feedback?
Math Lab: What does your final credit card statement look like? If you completed the detour, what is your final balance, and how long would it take to pay back, assuming you only paid a 2% minimum payment?
French: What is a participe passé? (past tense)
You are the Canadian Prime Minister. A lethal and contagious disease has been identified in Kenya. The leaders of Kenya have a containment and treatment plan but lack the funds to carry it out. Would you send taxpayer aid to Kenya or save the money in case the epidemic makes it to Canada? Would you change your answer if the epidemic started in a country hostile to Canada?
Launchpad
Rome granted citizenship to many of the people it conquered, creating rights for everyone who depended on the state's power rather than determining citizenship on being rich or poor or from a particular tribe or ethnicity. Do you believe these political rights or the strength of the Roman army were more critical to the rise of the Roman civilization?
Are you ready to present your physics problem at Tuesday's Exhibition?
Which creative writing piece are you most proud of? Which of the assignments did you find the most challenging? Why?
How are you feeling about your core skill progress? (Math, Deep Book, etc.) What could you do this next week to end the session on a productive note?
Dates of Interest
Session 2 Exhibitions
Spark - Wednesday, November 22nd, 4:15 - 5:30 p.m.
Discovery - Tuesday, November 21st, 4:15 - 5:30 p.m.
Exploration - Wednesday, November 22nd, 4:15 - 5:30 p.m.
Launchpad - Tuesday, November 21st, 4:15 - 5:30 p.m.
Yearbook Cover Contest deadline to submit Rebel artwork - Wednesday, November 22nd, 2023
Sessional Break - Thursday, November 23rd and Friday, November 24th