Revel Recap: January 30 - February 3, 2023
Spark Studio
Mindfulness
Monday's mindfulness began with an upbeat song full of positive affirmations! After listening and singing, we each devised our own mantra and shared it with the group. Tuesday, we got our hearts pumping with a high-energy cardio workout. We started our yoga morning on Wednesday, focusing on bridge pose! The Sparks challenged themselves to hold this pose for twenty seconds, with some exceeding their goal. We then completed a yoga sequence led by Salamander from Scratch Garden. Some mornings in our studio, we hear the Discovery Rebels playing BoomWhackers. It sparked our interest, and Thursday morning, we tested them out. We followed along with videos and played "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star," "Itsy, Bitsy, Spider," and "Mary Had A Little Lamb." The learners enjoyed making music and have asked to keep practicing to prepare for a performance for our families in the near future. On Friday, we listened to a song about gratitude and then completed an entry in our journals.
Quest
During this week's Quest, we dove into the topic of bridges. On Monday, we asked the Sparks two questions. What is a bridge? Why do we need bridges? After discussing their answers, we set off to learn more. We read A Book of Bridges: Here to There and Me to You by Cheryl Keely. This book talked about why we need bridges and gave examples of bridges around the world. We then watched as Curious George made a bridge to help baby ducks cross. His bridge didn't work the first time, and he had to be creative and imagine another way to design it. The book led to a discussion on The Engineering Design Process. We noticed that George followed all the steps; he asked questions, imagined, planned, created, improved, and then started the process again. Armed with the cycle in mind, we felt prepared for the first challenge of the week; Can you build a solid bridge to hold an animal using popsicle sticks, play dough, and wooden building blocks? We went through the Engineering Design Process steps as we built and created various unique bridges.
On Tuesday, we had more questions to continue our bridge inquiry. What makes a bridge so strong? Are all bridges the same? We watched a video from SciShow Kids that explained how bridges hold so much weight and learned that when they were testing the load of the Brooklyn Bridge, they took 21 elephants across! We then looked at a book that helped us to identify the different types of bridges and the materials used to build each one. Some examples of bridges we looked at were arch, beam, suspension, and truss bridges. We then split into groups and worked on making a truss bridge using popsicle sticks and glue.
Wednesday's Question of the Day was, do you know any famous bridges? Many Sparks instantly brought up the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. We looked at photos and learned more about this bridge and ten others, such as the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Great Belt Bridge, Brooklyn Bridge, Tower Bridge, and Pearl Bridge. The Sparks were amazed to learn about the Millau Viaduct in France, which is even taller than the Eiffel Tower! We then had a new challenge, can you build a bridge to cross water (a piece of blue paper) using Lego? We observed the learners trying various strategies to make their prototype and improve the design when something wasn't working! You will have the chance to see some of the bridges featured in the Spark City we are creating!
On Thursday, we began Quest by reading Thomas and the Big, Big, Bridge. We then listened to the song "London Bridge is Falling Down," with all the Sparks joining in. Next, the learners completed a directed drawing of this famous bridge. We then worked in teams to create bridges out of recycled materials. We love the creativity and enthusiasm the Sparks have when they are creating and building. We listened to the story 21 Elephants and Still Standing to end our week. We then set off to generate bridge and construction stories using loose parts. The learners were challenged to include a beginning, middle and end, as well as a conflict to be solved.
Art
Our guided art workshop this week was a Monet-inspired bridge. Our first step was to use tape to create a bridge on our paper. Next, the Sparks enjoyed getting messy and using their fingerprints to fill in the background. After the paint dried, we removed the tape to reveal our masterpieces!
French
We listened to a video on animal life on Monday to review our animal names, and on Tuesday in French, the Rebels were excited to play our weekly review games in the gym! We completed a craft on Wednesday that consisted of creating a half-and-half animal (ex., a half dolphin and half sheep). Friday, we reread « Angèle et l’ours polaire » a Rebel favourite that tells us what to do when a polar bear comes out of our fridge.
Additional Highlights
Week Four was busy in the Spark studio! During math this week, we reviewed the names of 3D shapes. Using our 3D materials, the Sparks each got a kinesthetic, tactile, and visual image of how each form looks and feels. Afterward, the learners went around the room on a Shape Scavenger Hunt, writing down the shape names as they located them. These write-the-room activities are always a fun challenge for the Sparks. This week, the Geoboards were a popular math centre as learners used elastics to make different shapes.
During literacy circles this week, we watched Scatch Garden to learn about splitting words into parts called syllables. Understanding that a syllable is like a beat, we tried clapping out the syllables in different words. The Sparks found some words that they disagreed with on the syllable count. They were invited to place their hands under their chin and count the number of times their jaw dropped as they said a word. With these two tools, we each came up with a word and challenged the group to figure out the number of syllables.
This week we also learned a little bit about Groundhog Day. We read The Night Before Groundhog Day and worked together to complete an activity about this tradition.
Discovery Studio
Mindfulness
On Monday, we started our week by writing down positive affirmations to set the tone. The spirit behind each of these was "today is a new day." Tuesday, Rebels chose their mindful workbooks with mazes, dot-to-dot puzzles, zen doodles, and other colouring pages while listening to calming music. For Wonder Wednesday, the Rebels tried more skyscraper puzzles, and on Thankful Thursday, they continued writing in their journals for their gratitude practice. For Feel-Good Friday, the Rebels chose to do a descending warm-up and practice chords, then played an excellent rendition of Dance Monkey with the BoomWhackers.
Launches
Monday's Launch was to equip Rebels for upcoming Reader/Writer and Quest challenges as we prepare for our debates in the second half of this session. Rebels watched an informative video on The Secrets of the Snowy Owl and pulled out two facts/evidence they thought were "most interesting" about the snowy owl to present to the studio. Rebels discussed which points were most interesting and why they presented that fact. Was it the data supporting it? Was it because it accompanied an adorable picture of a snowy owl? Rebels took a deep dive into what makes evidence "valuable" to others. Tuesday's Launch continued in the same fashion, except the Rebels formed an opinion about a tobogganing ban in the municipality of Clarington. Acting as city councillors, they discussed the ban and proposed solutions to get resident children back on city park slopes! Wednesday's Launch celebrated the beginning of Black History Month! Rebels discussed our first Black History Hero, Jean Augustine, and her accomplishments as Canada's first Black Female Member of Parliament and proposed the motion for making February Black History Month in Canada in 1995. Thursday, the Rebels shared their arguments and evidence about the tobogganing ban from earlier in the week - unsurprisingly, all Rebels were not in favour of the ban! Friday, we finished our launch series with an interesting Current Events presentation.
Reader/Writer
This week in Reader/Writer, Rebels continued role-playing lawyers and carried on their discussion about whether or not zoos should still exist. Rebels met with their firms from last week and finalized their position on being "for" or "against" zoos being allowed to stay open and available to the public. Each firm selected its two most important facts and two pieces of evidence to support its team's opinion and create closing statements. Rebels returned to the boardroom to present our legal team's direction. All groups presented excellent arguments for both sides and ultimately voted on an additional week to present rebuttals and make one final appeal to the firm's Senior Partners. Next week, Rebels will prepare their evidence and arguments in response to the opposing side's statements. A key takeaway from this week was Rebels learning to shift their perspective and present evidence clearly, and confidently, even if it's not the perspective or opinion they would typically have on a topic. Some Rebels had difficulty stepping into a role opposite mindset of their own. We discussed how important it is to try and think of things from various perspectives and how this could be very beneficial to practice as they prepare their Quest Debate for Exhibition in the coming weeks.
French
This week in French, we played the animal game in the gym. The Rebels chose a card with a specific animal, and then Mme. Marianne named the animals' characteristics, and the Rebels could move forward when their animal had that quality. We also finished imagining our animals and worked to bring the idea to life in the Maker Space.
Civilizations
Continuing last week's story about Muhammad and his pilgrimage to Medina, the Rebels learned about how the religion of Islam gained more followers there and eventually spread into an empire. They debated in great detail if it is always wrong to steal, reflecting on the caravan raids that people in Medina carried out in the hopes of gathering food and water. The Rebels also mapped the Islamic Empire, noting its expansion to Northern Africa and the Caspian Sea from the Arabian Peninsula. They also learned about the city of Baghdad becoming the center of the empire, while Mecca was named the religious center after it was taken over.
Math Lab
On Wednesday, Rebel MPs formed the Standing Committee for Environment and Sustainable Development in the lab. They explored data related to local tree-planting initiatives and graphed the results. This was an excellent opportunity to review a graph's essential components, especially the data source and type. In this case, a local community reported their efforts by category, so many Rebels created a bar graph to compare this discrete secondary data by tree species directly. Additionally, the Rebels reviewed the efforts of reusable materials drives from one after-school club, interpreting a line plot to verify if they received enough cereal boxes, plastic jugs, glass jars, and newspapers for a school art project.
Quest
After an exciting three weeks of surveying the three levels of government in Canada and the many roles and responsibilities within them, the Rebels formed their own government this week. Welcome to the Parliament of Revel, specifically the Revel House of Commons, Rebel MPs! On Monday, the Rebels formed the government, including the Prime Minister and cabinet ministers, as well as the official opposition - leader and MPs. Tuesday, Rebels discussed their roles in the House of Commons in depth. Each Rebel created an Official Government ID that they will present during the Exhibition to grant each member access to the Revel House of Commons to participate in the parliamentary debate. On Wednesday, the Rebels assembled in their House for the first reading of a new bill! The PM and government MPs presented Bill C-39, An Act limiting the use of private motor vehicles in Canada. After the first reading, the government and opposition separated into caucus meetings to further discuss their questions, comments and concerns. Next week they will continue to meet with their caucus groups and begin to formally prepare for the debate during the second reading of the bill in Week 6.
Additional Highlights
Wednesday marked the beginning of Black History Month. Rebels can explore our virtual Black History Library (available on Journey Tracker's Bulletin Board) daily during DEAR as a "listen to reading" option. Rebels are encouraged to select a hero to teach us about in a Launch or Closing throughout February.
Exploration Studio
Mindfulness
We began our week with a candle meditation. Each learner was given a lit candle and asked to concentrate on the flame, letting their thoughts come and go without judgment. We then thought of something we wanted to let go of and blew out the candle along with our worry and fear. Tuesday's yoga practice featured a warrior flow, moving through Warrior 1, Warrior 2, and Humble Warrior. The Rebels ended with Pigeon Pose to relieve tension in the hips and lower back. We used our Mindfulness and Launch periods on Wednesday to finish "The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse" animated short. The film was about home and friendship, and the peppering of lovely quotes served as great reminders. Thursday morning's yoga practice was totally reclined! We started with a nice side body stretch, making a crescent moon shape flat on our mats, then flowed through a supine twist and reclined pigeon. Then the Rebels relaxed in savasana for the last third of the practice, soaking up the fruits of their movement! On Friday, some learners continued to learn how to finger knit and crochet while others made slime to use throughout the day.
Launches
On Monday, we learned about the psychology of why rejection causes us pain and explored strategies to cope with this common experience. Tuesday and Wednesday, the Rebels watched "The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse," a lovely short animation based on a book by the same title. The movie's themes of love, hope, friendship, and the courage to ask for help resonated deeply with our learners and inspired some beautiful conversations. What three qualities do you think are most important in our leaders? On Thursday, we debated between experience - leaders with knowledge gained by working on similar problems in the past; creativity - leaders who like solving problems in new ways; passion - leaders who believe in the value of solving the problem; empathy - leaders who understand and share the feelings of others; integrity - leaders who are honest and trustworthy; influence - leaders who can change the behaviour of others, or communication - leaders who share information clearly. After an engaging discussion, learners identified the qualities they felt were most important and backed them up with their reasoning or evidence. On Friday, our Rebel-led Current Events presentation focussed on Black History Month and ended with a Kahoot! to test our knowledge.
Math Lab
This week the Rebels broke into groups based on phases of the (in)Equity Infographic Project. Some were still refining their inquiry to something specific and measurable, while others were busy preparing various data displays. In the latter case, a big part was determining the best format: would this data be best displayed in a table? As a double bar graph? What does a circle graph really show? The more the Rebels develop and refine the data story they are trying to tell, the easier these decisions become. Lastly, some were ready to discuss the final format: will they hand-make graphs and tables using grid paper and poster boards, or will they test out using Google Sheets, Desmos, and other apps like Canva to create their work digitally?
Reader/Writer
For Reader/Writer this week, Exploration Rebels listened to and completed their 4th TPCASTT Social Justice annotation (as a team), Social Justice League! After discussing the poem in more detail, analyzing the poem's theme, tone, rhythm and hidden meanings in many stanzas, Rebels began to plan out what our Exhibition for Reader Writer would look like. Rebels debated different ways we could showcase what we learned this session, exploring various Mood Boards and ways to display poetry. After coming together to decide on our vision, we assigned roles and discussed expectations and how they relate to this session's badge. We can't wait to show you our interpretation of how Social Justice and Poetry can come together to create different forms of art!
Civilizations - Rules without Rulers
After reading an overview of the Roman Republic, we watched a humorous and informative Crash Course video entitled "The Roman Empire, or Republic, or…which was it?" In the lesson, John Green explores when Rome went from being the Roman Republic to the Roman Empire. After learning how Caesar came to rule the empire, what led to him getting stabbed 23 times on the senate floor, and what happened in the scramble for power after his assassination, we read about Rome's transition from city-state to dominant force in the Mediterranean. One of our learners then led our discussion, where we debated why we thought the republic began to collapse and whether or not Rome did enough to limit the power of politicians. We also discussed the parallels between the fall of the Roman Republic and any other countries or governments today.
Design for Change Quest
After defining a problem they would like to address last week, Rebels got to work brainstorming ways to solve the issue. After coming up with multiple ideas, teams or individuals began focusing their thoughts using the NUF Test; Is it New? Is it Useful? and Is it Feasible? A few groups innovated current products to make them better; some were hoping to prototype right away, while a couple of other teams needed help to narrow down their ideas or choose ones that were not too expensive to make. Once teams had completed their NUF Test, they were asked to sketch their designs with as much detail as possible and complete a Design Specification form. Teams were also told about their Exhibition presentation and were given a template to use as their base. On Wednesday and Thursday, each group gave an informal presentation on their idea and received feedback and assistance with design flaws or potential problems. This next week they will use their feedback to redesign and then build their design for change!
Technical Drawing
This week we worked on drawing to scale using a 1:1 grid before scaling up a design. The Rebels then used symmetry to complete a couple of images before drawing a picture and swapping it with a friend to try.
French
This week we finished inventing our sports and tested them in groups! We will likely see some of these great games played outside and in the gym throughout the year! We then had a group discussion where the Rebels suggested doing more grammar and reading in French as they felt they were ready for a more demanding challenge!
For our French Workshop this week, the Rebels started cooking their recipe and filming their cooking show! So far, they've made French fries, chocolate chip biscuits, and Rice Krispie Treats!
Additional Highlights
We welcomed two new learners to the studio this week and are happy they joined our community! Please say hello if you see them or their families around Revel!
Our Geography Club is gearing up for the Canadian Geographic Challenge this spring. To prepare, we took a practice quiz about the Great Lakes with questions focusing on the people, language, wildlife, human impacts, the geography of water, and tales of the lakes.
Our read-aloud, Trevor Noah; Born a Crime, has been a hit with most learners and spurred some deep conversations in the studio.
Launchpad
Biomimicry
How do we translate biological strategies into design? Now that our Launchpad Rebels have identified a couple of biological strategies they would like to use, the next step is to identify the underlying working principles that can be applied in a design solution. To do this, they took their statement that described their biological strategy and included the organism, the function and the mechanism. They then replaced the working biological principles of the process with terms from engineering and design. They then created additional sketches and diagrams to ensure their new statement was understood and contained the key components! With their design idea coming together, Launchpad took time to present their plan and sketches to the Exploration Rebels to receive feedback. The younger learners' questions helped the high schoolers to think through some issues they hadn't considered or needed to refine. With the input, Launchpad returned to the drawing board to improve their design and research areas that were unclear.
Now fully in the Innovate section of the MIMIC framework, Rebels focused on how to Emulate and Evaluate. During the Emulate phase of the design process, they will look for patterns and relationships among the strategies that were abstracted from biological models and brainstorm application ideas for creating a sustainable product, process, or system. During the Evaluate phase, the goal is to assess how well the design concept meets the Design Brief while adhering to the criteria and constraints of the selected challenge.
Using various techniques and reflection questions, our Biomimicry Designers then summarized their abstract design strategies before making concept models. Each made labelled sketches before attempting a model on TinkerCAD.
To even further refine their design, Rebels contacted the Ottawa River Keeper to learn more about the road salt problem and will be meeting with one of their volunteers next week!
Natural History Illustration
Launchpad chose a sea shell to draw on Monday, paying special attention to shape and texture. One Rebel really wanted to get that "perfect spiral," so they sketched out an 8x8 cm grid and followed a basic Fibonacci sequence before tracing a spiral out from there. Wednesday, we focused on echinoderms and Friday, Rebels chose a marine animal of their choice to sketch. It has been exciting to hear the learners commenting more and more on their technique use, careful observations, and fun facts they discover as they carefully research the names and purposes behind various anatomical structures.
Technical Drawing
To begin the week, we used our knowledge of proper dimensioning techniques to recreate a series of drawings on Monday. On Tuesday, we learned about oblique sketching, a pictorial representation of an object in which the diagram intends to depict the object's perspective in three dimensions. After learning that in the oblique sketching method, the circular lines parallel to the projection's front plane are drawn to true shape and size, Rebels practiced their skills with a series of exercises throughout the week.
Spanish and French
This week in Spanish, we reviewed body parts, verbs such as "gustar," and the culture of Cuba.
Our learner read a few articles in French and discussed the material with Mme. Marianne continued to work on their grammar through their weekly exercises.
Civilization
After reading an overview of the Roman Republic, we watched a humorous and informative Crash Course video entitled "The Roman Empire, or Republic, or…which was it?" In the lesson, John Green explores when Rome went from being the Roman Republic to the Roman Empire. After learning how Caesar came to rule the empire, what led to him getting stabbed 23 times on the senate floor, and what happened in the scramble for power after his assassination, we read about Rome's transition from city-state to dominant force in the Mediterranean. One of our learners then led our discussion, where we debated why we thought the republic began to collapse and whether or not Rome did enough to limit the power of politicians. We also discussed the parallels between the fall of the Roman Republic and any other countries or governments today.
Potential Discussion Ideas or Questions to Ask your Rebel:
Spark
What was the positive affirmation you shared with the group?
Why is The Golden Gate Bridge orange?
How many syllables are in your name? Can you find something in our house that has four syllables in its word?
French: Which half-and-half animal do you think is the funniest?
Discovery
What is your opinion on the Zoo Debate so far from Reader Writer? Should they still exist? What is the best piece of evidence you have collected so far to back up your opinion?
What role did you choose for the Quest Debate at Exhibition? How are you feeling about participating in a large debate?
French: How did you build/invent your animal?
Exploration
'If not for me, things would get out of control.' Source. Why is this phrase dangerous to a republic when it comes from a leader?
How did your first Design for Change presentation go, and what feedback did you receive?
French: What recipe did you choose to make for your cooking show? What sport did you invent?
Launchpad
French: What is the main difference in conjugating the verbs to be and to have in French?
In your opinion, did Rome do enough to limit the power of politicians? Why or why not? Do we do enough today to limit the power of our politicians?
Which Natural History piece is your favourite so far?
Dates of Interest
Fourth Caribou Math Competition: Wednesday, February 15th
Session 4 Exhibitions
Exploration: Tuesday, February 14th at 4:30 pm
Spark: Wednesday, February 15th at 4:15 pm
Discovery: Thursday, February 16th at 4:15 pm
Launchpad: Thursday, February 17th at 4:15 pm
Family Day (No School): Monday, February 20th
Sessional Break and Camp: Tuesday, February 21st - 24th
Mme. Marianne will be running the February sessional break camp! Please let us know by Wednesday, February 8th if your learner would like to participate in the winter activity-themed fun! Cost: $200 Hours: 8:45 am to 4:00 pm