Revel Recap: March 4 - 8, 2024
Spark Studio
Mindfulness
We started our Monday morning reading the book I Like Me by Nancy Carlson, and each of us shared one thing we liked about ourselves before creating self-portraits using our loose parts materials. We put on our creative hats on Tuesday and designed our own Squishmallows. To tie this activity into our Quest, we watched the company's marketing song, which also helped inspire our creations. The Sparks created dragons, cats, dinosaurs, rats, caticorns and more! Wednesday, the learners completed a stretching routine that left us feeling relaxed and ready to start the day. Thursday, we continued to practice the songs we hope to play for Exhibition with the Boomwhackers and a few songs just for fun! On Friday, we read and repeated an affirmation card together. It read, "Brilliance is my power. I am brilliant. I am creative. I am collaborative. I love to discover, I love to solve, I love to learn. I am brilliant." At the bottom of the card, we were asked to answer the following question, "When did you use your brilliance today? How did it feel?" After our discussion, we then wrote in our gratitude journal using the prompt, "I am brilliant at…" The Sparks wrote about being brilliant at skiing, biking, science, being funny, hugging, and getting themselves ready in the mornings.
Quest
To launch our Quest this week, we started by reading What Does It Mean to Be An Entrepreneur? This book introduces the concept of starting a business and inspires the readers to be curious, take risks and follow their dreams. After discussing the book, the Sparks were asked to explain what being an entrepreneur means. One of the learners had this amazing response. "It means you find a problem, don't be scared, try again and again, take risks, don't give up, don't be afraid and make a difference!" We couldn't have found a better description! After brainstorming some possible ideas, the Sparks partnered up and worked together to design a business. They drew inspiration from our learning last week by drawing and labelling goods their business would sell and listing services their business would provide. They also came up with prices for these goods and services. Some of their ideas included a pet store, a fashion store, and a jewelry business!
The rest of the week was spent launching our own Spark-run business. We started by taking a Logo Quiz. We looked at various popular logos, and the Sparks had to see if they knew the business name. The learners could recognize famous logos such as McDonalds, Apple, Starbucks, Minecraft, Domino's Pizza, Spotify, Amazon, Pepsi, NASA, Walmart, Ikea, Disney, Roblox, National Geographic, Tesla, and more! From there, we talked about the importance of marketing and branding, which catch the attention of potential customers and make an excellent first impression. With this in mind, each Spark came up with a potential business name and logo for the Spark Perler bead business. They presented their ideas to the studio, and we voted on which one we would use. There were so many wonderful ideas, and it was hard to choose one, but our business is officially called Rainbow Keychains! We will make Perler Bead fridge magnets and keychains and sell them to our families at the next Exhibition. To motivate us, we watched clips of real-world examples of children who have created successful businesses. We spent the rest of the week making our Perler bead products and designing posters with our business name and logo.
Math
We continued to build on our skip counting by ten skills from last week for our math workshop. As a group, we used our golden bead materials to count together by 10s, taking turns selecting a ten bead, placing it and telling the group the number. The group counted all the way to 400! We still had more golden ten beads left, and some Sparks were motivated to keep counting during their work periods this week. To further showcase their learning, the Rebels could choose between a dot-to-dot or ten-frame puzzle to complete. We ended our lesson by playing Base Ten Bingo!
French
On Monday, we played a French trades/professions version of BINGO, and on Tuesday, we took our learning to the gym where we played a game of Babord-Tribord to review the jobs we've learned so far. On Wednesday and Thursday, we coloured and wrote our police officer and firefighter job cards to practice writing in French.
Writing Workshop
On Monday, it was time for our much-anticipated read-aloud of Creepy Carrots. The Sparks loved the book! Afterward, we focused on writing down character traits to describe Jasper, the main character. The learners agreed on five attributes and said he was a rabbit, scared, silly, greedy and brave. On Thursday, we reread the book and then illustrated a story. We focused on drawing what happened in the beginning, middle, and end of the story.
Art
Art this week was inspired by our mentor text, Creepy Carrots. Using the book illustrations for inspiration, each Spark created their own version of a creepy carrot. The results were amazing! Together, we created a fun bulletin board outside the door of our studio that makes us smile every time we walk by!
Additional Highlights
This week, the Sparks completed our studio bracket for March Mammal Madness. They worked together to make their picks, voting on which animal they thought would win each battle. Our final battle was between the Great White Shark and the Sperm Whale. The Sparks took one final vote, and with a majority win, our champion is the Sperm Whale! We can't wait to join the other studios to watch the recaps and see if our pick makes it to the end!
Our next round of Rhyme Time Show and Tell is complete. This week, we had a block/sock, parrot/carrot, giraffe/calf! We were also happy to welcome our first guest for Mystery Reader this session. The Sparks always enjoy the special stories they share with us! At the end of the week, we also celebrated International Women's Day, sharing what we already knew about this day and learning more!
Discovery Studio
Mindfulness
Monday morning started with a burst of energy as the Rebels engaged in a learner-led workout session. From high-intensity movements to low-impact exercises, the learners challenged themselves physically and were determined to complete every move. The studio was introduced to our annual March Mammal Madness competition on Tuesday. With brackets in hand, the Rebels were eager to discuss which animal would make it to the end. Midweek activities were the New York Times Wordle and Connection game. With good energy in the studio, the Rebels did their absolute best during both activities and were super quick to get the answers. On Thursday, the learners took a moment for gratitude and reflection with the "Thank you for sharing" activity. The learners were presented with three prompts inviting them to reflect on their personal journeys and experiences. To end the week, the Rebels used the Boomwhackers to make music!
Launch
March Mammal Madness is back! The Rebels were introduced to the 65 different combatants, and although titled March Mammal Madness, the tournament includes species from across the Tree of Life! The Rebels explored the animals' traits, biome, position in the food chain, and whether they were carnivores, omnivores, or herbivores. On Tuesday, we read the story, The Sneetches, by Theodor Geisel (Dr. Seuss). Following this, the Rebel branched into their groups to discuss the following questions: What do you think the story is primarily about? Can you summarize the main plot in your own words? What assumptions do the Sneetches make about each other based on whether or not they have stars on their bellies? How do different characters in the story see the situation differently? Why do you think they have these different perspectives? The mini-book club allowed the learners to discuss their thoughts, with many bringing up the theme of discrimination. Thursday's learner-led Launch used a Kahoot!, which focused on getting to know some of the learners and the studio's ROEs and covenants. The last Launch of the week was a learner-led Current Events. The Rebels discussed International Women's Day and presented a scenario that enabled the learners to reflect on how people may feel if they don't belong, aren't considered heroes, or are being judged by others.
Reader/Writer
The Rebels are one step closer to having their biographies completed! This week, we introduced a word wall, presenting common words they may encounter when writing their masterpieces. Draw and Anchor Rebels finished the sections on Aphrodite's passions, virtues, and friendships, preparing them to complete their individual god's information. Meanwhile, Aim and Release learners continued working independently on their research and handouts, and next week, they will begin typing their rough drafts. Great job helping one another out; your Greek mythology knowledge is incredible!
Math Lab
This week, the Rebels reviewed a slow reveal slide deck, noticing and wondering about parts of a bar graph and unpacking the story being told as each new slide gave them more context. Rebels observed how the x and y axes help us to make sense of the size of the bars and allow us to look for patterns or trends and make inferences about the data set used. By the time the title was shown, they understood that more and more people have ascended Mount Everest each year, with a distinct drop around the time of the COVID-19 pandemic. Draw/Anchor Rebels repeated this activity with another graph and had a phenomenal conversation about how every piece of the graph matters and means something: the title, the scale, the words or labels, and the key or legend. Aim/Release deepened their understanding of surveys and resulting data sets, discussing primary vs. secondary sources and census vs. sampling. Both groups are working towards developing their survey questions, which should elicit a rich data set that they can begin to visualize in the coming weeks!
French
To practice our French human body vocabulary his week, we played multiple games, including a Kahoot. We also finished our activity sheets to review more terminology, and on Thursday, we played a game called Bâbord-tribord in the gym.
Civilizations
This week in Civilizations, Rebels learned that there was still no simple way to get to India in the 1400s. Columbus thought he could reach India by travelling west into the Atlantic Ocean. However, he needed money to pay for the voyage, which he eventually secured from the Spanish King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella before he could go on his expedition. As we know, Columbus did not make it to India with his proposed route but instead unknowingly discovered the coast of the Americas.
Quest
After last week's Call to Adventure, the Rebels Crossed a Threshold this week into the next phase of the Mythology Quest: The Supreme Ordeal! As they continued to draft their hero stories, they were challenged to introduce new characters like mentor helpers, allies and enemies and describe a change from the ordinary setting to a mythical or magical destination. On Monday, Rebels heard the story of Perseus and used this mentor text to reflect on key parts of the Hero's Journey that they are trying to incorporate into their narratives. On Tuesday, they participated in a mini Writers' Workshop on the ARMS revision strategy: Adding, Removing, Moving (Organizing) and Switching (words, sentences, paragraphs). In their squads, Rebels used a paragraph about zoos to practice applying this editing tool before being asked to apply it to their own writing. On Wednesday, they returned to the read-aloud of Heroes in Training to find and compare more examples of the Supreme Ordeal component of the monomyth pattern. After this, they had time to draft and revise their hero stories, ensuring that they had included the first six parts of the Hero's Journey by the end of the week. Some very cool peer conference conversations have been happening, as Rebels notice that the steps of the journey sometimes get presented in a different order, which has opened up the floodgates for their imaginations and creativity!
Physical Development
This week, for physical development, Ms. Kaitlin took one group outside for soccer on Tuesday and Thursday. The group began with a warm-up, played an intense game of soccer and then ended with a cool-down. Madame Marianne monitored the learner-led gym activities, including Medusa Tag and Wax Museum.
Exploration & Launchpad Studios
Mindfulness and Launch
We began our week with a thirty-minute read-aloud of Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but True Story About Brain Science. We learned about the two leading thought groups of the time, Phrenologists and Whole Brainers and how both groups tried to use Gage to prove their theories. On Tuesday, we used our mindfulness time to focus on stretching our shoulders and backs to combat our "computer slouch." We also completed exercises to help strengthen our core and improve our posture. Returning from the gym, we tackled a newly released Ted-Ed riddle about a wizard tournament where we had to crown a winner with limited information. On Wednesday, Rebels completed brain puzzles before our learner-led Current Events presentation. Rebels took part in a rejuvenating yoga practice on Thursday morning. Then, we introduced ourselves to a visiting learner before playing the Get on the Boat game using our Debatable cards. We listened to calming music on Friday morning while learners completed their March Mammal Madness brackets, coloured International Women's Day posters, or drew. We then watched a video about International Women's Day before participating in a Blooket on inspiring women from around the world.
Quest
This week, Rebels stepped into the shoes of lawyers as they examined several cases involving key players in the McCarthy Trials. Monday's deep dive into "Communists in Hollywood" revealed the workings of the House of Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), and Rebels investigated activities deemed "Un-American." What should the penalty be for committing an "Un-American Activity"? Should Hollywood writers, directors, creators, and executives be protected under the "Freedom of Speech" and be able to create movies and TV shows that challenge American life and core values? Do you think having to answer to a committee like HUAC was legal or should have been allowed? Rebels looked at The Rosenberg case and, after examining a series of videos and articles, determined whether or not Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were guilty of espionage or innocent victims of the Red Scare hysteria. To wrap up our week, Rebels took on one more case on the trials of Whittaker Chambers and Alger Hiss. Listening to a podcast episode from Political Scandals - A Spotify Original, Rebels heard testimonies unfold from both Chambers and Hiss and debated the legitimacy of evidence submitted from being hidden inside a pumpkin patch! Was Alger Hiss guilty of espionage? Should Chambers have been able to submit evidence found inside his own pumpkin patch? Up next week, Rebels will investigate the McCarthy - Army hearings and meet a few more potential characters to play in the end-of-session debate.
Math Lab
If a rectangle with side lengths 6 and 4 has area n, then a different rectangle with area n and side length 3 must also have side length _____. This is just one example of an "if/then" puzzle that the Rebels worked on during this week's Algebraic Reasoning team challenge. If a phone with 50% battery has 24 minutes remaining, then there are _____ minutes remaining on the same phone when the battery is charged to 75%. Rebels worked in teams of three to divide and conquer as many visual puzzles as possible, working towards a Rebel Buck reward for puzzle packs completed accurately and annotated with algebraic equations or expressions to show their thinking. After this, they continued to work independently in KnowledgeHook on their "patterns and relationships" or "expressions and equations" challenges.
Civilizations
The discovery of nuclear power in the 20th century gave humans a new, efficient, clean, and cheap way to harness energy. The same discovery led to atomic weapons. The benefits of nuclear power are undeniable, but events like Chornobyl remind us that nuclear power does not come without risk. To help us formulate our opinions on nuclear energy, we reviewed a list of pros and cons on Tuesday before launching into our Socratic discussion on Turman's decisions, environmental impact, and ongoing nuclear energy research. On Thursday we learned Karl Marx believed the working class would rise up to overthrow the ruling class, leading to a Socialist Utopia where the state would force each citizen to give according to his abilities and allow needy citizens to demand what they needed from others. By contrast, Adam Smith believed in a free people prospering through the "invisible hand" of the markets. At the same time, Alexis de Tocqueville applauded the rise of an American Civil Society of free citizens, harkening back to the city-states of Athens. Following World War II, these visions for society clashed, represented by the Soviet Union (Marx) and the United States (Smith). On Thursday, Rebels completed their research before discussing whether they thought the Cold War was American Capitalist (economic) expansion, a misunderstanding, a fight to the death between those who believed in freedom and those who believed in state control, or America defended itself against an enemy who was intent on annihilating it. Learners also learned more about Stalin and debated whether he was an evil tyrant or misunderstood and contemplated if it would have been possible for the United States and its Allies to coexist peacefully with the Soviet Union. We ended our Civ period reading an article on Igor Gouzenko, a young Russian who, in September of 1945, walked into an Ottawa newsroom and announced he had proof of a widespread Soviet spy ring operating in Canada.
Reader/Writer
This week in Reader Writer, our workshop focused on forming rebuttals and directing our research toward opposing arguments from last week. Rebels continued to debate whether or not 12-year-olds should have access to their own social media platforms such as Snapchat, Instagram, and TikTok. Rebels took half of the workshop to research points disproving their opponent's arguments. When debating the argument that social media could, in fact, be educational, some Rebels argued that parent controls were too limited to make much of a difference in terms of altering the actual content youth are exposed to. Some Rebels emphasized statistics that social media platforms are rarely used for educational content, and there needs to be a way to prove that the content can be considered educational. Rebels agreed that strong rebuttals were concise and very specific, tailored directly to the language used in the original argument. Next week, Rebels will begin practicing forming arguments for specific characters involved in the McCarthy Trials, such as Robert Oppenheimer, Alger Hiss, and Joseph McCarthy.
French
This week, the Rebels planned their Exhibition project as a team. They had to determine their main subject, their target audience, and write five personas. On Wednesday, they wrote the technical specifications for each of the main objects in their exhibit.
The Crucible - Launchpad
On Monday, we met to finish our choral reading of Act 1 of the Crucible. Now that several characters have been introduced, we created a relationship and conflict map of the various players. We reviewed our interactive notes from the first act on Tuesday and then began reading Act II. After we finished the second act on Wednesday, we completed our interactive notes and made predictions for the remaining pages. On Thursday, learners completed a Witches Gallery Walk where they viewed ten different images of witches and wrote down their initial impressions or a few adjectives for each one. We then discussed how the more historical versions were older, unattractive, and "other," while more modern witches were younger, attractive, and educated. With these observations in mind, we read about how being a witch symbolized power and why in our history, women who "misbehaved," who didn't follow society's rules, were the women most susceptible to being unfairly labeled as a witch. We ended our week learning more about the Ugly History of the Witch Hunts before beginning Act 3.
Next Great Adventure
The week was spent working with their international Running Partners on editing their speeches. With each new draft, the learners are honing in on who they are, where they are going, and their ask.
Additional Highlights
This week, we also spent significant time learning about the March Mammal Madness combatants in preparation for completing our brackets. The competition begins next week, and we're looking forward to the full-school Rodent Recaps on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays!
A group of Launchpad Rebels cooked and delivered a delicious and hearty beef stew for Highjinx this week while a new Rebel baked cookies for the whole studio!
Potential Discussion Ideas or Questions to Ask Your Rebel:
Spark Studio
Who was your partner when you created a business? What types of goods and services did your business provide?
What was the business name and logo you designed for the Spark Perler bead business?
What Perler bead designs did you make this week?
Can you share your entry from your gratitude journal? What are you brilliant at?
French: How do you say nurse in French? (infirmière)
Discovery Studio
R/W: How might you use ARMS to revive your writing about the Greek god you are researching?
Quest: This week's theme was the Supreme Ordeal steps of the Hero's Journey. How do these stages compare and contrast in the stories we've been reading? (Think about Zeus, Perseus and Pegasus).
M/L Draw/Anchor: Who are you surveying, what will you ask them, and why do you want to gather data about this? What story do you think the data will tell?
French: How do you say wrist and ankle in French? (poignet et cheville)
Exploration and Launchpad Studios
R/W: Which rebuttal did you find was stronger when arguing whether or not social media platforms can be educational? Which side was more effective at proving their point? Why?
Quest: Who were the Hollywood 10? How was Hollywood impacted by "The Red Scare"?
Quest: Do you think HUAC (House of Un-American Activities Committee) and forcing people to sign a "loyalty oath" is a violation of civil rights or civil liberties?
M/L: If four red blocks are equal to one-third, then six red blocks are equal to _____.
M/L: If two red blocks are equal to one whole, and two blue blocks are equal to one red block, and one yellow block is equal to half of a blue block, then four red blocks, one blue block and one yellow block are equal to _____.
French: What is the subject of your exhibit in French? Who is your target audience?
Dates of Interest
Launchpad Next Great Adventure Declaration Talks (by invite only) - Thursday, March 21st
Launchpad Capital Model UN at University of Ottawa - Friday, March 22nd - March 24th
Exploration and Launchpad Field Trip to the Diefenbunker - Friday, March 22nd, 10:30 am - 2:00 pm (travelling by school bus)
Session 5 Exhibitions
Discovery Exhibition - Tuesday, March 26th at 4:15 pm
Spark Exhibition - Wednesday, March 27th at 4:15 pm
Exploration and Launchpad Exhibition - Thursday, March 28th at 4:15 pm
No School on March 29th due to Good Friday
Sessional Break and Camp run by Jenna April 2nd - April 5th
Family Book Club (The Year the Maps Changed by Danielle Binks) - Wednesday, April 10th from 6:30 - 8:30 pm