While our time remote was surprisingly smooth (other than my internet being spotty), it was really great finishing the week back in the classroom. We made the most of it and I am thrilled to be able to share our work. The unexpected delight was starting a new math curriculum. We are now working through a Data Science curriculum created by the same person behind Mindset Math. This is a high-school level curriculum, so it is a bit audacious, but the class has certainly risen to the challenge. The class started this week by defining variability and looking at other visualizations. This was a great start to a new curriculum and I can’t see how it develops, as well how we can tie it to our other math work.

Another bright spot in the week was starting A Diary of a Young Girl. It has been years since I read Anne Frank’s diary and I’m excited to be able to share this with a class. The class had a sensitive discussion about the setting and what it means to be reading her diary. Our initial impressions of the book are that she seems like a typical teenager, now being thrust into an atrocious situation. While we all now how the story ends, but it is still a valuable and touching story to read together.

The week was full of lots of other incredible achievements. We created “Instagram posts” to distill our WWI knowledge, worked through exponents, and read a number of short stories. We had a homebound science fair, created propaganda, and discussed School Choice Week. This was a full and eventful week, which really made the most of our time together. I’m proud of the class and am excited to see what we do next week!

This was a blitz of a week, full of math and history. The highlight was watching the documentary “We are the Dream”. The movie was all about students in a speaking competition in California, focusing on race and its impact. It was wonderful seeing what these students shared with the world, the pride they showed in themselves, and the incredible ability of children to speak truth to power. We had a rich discussion afterward, with the students then writing up what resonated with them and what they’d want to say if they were on the stage. This was a deeply moving experience and a great way to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr Day.

The other highlight of the week was our history exploration. We are working through the lead-up to World War 1 and it has been fascinating. Instead of focusing narrowly on dates and figures, we are attempting to understand the human drama of the conflict. That meant us discussing the national mood in Europe in the early 1900s, the rise of imperialism and militarism, and even the existence of ‘war fever’, which most of the class had a hard time believing was actually real. We then read the telegrams between the leaders of Russia and Germany at the time and discussed how it seemed eerily similar to teenagers texting at midnight about the latest drama (with the difference being the lives of millions of people). The class really seems to be connecting with this history in a deep and personal way, which is the ultimate point of studying history. I’m excited to keep studying and seeing how this conflict connects to us today.

The rest of the week was filled with a TON of math. We focused on numeracy this week, which meant exploring scientific notation, problem solving, and even percentages. We threw in some algebra as well, just to build up those skills even more. We tackled some science and coding, threw in some art, and topped it with a trip to the bank. It was an absolutely incredible week that is setting the stage for even better learning in the future. Great job everyone!

Welcome back everyone! It was a bit rough transition to break, so it is was great getting back into the swing of things, including our Secret Santa exchange. In academics, the highlight was our science exploration this week. We started by exploring mirrors and learning a bit about optics. The next day, we went deeper and learned about wave mechanics, which further enriched our understanding of light and sound. To cap it off, the students divided the material and then created their own presentations for younger students, including designing an assessment to see how they did. This progression (introduction, deeper study, then teaching it) is so critical to the Plato way, as it really engages students in so many different ways. Ending the project with teaching it pushes the students to think more deeply and see the material from other perspectives. I am thrilled with the learning the class took out of this, as shown by the assessments they created to test other students. Great job everyone!

The other highlight from the week was the selection of short stories we read. We are starting our full unit this week, so this week we dove into some classic or underappreciated short stories. We read an old Twilight Zone script, a classic Kurt Vonnegut, a story about appreciating your heritage, and then a hilarious story of the unluckiest boy ever. We compared the purposes and tones of the story, then talked about how each author accomplished their goals. The class really engaged deeply with these stories, as shown by their scores on the quizzes after and the discussions we had as a class. I really encourage you to talk to your child and see what resonated with them the most, since it was such a varied selection of stories. While I’m excited to dive in next week, this was a great way to get back into the academic world.

 

The rest of week was full of challenging math, poetry, and even some history groundwork. If you want see how you’d do in the class, check out our class quiz for the week: QUIZ. Next week we’re diving into our history and English units, so I’m excited to update y’all next week. Have a great weekend everyone!