Hello ALL

Let us keep going the Mixed Bag of Questions we started in the Maths Class last week I have posted some questions on the Math Blog. The questions are from different topics. You need to be conceptually clear while making a choice of answer and we shall have our Math test every week from these topics along with what we are doing that week.

As Minjun, Yong Ju and Yeji were leaving for Korea this week for their winter vacation, we had to finish our presentations. This affected our weekly test on Math. We shall have the test (missed last week)  instead on TUESDAY and another one (for the week) on Thursday.

A little about them. Hope they read this during the holidays. What is true about them is true for all of us though....

Well one thing that has become clear is Minjun has a great sense of humour and that he is not afraid to face an audience. His sense of humour remains intact then too. He has shown improvement and involvement  in trying to find out the meaning of words he does not know and will need to develop the ability to use that in his daily work. Application is the root of learning Further. Otherwise is remains in us as Knowing. You are working hard but do try to work harder Minjun. Yong Ju, hope you are having Fun! You have shown the ability to try and understand what is being taught in class, ask more questions and try to clear everything that will help you work on the task given in class.When you get a task, ask simple questions like what is being asked of me to do in this task,  what are the things that I should understand to do this work, what are the things that I do not understand, what questions should I ask the teacher to become clear.... You are doing most of the things I have said keep doing it more consciously  Use the dictionary more. Yeji you have shown a lot of involvement in the class physically this week. I have given you small tasks to do if you have noticed of calling maids, passing information and you could do all. You have communicated with Aadya so long, but now you are communicating with all the girls... isn't it a giant step forward? You are a strong girl who does not need to be shy. You have displayed the capabilities, so why are you forcing yourself to remain shy. Great Job done and keep working at it.

Well, do keep a watch from time to time on this blog for fresh updates. Also the updates DO NOT HAVE TO COME ONLY FROM ME. If you have some interesting questions to share, a math puzzle, a science experiment you did, a social project you are undertaking, a question or topic your parents want to share with all.... THIS IS THE PLACE. So do post yourself too.... but remain appropriate, RIGHT?

Aniruddha Sir 

Good Evening Children,

It makes me very happy to see the hard work and planning that you ALL are putting into your work. It is also wonderful to see that the Group Leaders are being able to guide their group members to help them plan their work. Record Keepers please help your group leaders by maintaining the schedule fixed by your GL's. It is also your duty to keep track of the work done by the members and report to your GL's and your teacher.

I am pleased to see the effort being put by Affan in understanding and trying to complete his work in time. Please keep up the good work and do not slow down on the effort you are putting in. Nameer is also showing some effort and I am sure you will be able to produce much better results very soon. This week about this two children. Every day we shall hear about two children from now on.

All of you do remember that the EXHIBITION is drawing near. It is a time when all of you will have to work on projects on your own. You will need to develop an idea and CREATE a Central Idea, IDENTIFY Lines OF Inquiry on which you can work, COLLECT EVIDENCE from around the world on the topic chosen by you, RESEARCH the idea in the area that you live in and PRESENT your findings and understanding to everyone... a real WIIFM opportunity. All that you are doing now is a build up to that. So keep up the good work ALL OF YOU.

Here is a poem I wanted to share with you...

The Chrysalis-A Butterfly Story

A man found the cocoon of a butterfly.
One day a small opening appeared.
He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours
as it struggled to force its body
through that little hole.
Then it seemed to stop making any progress.
It appeared as if it had gotten as far
as it could and could go no further.

So the man decided to help the butterfly.
He took a pair of scissors and
snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon.
The butterfly then emerged easily.
But it had a swollen body
and small, shriveled wings.

The man continued to watch the butterfly
because he expected that, at any moment,
the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support
the body, which would contract in time.
Neither happened!
In fact, the butterfly spent
the rest of its life crawling around
with a swollen body and shriveled wings.
It never was able to fly.

What the man in his kindness and haste
did not understand was
that the restricting cocoon and
the struggle required for the butterfly
to get through the tiny opening
were God's way of forcing fluid
from the body of the butterfly into its wings
so that it would be ready for flight
once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon.

Sometimes struggles are exactly
what we need in our life.
If God allowed us to go through our life
without any obstacles,
it would cripple us.
We would not be as strong
as we could have been.
And we could never fly.
So have a nice day...
and struggle a little.
© Nikos Kazanstakis

 Aniruddha Sir.

UOI Assignment no.1

Proceedure-.

            Students will do   research on volcanoes, in groups.  Each group will get a topic. With the topic they will be given certain things they must learn about the topic. Once the research is done the students will have to report what they have learned about their topic to the rest of the class. They will have to do this in a creative manner, such as a skit, a bulletin board, a game show, etc.  The teacher will explain each topic and then allow the students time during the social studies class period to work on their projects.

            One group (Ritika’s) will be researching volcanoes of the past.  They will be given these criteria to find and share with the class.

¨      What is the biggest, most famous volcano, in the world?

¨      Where do most volcanoes occur in the world?

¨      Learn about people who have experienced a volcano, what the volcano was like, and where it occurred. (They could do this by interviewing a relative, friend, etc.)

 

Another group (Aadya’s) will research and present to the class about the Mythologies of

Volcanoes, using the following criteria:

¨      Tell how the mythology of volcanoes came about.

¨      Tell and learn about some of the early Mythologies in the world.

¨      Given an ancient Myth on volcanoes students must either finish the story or they may write their own myth. (These can then be acted out or read to the class.) The group will work together to create one myth.

 

A third group (Anika’s) will work on myths and realities that they read about or already know dealing with volcanoes. (Such as: myth always go to the southwest corner of a room in the case of a tornado).  They will use the following criteria:

¨      Learn about myths that are said about volcanoes and what the truth is about them.

¨      Students will create their own myths about volcanoes and find the true facts about them. They will then have the class determine which ones are myths and which ones are true.

¨      Students will also tie in the myths that they found with their made up ones and share with the class. They may make a bulletin board on this and have in be an interactive thing for their peers to do on their own.

¨      What are the hotspots of volcanic eruptions in this Earth? Why are they located where they are?

The fourth group (Maanit’s) will learn about what is a volcano and how does it erupt

·         Learn about the forces that make a volcano erupt

·         How does the heat in the Earth drive a volcano.

·         What are the benefits that are derived from the eruption of a volcano.

·         Why are volcanic eruptions deadly?

·         What does the interior of the Earth look like and how are they related to volcanoes?

·         What is the Ring of Fire?

The last group will learn about the people that study volcanoes and the devices used to study them. These are the criteria they will follow:

¨      Students should learn about volcanologists.

¨      What are the classifications of volcanoes? Explain what are calderas, lahars and what they have to do with volcanoes.

¨      Put yourselves in the place of a volcanologist– describe what it is like and what you do. (Either act it for the class or write a story to share with the class.

The research will take place over two days and then the students will present them on Thursday. Once the research is finished, the groups will pick the order they will present their topic in. Each group will have up to ten minutes for their presentations.

Assessment / Evaluation:

            Each group of students will be assessed according to the criteria they were given for their topic.  The teacher will look to be sure that they have included these things in their presentation, using a checklist that will have the criteria listed. Students must either act out or create a bulletin board for at least one of their criteria.

            The students will also be assessed in their cooperative learning skills. The teacher will have a checklist of criteria that he or she will observe throughout the lesson. (Criteria sheet is attached.)

Further assessment will take place at the end of the natural disaster unit, when the students participate in a game of Jeopardy. The game will include many of the facts on volcanoes that they learned from their group projects and also from their science lessons.     

Extension Activities:     

1)      Students can imagine that they were blown over the rainbow by a tornado to an imaginary country. (like in the Wizard of Oz)  They need to describe in detail the country and at least one adventure that they had while they were there.

2)     Make a bulletin board on what to do in case of a volcanic eruption. It could be if you were in a school, at home, or outdoors.  You could do all three if you have time and want to.  You can work in groups on this project.

3)     Have students look up information on different volcanoes in history. Make a chart listing the location and the date of the volcano, as well as a description of the devastation that was caused by the volcano.

See the Video for understanding the format for presentation. Information on volcanoes are available from the previous two videos..

Q) How does heat at the center of the earth cause volcanoes to sustain life?

Are extreme  weather conditions Disasters or Blessings ?

When does a natural phenomena become a Natural disaster?