NEWTONIAN MATH

Math, math!  It's everywhere!  What an awesome class.  We learned about the definition of mathematics (ask the students what it means to quantify.)  We figured out that math is in everything and is everywhere.  It was not a terrifying discovery.  Everyone in this class has an amazing mind, and we love learning together.

Time is winding down, so everyone needs to be about the work of finalizing their Science Projects and completing the requirements for the Inteligro Award.  Students have the list of requirements in their binders, so please encourage them to check them off.  Ask them to tell you what they need to do!  Everything is due no later than January 19th, so don't delay.

Next week we will discuss Coming of Age in the Milky Way.  Each student has two chapters for which they are responsible.  Annotate, annotate, annotate.  Be prepared to share what was so interesting in your chapters.  What did you learn?  What were some a-ha's and epiphanies.  We can't wait to hear them. 

Our Inteligro Math discussion will be on January 5th, so everyone has time to finish that book.  Also be preparing for your math exam, which will be on January 12th.  Lastly, we are planning a field trip to the Pierce College Planetarium on December 15th.  We would like to leave at 9:30 a.m. SHARP, so we can be back in time for the party.  Please let us know if this a hardship for you.

Thanks - your Pyramid Project mentors

SPIRITUAL CREATION

This week learned about creating our masterpieces in our mind and in our hearts before we actually execute them in reality.  This element of spiritual creation: pondering, figuring, guessing, and planning is the first step in creating anything.

Students were challenged to Begin With the End In Mind ESPECIALLY when it comes to their Science Fair Projects.  Students pondered their science fair projects and then filled out a Science Project Planning sheet with roadblocks over the next 10 weeks such as Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's Eve, vacations, family in town, etc. 

We also had a great discussion on The Phantom Tollbooth.  Everyone really seemed to enjoy this book.  We ran out of discussion time, so everyone is asked to bring a favorite quote from the book to share next week.


HOMEWORK

1.  Write down the actual steps you will take over the next 10 weeks to complete your science fair project.

2.  Next week we will have a presentation by Adam on planes. 

3.  You need to skim and find parts that interest you in the Milky Way book.  Please annotate them and BRING YOUR BOOK TO CLASS.  If you know there's a book discussion that day, it's pretty imperative that you bring the actual book we read.

4.  Continue working on your science fair project.

Also - please consider this a reminder for the following:

1.  Parent Night is January 26th.  Please make sure it is on your calendar.

2.  Parent Night is when students will be awarded their prisms for completing the Inteligro Award.  Please check and see where you are in regards to earning your prism.  We want everyone to receive it.

3.  On January 12th you will have an in-class math exam.  This is made up of questions from your own math study.  You can either bring a post test from your math curriculum OR keep track of problems you've worked on through the course of the semester and use them in your final exam.  The exams must be approved by the class mentors.  Don't forget to work on this.

Please let either Diannalynn or I know if you have any questions or concerns about Pyramid Project.  We certainly enjoy working with your students.

Thanks,
Genevieve

Asking the Right Question

We had a great presentation from Katie Blanchard on light and reflections.  We learned about terms like refraction, light stream, refractive index and much more.  Quite interesting Katie - thanks!

HOMEWORK

• Next week we will have a binder check-up, so make sure to WRITE DOWN your I Wonders, Patterns, and log your math lessons! 

• Kaleigh will present on Nicolaus Copernicus.  We have enjoyed all of the presentations so far.  Please consider your presentation and what visual (pictures, presentation, experiment, etc.) you will use to delight the class.  The more exciting, the better!

• Finish reading and annotating The Phantom Tollbooth.  The discussion will be led by Noah!!

• Don't forget your I Wonders, Patterns, and log book entries WRITTEN DOWN!!!  I've got a great one for this week.

• Also we will be reviewing your Science Fair projects.  It has come to our attention that only ONE student has actually made progress on their science fair project.  That is a sad state of affairs and will make it hard to accomplish this goal in time for the Science Fair itself.  So here's a reality check:

11/10 - Pyramid Project class

11/17 - Pyramid Project class

11/24 - Thanksgiving Day: No Class

12/1, 8,15 - Pyramid Project class

1/5, 12, 19 - Pyramid Project class

1/26 - Parent Night/Science Fair

So projects are due on 1/19, so that leaves students approximately 10 weeks until it is due.  I don't know about you guys, but I can procrastinate 10 weeks like nobody's business!  Parents, please have a mentor meeting (or two) with your Pyramid Project student and help them develop a timeline that will help them be successful with their science fair project.  Please ask Diannalynn or I for any help you might need.  Also, please let us know well in advance of any special set up needs for the January Science Fair.  Thanks!

LAST WEEK IN CLASS:

We learned what it takes to ASK THE RIGHT QUESTIONS.  There were some tricky riddles to solve - I stink at it!  We decided however, that asking the right questions is a wonderful skill to employ in working on a science fair project.  We had great input by all and we sure appreciate teaching this class. 

Sincerely,

Genevieve & Diannalynn

I Wonder!

We missed Teacher Genne in Pyramid yesterday!  Hope she's 100% soon.

Yesterday was a full day in class!  We reviewed looking for equations, learning new things by looking up words we (think we) already know in the Webster's 1828 Dictionary, and generally starting to really study and think deeply about verses in our Core books.  Everyone committed to doing that this week, in their own core book studies.

Then we wondered.  We discussed the power of curiosity, and looking at things in a way we haven't before... even the mundane... like cats drinking.  Roman Stocker, a scientist at MIT was watching his cat drink milk one day and wondered if he did it differently than the dog, as it seemed.  His curiosity led him to mention it to friends and fellow scientists, then on to a serious study of how cats, large and small, lap up milk, a collaborative scientific paper being published, and breakthroughs in biomechanics.  All because he paid attention to something most of us consider mundane, and wondered!  What they learned is that cats don't actually scoop up the liquid, they quickly break the surface tension with their tongues and use inertia to pull it back up before closing their lips around it.  So we all became cats, sort of.  We tried it out, dipping our hands in water and catching it with the other hand.  Some of us were better at it than others, and Kaleigh decided to try it the cat's way, with her tongue.  A straw will probably serve her better.  But the take away is to be more curious!

Noah had some great questions as he helped lead our book discussion on String, Straightedge and Shadow.  And even though we don't have a class full of math-lovers, we had a very thoughtful discussion.  I really liked talking about the people or events we wished we could have been there to meet/see.

We also learned all about the Pot Belly Stove from Kaleigh. 

Our next book is The Phantom Tollbooth.  A reminder that even if you've read it before, you need to re-read it with the characteristics of a scientist in mind.  That discussion will be held in 3 weeks.  But don't wait until then to get started on Coming of Age in the Milky Way.  It's a great read, but not a small or quick one.  So get a jump start on that!

I also handed back all the science fair proposals.  Most need some more detail, specifically about HOW you're going to run your study and learn what it is you're trying to discover.  You can start the experiments now, but please bring your fleshed-out proposals back next week.

Emma, your 2nd presentation is next week.

And everyone, don't forget your logbooks!  And pull out (and use!) those bookmarks for Phantom Tollbooth and Coming of Age in the Milky Way.

Principles, Laws, and Equations

Is your mind still blown?  You should ask your scholars that question and then have them tell you all about our discussion today.  It was pretty much AWESOME!  I so enjoyed helping them to think about their core book (the scriptures) a different way.  They were all left with the following challenge:

1.  Use the equation If this.... then this.... in their search for patterns this week.  I'm excited to see what they'll find.

Please encourage your scholar to WRITE DOWN their log entries.

2.  Really STUDY your core book this week: look up words, draw equations, make connections, etc.  If you only get a sentence read, but you learn a ton, then mission accomplished.

HOMEWORK

1.  Finish String, Straightedge, and Shadow.

2.  Record Log Book entries.

Attached is the schedule for presentations.  I encourage everyone to think outside the box when it comes to your presentations.  Be creative.  Think about what you would enjoy in a presentation. 

Oh say, what is truth?

Hello Everyone,

Here's another week of the Pyramid Project blog.  This last week we discussed the important questions:  What is truth?  How do we know something is true?  Everyone had great insight and we appreciate everyone's participation in our class.  It is an important question to continue to discuss as home.  Ask your students what they think and share with them your own insight.

Happily we have quickly come together as a group and everyone is working well together.  We had a great presentation from Emma on Marie Curie. 

This next week the students have the following due:

1.  Their outline for the science fair project.  They each received a worksheet that details what their science fair outline must include.  This is a written outline with as much detail as possible.  Those who don't have a solid plan in place will be asked to continue to work on their outline until it is finished. 

2.  The book String, Straightedge and Shadow is due on October 20th.  I know our student assistant Noah has been diligently reading through this book, and he will be excited to lead a great student discussion this week. 

3.  Every week is an accountability section in class.  Students account for the number of times they have recorded in their Log Books.  The account, of course, is just a written verification that they have completed their agreed upon number of math lessons and core book student as well as written down I Wonders and Patterns noticed.  So far, everyone is taking a leisurely approach to their Log Book.  Unfortunately this will not make it possible for students to achieve the Inteligro Award at the end of the semester, so I encourage everyone to not wait to write in their Log Books!!

Lastly - I listened to a conference call on mentoring mentees this week.  The presenter shared lots of great insights, but in talking about mentoring students she shared the idea of a 2nd Witness.  Either that 2nd Witness is us as the classroom mentors or you as the home mentor.  It makes such a difference when we work together and back each other up.  I would strongly encourage you to have weekly mentor meetings with your students and ask them to share what they've been learning in class.  Also follow up with them on their math and core book study goals that they set with you.  It will make a huge difference and will ensure success.  Please let us know how we can support what you are doing at home.

Sincerely,
Your Pyramid Project Mentors:  Genevieve and Diannalynn

Hello Everyone,

First of all, let me say that Diannalynn Claridge and I (Genevieve Allen) are super excited to be teaching Pyramid Project this year.  It has been a pleasure so far.  I predict that there will be a math/science revolution in our corner of the world this year.

Homework this week is as follows:

1.  Read and ANNOTATE String, Straightedge, and Shadow.  It's due in three weeks.

2.  Write daily in your LOG book keeping track of Patterns, I Wonders, Core Book Studies, and Math lessons.

3.  Everyone needs to start thinking about their Science Fair project and start narrowing down their topic.  I suggest that you use your newfound pattern skills to figure out what science question you would like to explore.

4.  All students need to also be actively working on their class presentations, keeping their due dates in mind.  These dates will only be changed because of illness or comparable circumstances.

That's it!  Thanks everyone and happy pattern seeking!

Euclid's Elements/Parent Night (4/28/2016)

This week we did a document study of Euclid's Elements.  After going over the definitions, we spent some time not only studying the postulates, but drawing our own. Here is the website that breaks down the postulates step by step: http://math.furman.edu/~jpoole/euclidselements/eubk1/props.htm#proposition  It would be a great practice for you to go through the postulates in the pyramid guide as well as the others from Euclid's book in order to better understand geometry and practice logical thinking skills.

Also we were able to have parent night.  Thanks everyone for working hard on your projects and making a display to show all that hard work off!

Homework for next week:

Reading: Flatland - make sure you get it finished this week.

Core Book: 5+

Math Lessons: 4+

Log Booking:  10+ minutes, 4+ per week

Patterns & I Wonders:  Keep looking for these and bring them to share. 


Upcoming Schedule:

May 12-Math Final Exam and video

April 21, 2016-Taster's Table & Movie

This week we watched the first two parts of the movie "The Elegant Universe" while enjoying everyone's taster's table creations.  Great job everyone!  They were all delicious.

Homework for next week:

Document Study:  Euclid's Elements

Reading: Flatland (discussion on May 5, 2016)

Core Book: 5+

Math Lessons: 4+

Log Booking:  10+ minutes, 4+ per week

Patterns & I Wonders:  Keep looking for these and bring them to share. 

Please also remember to bring your science project to share at the parent night.

Upcoming Schedule:

April 27-Everything completed in order to get award including logbook, math lessons and essay final.

April 28-Document Study-Euclid's Elements, Parent Night

May 5-Book Discussion-Flatland

May 12-Math Final Exam and video

Final Essay Exam Questions

Final Exam Essay Questions:

Choosing from any of the books we have read this semester, answer five of the following questions.

1. What pattern or patterns did I notice in the story and why were they important to me?
2. What new truth did I discover and how has it changed me?
3. What new equation or equations did I find and will I apply it to my life, why or why not?
4. What do I wonder about now because I read that book?
5. What book surprised me the most? Why? What were my assumptions about?
6. If I could change the ending to any of our books, it would end… because…
7. This book changed how I feel inside because …
8. Which character had the most heart? Why?

This final exam needs to be completed by April 27th along with all your other work. Please let one of your mentors know if you have any questions at all.

4/14/2016

This week we did book discussion about "The Magician's Nephew" as well as a document study on Tsu Ssu's "The Way of the Mean".

Next week we will have the taster's table as well as a movie.  We will be starting class at lunchtime in order to have time to complete the film.

We also discussed the final exam which will be an essay exam about one or more of the books that we have read and discussed.  More information will follow in a separate post.

Homework for next week:

Taster's Table: Next week please bring your creation along with the recipe that you have made to share.

Reading: Flatland (discussion on May 5, 2016)

Document Study:  None this week

Core Book: 5+

Math Lessons: 4+

Log Booking:  10+ minutes, 4+ per week

Patterns & I Wonders:  Keep looking for these and bring them to share. 

Remember to keep working our your science project. It must be completed by April 27th in order to have ready to bring to the Parent's Night on April 28th.  Keep up the good work!

Upcoming Schedule:

April 21-Taster's Table-bring recipe and creation, and movie

April 27-Everything completed in order to get award including logbook, math lessons and essay final.

April 28-Document Study-Euclid's Elements, Parent Night

May 5-Book Discussion-Flatland

May 12-Math Final Exam and video

Week 7-9

We have gotten quite a bit done in class the past few weeks. 

Week 7: We did a book study of "The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe".  

Week 8: We studied the document - Fragments of Thales.  Logical Suzanne also did a short presentation on logical fallacies and we practiced recognizing "red herrings". 

Week 9: Science Experiments: This has probably been our most enjoyed week so far.  We did a few different experiments.  I think that the magnetic "goo" was extremely popular.  We also did a logical experiment where we had to figure out how to get water from 4 cups to 3 others without touching the cups.  We then made paper airplanes and tried to figure out more effective ways to fold them.  Thank you to Josh for bringing his cookies to test.  I think we all approved.

Homework for next week:

Document Study:  John Tyndall's The Position of Science.  Please be prepared to discuss it next week in class.

Reading: The Magician's Nephew, we will be discussing it on March 31st.

Taster's Table: Keep working on making your recipe for the Taster's table. 

Core Book: 5+

Math Lessons: 4+

Log Booking:  10+ minutes, 4+ per week

Patterns & I Wonders:  Keep looking for these and bring them to share. 

Remember to keep working our your science project. Keep up the good work!

Week 6

In class this week we studied a document entitled Food and Temper written by Julien Offray de Lamettrie.  This document discussed Mr. Lamettrie's theory that diet is related to a person's soul and character. We finished up the day by watching a couple of inspiring videos. 

Homework for next week:

Reading:  Finish our next book-- The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, we will be discussing it this coming Thursday.

Essay:  Why does character matter?

Core Book: 5+

Math Lessons: 4+

Log Booking:  10+ minutes, 4+ per week

Document Study:  None this week.

Patterns & I Wonders:  Keep looking for these and bring them to share. 

Keep up the hard work.  These document studies can be difficult, but learning how to find lines of logic will definitely help you in your current and future studies. Keep up the good work!

Week 5-Mathematical Experiments

In class this week we started out by watching a Studio C video highlighting some of the ideas of Immanuel Kant.  We then did some mathematical science experiments.  For example, we learned why when 23 people are in a room, there is a 50% chance of two people having the same birthday.

Homework for next week:

Document Study:  Please read and study the document Food and Temper by Julien Offray de Lamettrie.  Look up any words that you are unfamiliar with.  We will be discussing this document next week.

Essay:  Those of you that did not complete your essay need to get those turned in next week. If you are wondering what we look for in a good essay, just make sure it is “quality”. (Think about how quality is defined in “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance".)

Science Project: Start working on your projects.  Do some brainstorming and some research.  Keep records of both your research as well as your experiments.

Core Book: 5+

Math Lessons: 4+

Log Booking:  10+ minutes, 4+ per week

Reading:  Continue reading our next book-- The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe  (due March 3rd)

Patterns & I Wonders:  Keep looking for these and bring them to share. 

Also, if you find any good and/or obvious lines of logic, please feel free to share them in the comments.  We can help each other out learning how to find them more effectively.

Week 4, in which we learn that some philosophers are crazier than others

In class this week we discussed the document entitled Natural Science written by Soren Kierkegaard.  It discussed his reasoning why natural science was not a topic worthy of study.

Homework for next week:

Essay:  Write an essay answering question #4 for the Kierkegaard document.  It's the question about what play was Kierkegaard referencing about Socrates that was written by Aristophanes.

Goal/School Tips Worksheet:  SIGNED by mom or dad.  (past due)

Science Project:  If you have not decided upon a project, please do so ASAP, so you have enough time to complete it by the end of the semester.

Core Book: 5+

Math Lessons: 4+

Log Booking:  10+ minutes, 4+ per week

Patterns & I Wonders:  Keep looking for these and bring them to share. 

Reading:  Continue reading our next book-- The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe  (due March 3rd)

Week 3 - Houston, we have a problem...

In class this week we philosophized about Zen, motorcycles, motorcycle maintenance, quality = truth, education vs. training, and why this was the hardest book most of us had ever read.  Then we saved the Apollo 13 mission in our simulation and experienced the importance of focusing and listening to the right voices.

Homework for next week:

Goal/School Tips Worksheet:  SIGNED by mom or dad.  (past due)

Science Project:  What "problem" are you going to use the Inteligro Method to try and solve?  DUE THIS WEEK.

Document Study:  Read the document by Kierkegaard. Look up any words you don't know.  

Core Book: 5+

Math Lessons: 4+

Log Booking:  10+ minutes, 4+ per week

Patterns & I Wonders:  Keep looking for these and bring them to share.

Reading:  Start acquiring/reading our next book-- The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe  (due March 3rd)

Week 2

Hi Everyone!

Today in class we welcomed our new assistant mentor -- Philosopher Suzanne.  We also had an unexpected guest, Deborah, who is an exchange student from Brazil who got to come hang out with us as her school was closed for the day.

We shared some fun math patterns -- "times 9's" and the hypotenuse of a right isosceles triangle is always the length of one of the other two sides times the square root of 2.

We also did our first really in depth document study.  It was a bit of a slog, but we managed to figure out what Immanuel Kant was saying and we learned that we can do it!  The snacks were a bonus, too!


How is your reading coming?  Don't forget, Zen, and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance is due for our next class.  We're also going to be doing a simulation.

HOMEWORK:

CORE BOOK:  Minimum of 5 each week.  Spend at least 10 minutes each time you study your core book.  You want to work up to at least 20-30 minutes of study each day.

MATH LESSONS:  Minimum of 4 each week.

LOG BOOKING:  Continue writing in your Log Book.  This semester, you can start using a commonplace book to record your impressions, patterns, feelings, quotations, principles, questions, essays, I wonders, experiments, ideas, etc.  You should be spending a minimum of 10 minutes per day, 4 days per week writing in your logbook/commonplace book.  This is separate from the writing you will be doing during your core book studies and the essays that we will be doing on our document studies.

PATTERNS/I WONDERS:  Continue looking for patterns and I wonders to share at the beginning of class each week.  Remember to log them, too.

GOAL WORKSHEETS:  Complete your Goal and School Tips worksheet.  GET IT SIGNED by a parent.  It was due last Thursday.

DOCUMENT STUDY:  Finish up reading thru and understanding the last paragraph that we didn't get a chance to finish in class.

BOOK:  Finish reading Zen, and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.  It’s due on Feb. 4th.

PROJECT:  Have you given any thought to your project for this semester?  You have until Feb. 11th to decide what "problem" you want to do your project on.

See you all on Thursday!

Week 1 -- Second Semester

Hi Everyone!

How’s it going on your homework this week?  In case you missed it, here’s a recap of what you should be working on…

CORE BOOK:  Continue reading and annotating your core book.  Minimum of 5 each week this semester.  Remember, it doesn’t count unless you write down at least one equation and write at least one other thing — summary, ah-ha’s, definitions, importance & meanings, personal commentary, patterns, I wonders, etc…

MATH LESSONS:  Continue working on  your math lessons.  Minimum of 4 each week this semester. (John, I know I have your math.  Maybe brush up on your math facts until Thursday??  Review order of operations and manipulating equations — play Dragon Box??)

LOG BOOKING:  Continue writing in your Log Book.  This semester, you can start using a commonplace book to record your impressions, patterns, feelings, quotations, principles, questions, essays, I wonders, experiments, ideas, etc.  You should be spending a minimum of 10 minutes per day, 4 days per week writing in your logbook/commonplace book.  This is separate from the writing you will be doing during your core book studies and the essays that we will be doing on our document studies.

PATTERNS/I WONDERS:  Continue looking for patterns and I wonders to share at the beginning of class each week.  Remember to log them, too.

GOAL WORKSHEETS:  Complete your Goal and School Tips worksheet.  GET IT SIGNED by a parent.  It’s due on Thursday.

DOCUMENT STUDY:  Prepare for our document study on Immanuel Kant’s “Judgments”.  Please read all the way through it.  Please look up any words you don’t know and write the definitions on the document paper or in your commonplace book or separate piece of paper.

BOOK:  Get started reading Zen, and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.  It’s due on Feb. 4th.

PROJECT:  Have you given any thought to your project for this semester?  Remember, we’re using the Inteligro Method this time, so you need to work on solving a problem.  I can’t remember what the deadline was that I set in class last week for having chosen the problem you want to work on.  So, let’s make it Feb. 11th.

This week in class, we’ll get to welcome Mad Scientist/Philosopher Suzanne Shumaker as an assistant mentor to our class.  We’ll also get to munch on tasty things while we’re really digging into our document study. 

See you all on Thursday!
~Logical Lisa