The 3rd / 4th grade classrooms have decided to adapt Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children into a stage performance. Today, our class had an introduction to screenwriting (via Skype) with Greg Wands, a fiction and screenwriter (and very good friend) based in New York City. While currently developing a feature film, animated series, collection of short stories and a children’s book, he took time to share his insights on the process in which we are about to embark. We read through a scene from the book and they began to act it out, keeping in mind the challenges that come from realizing the various ways that you can (and can’t) convey information to an audience while on stage. Brave actors and insightful audience members offered several possibilities for how the scene could be performed. All seem eager to continue. More to come….

Good People!

This post is about some of the amazing work that our very own, Juna, has been doing. Juna has been publishing a personal blog where she shares some of her passions and creative work. This work includes zines and a newspaper that she publishes (Issue 3 is in the works.) A skilled storyteller and artist, Juna uses her pieces to raise awareness about issues that matter to her, including civil rights and animal welfare. Her story, “Freedom for the Wolves” from her second issue of The Oakwood was recently published on Absurdist, a website that focuses on “submerged narratives.”

Please visit Juna’s blog to see this story and more of her incredible work.

Here is a link to her blog – http://jrhc.me/

Last Friday, we visited the University of Michigan 3D Lab. The students observed 3D printers at work and were introduced to the potential applications including the construction of building materials, life-saving medical devices and even, human tissue. We also explored (virtually) an archaeological site and proteins using the Oculus Rift, a virtual reality headset. It was amazing to see these tools at work. 

      

2015-01-16 12.52.57 from SK.Chris on Vimeo.

2015-01-16 13.11.16 from SK.Chris on Vimeo.

2015-01-16 13.25.11 from SK.Chris on Vimeo.

2015-01-16 13.26.13 from SK.Chris on Vimeo.

 

Welcome to our new class blog!

I will be sharing reflections on the work we are doing in the class as well as related links and media.

The most exciting feature about the new blog is that you can now find links to the students’ own blogs. The students will use these to share their own thoughts and questions about their learning experiences both inside and outside of the classroom.

On Accuracy

The student blogs are meant to be spaces for students to reflect, share and further their learning. I’d like their posts to be snapshots of where they are on their learning journey as well as conversation starters with the larger community. This means the students need to express themselves clearly, even if their posts may contain some factual errors or misunderstandings. Instead of serving as a virtual presentation space, I want the blogs to be another place for students to work out their thinking. As such, when we find misunderstandings, we will share information with the students that challenges their thinking and ask them to share what they understand in light of the new information presented. As readers, I invite you to be an active participant in our learning by sharing connections you find to the things we are working on. This can be done on the main page or individual student blogs.

Looking forward to our journey.