Week 4: January 28 - February 1

MONDAY:  Today, I began the class by collecting last week's bell ringer assignment.  If you were absent, please be sure to turn in this work ASAP.

We also began delving into Lesson 3: Focused Observation (see below).  We began reading through this lesson together in an effort to remind the students how to read and annotate information prior to summarizing the important details in a lesson outline.  I also added a new word, inference, to the students' vocabulary list:

inference: an educated guess

Homework for Monday:  Finish reading and annotating Lesson 3, and then complete an outline of Lesson 3.

TUESDAY:  Today, we discussed how to create the Lesson 3 outline.  All students were required to adjust their outline based on our discussion and my presentation on the white board (see below).

WEDNESDAY: Today the students worked with me to evaluate the work that the students had produced for their Lesson 3 outline.  As well, they added 2 more words to their vocabulary list (see below).
We defined and discussed one of the words (advocate) in preparation for today's Leadership Wednesday lesson on SELF-ADVOCACY.  The other word, viable, was given as a homework assignment for the students to define on their own.  We will be discussing the word "viable" in tomorrow's lesson.

1. advocate: to stand up for; support (can be used as both a noun and a verb)
2. viable: DEFINE FOR HOMEWORK

THURSDAY: We began our study of Lesson 4: Brainstorming with Graphic Organizers today.  After reading aloud and annotating the first page of this lesson, we quickly identified the purpose of this lesson and discovered how we should divide our outline for this lesson.  So, the students created the first part of their outline using the information learned from our reading of these first couple of pages.  See my diagram from class below.

Homework for Thursday: Scan through the rest of the lesson to find the information necessary to set up the rest of your Lesson 4 outline.  Then, complete the "set up" of the Lesson 4 outline in preparation for tomorrow's class.

FRIDAY: We will work through the remainder of Lesson 4 and complete our Lesson 4 outline.
Homework:  Complete the Lesson 4 outline.

THIS WEEK'S BELL RINGERS:

MONDAY:  Correct the grammar.
1. isabels puppy is the friendlier of the three puppies living hear
2. during the eighteenth century there familys wealth had grew

TUESDAY: Correct the grammar.
1. thats the biggest horse i have ever saw
2. i never lain my glasses their im sure

WEDNESDAY: Correct the grammar.
1. alex and me went to tomkins hardware store to buy some brushes
2. theres the knew offices of the dexler bolt corporation

THURSDAY: Correct the grammar.
1. i did mothers laundry and then i drunk a glass of milk
2. i went to my cousins house to lend from him a copy of growing pains my favorite poem

FRIDAY: Correct the grammar.
1. last week that boy lay down the adventures of huckleberry finn an exciting book on our teachers desk
2. yes my sister can play the trumpet good

Week 3: January 22 - 25

NO SCHOOL ON MONDAY: Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday

TUESDAY:  We continued our study of Lesson 1 by finishing up the reading, working through some of the practice problems, and then beginning our Lesson 1 Outline.
Homework:  Students were required to complete the Lesson 1 Outline using the framework I wrote on the board.

Lesson 1: Recognizing a Problem

Purpose: To learn how to recognize a problem and decide its importance or severity

I.   Recognize a Problem
     A. A problem is a ....
     B.
          1.
          2.
II.
      A.
          1.
          2.
          3.
      B.
          1.
          2.
          3.

WEDNESDAY: Today I checked for completion of the outline (homework), and any student who had not completed the Lesson 1 outline lost 20 points on the daily class participation grade for "not coming to class prepared."  Next, we discussed the correct answers to the outline.  Afterwards, I passed out Lesson 2 (see below).  The students were required to copy down the following framework for the outline for Lesson 2:

The students were informed of their homework for tonight:
1. Read and annotate Lesson 2.
2. Complete the Lesson 2 outline.

THURSDAY:  Today we discussed the parts of Lesson 2 that should have been annotated, and then we discussed the answers to the Lesson 2 outline.  I collected the students' work for the Lesson 2 outline.

In an effort to help the students further understand how to define an actual problem (versus an "offshoot" of an actual problem), I dictated the following 3 questions to the students to copy down, think about, and answer for homework:

1. What problems do you see around you?
    a.
    b.
    c.
2. Are these the actual problems or offshoots of the actual problems?
    a.
    b.
    c.
3. If they are an offshoot, what do you think is the actual problem?
    a.
    b.
    c.

FRIDAY:  Today the students broke out into groups to discuss their answers to the homework questions.  After a group discussion, they decided on one person to act as the group's spokesperson to share their collective answer to one of the group's chosen problems.  The class collectively decided whether the group had successfully identified to "actual problem".  Next, I showed a short video clip (see below) that presented an argument that schools should start earlier in the morning.  The students individually answered 2 questions about the video in an effort to help them understand how one problem can lead to other problems and how important it is to successfully identify the actual, underlying problem that needs to be resolved.  Equipped with these answers, the class held a debate over whether we should start school earlier in the day.

VIDEO: Should Schools Start Later in the Day?

This week's Bell Ringers:

MONDAY:  NO SCHOOL

TUESDAY:  Correct the sentences.
1. chuck got the largest of the to apples, dont he
2. most of my friends Parents like to eat out, i believe

WEDNESDAY:  Correct the sentences.
1. carlos my best friend is traveling east on highway 10
2. my family however are spending it's vacation in the south

THURSDAY: Correct the sentences.
1. i and my sister stayed at the hanbury house hotel in st petersburg florida
2. victor opened the door and shouted lunch is ready

FRIDAY: Correct the sentences.
1. grandpa has took teresa and i to the art gallery many times
2. have you seen a copy of new world of science my favorite magazine

Week 2: January 14 - 18

Welcome to Week 2.

Monday:  In an attempt to deepen their understanding of how to create an accurate written outline as well as the five obstacles to critical thinking, the students graded each other's homework assignment in class while I explained how to do this exercise.  We enjoyed a lively discussion in each class as the students worked to discern whether or not a response was accurate.

Tuesday:  To understand the "5-Step Process to Critical Thinking", the students viewed a short video covering this concept (see below).  They wrote down each of the 5 steps, and their homework was to memorize each of these steps in the proper order.  Memorizing is the lowest level on Bloom's Taxonomy, so I also questioned the students about the meaning of the video (Understanding - Level 2), and then we completed an exercise in class to demonstrate how to apply (Level 3) what they learned about the 5-Step Process.  The question the students explored for themselves was: How can I improve (or maintain) my grade in this class?

VIDEO: 5-Step Process to Critical Thinking

Wednesday: I quizzed the students to see how well they were able to remember the 5-Step Process to Critical Thinking. I handed out a Table of Contents that showed the students what we will be covering for the remaining weeks of this year.  Next, the students were given a Pre-Test to determine how much they already know and to give them an idea of the types of things we will be covering in this critical thinking course.  Their homework was to complete the Pre-Test.

Thursday: Today, we went over the correct answers to the Pre-Test to determine how well each student performed.  A grade was given for "completion" (as this was a homework assignment) instead of for competency.

In addition, we began our VOCABULARY LIST with the following words and definitions:

1. metacognition:  knowing about your thinking; to have knowledge of your own thoughts and the things that influence your thinking
2. sound: (ie. a sound argument) solid or strong
3. infer: reach a conclusion from reasoning rather than from clearly stated, specific facts
4. insoluble: unsolvable

Friday: Today, we will delve into Lesson 1: Recognizing a Problem.  The students and I will work through this first lesson together, annotating the lesson as it is being read aloud.
Homework:  Complete Practice Problems #1, #2, and #3.

This week's Bell Ringers:

MONDAY:  1. What is egocentrism?
                     2. Why is egocentrism an obstacle to critical thinking?

TUESDAY:  Correct the grammar:
                      1. may shaun and me go to riverside beach asked olga
                      2. yes I think the to of you have youre mothers eyes

WEDNESDAY:  Correct the grammar:
                             1. there reading furry friends a short story
                             2. last saturday i washed dads truck washed the windows and planted aunt
                                 gabriels bulbs

THURSDAY:  Correct the grammar:
                         1. them boys have chose to order this food fish french fries and salad
                         2. lightening our cat is the faster of all the cats on our street

FRIDAY:  Correct the grammar:
                   1. she had lain the book on a table in the house but she had forgot exactly where
                   2. tanya her cousin should of visited washington, dc

Happy New Year!!

Welcome to Week 1 of the 2nd semester (and 3rd quarter)!

This week we kick off our formal study of CRITICAL THINKING.  We will continue this study throughout the remaining 18 weeks of this school year.

Monday: NO SCHOOL

Tuesday: Today I asked the kids to remove all of their bell ringer responses and 7 Habits work from the 1st semester (1st and 2nd quarters) from their notebooks to make room for the remaining 18 weeks of bell ringers and critical thinking activities.  As well, they will be required to use a red pen this year for their bell ringer work, so they must bring a red pen each day (along with at least 2 sharpened pencils) to class in order to be fully prepared.  For their bell ringer activities, the students are working on improving their grammar.  They will view some writing that has many grammar errors and writing down the information in grammatically correct format.

Today's lesson included a discussion and visual presentation of Bloom's Taxonomy (see below).  The students learned about Benjamin Bloom's classification of the 6 levels of critical thinking.  We discussed each level in class, added a short definition for each level, and we began work on an acronym to help the students memorize each level. 
Tuesday's Homework:  Review their class notes (homework for EVERY DAY) and to memorize the order of Bloom's taxonomy.

Wednesday:  The students took a quiz on the 6 levels of Bloom's Taxonomy of Higher Order Thinking.
After the quiz, we began to take a close look at why critical thinking is so important, what is necessary to become a critical thinker, and what are some of the major obstacles that get in the way of critical thinking.  To answer these questions, the students were given a series of handouts to read, annotate, and discuss in class.  These activities will take place throughout the remainder of this week.

Wednesday's homework:  Finish reading, annotating and answering the questions in section 1.1.

Thursday: With my guidance, the students created an outline of sections 1.1 - 1.2 of their reading today. They learned the essential components of an outline, and used the information they had annotated in their reading to fill in their outline.  Their homework for tonight (Thursday) is to finish reading section 1.3 and then add to their outline by including the annotated information from their reading of section 1.3 of their handout.

Friday:  The students received another handout entitled: 1.4 Obstacles to Critical Thinking.  Together, we started the process of continuing our outline to include information from this handout.  Homework for Friday: Finish reading and annotating the 1.4 handout and then finish up the outline to include section IV. (Section IV of the outline should include the letters A - E and 1. and 2. for each capital letter).

This week's Bell Ringers: (Correct the grammar errors)

Monday: No School

Tuesday: dear sir or madam
                please send me the following coins two canadian dollars one five-dollar gold piece and
                three booker t washington half dollars
                sincerely
                p rossicone

Wednesday: a.  us boys havent never tore the kite into to pieces
                      b.  that garden in my opinion has the brighter flowers in charleston

Thursday:  a. wont you pass there popcorn over to kim and i
                    b. we have knew for some time that prof imende teaches history real good

Friday: a.  yesterday i laid down in the hammock and read treasure island a novel by robert
                   louis stevenson
              b.  their was to little rain this summer for the Grass to grow much more tall