Teen Univeristy - Hitting the Books!

Welcome back Teen U! *Channeling my inner Nina Simone* - "It's a new dawn, it's a new day, it's a new life and I'm feeling good!" First I would like to take a moment and thank all of the returning Teens for such an enthusiastic welcome. I would also like to thank the new Teens who have joined us. 2010 is coming to an end but we're just getting started! During the first two weeks I asked the Teens to name some things they needed. I heard "Jobs", so job leads were provided. I heard "a Physics tutor", and yes, a Physics tutor arrived the very next week. From the start you have seen that Teen U is still committed!

Judging from this year's enrollment, and one Teen showing up for tutoring on crutches, I can see that the Teens are committed too! Teen university can be whatever YOU make it. I've got your back 100%. Let's show 'em how we do it Teen U!

Ninah ;-)

Young Photographers: Roseland Through Their Eyes

Photography is a wonderful activity especially for young children. On, this particular occasion I implored the children to really “see” their surroundings and take note of their environment. After discussing some picture-taking tips, I asked each child to take at least 3 photos of the environment and 3 photos of anything they found interesting.

I wanted the children to know that they have the power to make their environment look better or worse through their actions. However, for this lesson to become real, they had to pause and see the impact humans have on the environment. In this case, they were able to see their environment through their pictures.

*Note: This activity took place around the same time we talked about pollution so several of the pictures are of litter.

Chrystalin W. (3^rd,4^th, and 5^th Grade Teacher)

Trinity River Audubon Center

Today the ASA took an unforgettable field trip to the Trinity River Audubon (North America’s largest urban bottomland hardwood forest). The Audubon Center was once an illegal dump. However, after years of work and dedication the area where the Audubon is located was cleaned up and turned into a 6,000 acre educational environmental oasis.

While on the field trip the children hiked along the forest trail, studied a man-made pond using the scientific method, examined fish, snakes, insects and fossils, lastly the day was ended the by petting a box turtle. Below are pictures of our adventure.

Chrystalin W. (3rd, 4th and 5th grade teacher)

Critical Thinking at the Morning Meeting

Each morning the 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade class have a "Morning Meeting". The "Morning Meeting" consists of a Greeting, Message and Activity. On this particular morning, the activity for my class an engineering contest. The contest was to see which team could build a table that was at least 8 inches tall only using tape, eight sheets of newspaper and an 8” x 11” piece of cardboard. Also, the table had to be able to support a 3.6 pound book. After nearly 30 minutes and multiple tries, the boy’s team won. However, the girl’s team did not give up. The girl’s team continued working until they too had built a table that could support a 3.6 pound book. Though this activity was some what frustrating for the class, they all were able to complete the task. In the end, the whole class learned that perseverance, critical thinking, and cooperation are keys to accomplishment.

Chrystalin W. (3rd, 4th, 5th grade teacher)

College 101 "What college should I choose?

Choosing a college can be a difficult decision for students. It is best to start the process early, even if you are not a senior in high school. Wednesday, Teen U students had the opportunity to compile a list of universities and decide which university is a perfect fit by using a point system. If the universities had things they loved such as the student organizations, climate, offered their major, or freshman were not required to live in a dorm, then they would put the number 1 on their worksheet. If they saw things they dislike such as the universities did not offer a large number of student organizations or tuition was too expensive, then they would put a zero on their worksheet. When they finished with the worksheet, they calculated their points to see which university is right by looking at the college with the highest points.

Julian's selected school was the University of North Texas. He stated he loved the numerous student organizations and it is only 40 minutes from his mom.

La’kyra's selected school was the Oklahoma State University. She loved the school because it offered a lot of student organizations and had her major, Zoology; because she wants to become a veterinarian.

Shariah's selected school was the University of California : Davis. She found it fascinating that they give freshman the option of living in a dorm instead of requiring the freshman to live in the dorm. She also liked that it offered her major.

I have enjoyed creating College 101 workshops and encouraging students to learn about higher education at a young age is great.

--Jamacah

Insects, Bugs and Crustaceans….

Last week my 3^rd, 4^th, and 5^th grade class discovered Sparky (an escaped insect from Ms. Danielle’s class). Rather than be upset that Sparky was disrupting my Morning Meeting, I asked the class if they wanted to catch him. They responded with a resounding “YES”.

Originally, I had planned for the class to continue a study of Rain Forest and Ocean habitats. However, after noting their excitement over Sparky; I asked them if they would like to go outside and catch other bugs. Thus began my class’s infatuation with all things creepy and crawly. In the past seven days I have learned more about centipedes, millipedes, lady bugs, worms and roly polies then I had ever learned in 16 years of formal education.

Below are the Top Five Facts the kids have taught me. Also, note that some of the information we learned through observation as the children have built a habitat for the roly poise.

5. Centipedes eat roly polies.

4. Roly Polies eat dead leaves and grass.

3. Lady bugs can be red or orange with black spots.

2. Roly Polies are crustaceans not bugs or insects.

1. Roly polies breath through their “feet” . They have gill like structures not lungs.

- Chrystalin (3rd, 4th, and 5th grade teacher)

Dallas Arboretum – Garden and Wild walkabout

Above is a montage of photos from the ASA first field trip. They went to the Dallas Arboretum.

-Chrystalin (3rd, 4th, 5th grade ASA teacher)