Monthly Archives: October 2017

Fast Food Nation Update — Week of 10/30/17

Here’s what’s happening this week:
1) Final drafts of our Long Term Project are due via google classroom by Friday at 8am.  I have read all the rough drafts that have been turned in and left lots of comments for students.  Students have done AMAZING thinking on their topics, but every single one of them still has lots to do before they turn in their final draft.  We’ll definitely have class time to work on this over the week, but it won’t be a ton of class time so students should plan accordingly.
2) On Halloween, we have a shortened class due to an all-school party. We’ll be using the limited time we have together to write thank you notes to our amazing hosts from our food extravaganza last Friday.  We had such a great time, learned A TON, ate well, and had a lot of fun.  Thank you again for all your support of our ADI work.
3) On Friday after our film festival screening, we have a very special visitor to come and speak to our class.  At 3pm, Chef Ann Cooper — internationally recognized author, chef, educator, public speaker, and advocate of healthy food for all children (also head of BVSD food services!) will be talking to our class to help us better understand the social science of school lunches.  Hopefully, it will be a great discussion!
4) We’re also still working on our ancient civilization research.  We’ll start writing scripts for our news broadcasts beginning the week of 11/4.
Have a great week!  -JF

LA Update — Week of 10/30/17

We are taking a one-week break from our stories.  We’ll pick up with them on November 6th with a heavy dose of peer critique.  We have a lot going on this week — here’s a day-by-day overview:
Monday:  In lieu of report cards and “grades,”  CHOICE uses a rubric system to communicate student progress.  I think I’m going to try a new format this year and I’m hoping it tells a better story of growth.  A big part of our rubric system is that students have the opportunity to self-reflect on their progress.  Students will be completing this reflection in class on Monday.  These rubrics (along with your student’s math rubrics) will be shared back with you on November 15th.  Students will also be updating their book padlets and book plans with their latest reads.  I’m also hoping to have time to prepare students about our Film Festival Event on Monday as well — but we’ll see.
TuesdaySelf-Evaluation Rubrics due by beginning of class.  And…. HALLOWEEN EXTRAVAGANZA!!!  <insert creepy halloween music here>  We’ll have fun with Edgar Allen Poe and then some of your children may simply be “doomed.”  I’m so sorry….
Wednesday:  Grammar Play Preparation!
Thursday:  Grammar Play Performances and Reading/Conference day.
Friday:  The entire CHOICE program Is going to see a performance of this awesome animated documentary about orphans in Swaziland.  The film is called Liyana and you can find information about the film here. We are going to be the very first audience in Colorado to see this film!   After the screening, we’ll have the chance to talk with festival programmers about why film festivals exist.  As part of CHOICE tradition, students should plan on dressing nicely for the event.
Have a great week!   -JF

Co-op Update 10/30/17

Co-op Updates:
1) There will be Halloween festivities on Tuesday.  The whole school (Platt and CHOICE) is having a “dance” in the afternoon — though there will be a quiet room too.  One request — please try to limit candy at school in November.  Your students’ teachers really appreciate it.
2) Speaking of Halloween, we’ll be talking with students about trick-or-treating for UNICEF on Monday.  It’s a great way to do some service and to help a worthy cause.  We’ll have envelopes (we might even have boxes) for kids to use if they wish to participate.
3) On Friday, we are going to attend the Denver Film Festival to see a <very cool> animated documentary (Liyana) about orphans from Swaziland.  We’ll also have a chance to talk with festival programmers and learn about why film festivals exist.  As per CHOICE tradition, students should plan on dressing up nicely for the event.
Have a great week!
Josh Feiger

LA Update — Week of 10/23/17

The stories are so much fun to read.  It’s been amazing to see their ideas develop over time.  A friendly reminder that our coffeehouse event will take place on Thursday, December 14th at the Espressoria Cafe on 2116 Pearl Street in Boulder.  The expectation is that all students attend the presentation by their specific class.  If for whatever reason, your student is NOT able to attend that evening, please email me as soon as possible.
  • Block 1 students will begin reading at 5pm.  (We’ll probably end around 6pm)
  • Block 2 students will begin reading at 6:30pm.  (We’ll probably end around 7:20pm)

Additional notes:  

1) Last Friday, the Reading Rubric was supposed to have been turned-in.   I forgot to remind students to actually hand this in, so if it’s marked as missing on infinite campus, they should just turn in their rubrics in class on Monday — no worries.  As part of this assignment, students were expected to update their reading plans and their reading padlets.
 
2) On Thursday, theCheckpoint #1 self-assessment of the monster story is due.  I’ll introduce this on Monday and it contains full expectations of where students should be with their story by Thursday.  Click link above to see.  This will set the stage for our peer critique that we’ll begin after Halloween.
Ask your student about dynamic metaphors, comma splices, and reading padlets.
Thank you (as always!) for all your support!

Fast Food Nation Update — Week of 10/23/17

We have our 2nd ADI on Friday.  We’ll be going to Hammond’s Candy, McDonalds, and The Kitchen in Boulder to look at different philosophies of food delivery.   We’ll leave at 10am and return to school at 3:40pm.  Here’s a list of things to bring for Friday:
  • Students need to be dressed nicely.  It doesn’t need to be super fancy, but no t-shirts as we are headed to a more upscale style restaurant in the Kitchen.  Kids should also have a jacket.  It’s early, but the high temperature on Friday is supposed to be 56.  We will be outdoors and taking RTD home — so kids should be prepared.  It is also spirit week at Platt and Friday is “pajama day” — unfortunately, our students are not going to be able to wear pajamas on this day.
  • A clipboard and writing utensil.
  • Light lunch.  We will get some French fries at McDonalds and some more substantial snacks at the Kitchen — but kids should probably have some additional food to supplement.
We are simultaneously working on two projects right now — the LTP (primarily) and the Ancient Civilization Newscast (secondarily)
For the LTP, students will be writing up their economic, social impact, and conclusion sections this week.  A strong draft of the LTP is due by via Google Classroom by Friday at 8am.  The expectation is that students should be using the outline and have read their work out loud (or used the read/write) extension as they complete their “strong draft.”   Here is the link to the LTP Rubric and Template fyi…
For the Ancient Civilization Newscast, students have gotten into groups, chosen a civilization, and are beginning their research.  My sense is that we’ll be recording the actual newscasts in the 2nd week of November.
Upcoming due dates:
Friday, October 27th at 8am.  Strong Draft LTPs due.  
Thanks for all your continued support!  -JF

Co-Op Update — Week of 10/23/17

Not too much to report from Co-op.  Students should now have at least two artifacts in their personal section of their portfolio.
A reminder that we have our 2nd ADI on Friday, October 27th.  Students should check-in with their integrated teacher to know what to bring and when they are leaving.  Next week is “spirit week” and Friday is “pajamas” day, but that might be superseded by field trip dress expectations.   Again, students should check with their integrated teacher.
Thanks for all the continued support.  Co-op has a really fantastic vibe this year — and it’s all due to your awesome kids.  -JF
Ps.  Progress reports are available on IC.   CHOICE core classes does its primary reporting through rubrics which will be shared with you electronically from your student at trimester intervals (Math and LA) and semester (Integrated).

Fast Food Nation Update — Week of 10/16

It was super fun to read through the Long Term Project (LTP) notes over this past weekend.  We are going to start writing up our projects this week.  (Some students still have additional research to do!)   Here’s the LTP task description one more time just in case.
Specifically, students will be learning how to write a thesis statement, how to write an introduction, and how to write up the historical sections of our paper.   We’ll also continue our exploration of the industrial food complex in America and — if time allows — we’ll begin working on our ancient civilization newscast as well.
Upcoming due dates:
Tuesday, 10/17:  LTP Outline with thesis statement should be complete.
Wednesday 10/19:  Introduction should be written.
Friday 10/20: Historical section should be written.
Thanks for all the continued support.  -JF
Ps.  Ask your student to explain the Huexotzinco Codex to you!

LA Update — 10/16/17

Lots happening in the next few weeks.  Here are upcoming due dates with links where needed with further details.
Upcoming due dates: (subject to change, but hopefully not)
  • Thursday 10/19:  Students should have at least the first 1000 words of their story complete.  This is a guideline not a ’turned-in” assignment.
  • Friday 10/20:  Grammar Play Performance.  Reading Rubric turned in.
  • Thursday 10/26:  Story Checkpoint #1 due.  (1400 words plus other expectations — see link)
  • Tuesday 10/31:  Must have printed out copy of draft at the beginning of class.  The expectation is that the story is not complete — students should bring whatever they have, but it must be printed before the beginning of class.
In class this week, we’ll be discussing dynamic metaphors, comma splices, self-revision, chrome extensions for writing (read/write and draft back) and we’ll be looking at our process as writers through one of my favorite writing videos ever.
Have a fantastic week.

Co-op Update — Week of 10/16

Not too much to report this week in co-op.  Big thing is that students are expected to have at least two artifacts in their personal section by the end of the week.  Please check in with your student about this expectation.  A full list of personal section ideas can be found here.
You might also want to check-in with your student about how their community service hours are going.  This would be a good week to jump-start work on that commitment if it has somehow fallen through the cracks.
Have a fantastic week!  -JF

Fast Food Nation Update — Week of 10/9/17

Lots happening in class at the moment.  The big piece we’ll be introducing this week is the LTP Outline.  Students will be using this outline to help them organize their writing.  At this point, all students have chosen an LTP (Long-Term Project) topic and are in the process of researching that topic while taking Cornell style notes  (This note-taking format is used by many high schools and it’s good for students to become accustomed to the format.)
We are also brushing up on a bit of Western Hemisphere Geography through the Observatory of Economic Complexity — a cool visualization tool developed at MIT.
Upcoming due dates:
  • Tuesday:  South American Export Maps complete (should be colored as well.)
  • Wednesday:  Cornell style notes Complete.  Three pages for 6th graders.  Four pages for 7th graders. Five pages for 8th graders.
  • Monday 10/16:  LTP Outline and bibliography (using easybib) should be complete.
  • Tuesday 10/17:  North America Trading Partner Maps complete (again — should be colored)
Thanks for all your support!  Have a great week!  -JF