Monthly Archives: October 2019

Shark Tank Update — Week of 10/28 and 11/4

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Hi Everyone,
(As always!). Lots happening in the next few weeks in Shark Tank.  Here’s the latest:
Upcoming Due Dates:
Monday, October 28th:  Three interviews with potential target customers.  Notes should be written up for each interview that contain the following:
-Name of Interviewee
-Where and when the interview took place
-Big “Ahas”. — what did you learn from the interview
Tuesday, October 29th:  Bouncy Map Scavenger Hunt Assessment
Monday, November 4th:  LTP Due.  I will turn these around quickly.  Students are welcome to continue revising LTPs for re-assessment until November 15th.
Wednesday, November 6th:  Silk Road Project complete.
Thank you as always for your support!  -JF

Co-op Update — Weeks of 10/21 and 10/28

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Here’s what’s happening:
1) We are going to be out of the building for three of the next four Fridays.  Please remember to bring a sack lunch and dress for the weather those days:
  • 10/25:  Integrated ADI #2
  • 11/8: Denver Film Festival:  (No need to dress up)
  • 11/15: Integrated ADI #3
2) Here is the November Portfolio Checklist.  We haven’t introduced as of this posting — but we will soon.  The expectation that students have migrated into the top categories of the rubric before Thanksgiving break.
3) Students who want to earn two community service hours can “trick or treat” for UNICEF on Halloween.  We’ll have manilla envelopes for students to collect donations.  Students can also simply bring their candy to school on Thursday, November 1st in a stapled brown bag with their name on it and a local dentist will buy the candy, with funds being donated to UNICEF.  In addition, here is a list of 37 something community service ideas as an fyi…
4)  If you are interested in finding out about assignment completion for various classes, IC parent portal is a great way to find out information.  Complete trimester rubrics for LA and Math will be shared with you electronically by your student in late November.   Integrated rubrics will be shared in December.
Happy Autumn!  -JF

LA Update — Weeks of 10/21 and 10/28

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The stories are coming along — it is so much fun to see all the creativity and see their ideas develop over time.  If you haven’t done so already, please save the evening — December 12th! Join us for an evening of terrific storytelling!  Here are venue/time details.
Paul’s Cafe and Tea
956 W Cherry St #101, Louisville, CO 80027
  • Block 1 students will begin reading at 5pm.  (We’ll probably end around 5:45pm)
  • Block 2 students will begin reading at 6pm.  (We’ll probably end around 6:55pm)
The expectation is that all students attend the entirety of the presentation by their specific class (they do not need to attend both classes!).  If for whatever reason, your student is NOT able to attend that evening, please email me as soon as possible.
In class, we’ve been practicing writing, describing action in slow motion video, to capture details and paint a picture in our reader’s minds.  We are also going to be practicing and performing grammar plays to help kinesthetically wrap our brains around some of the sentence structure work we’ve been tackling in class.  We’ll also be enjoying a Halloween Extravaganza on the 31st!
Upcoming due dates:
Thank you for all your continued support!  -JF

Shark Tank Update — Weeks of 10/15 and 10/21

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Busyness and business abound in Shark Tank.  Here’s what’s happening over the next couple of weeks.
1) Market research. What is it?  And how do you conduct it?  How do companies gather data about the marketplace and potential customers.  Students will be designing an interview script about their product to capture this information.  We’ll also meet Ms. Zillionaire.
2) We’ll be tweaking our product essays, continuing to gather information about trends and facts that can support the launch of our business.
3) We’ll be preparing for our 2nd round of mentor meetings on Tuesday 10/22.  Students will have the opportunity to think through the details of their business plan with their mentors.  Students will be gathering data for what investors want to know to prepare for that conversation.
4) We’ll be continuing to learn about the Silk Road, as students prototype a game design to help teach this concept.  We’ll start to learn more about China as we prepare for our upcoming visit on October 25th to the Chinese Cultural Center.
Upcoming due dates:
Thursday, October 17th:   Interview script
Friday, October 18th:  Three to four screen-shots (hand drawn is great) of the Silk Road Game. Each screen should include a visual, interwoven silk road facts, and a choice for the player.  See prototype.
Tuesday, October 22nd:  What investors want to know document, any revisions to questions #2 and #4 of business plan, and prototype needed prior to mentor meeting.
Wednesday, October 23rd:   Eastern Hemisphere Map Quest
Thursday, October 24th:  China invention slide due.
Friday, October 25th:  Bring sack lunch for ADI to Chinese Cultural Center
Monday, October 28th:  Three Interviews complete.
Friday, November 1st:  Silk Road Game Design due.
Thank you!  -JF

Shark Tank Update — Week of 10/7

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We had our first round of mentor meetings on Thursday.  Hopefully, those were inspiring and helpful for students.  We’ll have another round of mentor meetings on October 22nd to fine-tune ideas and think through market research, and then a third round on November 21st to practice pitching.  Your students are coming up with some FANTASTIC concepts and it is really fun to see how their ideas continue to evolve.
This week, we’ll be juggling two projects.   Students will be writing their product essays (the major core of the LTP) and students will also be starting work on the Silk Road game design project.  Students will be learning about what globalization and trade looked like 1000 years ago through simulations, research, and ultimately by designing their own mock-up of a Silk Road video game.  I’m hoping to get one of the student Silk Road designs actually programmed this Spring — but I’m still working on that.
Upcoming due dates:  (These may slip)
Monday:  Europe Geography Map Due
Thursday:  Product Essay (Question #2 of the LTP).
Friday, October 18th:  Silk Road Game Design  (TBD)
Tuesday, October 22nd:  What Investors want to know.
Mentor Meeting #2
Have a fantastic week!   -JF

Co-op Update — Weeks of 10/7 and 10/14

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Co-op is rolling and it’s all good.  A few reminders:
1) Students should have at least three artifacts in their personal section by October 22nd.  A full list of personal section ideas can be found here.
2) Friendly reminder — no school on 10/14 — PD Day.
3) In co-op, we’ll be having council, reading The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian, playing a few games, and checking in on our portfolios.
4) Community service — this would be a good week to jump-start work on that commitment if it has somehow fallen through the cracks.  Here is a list of 37 community service ideas to help.  Cody’s mom, Heidi, runs Dream Tank and that’s a great way to do service.  Here’s the plug.  Youth entrepreneurship for social change. Join a team project, create a team to work on a social impact or environmental business, launch an advocacy campaign for climate change, or other issue based on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Or, take a role within the organization such as film, graphic design, project management, social media, and more. Contact heidi@dreamtank.co to explore.
5) If you haven’t completed your CHOICE Donation yet, now is a great time.  Here’s the link to donate.  Thank you so much!
Have a fantastic few weeks!   Next co-op update will be the week of 10/21.
Best,  -JF

LA Update — Weeks of 10/7 and 10/14

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Lots happening in class these next couple of weeks.  We’ll be focused on learning how to write dialogue, paragraphing, story planning, compound sentences, comma splices, dynamic metaphors, and self-revision.  We’ll also be looking at our process as writers through the use of a Chromebook extension called draftback and one of my favorite writing videos ever.
If you are looking for dinner table conversation fodder, here are a few questions to ask your student.
1) Can you describe the LA project to me?  Something about four exploded moments…?
2) How’s it going with the “ordinary world?”  Who is your protagonist?
3) Have you figured out what you want to teach your reader yet? (It’s ok if they haven’t!)
4) What is “show, not tell?”
5) What’s the difference between a complex sentence and a simple sentence?
6) How’s your choice reading going?  What’s the current genre of the book you are reading?
Upcoming Due Dates:

The hope is that students should be able to meet these due dates using class time (with the exception of the nightly reading)
Nightly:  Read 30 minutes

Tuesday, October 8th:  Meeting (in-class) with me to review story plan
Friday, October 18th:  Reading Rubric: Self Assessment Due
Friday, October 18th:  Students should have the first 1000-1500 words (give or take) of their story complete. This is a guideline not a ’turned-in” assignment.
October 24th:  Checkpoint #1 of story
Thank you for all your continued support!  -JF