Thursday, 18 April

We began the day by hearing science presentations from Sadie, Thane and Nicholas.  Next, we went to band.  After recess we read for ten minutes and then began math.  The Math 7 students spent the first ten minutes completing the circle graph practice set, and then I gave instruction on constructing circle graphs using "percent circles" (a circle divided into 100 sector angles, versus 360).  We started by examining the percent circle to see how we could use it to report percentages and then we did some practice questions before starting the practice set on p. 163.  There is no homework.

Two methods to convert a portion of a total into a percent

The most common fault when students constructed their own percent circles was not giving enough details in the "key" (or not labeling the "pieces of pie").  It is also important to remember to give the graph a title so your audience knows what is being reported.

After lunch we read for fifteen minutes and then listened to inquiry presentations from Christopher, Gus, Mia, Oliver, Braedon and Landseer.  Each student is getting a chance to compete a self-evaluation on the same rubric that I am using for my assessment.  This allows the students to reflect on their work and to think about both what they did well, and where they might improve.

We ended the day with a short game of three-corner soccer and a game of dodgeball.  Tomorrow, anyone who has not given his or her presentation will be asked to do so (there are 12 left to go).  I've noticed a marked improvement in the quality of the work over the first two inquiry projects.  Thus, I'm excited to see what the class will create for their socials compare and contrast inquiries on ancient civilizations (to be done in learning pairs) and the "passion" inquiry to be done at the end of the year.