Impromptu Speeches #Flight

"Impromptu speaking is a speech and debate individual event that involves a five to eight minute speech with a characteristically short preparation time of one to three minutes. The speaker is most commonly provided with their topic in the form of a quotation, but the topic may also be presented as an object, proverb, one-word abstract, or one of the many alternative possibilities. While specific rules and norms vary with the organization and level of competition, the speeches tend to follow basic speech format, and cover topics that are both humorous and profound."

Today in our enrichment class students were broken into unique teams and given 5 minutes to research a topic on flight. Students were then asked to give a 3 minute speech with their partner on the given topic. Students did a good job for their first time! I was really impressed with the teamwork amongst the mixed up grade levels.

Our Flight Topics Ranged From:

• Life and Times of Amelia Earhart
• Zepplins
• The Competitive Sport of Hang Gliding
• Drones
• Meganeura 
• History of Hot Air Balloons

 

Our next speech lesson will be on the art of story telling for our Halloween Bash next week! 

Flight lessons will continue with on Day 3 with mini pressure Rockets! 

Paper Helicopters

For an extended lesson on flight, students created paper helicopters. These paper helicopters spin gracefully as they fall slowly through the air. They’re quick and easy to make. They can even be released from a paper airplane during a loop-the-loop!

The helicopters are constructed from a narrow strip of ordinary or colored paper. We first used a template to cut and create our flyers. Afterwards students created larger models on their own.  Our students decorated their helicopters with unique patterns and colors.  They looked spectacular as they spiraled down. Flying requires a large space with high ceilings (eg school hall, gymnasium) or outdoors if winds and weather permit. We were able to make use of a second story balcony.

When our students dropped their paper Helicopter from a distance,  air pushed up against the blades, bending them up just a little. When air pushes upward on the slanted blade, some of that thrust becomes a sideways, or horizontal, push.

Why doesn't the copter simply move sideways through the air? That's because there are two blades, each getting the same push, but in opposite directions. The two opposing thrusts work together to cause the copter to spin.


Things to Notice/Question:

When you drop your copter, take notice of which direction it spins as it falls. Is it clockwise or counterclockwise? 

Does the weight (the number of paper-clips on the stem) change the spin? 


Which combination made the best spinning helicopter?

How can you change your spin? What if you bend the blades in the opposite direction? 

Terms: Lift

Lift is created by different airspeed above and below an airfoil.

[To illustrate this, take a standard rectangle piece of paper with your hands holding two corners, adjacent to each other(preferably, take the long end of the paper). For this demonstration, the part of the paper you are holding should be level, with the opposite end curving downward. Next, blow downward and across on the paper. Almost magically, the end of the paper lifts!  Why is this? Basically, the higher airspeed on top of your paper "airfoil" creates less pressure above the paper, causing the higher pressure below the paper to raise it up slightly.]

Looking for your own flying helicopter Template?

1.Check out Exploratorium's website.

2. Step by Step Instructions on instructables.com

Unit on Flight

As we move on from our History Unit, October is all about heading to the skies!

Students in the K-8 program will be participating in a Science unit on Flight this month. Students will study the history of aviation and the various ways humans have achieved flight. Students will be working on multiple projects and research as we complete this unit.

 Challenge One: The Paper Airplane (A lesson on aerodynamics)

This introduction activity teaches our students the art of designing an airplane through paper airplane constructions. The goal is that students will learn important aircraft design considerations and how engineers must iterate their designs to achieve success. Students first follow several basic paper airplane models, after which they will then design their own paper airplane. They will also learn how engineers make models to test ideas and designs. The process of iterative design helps an engineer learn from the mistakes of early designs. When designing an airplane, engineers often build small-scale models of the airplane to test how it will fly without building a large and expensive full-size aircraft. And, they experiment with many different designs to find the best one!

After this lesson, students should be able to:

• Design at least three different paper airplanes.
• Modify one of their designed airplanes in an attempt to improve its flight.
• Become familiar with parts of a paper airplane and how they relate to parts on a real airplane. 

Students will have a classroom contest. Planes will be judged on:
1. Distance Flown
2. Ability to do a trick (loops, fly throw hoop etc)
3. Overall Design

Science, Technology, and Math Standards: 

•Physical Science Standard: Motions and forces.

•Geometry Standard: Analyze characteristics and properties of two- and three-dimensional geometric shapes and develop mathematical arguments about geometric relationships.

•Measurement Standard: Apply appropriate techniques, tools, and formulas to determine measurements. Choose an appropriate unit and measure lengths and widths to a specified degree of precision in customary measurement

Vocabulary/Definitions 

Aerodynamics:	The study of the affects of bodies moving relative to gases, especially the interaction of moving objects with the atmosphere.
Aileron:	Either of two movable flaps on the wings of an airplane that can be used to control the plane's rolling and banking movements.
Drag:	The retarding (slowing down) force exerted on a moving body by a fluid medium such as air or water.
Elevators:	A movable control surface, usually attached to the horizontal stabilizer of an aircraft that is used to produce nose-up or nose-down motion (pitch).
Glider:	A light engineless aircraft designed to glide after being towed aloft or launched from a high location such as a building or mountain.
Launch:	To set or thrust a craft or projectile into motion.
Lift:	Force available for overcoming the force of gravity.
Nose:	The nose of an aircraft is the structure at the very front of the aircraft that is shaped in such a way as to reduce drag. The nose is usually shaped like a cone or a dome.
Rudder:	A vertically hinged plate of metal, fiberglass, or wood mounted at the tail of an aircraft, used for effecting horizontal changes in course.
Stability:	Stability is the ability of an object, such as a ship or aircraft, to maintain equilibrium or resume its original, upright position after being displaced from its original course.
Streamlined:	Designed or arranged to offer the least resistance to airflow.
Thrust:	The forward-directed force developed in a propeller, jet, or rocket engine as a reaction to the high-velocity rearward ejection of air or exhaust gases.
Weight:	A measure of the heaviness of an object.

    

 This is the one time, it's ok to fly a paper airplane in school!

Some Paper Airplane Design Websites

http://www.10paperairplanes.com/

Fold and Fly

http://www.paperaeroplanes.com/

High School Theatre Workshop Day

On October 1st, our High School Gifted and Forensics students  had the opportunity to participate in BTE's High School Theater Workshop. High School Theatre Workshop Day was a full day of classes ranging from acting, audition techniques for actors and singers, dance instruction, set construction, sound, light, costume design, stage combat, special effects, script analysis and a round table for teachers and student directors. The classes were taught by professional artists from BTE and Bloomsburg University.

Who benefits from BTE's High School Theatre Workshop Day?
- Students interested in Theatre Arts as a profession.
- Those wishing to improve (teachers/students) the skills they're using to produce their high school play or musical.
- Everyone who needs practice improving life skills such as writing, working under pressure,communicating, independent thought and creative problem solving


A huge thank you to BTE for offering our students a great opportunity for enrichment.


 Upcoming High School Trips
High Gifted and English Honors/AP Students will be visiting BTE on October 7th through Project Discovery for this year's fall performance play, Seagull. 

Barton House 2014

We were lucky to have two beautiful fair days for our visit to the Barton House this year.

Students dressed in historically accurate attire and packed traditional lunches for our trip. I'll bashfully admit my own hoop skirt got caught in the bus as I gracefully tried to exit. Historical reenactment isn't as easy as it looks. Luckily my students did an amazing job (as always) representing our school.

Our students began their field trip by visiting the black smith. He spent a portion of his morning explaining the art of metal work and created a metal rose for the students.

Next the children revisited the one room school house where they learned the history of one of Rupert's first schools. Children sat in the desks and listened to our guest speaker about the early days of education.

After school let out,  our students visited the historic exhibit building. Students learned about broom making, chair caning, and wood work from friendly artisans. One gentleman share with us some historic find from outhouses around the state. He even let us keep an ink jar dated from around 1870.

After our historic tours, it was the student's turn to present their knowledge of history. Students took turns teaching fair visitors how to play historic games. Students played the game of graces, created yarn dolls, classic outdoor games, and with wooden toys such as Jacob's ladders to name a few.

We thank the Barton House for giving us the opportunity to have such a special day at the fair!

Students who liked studying this time period should consider visiting the following PA Locations with Family:

American Civil War Wax Museum -- 297 Steinwehr Avenue, Gettysburg, PA

American Civil War Wax Museum presents a concise history of the Civil War era.

The Asa Packer Mansion Museum -- P.O. Box 108, Jim Thorpe, PA

The Mansion was the home of philanthropist, and railroad magnate

Edgar Allan Poe National Historic Site -- 532 N. 7th St., Philadelphia, PA

The poet lived in this house from 1843-1844....

Harry Packer Mansion -- 1 Packer Hill Rd., Jim Thorpe, PA

The little Victorian village of Jim Thorpe, PA 

John Harris/Simon Cameron Mansion -- 219 South Front Street, Harrisburg, PA

Built by the town's founder in 1766 and remodeled in 1863 by Simon Cameron

Lincoln Room Museum -- US 15 Business Route & US 30, Gettysburg, PA

The Wills House is where Abraham Lincoln stayed in 1863 and completed his Gettysburg address

Round Hill Exhibit Farm -- 651 Round Hill Rd., Elizabeth, PA

The small working farm includes the 1838 brick farmhouse....

Tara - A Country Inn -- 2844 Lake Road, Clark, PA

This 1854 Greek Revival mansion is decorated with antiques and period furnishings

Warren County Historical Society -- 210 4th Ave., Warren, PA

The society is housed in an 1873 Italian Renaissance house. 

Yarn and Clothes Pin Dolls, a Folk Tradition (lesson 2)

Last year at the Barton House, students taught fair visitors how to make corn husk dolls. This year we thought we try something new and make our dolls out of yarn. For centuries, dolls have been crafted by mothers for their children, using a variety of household materials.  In the   days of the early  American  settlements, girls  and  their  mothers crafted dolls of ordinary household materials such as wooden spoons, whittled  clothes-pegs, yarn, buttons, rags, socks and cornhusks.   Later,  fabrics,  felt  and    handkerchiefs became widely available and were used for doll-crafting. 

These  historical  folk  dolls  were  often a little girl's best play-friend.  A child could pretend her folk doll  was carrying on   a  conversation,  crying,  laughing  or  helping  out  with household chores.   

 Students will teach visitors to the fair how to create their own yarn keep sake.

Barton House Learning Objectives:

1. Children will learn how games and toys have changed from the past through today.
   
2. Children will learn about their families’ members’ lives when they were younger.

 History Extension
Sample of how Dolls have changed through history
Share with your child, your favorite childhood memories and keepsakes while growing up.

Expressions/Slang of the Victorian Era

As the students prepare for the Barton House living history trip, we had a class discussion on popular slang or phrases that people of the time period might have said. Thousands of words and phrases in existence in the late 1800s have drifted away or changed their forms. Just as many new phrases have been added or are being added into our modern day English language every day.  

Some of favorite Victorian Slang/Expressions:

Butter Upon Bacon: Extravagance. Too much extravagance. “Are you going to put lace over the feather, isn't that rather butter upon bacon?”

Chuckaboo: A nickname given to a close friend.

Gas-Pipes: A term for especially tight pants.

Start a Jolly: To lead applause.

Students created various classroom skits to showcase these expressions. Classmates had to guess what each student was talking about and how it related to modern day expressions.

(Rain Napper Skit)

Students were not sure how these Victorian phrases ever fell out of fashion, but we propose bringing some back!


More Sample Terms
http://www.victorianlondon.org/words/slang1870s.htm
 More Victorian Terms

19th Century Toys (Lesson 1)

Our first field trip this year will be to the Barton House. All gifted students in K-8 grade are invited to join us for this event. Please contact me via my school email if your student did not bring home a permission slip!

As we prepare to do this living history event, students are studying life in America around 1855. Today's lesson involved making a toy from back then, the thaumatrope. A thaumatrope is a toy that was popular in the 19th century. A disk with a picture on each side is attached to two pieces of string. When the strings are twirled quickly between the fingers the two pictures appear to blend into one due to the persistence of vision.   Examples of common thaumatrope pictures include a bare tree on one side of the disk, and its leaves on the other, or a bird on one side and a cage on the other. They often also included riddles or short poems, with one line on each side. Thaumatropes were one of a number of simple, mechanical optical toys that used persistence of vision.

Students will be teaching children visiting the fairgrounds how to make these fun toys!

Lesson Extensions:
Animation in Cave Art?
Persistence of Vision

Seating Charts, Secret Codes, and History Lessons

Our first gifted classes have been rather fun. Students were assigned seats this year. Each of their names were written in a secret code. It took the class under 3 minutes to figure out exactly where to sit! Great job kids.

Information about Diagrammatic or Pigpen Ciphers

A diagrammatic cipher, used by many children in school, substitutes symbols for letters instead of other letters. This system is, in essence, the same as the letter substitution system, but it's easier to remember than 26 randomly picked letters. It uses the tic-tac-toe boards and two X's as shown below.

The exact origin of the cipher is uncertain, but records of this system have been found which go back to at least the 18th century. Variations of this cipher were used by both the Rosicrucian brotherhood and the Freemasons, though the latter used it so often that the system is frequently called the Freemason's cipher. They began using it in the early 18th century to keep their records of history and rites private, and for correspondence between lodge leaders. Tombstones of Freemasons can also be found which use the system as part of the engravings. One of the earliest stones in Trinity Church Cemetery in New York City, which opened in 1697, contains a cipher of this type which deciphers to "Remember death" George Washington's army had documentation about the system, with a much more randomized form of the alphabet. And during the American Civil War, the system was used by Union prisoners in Confederate prisons

Even though it looks like undecipherable outer-space alien text, this would take an arm-chair cryptologist only about 10 minutes or less to figure out. Why? Given enough ciphertext, certain patterns become obvious. Notice how often the empty four-sided box appears: six times out of a total of 29 characters or about 20% of the time. This would immediately indicate that the empty box was almost certainly the symbol for "E," the most frequently used letter in English. Other letters can also be determined by their frequency and by their association with other nearby characters (see "Frequencies"). Almost all substitution ciphers are open to this kind of analysis. 

BARTON HOUSE 2014

Dear Parents/Guardians,

I am happy to announce that we will be continuing the tradition of living history at the Barton House on the Bloomsburg fairgrounds this year.  Students in grades K-8 will have the opportunity to research and learn what it was to be a child in the late 1800s. They will dress up in period clothes, play games, and hear stories from the time period. Our unit will culminate with a visit to the Barton House in Bloomsburg, PA. Students will interact with visitors that day teaching them all they learned about life in antebellum America. Parents, Grandparents, and friends of the family are encouraged to come visit your student while they prefer their living history.

Students in Grades 2^nd- 5^th grade will attend the fair on Tuesday September 23rd*

Students in Grades 6^th-8^th grade will attend the fair on Wednesday September 24^th. Please note attached schedule. The Barton House does not operate if it is raining out. If the weather forecast does not look good for one of the days, we will ask that all students come on the day that does have sunshine. We would call parents the day before to make them aware of any changes.

Students are asked to wear period style clothing and pack an appropriate bagged lunch for the day. Students will NOT have permission to visit any attraction at the fair during our visit at the Barton House. Students will be escorted at all times to the bathrooms during the day.  We plan to leave school at 8:30 and leave the Barton House at 2:00 to return in time for afternoon dismissal.

If you have any questions or interests in helping chaperone this event, please email me at school!

We look forward to a wonderful day reliving history!

Mrs. Kozlek

Ambassador of Art and Peace

It is said in Nigeria, “Art is frozen music.”  We learned to appreciate this sentiment,  when we had a very special classroom visitor.

Yesterday we were very honored to be visited by the United Nations Ambassador of Art from Nigeria, Ibiyinka Alao. Ambassador Alao's artworks are characterized by bright colors and they express many themes including hope, joy, peace and love - a reflection of his West African roots.

Ibiyinka preformed a presentation to our 3rd through 6th grade students at Southern. Students learned songs in his native African Tongue and how to dance. Alao shared his artwork and meaning between each piece.

In between his presentations, he did multiple workshops with our middle school gifted students. The students created a piece of artwork and writing piece.  Mr. Alao also took time to answers student questions, and discussed his world travels.

Our greatest lesson learned from the ambassador is to be like the oyster. As you know, a pearl comes when a bit of sand goes into the oyster. In its discomfort, in its suffering, the oyster secretes a substance that covers the sand and which eventually becomes a pearl. If we pour love and respect at people that might irritate or annoy us, we might turn them too into pearls.  This global message of  caring is one that will stick with us.

Thank you so much for teaching us about Nigeria, Art, Music, and humanity! We will treasure your visit with us always.

If you wish to learn more about Ambassador Alao, please visit his websites below:
1. http://www.ibiyinka.com
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibiyinka_Alao
3. Ambassador Alao

Another Year, More Opportunities to Grow

Welcome back to school dear students! I am so excited to be working with you all again this year. Last year was such an amazing adventure. I am so proud of everything you accomplished.



 This year we will be working on many new projects. We will also be offered to attend some of our annual events such as BTE plays, Computer Fair, STEM Challenges, and other academic events.

We will be starting out our year with a visit to the Barton House. Information about this field trip will be sent home over the next few weeks.

Enrichment classes will resume on September 4th. I am currently working out the schedule with our teachers. Remember to feel free to contact me this year with any questions.  This blog serves as window to all the great things that you do.

Dinner with the gods

http://youtu.be/eXY0JZamFfo

 We had a wonderful time at our "Dinner with the gods"  Greek Festival event last week.

Students had spent the last few months researching and learning about classical Greece.

For this event students had to dress up as a character from mythology. We were visited by so many neat  figures including Hercules, Apollo, Zeus, Aphrodite, Hades, Medusa..... and even a centaur showed up.  We started out our show with a brief play introducing each character. We had a special performance from a few musically talented students before our Greek festival began.

After the play, our students invited their families and friends to play some games. 8th grade created a QR code scavenger hunt and managed the stage performance.

7th Grade worked on golden apple relay races, and all of the decorations for the event. Weary about your future? A visit to our oracle would tell what path you should be on. Our 7th grade gentleman performed at the Dionysus Piano Bar, and gave a presentation on why the planets and constellations are named after various mythological characters.

Sixth grade created the popular shoot the cyclops in the eye game.  5th grade created a hydra game, Spartan Spear Toss game, and a computer quiz that determined what Greek God or Goddess you are most like.   4th grade manned many booths including pin the snake on Medusa, Pegasus Ball, the Labyrinth, and create your own mythological origami.  Our youngest students managed the Underworld (keep the grapes away from tantalus), dress like a Greek station, and the Argus lollipop game.  We ended the night with a Greek Feast that included items such as spanakopita, baklava, moussaka, and a few lightning bolt cookies.

A huge thank you for all the students and parents for all your hard work and donations. Special thanks to our student coordinators Casey Winters and Emily Wolfe for all their dedication.  Without you all we couldn't have had some a memorable night.

Middle School Computer Fair 2014

Great job to all our students who participated in the state level of the Middle School Computer fair!
We had students participating in Digital Movie, Logo Design, and Animation. Students devote a lot of time to creating and preparing these projects for a state level competition. To qualify for states the students had to win first place at the regional event.  Students were given opportunities to tour the campus, participate in workshops, quiz bowl, and have lunch while their projects were being judged.

Our 8th grade Students Chase Urban and Elijah Hoffman won third in the state for their animation "PA Folk Tales".  What a great way to end out their careers participating in this awesome event!

Caring Paws

Today was a very exciting day as one of our students, Natalie, visited ARC (Animal Resource Center) in Bloomsburg. ARC is a non profit organization whose purpose is to provide temporary shelter for homeless, abused, and neglected domestic animals; educate the public on the welfare and care of cats and dogs; and act as advocates for animal rights. Natalie had organized a drive called "Caring Paws" to collect supplies to support the animals there.

 
Thanks to the generosity of our school members, I was able to fill the back of my mini van with much need supplies for the center. Natalie collected blankets, dog and cat food, toys, paper towels, and cleaning supplies. We are so proud of our little second grade student and her job well done. 

Thank you to the Southern Community (especially Natalie's second Grade teacher Mrs. Rhodes and Miss Marisa)  for allowing Natalie's Dream of "Helping Animals" come true.

Forensics Banquet 2014

Congratulations to our High School Forensics team for their very successful 2013-2014 season.

We are super proud of our kids and the amazing job they did in all their events.

They ended the year with a lovely banquet Sunday afternoon at Balzano's restaurant in Boomsburg. Each student  took the time to preform their pieces for their parents.  It was bitter sweet to say goodbye to our senior members. We wish them all the best of luck in their future endeavors. 

Dinner with the gods

As our final project of the year, our enrichment students have been organizing “Dinner with the gods”. This after school event is planned for Wednesday May 28^th at 6:00pm in the Large Group Area of the Elementary School. Each student will be representing a mythological character and putting on a mini festival for their friends and family members.  Students will be dressing in costumes and bringing food to share at the event.  Students have been working on videos, projects, and researching ancient times that they would like to share with you.