Challenge Night 2012-2013

Tuesday, May 7 

at 6:30 in the Field-Stevenson Gym!

2012-2013

Being in Challenge empowers students to make choices about the direction of their learning through topic choices.
You may have heard your third or fourth grade student taking an interest in local history as he/she explores the exciting history of Forest Park. Portions of this unit on amusement parks were developed by Tufts University and a portion will be developed by students who will create their own adventure as they design and program their own Forest Park Amusement Park rides. For more photos, see Mike Beyer's video.



Students in fifth grade are developing their inquiry skills by working in groups to solve a problem-based learning scenario. This PBL introduces students to a serious situation: the town of
Hopewell’s freshwater mussel population is dying out, and the town’s leading citizens cannot figure out why.The students will take charge of the situation as they join a task force dedicated to solving this ill-structured problem. In order to solve it, students need to define the problem, devise a plan, ask questions, obtain
research, determine the value of information, and work together to propose a solution. As they explore this problem, they may run into roadblocks, twists and turns. 


Sixth graders are now thinking like a museum curator in order to prepare to present their history research. Some are creating displays and some are creating websites to showcase their work. We are also using online tools to create a bibliography of their primary and secondary sources and locating the sources through the vast online newspaper, magazine, journal collections and photo archives.



If you are curious, then you wonder - seventh graders wonder a great deal. We are tackling some deep questions regarding values as they are presented through the philosophical ideas of Plato, Confucius, Heidegger, Kant, and more. Thinking about the questions will help students see the value in being wise, and, in the process, learn more about themselves.



Seventh grade is also discovering more about themselves and the people around them through psychology. Are people more logical or emotional? How easily are people fooled? Topics such as these will be explored as students conduct their own



studies to find out more about the attitudes and beliefs of people. These topics inspire great thinking, so I highly recommend the website Deep Spirits for further study of psychology, philosophy and the arts.




“The future depends on what you do today.”

― Mahatma Gandhi

Having a vision of the future is a creative undertaking. The eighthgrade not only developed their vision of a future city, but also tackled the problem of run-off and looked at ways to reduce impervious surfaces within the city. They explored th

e issues firsthand while visiting Chicago Metropolitan Water District and Mainstream Pumping Station (Deep Tunnel) and listened to scientists and workers discuss the local problems and solutions.  Some of our eighth graders presented the project at the 2013 Future City Chicago (UIC) in January:  Lucas Rosa, Justin Blaylock, Juan David Najera, Paris

Cowan, Jasmine Hoskins and Ryan O'Connor presented their city narrative, research, simulated model and model city to many engineers throughout the day.  Students received an award for best land-surveying practices for the development of their simulated city and physical model.

Students are now beginning to work independently on their own, self-selected Challenging Project for Creative 

Mindsscenario.  These projects invite kids to explore beyond the core curriculum, to build lifelong learning skills, and to showcase their abilities.  

Fall 2012

Mrs. Finn's Challenge Program news will be delivered to your inbox this year.  I am sure we can all agree that with all of our committments we just do not have time to check websites for updates.  The challengeclass.com site will still be available and does contain many student, parent, and teacher resources which will be updated for various projects.

Elementary students are busy solving logic problems and puzzles. We are also solving linear equations with a kinesthetic and visual system that helps students to think algebraically. 

 

Third and fourth grade visited the Adler Planetarium on a particularly windy day to see the exhibits and a spectacular show at the Grainger Sky Theater.  Students are listening to star stories of Greeks and Native Americans, viewing the stars using a star globe, and creating their own "Stories of the Stars."  

 

Fifth graders are exploring architecture (history and design) and testing structures (forces and strength) with hands-on building challenges.

We will visit the Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio to learn more about our local famous American architect whose vision changed the way we look at design and its relationship to nature.  Later, we will explore more organic architects such as Bruce Goff and Antoni Gaudi before taking on our own design project.

 

Middle school students are using Edmodo to share and discuss resources and to learn to communicate appropriately with peers in a safe network that fosters communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity.
 

 

 

Sixth grade is exploring local history and is selecting research topics that relate to the theme: Turning Points in History: People, Ideas, Events.  Our field trip to the Chicago History Museum included an audio tour In Our Own Words which immersed students in fascinating sounds, stories and personal accounts contained in the Crossroads exhibit. 

Once they select a topic to research they will need to learn enough about it to take a stand on the issue or event to develop a thesis statement before deciding on a presentation format.

Empower, Enable and Connect

Looking to the Future