1st+Semester+Syllabus

1st Semester Core Connections Syllabus Teacher: Clay Wooldridge __email__: cwooldridge@voyageracademy.net

//F.A.Q’s: //  Our task is to i nvestigate intriguing questions, locate/collect/record data, reflect upon our research, and communicate our findings in ways that might help us and others make more informed decisions.
 * __- What is Core Connections in 8th grade? __**


 * __- What will we be doing? __** We will be focusing on 5 keys areas of growth ;
 * **Research- ** We will build an internet search criteria that will be used in all grade 5-8 classes, create databases of valuable sources to help us and others find the information they need and prepare ourselves to participate in formal debate.
 *  **Informative and narrative writing-** We will use our research to support the ideas learned in other classes, to better share the ideas we have with others and to tell the stories that connect our own lives to the stories of the past,
 * **Using technology as a tool, not a distraction **- We will learn how to use technology not as a noun, but as a verb. There are enough digital tools out there to be useless. We will coolect and share an arsenal of digital weapons that allows the user to create, protect and share their world changing ideas.
 * **Collaboration- ** Even the best ideas have to get out of the head of the person who thunk up that idea for it to change the world. We will use a series of formal and informal “tuning protocols” to help thinkers tap into the various skills present in each Core Connections class. We will also develop and share a plethora of teamwork skills that will allow Core Connections graduates to be an asset to any group.
 * **<span style="font-family: 'Agency FB',sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Presentation- **<span style="font-family: 'Agency FB',sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"> Are you still turning your back on your audience and reading off of powerpoint slides during presentations? Does the idea of speaking to others send you running for the nearest open window? We will all step up to the edge of our comfort zones and look over the edge into the realm of greatness.


 * __<span style="font-family: 'Agency FB',sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;">- What will I need to be successful in Core Connections? __**
 * <span style="font-family: 'Agency FB',sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Show up! Growth only happens when you let it happen.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Agency FB',sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Save this site to your favorites: <span style="font-family: 'Agency FB',sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">www.voyager8.wikispaces.com <span style="font-family: 'Agency FB',sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">. We will use this site nearly every day.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Agency FB',sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">You must be able to log into your gmail account. This is the account that has your digital portfolio attached to it.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Agency FB',sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">A willingness to share your ideas while being open to hearing and working with the ideas of others.
 * __<span style="font-family: 'Agency FB',sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Charged __<span style="font-family: 'Agency FB',sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"> Chromebook- you will be using google drive as your C.C. binder this year. In order to access it you must have your chromebook. Students who don’t will be completing tasks in analog form (paper) and then doing whatever transferring of work into digital form on their own time.


 * __<span style="font-family: 'Agency FB',sans-serif; font-size: 18pt;">1st Semester Topics (most of them) __**


 * <span style="font-family: 'Agency FB',sans-serif; font-size: 18pt;">Mental Ninja Skills: **

- <span style="font-family: 'Agency FB',sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;">Media Literacy: What do you mean the internet doesn’t know what I mean when I ask it for the answers to my homework? - <span style="font-family: 'Agency FB',sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;">Metacognition: Do you ever think about what you are thinking about? You will. - <span style="font-family: 'Agency FB',sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;">Feedback: Is it possible to learn from your successes AND mistakes? - <span style="font-family: 'Agency FB',sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;">Research: Do you know how “do” research?


 * __<span style="font-family: 'Agency FB',sans-serif; font-size: 18pt;">Content Connections: __**

- <span style="font-family: 'Agency FB',sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;">Chemistry: What is the Periodic Table? - <span style="font-family: 'Agency FB',sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;">Energy: What is energy and how much of it do you need to live the way you do? - <span style="font-family: 'Agency FB',sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;">Water: Where does our water come from and where does our water go?
 * <span style="font-family: 'Agency FB',sans-serif; font-size: 18pt;">Science: **

- <span style="font-family: 'Agency FB',sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;">The Language of Math: Can you help Mr. W be more successful with 8th grade math than he did when he was in 8th grade?
 * <span style="font-family: 'Agency FB',sans-serif; font-size: 18pt;">Math: **

- <span style="font-family: 'Agency FB',sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;">Legacy: How can it be measured? What does it mean to think as a Social Scientist? - <span style="font-family: 'Agency FB',sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;">Primary sources: Why listen to someone tell you //about// the past, when you can learn from someone who was //there//?
 * <span style="font-family: 'Agency FB',sans-serif; font-size: 18pt;">Humanities: **