Detective Quest – 4th week
I’m still surprised by how the more I know Acton and feel at home there, the faster time goes by. So, the fourth week of the detective session is behind us and it has been a great week.
Civilization – This week, we read the chapter on the discovery of America by Columbus. First of all, it was really exciting. It is fun to read about such a significant historical event and learn about it together. I let the Eagles put on a play about Columbus’ return to Spain, and the presentation of the native Americans to King and Queen Ferdinand and Isabella (in the attached photo). As usual, it was fun and I’m so happy to see how the Eagles enjoy this form of learning when they get into the characters’ shoes, put effort into speeches, it is such a pleasure.
Writers Workshop – For the launch this week, I brought to the studio a game the Eagles were not familiar with (Picturika, highly recommend!). I printed the instructions for them in advance and told the Eagles to read the instructions each one to himself. After they were done we started playing the game, and they were not allowed to explain each other how to play. After one round of the game (which included lots of mistakes, corrections, hints, and discussions about what to do and how to play), I asked them to give feedback on the instructions: what was missing, what was unnecessary, etc. It was an excellent activity because it explained very well how important it is to pay attention to details, what happens when something is not explained and then it actually happens. We discussed together is it better to write short but simple instructions that do not answer all specific cases or long and complex instructions that answer all the specific cases but it’s a nightmare to read them. After we finished the activity, the Eagles continued to write their instructions, and I must say that some of their works are excellent! I’ll try to upload some of them in the next two weeks.
Detective Quest – This week the Eagles worked on a footprint analysis found at the crime scene. They made plaster and poured it on the footprint they found in the mud to produce its mold. Then they measured themselves and found the connection between the length of the foot and their height, and thus extracted the formula that would allow them to assess the height of the suspect who left a footprint at the crime scene. You can understand for yourselves how many different and diverse skills are required to complete this activity and you can figure out how much I like to see what significant learning is going on in Acton’s quests.
Weekly feedback – I have already written an entire post on the subject, so I will not repeat it. I will only say that for four weeks now, the Eagles have been giving each other feedbacks at the end of each week, and these feedbacks are very meaningful for them. They receive feedback