Saxony from reading packet and “When Science and Poetry Were Friends,” Freeman Dyson’s review of TheAge of Wonder. Journal entry and poem.

Carol Kaesuk Yoon, Reviving the Lost Art of Naming the World

NO SCHOOL

Senior seminars are again being held during our class time. Therefore, you should deliver the reading reflection to Ms. Craig-Olin's office in 414E or drop it off before your seminar in 439 today!

Before our field day tomorrow, read and take notes on background information about monitoring water quality. Learn what is monitored, and why.

Log onto the Charles River Watershed Association website. Poke around and read up on our own River Charles!

There will be a discussion in class on Monday about these topics. Be prepared to contibute intelligently!

NOTE NEW PROCEDURE FOR FIELD DAYS: We will meet at the bottom of the Main Street steps, take attendance by groups, and leave promptly at 11:30. If you are not there, on time, it will be marked as a cut. There is NO time to go to the caf to get food. Bring your lunch or be hungry!

As in the classroom, if iPhones, iPods, or any other electronic equipment are heard or seen in use on the way to the field, in the field, or on the way back to school from the field, they will be confiscated!! (See original Rules and Regs handout.)

Each of you (i.e. each member of the class) should find a group other
than your own whose "sense of place" post affects you in some way.
Respond to that post (on this GoogleGroup site) with a comment about
2-3 sentences in length. You may respond to any aspect of the post as
a whole, and in any manner you see fit, as long as it is within the
bounds of appropriate school discourse. Please post your comments by
Saturday 10/3 at noon, EDT.

Handouts due for Ecology background presentations. (see note about citations and bibliography above.)

Be prepared for in-class discussion of water quality monitoring and the Charles River Watershed. You should have looked carefully at the websites linked to 9/30. You should have a sense of where Newton is on a map of Massachusetts. You should start to think about the water you drink, the water you drive by, swim in, canoe on, and the water that made greater Boston a thriving metropolis.

Data and questions from Water Quality investigation due today.

Read this New York Times article about our very own Charles River. Summarize the article in a paragraph that includes identification of the problem noted, the reasons for concern, and the proposed solutions.

Tree Diaries assignment #4

Before our trip tomorrow, read the excerpts from Henry David Thoreau's Walden using these reading guide questions. Excerpts were handed out in class.

The follow-up assignment for the Walden field trip is in the form of a post to the GoogleGroup site. Please post yours early so that your classmates can comment.

Ecology Background presentations by Kanye Swift and Ron Burgundy.

Half-day schedule:

D-block 9:50-11:00

E-mail Ms. DR a 6-character (case sensitive) password that you will use to access your grades on line. Note that the data will not be available until the end of the day on Friday, and then only if you have sent a password in a timely fashion.

If you received a grade below 30/40 on the leaf poster and wish to redo it or make corrections by Monday (on top of everything else) include that information in your e-mail to Ms. DR. If you need clarification, make an appointment to meet with her before school on Friday.

Second Book Reading assignments for Under the Sea Wind and Practice of the Wild.

If you are so motivated (and we will be impressed if you are), design a flyer to help the citizenry live a greener life.

To clarify… you should be able to visualize what your narrative instructions are describing when you’re in that place.  A stanger to the woods should be able to find each of your scavenger items simply by following your directions.  This will be graded on how well we, your teachers, and your classmates, can do that.

This is a regular field day. Meet at the bottom of the Main Street steps, ready for the weather and the activity described here.

We will do a Tragedy of the Commons simulation activity in class.

Finalized breadcrumbs activity. (It's on the second page of last week's field activity handout.)

Bring in a children's book or two. (Think grade 3 where pictures still play a role and chapters, if there are any, are short.) It need not necessarily have science content, but it has to have had an impact on you, and you will need to be able to explain what that impact was. If your childhood was not influenced by literature, interview someone who has a memorable expereince about a book from their childhood. Figure out what intrigued or excited that child. Be prepared to share your experiences.

First draft of Kid's Book Project proposal due.

Make sure you bring the General Readings spiral bound binder. We will be doing some reading in class!

Read 2001: Housatonic Valley by Mochael Pollan, page 55-56 of the General Readings binder. We will be introducing our next science topic, "Food for Thought."

NO CLASS

Have a Safe and Happy Thanksgiving!!

If you are taking this class for Curriculum I credit and would like to do this project for extra credit, you are welcome to do so. Remember that this is intended to broaden your horizons and help you further explore the new perspectives you've gained in this class. Please DO NOT recycle a project from a previous class!!

For class Tuesday read Chicago, Rome, Wisconsin, and Brooklyn (pages 47-54). You should include comments about each in your journal.

We will be walking to the Children's Department of the Newton Free Library. Bring raingear and appropriate footwear, as the forecast is wet. We walk back to school in time for a quick lunch before E block.

Before Monday (i.e. by Sunday evening) post a comment responding to a Take-Home-Message post from one of your classmates.

Read Michael Pollan's Power Steer. Begin to give serious consideration to how you would go about developing a self-contained sustainable farm from which you could support your family's food needs.

By Wednesday, read the two excerpts from Benyus's Biomimicry that were handed out in class on Monday. Keep the questions for contemplation in mind. Jot down ideas, questions, areas for future research, and take-home messages for use in the upcoming Sustainable Farms project. With appropriate focus and preparation, this project can be accomplished in the short time avaialable. Start your prepration now!

You will continue to work in your team of 5 to design a farm according to the requirements explained in the Sustainable Farms project. You will have one class block for discussion today, and one for internet research tomorrow. You will have Monday and Tuesday of next week to build your project and rehearse your presentation before presenting your projects in class on Wednesday.

If you complete the lab exercise before the end of the block, you may work on the final Tree Diary assignment. The completed journal will receive a comprehensive grade.

Post the recipe from your Food Project on the GoogleGroups site. You can copy and paste or upload the appropriate page from your project. Be sure to identify yourself and the specific source of your recipe in the post itself.

We will be doing a reading and discussion in class. Remember to bring your green spiral reading packet with you.

Last opportunity to use class time for book work. If you were granted an extension (in writing) for any late work, it must be turned in by today!

Authors' Reception. You are welcome and encouraged to bring food or drink to share and celebrate.