Society has for a while now been deleveraging the value of information. Since vast quantities of information are easily accessible and readily available, the focus is no longer just on what you know...
The success of our students will not be determined by what information they know; it will be determined by how they use and adapt to the information they are able to find...
As we continue to shift our instructional practices as a result of the Core Academic Standards, we continue our focus and commitment to helping students not just learn information specific to a particular content area, but rather to learn skills that are transferable across all content areas and beyond.
Here are a few of the great things happening in our district:
Drago the Dragon: Bobbie Meyer, Laurie Gillison & Cathy Nowak - Central Elementary
For a while now, something pretty incredible has been happening at Central Elementary. Kindergarten students have been learning about and writing to "Drago the dragon." Drago is an actual lizard that has completely engaged and intrigued students at CE. Most importantly, Drago has opened their eyes to the power and value of writing and communicating. Here is a picture of Drago:
Writing for purpose: Noah Assareh - Union High School
Students in Mr. Assareh's English classes have been "writing for purpose." Basically students are not just writing to write, they are taking their skills much further and beyond. Most recently, students were asked to develop a method that would safely capture whales allowing humans to extract a compound that has been found to cure cancer.
Josh Skaggs, a student at UHS, developed an innovative idea called the "extractor." This device would be shot similar to a harpoon, and it would safely attach itself to a whale. From there, from a remote location, the device would be activated and would be able to extract the cancer curing compound from the whale. Once the compound was extracted, the device would simply fall off the whale and await retrieval from a boat. Then the compound would be harvested and used to cure cancer.
This activity required Josh to be creative, innovative, and most importantly, he had to focus on more than just the writing part. In the end, Josh had to present his device as if he was trying to market his product to a company possibly interested in acquiring his patent.
DECA role playing presentations: Charles Gehlauf - Union High School
Students in Mr. Gehlauf's DECA classes have been preparing and practicing for their upcoming role playing presentations. Most times, students are given a random topic they are supposed to support and/or recommend. The most difficult part is the students are typically only given 10 minutes to practice and rehearse upon receiving their topic. The topics can range from selling car insurance to trying to fill a hockey arena with excited and interested fans.
In this activity students are forced to be quick on their feet, while also being able to speak in front of others under extreme levels of pressure. They did a wonderful job demonstrating their skills during our most recent Board of Education meeting! Great job: Lillian Edwards (10th Grade), Kyle Kloeppel (11th Grade), and Beccah Kramer (11th Grade).
The success of our students will not be determined by what information they know; it will be determined by how they use and adapt to the information they are able to find...
As we continue to shift our instructional practices as a result of the Core Academic Standards, we continue our focus and commitment to helping students not just learn information specific to a particular content area, but rather to learn skills that are transferable across all content areas and beyond.
Here are a few of the great things happening in our district:
Drago the Dragon: Bobbie Meyer, Laurie Gillison & Cathy Nowak - Central Elementary
For a while now, something pretty incredible has been happening at Central Elementary. Kindergarten students have been learning about and writing to "Drago the dragon." Drago is an actual lizard that has completely engaged and intrigued students at CE. Most importantly, Drago has opened their eyes to the power and value of writing and communicating. Here is a picture of Drago:
Writing for purpose: Noah Assareh - Union High SchoolStudents in Mr. Assareh's English classes have been "writing for purpose." Basically students are not just writing to write, they are taking their skills much further and beyond. Most recently, students were asked to develop a method that would safely capture whales allowing humans to extract a compound that has been found to cure cancer.
This activity required Josh to be creative, innovative, and most importantly, he had to focus on more than just the writing part. In the end, Josh had to present his device as if he was trying to market his product to a company possibly interested in acquiring his patent.
DECA role playing presentations: Charles Gehlauf - Union High School
Students in Mr. Gehlauf's DECA classes have been preparing and practicing for their upcoming role playing presentations. Most times, students are given a random topic they are supposed to support and/or recommend. The most difficult part is the students are typically only given 10 minutes to practice and rehearse upon receiving their topic. The topics can range from selling car insurance to trying to fill a hockey arena with excited and interested fans.In this activity students are forced to be quick on their feet, while also being able to speak in front of others under extreme levels of pressure. They did a wonderful job demonstrating their skills during our most recent Board of Education meeting! Great job: Lillian Edwards (10th Grade), Kyle Kloeppel (11th Grade), and Beccah Kramer (11th Grade).
Just a few of the great things happening here in Union R-XI!
How great to see our students honored for their great work. These are our finest and need to be recognized! Thanks to the district for doing just that!
ReplyDeleteThe kids in this school district are truly tremendous. I hope that the community at large realizes how very fortunate we are as a community and a school district. Far too often we focus on the negative and forget to 'see' the positive. Thanks to the district for remembering to highlight the gerat things that happen here in our school.
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