Dear Parents,

We have made great progress with our novel, having completed 15 chapters of Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird.  We will be finished before Thanksgiving break.  Additionally, thanks to Robby Whittmer making me aware of it, we watched a Simpson’s episode that parodies the novel entitled, Daddicus Finch. We have also begun work on a series of paintings related to To Kill a Mockingbird that will be permanently displayed in the hallway leading to our classroom.  Thanks to Ms. Filisa and Ms. Maria for their assistance.  I’ve enclosed some photos of our works in progress.

On Friday, we suspended our reading of To Kill a Mockingbird to investigate some Chicago ghost lore including the tale of Resurrection Mary, and paranormal happenings at Bachelor’s Grove in Midlothian, Illinois and St. Rita Church on 63^rd Street in Chicago.  I also reiterated what my mother used to tell me if I would become frightened by such tales: “It’s not the dead ones you have to worry about.  It’s the live ones.”  We watched a couple of videos that touch upon these stories entitles The Hauntings of Chicago.

In Science we devoted the week to an understanding of gravity upon objects using something I found on sale at Barnes and Noble while shopping for books with the grandkids last Saturday called Gravitrax.  For more information, here is a link that provides more information:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07DP21JWT?pf_rd_r=R7G2XBK9M6MS1TXGJT8R&pf_rd_p=edaba0ee-c2fe-4124-9f5d-b31d6b1bfbee

I’ve also enclosed some photos of the various designs students have made using the game.

In Math we devoted some time to differentiating between quantitative and qualitative questions.  As an example:

State whether each of the following questions asks about quantitative or qualitative data:

1. How many boys are there in a school? – quantitative
2. What is your favorite ice cream flavor? – qualitative
3. What color shirt are people wearing? – qualitative
4. How many students are excited about the game? – quantitative

In short, the differences between qualitative and quantitative data are as follows:

• Quantitativedata are used when a researcher is trying to quantify a problem or address the “what” or “how many” aspects of a research question. It is data that can either be counted or compared on a numeric scale.
• Qualitative data describes qualities or characteristics. It is collected using questionnaires, interviews, or observation, and frequently appears in narrative form.

We also read an article in Scholastic Math about how animals in the wild use both qualitative and quantitative data in order to survive.

As you might imagine, Social Studies was predominated by the 2020 presidential election.  We talked about which candidate is likely to win on Tuesday and how many electoral votes each candidate is likely to receive.  On Monday of next week, I will be going over the electoral map with my predictions.  I’ve done this for many years and have had some good years and bad years.  In 2016, I was off considerably.  However, in 2008, I managed to call every single state correctly.  We shall see how I do this year.  I’ll provide you with how well I did next Friday.

Take care and have a Happy Halloween!

Dr. Michael

 

l

Dear Parents,

We have spent the week immersed in Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird.  At this point, we have completed 11 chapters.  There was a scene last week in which the never-seen Boo Radley leaves two handmade figurines for Jem and Scout to find in the hollow of a neighborhood tree.  I thought it would be a good idea to see if we might be able to carve figurines out of Fels Naptha soap as I remember doing in grammar school back in the stone age.  I was able to obtain some carving tools along with the Fels Naptha soap and we have begun making our carvings.  We have also made some progress in viewing the 1962 film starring Gregory Peck.  If you would like to watch the film at home, it may be accessed through Amazon Prime.  On Friday, we dressed as the characters in To Kill A Mockingbird with the following students playing the below roles:

Amelia – Ms. Fischer (Scout’s teacher)

Emma – Scout Finch (the story’s narrator)

Maudie Atkinson (a neighbor) – Valerya

Andreas – Dill (Scout’s best friend from Meridian, Mississippi)

Sebastian – (Scout’s older brother)

Plout – Atticus Finch ( a lawyer who is Scout and Jem’s father)

Antonella – Calpurnia (an African-American woman who looks after Scout and Jem)

Sebastian – Jem Finch (Scout’s older brother)

Petros – Boo Radley (a mysterious neighbor who hasn’t left his house in 15 years

As we approach Halloween, we will be delving into some ghost stories as well.  The two most popular phantom tales in the Chicago area have to do with Bachelor’s Grove Cemetery in suburban Midlothian and Resurrection Mary who has a habit of hitching a ride from strange men only to bolt from the car as it passes Resurrection Cemetery in Justice, Illinois.  When I was a teenager, we would routinely visit Bachelor’s Grove Cemetery and Resurrection Cemetery.  I never saw a ghost at either location, but we did manage to work up a fair amount of tension on our visits.  Here are a couple of YouTube videos for you to familiarize yourselves with these two prominent Chicago ghost stories:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stQizIlmKaU&t=3810s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsRglKxYyNg

In Math, we explored statistics that will be associated with the upcoming election, beginning with the basics such as mean, median, mode and range.  We learned that a candidate must receive 270 electoral votes out of 538 in order to become president.  We also learned that a presidential candidate can receive fewer votes than their opponent and still become president if they win the Electoral College.  This scenario has played out on the following four occasions:

1876 – Rutherford B. Hayes (R) prevails over Samuel Tilden (D) despite receiving 300,000 fewer votes

1888 – Benjamin Harrison (R) wins over Grover Cleveland (D) even though Harrison receives 100,000 fewer votes than Cleveland

2000 – George W. Bush (R) defeats Al Gore (D) despite the fact that Al Gore receives 540,000 more votes

2016 – Donald Trump (R) wins the presidency over Hillary Clinton, even though he receives 3,000,000 fewer votes

Turning toward Social Studies, we expanded what we learned about the Electoral College and I challenged students with the following questions:

• As a result of the structure of the Electoral College, a presidential candidate can win the presidency by winning only 11 states. What are those 11 states?
• What is the maximum number of states a presidential candidate can win and still not receive the 270 Electoral College votes necessary to win the presidency?

The answer to the first question is as follows:

1. California – 55
2. Texas – 38
3. New York – 29
4. Florida – 29
5. Pennsylvania – 20
6. Illinois – 20
7. Ohio – 18
8. Michigan – 16
9. Georgia – 16
10. North Carolina – 15
11. New Jersey – 14

The answer to the second question is 40.  That is, the remaining 39 states, plus Washington D.C. which has three electoral votes can be won by a candidate with that candidate failing to win the necessary 270 electoral votes necessary to secure the presidency.

If you do the math, you will see that these 11 states have a total of 270 electoral votes, just enough to win.  Here is a link from National Public Radio with more information:

https://www.npr.org/2016/11/02/500112248/how-to-win-the-presidency-with-27-percent-of-the-popular-vote

In Science, we viewed a 60 Minutes interview with Dr. Anthony Fauci which ran last Sunday that dealt with the Coronavirus pandemic.  As many of you know Dr. Fauci is the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.  Below is a link to the interview:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fauci-no-surprised-trump-covid-19-media-appearances-60-minutes/

Should you have any comments, questions or concerns please direct them to michael.flynn@plato.org

Have a restful weekend!

Dr. Michael

Dear Parents,

We have completed 7 chapters of Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird.  In addition to reading the novel, we have been following the movie starring Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch.  We also learned that Atticus is a Latin name that Romans used 2000 years ago to describe those who lived in and around Athens, Greece.

https://theconversation.com/whats-in-a-name-atticus-finch-and-his-roman-forebears-44911

We have also begun painting scenes from To Kill a Mockingbird which will be able to be perused as one walks down the hallway on the way to our room once we have finished.  We also viewed the following video which does a fine job of summarizing To Kill a Mockingbird for grammar school aged children.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqkohqLvClI

At recess on Thursday, we reenacted a scene from To Kill a Mockingbird in which Boo Radley, who is a recluse who has stayed inside his house for 15 years, hides a packet of gum in a tree for children of the neighborhood to find.  Antonella was our winner and she shared her quarry with her classmates.

Next Friday, October 23^rd we will be dressing up as characters from To Kill a Mockingbird.  I’m not yet sure who will be portraying who.  I do know that I have a pair of bib overalls in my closet that I haven’t worn in years that I’m going to dust off for the occasion.  More details will follow next week.

In Mathematics we explored the difference between prime and composite numbers.  We also played a game of Buzz/Bang which reinforces our understanding of both multiples and factors.  Essentially, this game is played by selecting a number and then going around the room with students counting off 1, 2, 3, 4…  So, let us say that our number is 7.  Children count off 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6…  When arriving at 7, that person will say, “Buzz.”  Students will also say, “Buzz” on any number of which 7 is a factor and any number that has 7 in it such as 17, 27 etc.  If there are two numbers in a row that are either a multiple of 7 or have 7 in them, the first person would say, “Buzz” and the second person would say, “Bang!” which would then reverse the direction in which we are moving.  Here is a link with more detailed explanation:

http://mathletenation.com/content/bizz-buzz-bang

In Science we looked into the story of Yuko Kakazu who is an astronomer who searches for new galaxies.  We also learned about the Subaru Telescope in Hawaii at the top of Mount Maunakea which is 13,580 feet high.  Additionally, we learned that the sun is 93,000,000 miles away from Earth.  We then calculated how long it takes the light that we see from the sun to reach Earth.  Knowing that light travels at the rate of 186,000 miles per second and knowing that the sun is 93,000,000 miles from us, we divided 93,000,000 by 186,000 and determined that it takes eight minutes for light originating on the sun to reach Earth.  Furthermore, we learned that light emanating from distant stars may have been produced hundreds of years ago and is just now reaching Earth.  We also learned that light originating in the core of the sun may take thousands of years to reach its surface.  For more on this, please avail yourselves of the following video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-UO-RZBQ3U

In Social Studies, we have continued to discuss where the current delegate count stands according to polls.  The two polling sites that I have found to be the most reliable in the past are the following because they take the average from a variety of pools and aggregate them:

Real Clear Politics

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/latest_polls/elections/

Nate Silver’s 538

https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/

As always, please direct all questions and concerns to michael.flynn@platoacademy.org

Have a pleasant weekend!

Dr. Michael

October 9, 2020

Dear Parents,

We have completed our reading of Shakespeare’s Richard III and finished viewing the accompanying movie as well.  Having completed our first book we have now moved on to Harper Lee’s 1960 novel To Kill A Mockingbird.  For the uninitiated, To Kill A Mockingbird is the story of injustice in the Jim Crow south.  In addition to reading the novel there are several concepts that I’d like to explore with students that are connected to the themes raised in the book, including:

• The Civil War
• Massachusetts 5^th Infantry Regiment
• The Emancipation Proclamation
• Jim Crow laws in the United States
• Election of Rutherford B. Hayes over Samuel Tilden in 1876, when the election was thrown into the House of Representatives after neither man received the required number of electoral votes
• Reconstruction
• The end of Reconstruction
• The rise of the Ku Klux Klan
• Birth of a Nation
• 13-15 Amendments to the Constitution
  • 13 – Prohibition against slavery
  • 14 – Citizenship granted to all those born in the United States
  • 15 – Voting rights granted to all citizens regardless of race

In Science, we learned how a fuel tank at a power plant, the size of a four story building in northern Russia collapsed releasing 528,000 gallons of diesel fuel into the Ambarnaya River above the Arctic Circle.  It seems the fuel tank was built on frozen ground that has melted as the result of global warming.  We also looked at four animals who appear adorable, but are actually deadly including: lorises, pandas, frogs and house cats. We also investigated massive star in an effort to dis over the origins of the universe systems.  You may access the articles we used by visiting Science World at: https://scienceworld.scholastic.com/home-page-logged-out/sw-test.html?adobe_mc_sdid=SDID%3D70EF2EF754E769C1-2219B768FA3CA85C%7CMCORGID%3DAA923BC75245B3F90A490D4D%40AdobeOrg%7CTS%3D1602001399&adobe_mc_ref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F

You may access the articles by typing in the code: WVC6B46

 

In Math, we worked on multiplying decimals by other decimals.  We also looked at lines and angles, identifying the following types of lines and angles:

Lines

Intersecting – lines that cross

Parallel – lines that never touch

Perpendicular – lines that meet at a ninety-degree angle

Angles

Acute – less than 90 degrees

Obtuse – larger than 90 degrees

Right – 90 degrees

We played a game of “bags” in which beanbags are hurled toward a small hole in a wooden board and points are accumulated.  We took turns throwing the bags at different angles and attempted to determine which trajectory led to the most points.

In Social Studies, we looked at several polls regarding the upcoming presidential election.  We also reviewed how the Electoral College functions and how the following states will be paramount in deciding whether Donald Trump or Joe Biden wins the election:

• Florida
• Wisconsin
• Ohio
• Pennsylvania
• Michigan

We also discussed President Trump’s contraction of the coronavirus and the subsequent action taken, including the White House declining to allow the CDC to do contact tracing for the event.  We looked at the following video which detailed how President Trump’s introduction of

Amy Coney Barrett at a White House ceremony on Saturday September 26, 2020 may have acted as a super-spreader event as several Republican senators, Donald Trump, Melania Trump, advisor and former New Jersey governor Chris Christie, John Jenkins, the President of Notre Dame University, Republican Senators Mike Lee of Utah and Thom Tillis of North Carolina, presidential advisor Hope Hicks, presidential advisor Stephen Miller, presidential press secretary Kayleigh McEnany and former presidential advisor Kellyanne Conway.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QufMryuwmrw

We also discussed the Vice-Presidential debate which was held on the evening of Wednesday October 7, 2020 in Salt Lake City, Utah.  Among other issues, students seemed fascinated by the fly that hovered on Vice-President Mike Pence’s head.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wb7yPlCDwRk

On Friday, we celebrated the 80^th anniversary of the birth of John Lennon of the Beatles.  I picked two songs of his to deconstruct.  The first, entitled Julia was written for his mother who was killed by a drunk driver when Lennon was 17.  The second song, I Am the Walrus is one of his most interesting.  The music of the song was inspired by the sound of a European police siren.  The words were influenced by the Lewis Carroll (who also wrote Alice in Wonderland) poem, The Walrus and the Carpenter.  Finally, at the end of the song, Lennon included dialogue from a BBC production of Shakespeare’s King Lear which we read last year.

Julia

The Beatles

Half of what I say is meaningless
But I say it just to reach you, Julia

Julia, Julia, ocean child, calls me
So I sing a song of love, Julia
Julia, seashell eyes, windy smile, calls me
So I sing a song of love, Julia

Her hair of floating sky is shimmering, glimmering
In the sun

Julia, Julia, morning moon, touch me
So I sing a song of love, Julia

When I cannot sing my heart
I can only speak my mind, Julia

Julia, sleeping sand, silent cloud, touch me
So I sing a song of love, Julia

Hmm, hmm, hmm, calls me
So I sing a song of love for Julia
Julia, Julia

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKDloS2gBHs

I Am the Walrus

The Beatles

I am he as you are he as you are me
And we are all together
See how they run like pigs from a gun
See how they fly
I’m crying

Sitting on a corn flake
Waiting for the van to come
Corporation T-shirt, stupid bloody Tuesday
Man you’ve been a naughty boy
You let your face grow long

I am the egg man
They are the egg men
I am the walrus
Goo goo g’joob

Mister City policeman sitting
Pretty little policemen in a row
See how they fly like Lucy in the sky, see how they run
I’m crying, I’m crying
I’m crying, I’m crying

Yellow matter custard
Dripping from a dead dog’s eye
Crabalocker fishwife, pornographic priestess
Boy, you’ve been a naughty girl, you let your knickers down

I am the egg man
They are the egg men
I am the walrus
Goo goo g’joob

Sitting in an English garden
Waiting for the sun
If the sun don’t come you get a tan
From standing in the English rain

I am the egg man (now good sir)
They are the egg men (a poor man, made tame to fortune’s blows)
I am the walrus
Goo goo g’joob, goo goo goo g’joob (good pity)

Expert, texpert choking smokers
Don’t you think the joker laughs at you (ho ho ho, hee hee hee, hah hah hah)
See how they smile like pigs in a sty, see how they snide
I’m crying

Semolina Pilchard
Climbing up the Eiffel tower
Elementary penguin singing Hare Krishna
Man, you should have seen them kicking Edgar Allen Poe

I am the egg man
They are the egg men
I am the walrus
Goo goo g’joob, goo goo goo g’joob
Goo goo g’joob, goo goo goo g’joob, goo
Joob, joob, jooba
Jooba, jooba, jooba
Joob, jooba
Joob, jooba

Umpa, umpa, stick it up your jumper (jooba, jooba)
Umpa, umpa, stick it up your jumper
Everybody’s got one (umpa, umpa)
Everybody’s got one (stick it up your jumper)
Everybody’s got one (umpa, umpa)
Everybody’s got one (stick it up your jumper)
Everybody’s got one (umpa, umpa)
Everybody’s got one (stick it up your jumper)
Everybody’s got one (umpa, umpa)
Everybody’s got one (stick it up your jumper)
Everybody’s got one (umpa, umpa)
Everybody’s got one (stick it up your jumper)
Everybody’s got one (umpa, umpa)

Slave
Thou hast slain me
Villain, take my purse
If I ever
Bury my body
The letters which though find’st about me
To Edmund Earl of Gloucester
Seek him out upon the British Party
O untimely death
I know thee well
A serviceable villain, as duteous to the vices of thy mistress
As badness would desire
What, is is he dead?
Sit you down, Father, rest you

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Q6qx97GC4I

As always, please direct any comments/concerns to michael.flynn@platoacademy.org

 

Dr. Michael

 

 

 

 

Friday October 2, 2020

Dear Parents,

We begin the month of October having just completed William Shakespeare’s Richard III which students greatly enjoyed.  Additionally, we watched a video on the Tower of London which plays an integral part in the story.  I was fortunate enough to visit the Tower of London in 2012 and was actually able to see the room where Prince Edward and Richard of York – 9 and 12 years of age respectively, were suffocated to death on the orders of their uncle Richard III, who wanted them out of the way so that he could capture England’s throne.  Below is a link to the video that we watched which does an exemplary job of explaining the fate of Prince Edward and his brother Richard of York in the Tower of London.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRIDhxFBHWg

We will be moving on to Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird beginning early next week.  For the uninitiated, the story, written in the late 1950’s takes place in a small Alabama town in the 1930’s and deals with the issue of race in the Jim Crow south and how segregation and racism are interpreted by a 7-year-old girl named Scout with help from her father Atticus Finch.  To get a better idea of what we will be covering, please avail yourselves of the following video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izViUOTv8oY

 

In Science, we learned how the Earth has gotten more quiet since the onset of Covid-19.  This phenomenon has been documented by researchers at the Royal Observatory of Belgium and has demonstrated that all of us are fighthis pandemic together.  For more information, please click on the link below.  You can do so by creating an account – which I highly encourage you to do and then entering this month’s classroom code which is WVC6B446

https://scienceworld.scholastic.com/issues/2020-21/083120/quarantine-quiet.html

We looked at “highlights” of Tuesday evening’s presidential debate and attempted to deconstruct what was said.  Additionally, we reviewed the rules that were set up prior to the debate and discussed how they were not followed and looked at what rules were put in place prior to the debate.  I also instructed students to watch all three major news networks (CNN, Fox News and MSNBC) to see if the debates were viewed from different perspectives.  We also emphasized that all citizens are entitled to their own opinions regarding which candidate is the better option for our nation.  We also agreed that while one is entitled to their own opinion, they are not entitled to their own facts.  It is my hope that students will question all candidates and thoroughly research statements they have made using credible sources that are both time-tested and unbiased.

https://www.nytimes.com/article/debate-rules-live.html

 

On Friday we discussed the fact that President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump have contracted Covid-19.  We talked about why we take the precautions that we take every day in order to decrease our odds of contracting and spreading the disease.  We also looked at the order of presidential succession in the event that the president/vice-president should become incapacitated.  The order of succession is as follows:

• President Donald Trump
• Vice-President Mike Pence
• Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi
• President Pro Tempore of the Senate Chuck Grassley
• Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
• Secretary of Treasury Steve Mnuchin
• Secretary of Defense Mark Esper
• Attorney General William Barr

 

In Math, we used playing cards to create our own version of the 24 Game.  In this game, the player deals four cards from a deck and attempts to arrive at 2 using addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.  Cards with numbers on them are accepted at face value while a

King = 13, a Queen = 12, a Jack = 11 and an Ace = 1.  For a more detailed explanation of this Math game and many others, please visit the following website:

https://www.weareteachers.com/math-card-games/

In this example 7+7+9+1=24

In this example 13+12-1×1=24

In this example 6+5+7+6=24

We also worked on determining the circumference and area of circles using the following algorithims:

C= 3.14 X D

A = R squared X 3.14

We delved into the area of Art, with students being introduced to Vincent Van Gogh.  We created our own versions of his painting The Bedroom and watched a short video on his tortured life in which he was barely able to make a living.

At recess, several students have been walking and keeping track of the steps they take using their cellphones.  I typically walk around the park as students play and they have decided to challenge me to see if they can accumulate more miles than their teacher.  So far, I remain undefeated, but I’m sure that will change in the near future.  We also looked at how many feet are in a mile (5,280), and how many yards are in a mile (1,760).  The boys have largely chosen simply to climb trees – which is fine as well.  In addition to encouraging fitness, walking also serves to keep students farther apart than some other activities in the era of Covid-19.

As always, please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns.  Take care and have a restful week end.

Dr. Michael

michael.flynn@platoacademy.org