Offical learning and the teachable moment... Space exploration

I used to teach science. Before the decision was made to have science taught in French, I taught science to my core group, and I enjoyed it a great deal.



This morning, the students and I went off on a tangent related to a math question. We had a very interesting discussion about space exploration and the possibilities of permanent colonies on the moon or Mars.

I was a student in the 1980s, when shuttles went up all the time and we sometimes watched news bulletins in class.(from a small tv that used rabbit ears for reception). I was home sick the day the Challenger shuttle exploded just after take-off, and I remember watching in disbelief as we all were reminded just how dangerous space travel could be.

What surprised me most this morning was that many of the students believed that humans have been to other planets. No doubt a product of the movies and television they have seen, many students have some fairly serious misconceptions about space travel and exploration.




The following links will bring your child to information on plans for a lunar outpost, the NASA and BBC websites and give them a chance to learn more about this fascinating topic.

Enjoy the pedagogical days,
Kathy Napier

Memory Lane & Multiplication

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vX9J7WcYtxI&feature=channel

I ran across this "vintage" video tonight with my kids and the multiplication in it really jumped out at me. Ask your fifth grader how multiplication strategies are shown in this 59 second preschooler video.