The Hochman Program, as it is sometimes called, would not be un­familiar to nuns who taught in Catholic schools circa 1950. Children do not have to “catch” a single thing. They are explicitly taught how to turn ideas into simple sentences, and how to construct complex sentences from simple ones by supplying the answer to three prompts—but, because, and so. They are instructed on how to use appositive clauses to vary the way their sentences begin. Later on, they are taught how to recognize sentence fragments, how to pull the main idea from a paragraph, and how to form a main idea on their own. It is, at least initially, a rigid, unswerving formula. “I prefer recipe,” Hochman says, “but formula? Yes! Okay!”

via The Writing Revolution – Peg Tyre – The Atlantic.

And so the school’s principal, Deirdre DeAngelis, began a detailed investigation into why, ultimately, New Dorp’s students were failing. By 2008, she and her faculty had come to a singular answer: bad writing. Students’ inability to translate thoughts into coherent, well-argued sentences, paragraphs, and essays was severely impeding intellectual growth in many subjects. Consistently, one of the largest differences between failing and successful students was that only the latter could express their thoughts on the page. If nothing else, DeAngelis and her teachers decided, beginning in the fall of 2009, New Dorp students would learn to write well.

via The Writing Revolution – Peg Tyre – The Atlantic.

The Writing Revolution

For years, nothing seemed capable of turning around New Dorp High School’s dismal performance—not firing bad teachers, not flashy education technology, not after-school programs. So, faced with closure, the school’s principal went all-in on a very specific curriculum reform, placing an overwhelming focus on teaching the basics of analytic writing, every day, in virtually every class. What followed was an extraordinary blossoming of student potential, across nearly every subject—one that has made New Dorp a model for educational reform.

via The Writing Revolution – Peg Tyre – The Atlantic.

“Touchstones classes have discussions that we run, that help us feel good about ourselves, get us to think about what’s important to us, help us work together as a group and listen to other kids’ opinions even when we don’t agree or even don’t like them— the kids I mean. But we respect them for saying what they think, and we get to say our ideas and why we believe them. These classes really make you think hard. By the end of the year, the teacher was just another person in the discussion.”   

High school student — Albuquerque, New Mexico. 

OTA Math & Science Olympics! Programming • Applied Mathematics • Problem-Solving

In the ROBOTICS CATEGORY you can post your:

Successful Roamer or Racer Robot programs:

Photos & videos of your Group working with the Racer Robots:

And samples of your robot-created art:

* * * * *

Music posts go here...

GarageBand recordings, Performance Videos, Music History Timelines;
Song Lyrics, music, or arrangements;
Combined Science-Math-Music Projects (Coke Bottle/Wine Glass orchestra; Build your own guitar, etc.)

Science posts go here…

Lab Projects (photos, diagrams, slideshows, & videos of your completed Projects or Project Exams);
Theory Slideshows and Animated Simulations (Use Keynote to make animations!): Explanations of: How Human’s Hear, How Speaker’s Work, etc;
Science Posters (scan or create digitally);
Combined Science-History Projects (e.g., Inventions Timeline; e.g. History of The: Automobile, Cell Phone, etc.); Combined Science-Math Projects (SONAR math challenges, etc.).

Math posts go here…

Book of Real Problem Problems (Create your own illustrated math tutorial in Pages or Keynote or with Show Me);
Completed Math Progress Trackers (Saxon, Computer TargetScores, TAPS);
Combined Math-Language Arts Projects (Math Poems or Songs, etc.); Combined Math-Science Projects (SONAR Math Challenges, etc.)

Language Arts posts go here…

Essays, Narratives, Poems, Speeches, Recitations (videos or recordings), Grammar Projects, Foreign Language Study, etc.
Combined Language Arts-Math Projects (Math poems or songs); Combined Language-Arts History Projects (Biographical Narrative, Poltical Speech, etc.)

Seminar posts go here….

5Ws Charts (Who wrote/painted/composed the reading/artwork/musical piece? What was the title/genre? Where & When was it created? Why was it created? Identify two crucial sentences, elements, or melodies);
Combined History-Seminar Projects (Timelines: Great Ideas, Great Authors; Essays, Mock-Trial Readings: Fact Patterns, MindMap of Foundation Documents: Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights, etc.).