Session 5 Week 1 in Review

Elementary Studio

Welcome to Session 5, the first session of 2023! The Elementary Studio kicked off the new session and year by discussing goals and how distractions can cause us to procrastinate. Learners also zoomed out on their Badge Plans to determine if they need to set new goals, work harder, or make other changes to complete their Badge Plans.Our Quest, Student & Youth Rights, was all about the youth! When you were a child, how would you have responded if you woke up one day and your parents were on an extended vacation? What would you do first? Would you be happy, sad, confused? Would you act differently or the same? What would you eat? How would you make it? Would you continue to shower and brush your teeth? Learners wrote a personal narrative explaining how they would respond. In a different challenge, they wrote a persuasive essay explaining to adults what it’s like to be a kid in today’s society. They had a lot to say in their persuasive essays! Stay tuned as we dive into Student and Youth Rights!In Civilization, the topic is Culture! We began this week by discussing what culture is. Our Socratic discussion included questions such as what is a part of your family’s culture, how can understanding different cultures help build a strong community, and what can we do to welcome all cultures in the elementary studio. During our discussion, learners demonstrated they understand the importance of accepting other cultures and a willingness to be respectful toward other cultures. I'm excited to continue our journey through Culture!Our Story Arts, Scripted, is led by Jeffrey Stepakoff. Jeffrey is a producer, screenwriter, novelist, founder of Georgia Film Academy, and President of Content Talent South. Stepakoff was the Co-Executive Producer of Chasing Life for ABC Family, Wild Card for Lifetime, and Dawson’s Creek for the WB and has served as a Writer-Producer and/or Writer on Eight Primetime or First-Run Cable Staffs, including the Emmy-Winning The Wonder Years. This week, he enlightened us on TV writing! He explained the difference between episodic television and reality television.

Middle School Studio

Session 5 is off to an exciting start! We welcomed several new learners into our Studio, and we are so excited to have them join us. Learners participated in a Welcome Back Carousel for the first morning launch, answering a variety of questions about themselves to get to know each other better. Weekly check-ins and Running Partners started up again this week, with goal setting for the new session and the first week. After two sessions with their previous partners, learners are switching things up with a new group for this session!Civilization this session is European Imperialism. We began the session with challenges about the Protestant Reformation, and how Martin Luther’s 95 Theses changed the religious landscape in Europe at that time. We had interesting discussions about religious corruption, and despite our differing religious beliefs, our Studio agreed that Martin Luther took a bold stance! Next week, learners will use what they learned to create a Maker’s Challenge centered around Martin Luther and the 95 Theses.The Session 5 Quest is Art & Creativity. We kicked things off by simply discussing “What is art?” Learners played with various ways of defining art, and contemplated how they would categorize various art forms. Each learner developed their own working definition of what they think art is, and looked for examples and non-examples of creations they would classify as art. We ended our first Quest by carefully studying a painting called Christina's World by Andrew Wyeth. We analyzed the painting using guided questions to help us peel back layers of meaning, and had deep conversations about the painting itself, the subject in the painting, and the artist’s intentions. It was fascinating how many learners’ interpretations came pretty close to the true story behind the painting!We jumped right into our Creative Writing Story Arts in the Middle School Studio with a visit from expert writer and editor A.E. Williams! A.E. shared his journey and experience in the writing field, gave learners some tips and tricks about character and plot development, and answered learners’ questions about writing short stories. Learners also read There Will Come Soft Rains by Ray Bradbury, a superb World Class Example of a short story. We looked for story elements, and discussed how the story elements worked together in such a faced-paced but meaningful way.

High School Studio

Welcome to 2023! Just like that, our High School Studio is off to the races with new topics to explore, two new learners, and revised goals for the year ahead. The week began with an all-studio Morning Launch, in which learners participated in a “Welcome Back Carousel”, meeting with various small groups in breakout rooms to get to know one another. Afterward, our studio jumped right back into our weekly running partner check-in protocols, with new running partners assigned for the session. During other Morning Launches this week, learners discussed the pros and cons of setting year-long New Year’s Resolutions, and explored what it means to take on a mentorship role for younger learners.Our Civilization unit this Session is focusing on Culture- what is Culture? What makes up a culture and how do we become a part of one? We started the unit this week by examining what Culture means, and exploring the “Cultural Iceberg” metaphor. For our weekly challenge, learners examined a culture that they are a part of using this metaphor, listing things that are visible (above the water) in their culture, and things that are harder to notice unless you spend a lot of time in that culture (under the water).For this session’s Quest, both High School and Elementary School learners will be focusing on Youth and Student Rights, working together and separately as studios to define what it means to be a young person, how youth can and should step up as leaders, and what issues affect young people across the country and globally. This week, the high school learners focused on adultism (discrimination against younger people and generations), and identified case examples of how this form of ageism can take place in institutions and everyday life. Learners spent time during their challenges this week writing letters to adult generations and younger generations, giving them time to put into words some of their ideas of how to bridge the gap between different age groups.Lastly, in Story Arts, this session is all about Essay Writing. By the end of this session, learners will have developed, researched, written, and revised an essay of their choosing (expository or persuasive), and will have a chance to practice reading and giving feedback on peer writing, as well. This week, we discussed our feelings about writing in general, and why it is an important life skill beyond our time in the classroom. Learners then found high-school level examples of expository and persuasive writing and analyzed the essays for grammar, tone, evidence, etc. It was a wonderful start to the new year, and I’m excited to see our learners welcoming new peers into the fold warmly and quickly!