Gender Equity #worldslargestlesson

With the help of Emma Watson, and World's Largest Lesson, the 6th grade boys looked into Gender Equity issues for a few days in math class.  After learning a little bit about what the Global Goals are in advisory, the boys took a two day deep dive into Gender Equity.  The conversation was thoughtful and engaging and full of multiple perspectives.  I am always impressed with how much 12 year olds KNOW on one hand and how little they KNOW on the other.  This is going to be a fun year for sure:)

More engaging conversation into gender equity to come through the lens of poverty as we embrace micro finance and poverty in the days and months to come. Stay tuned! But for now, check out my lesson slides, World's Largest Lesson website and the results of our survey as seen in the graph below.  We also computed mean, median and modes and talking about statistical questions to be explored in our our future. 

Looking for Global Partners Early and Hard - We Have Empty Seats:)

With Global Collaboration Day here I decided to try and find some global collaborators for a project we have been doing in the garage for a few years.  How fun is it to write non-fiction word problems about where we live and share them with others?  

If you are a educators, please visit my collaborative slideshow. Consider adding a problem you create yourself that we may use in the classroom and then think about how you see this fit into your classroom.  I have learned not to come to the table fixated on the details of projects and have made changes along the way.

Don't like the media- Let's change it!

Want to add math talks with the problems? -Sure.

Math Mystery Skypes to launch? - In.

No time for anything crazy but see value in the basics- Works for me!

Feel free to take a look around my site to see other ways we can collaborate on global projects.  I am openminded and ready to work together.  

Celebration of Learning Kiva Kids 2016

Each year I continue to be amazed by what the boys accomplish at Town School for Boys in conjunction with Kiva.org.  This year, in addition to raising approximately $1665 in new funds (equating to 64 loans and a $65 donation), we also had the opportunity to team up with 2nd and 3rd graders to teach them a little about lending and microfinance too!  Additionally, the 6th grade Core math class participated in a unit of their own making approximately $400.  

The Annual Celebration of Learning is always a wonderful opportunity to have the students share with parents and other community members what they have learned.  We also had a special treat- Bumzy's Cookies!  (Kiva Zip Borrowers from SF) Feel free to check out our overview video and dive into some of the business presentations too.  More lending to come in 2016-2017.

RFL

(Sean, Mason & John)

 

Squeeze Inc

(Colin, Noah, Lucas & Kitt)

 

Squishy Squad

(Josh, Jack, Alesso & Ben)

 

Hacky Town

(Alfred, Harrison, Spencer & Charlie)

 

Putty Putty

(William, Gordon, & Alex)

 

Slap Bands +

(Benjamin, Charlie, & Jackson)

 

It's Not Always BIG- Scientific Notation and Population

While many of the lessons I blog about are part of a larger unit/Pbl, the fact of the matter is going global in my math class is more then just that.  I try hard to connect my students with others on a regular basis.  While the study of scientific notation has natural connections to their science class, I launched my class the other day with a discussion about the world population.  Using this website, the students were able to look at population, population growth and consider population density.  

The boys started by choosing 5 countries that resonated with them. While I only had time to have them share 1 of their countries in class, they were excited to have choice and they selected places based on population, places they have visited, places they dream of visiting and heritage. It was interesting to listen to how they connected.  From there, as you can see in the worksheet, they had to find the population, round it, and place it in scientific notation.  One of their wonders, "will China's population growth change now that they have no restrictions on number of children?"  (Great opportunity to talk about statistics, and good data sets based on information over time)  

The boys seemed to be able to understand the importance of using the same base number (range 1 to less than 10) when we listed the order and it was no longer a challenge to order them.  Additionally they were able to better connect that the exponent was connected to the place value.  What an "Aha" moment we had!

After the discussion the boys moved through the real life statistics on the backside of the worksheet.  The boys had big feelings as they continued to practice scientific notation, and remarked that the stats made them sad.  They connected this to their recent water walk with 1st grade and the poverty project we did earlier this year. In the end, this 1 1/2 hour lesson allowed them to gain greater appreciation for their surroundings, and consider ways they can advocate and help others.  Their words, not mine! 

"The real world data in this lesson really helped me master it!" -Malyk

So the lessons aren't always BIG and numbers for scientific notation aren't always BIG... but I hope the impact is.  

A perspective about China's one child policy can found here. 

Just Getting Started: Making a Difference on Fair Day

This year's Town School for Boys Kiva Kids are up to old tricks, selling product in the name of micro-lending. As the money poured in from faculty, staff and parents*, the boys got excited to purchase their product and start making money.  Fair day at Town occurs every year the day before February holiday week and it seemed the perfect day to launch this years products.  4 out of the 6 groups successfully received product in time to make this happen.  The two groups that didn't get their product in time have learned lessons about shipping costs (ouch!), inventory issues (out of stock), and that being on top of things and working as a group is very important.  I have faith that watching their peers success on Friday will only in the end make their company stronger in the future.  

*In the past I struggled with the idea of having parents become lenders, however after careful consideration I allowed each parent to give up to 10% to their son's company loan in an effort to bridge communication about the project experience and learning. 

In addition to selling product, the boys have recently learned how to set up spreadsheets, and create functions (They need to this to set up a BOG -Bank of Goggin).  They have also used proportions to discover what their loan size in Kiva Kids would look like on Kiva.org, they have analyzed the Town School for Boys Kiva portfolio to look for trends and gaps, and have had serious discussions about pricing, profit, and building capital.  We are just getting started.

View fullsize

Here's to the 2016 Kiva Kid Borrowers

The boys have been busy putting together business plans, filling out borrower applications, and discovering a lot about what it takes to put it all together to become proud business owners. With the help of parents and faculty members, some of our teams are well on their way to being funded in the hopes of opening up shop in the early days of February.

 

Check out our Kiva Kids Page

I asked the boys to reflect on how it feels to be a borrower and here are some responses:

• As a borrower, I feel pretty good because our group has been loaned to multiple times. I also feel a bit satisfied, knowing that our group is closer to being fully funded. Being a borrower is exciting because you don't know if you are going to be fully funded, and if you aren't, then you can't start your business. I really hope people will loan to us so we can get started on selling our mesh squishy balls to the students.
• I feel that as a borrower it is really exciting checking your loaners and how much you have because every time you are that much closer to getting your loan. The one thing that I feel is hard about being a borrower is not being able to use your loan until it fully is funded. For example I found a better deal on our product but unfortunately I couldn't get it because our loan wasn't fully funded yet. But still I can see how we shouldn't be able to because people who get loans through Kiva can't use the money until they get fully funded. The reason they are on Kiva is also because they don't have the money to buy the thing they want.
• I am so far enjoying the experience because it feels different than being the lender. Our group has been very successful so far, and we hope to stay on track so we get our loan of $60 as soon as possible. To be a borrower, you must have patience because you have to wait for lenders to loan to you, and sometimes that takes a while. 
• I feel good because we are getting multiple loans and I think we might be a successful business. It may take a while to achieve our full loan, but I am excited. I feel like we are relying on these kind lenders and that paying them back is our priority, but we need to think of how to make good profit while paying back our lenders, and not making mistakes to bring us down. 
• It is kind of nerve racking thinking of what can go wrong as a borrower. I also think that the process of paying back the loan is scary because you don't know that the business is going to make enough money to pay back the loans.

What a finish!

What a YEAR!

2014-2015 

When it was all said and done and the boys said goodbye to 6th grade, I sure hope they felt good about what they accomplished in math class.  Not only did they learn real practical skills that can be applied to life (collaboration, problem solving, perseverance and inquiry to name a few), the in's and outs of small businesses ownership, social entrepreneurship, and financial literacy but they also learned about the financial status and lifestyles of others across the globe through math lessons.  The were empowered by the faculty and staff of Town to help alleviate poverty through lending and from what I saw, they felt good doing so.  

During the last two weeks of school the, the Town School borrowers collaborated, pooled their money and energy and went for a final push to clear out all existing product and create a joint product that students would talk about.  Through inquiry, problem solving, price point checking and coupon searching, the boys came up with Town Tiger Sunglasses that were certainly a hit! With each group contributing $30 to the product, they not only saw their contribution double in a few days, but they felt the excitement of being able to empower more borrowers through intentional giving.  

And while the boys finished school a week ago, and likely the excitement for lending has been replaced with the energy and thrill of  vacation, I am proud to announce the final numbers on the lending team of 2014-2015.

$1010.17 in profits/loans to Kiva.

$41.95 in donations to Kiva  

In addition to the 36 loans they were able to complete before summer, they have 4 more loans waiting for the Kiva Council to lend in September and the extra $10.17 was added to the donation.  Well done.  Rest well this summer boys, knowing you made a difference. 

Stay tuned for next year...