Year 1. Session 3. Week 1.
Week 1 started off with a focus trait for this session: gratitude. The Eagles watched part of the TedEd video, The Amazing Effects of Gratitude and discussed the following points questions:
Q1: What do you think is the main reason why people are ungrateful some days:
- Tired;
- Unhealthy eating;
- Feeling insecure; or
- Something else?
Their responses ranged from comparing themselves to others, not recognizing what they have, and not having the energy to be grateful because, “Sometimes you have to put a lot of effort into it!”
They also discussed the question below and then were challenged to try it out! First they stated what they were grateful for out loud, then they wrote it down on sticky notes to carry with them through out the day:
Do you agree that it’s the thought that counts when it comes to being grateful? Is that enough?
Throughout this session, the Eagles will come back to this practice. On Monday they were introduced to the Secret Eagle Book Exchange! This is a way they can show appreciation for each other by using empathy to pick out a book for a secret (drawn from a hat) fellow traveler. At the end of the session each person will receive their book to bring home, read over break, and then bring it to school to add it to our library. This is a special way for us to build the Discovery library.
This week launched Cartography! On this quest, Eagles become modern-day Magellans: cartographers and explorers attempting to circumnavigate the globe. Along the way, Eagles collect clues that lead them on a trip to a final destination…
Eagles travel in their imaginations to each continent, where they deeply explore a country of their choice and listen to folktales from the region.
Eagles are tasked with three main goals on their mission around the world:
- As explorers, they will complete a World FactBook to unlock the clues to their final destination. Each day of this quest, they’ll travel to a different continent. On each continent, they’ll choose a country to learn more about and they’ll complete a page in their FactBook (an independent deep dive).
- As cartographers, they will complete detailed maps of a continent of their choice. Maps should include all the countries within the continent and important locations, such as cities, bodies of water, landmarks, and sites of historical significance.
- They will complete “voyages”—mini challenges—at each stop, which will help them improve their skills as cartographers and explorers.
The goals of this quest include:
- Inspiring a deep curiosity of learning about different cultures and traditions.
- Inspiring a love of storytelling through folktales and Hero’s Journey stories.
- Discovering an appreciation for exploration.
- Developing an understanding of maps as tools.
- Grappling with concepts such as border disputes, identity, globalization, and perspective.
This week also launched a new Writers’ Workshop: Pitch-a-Pet! Eagles have been hard at work researching what pet to get for the studio. At the Exhibition next week, the audience will hear the pitches and vote on which pet our studio should get in Session 4!
Different takes on Tag/Capture the Flag is in full-swing during P.D., starting with Defenders of the Castle, which has proven both fun and challenging! The discussions on the field continue to be some of the most important as the Eagles learn to play new games together!
On Friday Eagles finished the week with a potluck breakfast to celebrate accomplishing a group goal to improve their Socratic discussions! It was another example of generosity that was met with deep gratitude. Everyone contributed and put so much effort into creating a lovely celebration.
