letters to my class

November 14, 2012

November 13th, 2012

Dear Model Makers,

My favorite place in Denver is the diorama hall at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. I could spend a whole day just looking at those amazing dioramas and marveling at how the Galapagos Islands, the Smokey Mountains, and Kalahari Desert have all been magically transported and recreated in one building in the middle of Denver, Colorado.

Those places come alive in the dioramas because of the care the curators took when they created the models. Indeed, those models can sometimes teach us more about the real thing than the thing itself. That’s because when we make a model we have to think about the parts, how they interact, and how they create the whole.

Today, we’ll make models of body systems. You’d think that we’d be experts about body systems because we’ve been living with them our whole lives, but through model making, we’ll learn so much more.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck
November 13, 2012

November 12th, 2012

Dear Blood Pumpers,

Our body is constantly carrying-out processes that keep us alive. Fortunately for us, most of those processes happen automatically, and we don’t have to worry about them. One such process is circulation. You probably know that blood is super important to keeping us alive (blood is often used as a metaphor for our deepest and truest selves), but our circulatory system is really just a giant delivery system. It’s a huge network of blood vessels that keeps blood flowing to all of our body cells and back to the heart, lungs, and digestive system to get more oxygen and nutrients.

Network is an important word that we’ll see again and again as we study the processes that keep us alive. A network is a bunch of individual things working together to accomplish one goal. The circulatory system is one of many, many things in nature that work in a networked way. By studying the circulatory system as a network, we practice the type of thinking that will better help us understand the rest of the world.

When we learn something new, we should think more about the how of learning than the what. The what is easily forgotten, but the how stays with us forever.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck
November 12, 2012

November 11th, 2012

Dear Scientists,

I’ve told you before that we know a thing by its properties. Rather than just saying a thing is a thing because it look like that thing, we have to think about the parts of the thing and closely study how they interact to make the thing the whole that it is. Think about polygons. They are what they are because of the their sides and angles. For some substances, however, properties aren’t easily seen. For these substances, we have to think of creative ways we can carry out tests or experiments to reveal those hidden properties.

This is what we’ll do today. We’ll look at four different powders and reveal their properties by burning them, tasting them, mixing them with water, and mixing them with chemicals. We’re not just interested in the reactions (although reactions can sometimes be pretty cool!), we’re interested in what the reaction tells us about the true properties of the substance.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck
November 6, 2012

November 6th, 2012

Dear Future Electors,

It’s an important and exciting day in our democracy. Today is election day. We decide who will represent our country for the next two, four, and six years. We’re not just electing a President today. We’re also electing Representatives, Senators, judges, school board members, and deciding on Amendments and Referendums.

I hope we know who wins all the elections tonight, but there are expected to be many close elections, and we might not know until tomorrow. Or we might not know until even later. Regardless, we will be following it closely in class. Today, we’ll read about how all citizens gained the right to vote and hold our own mock election.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck
November 5, 2012

November 5th, 2012

Dear Vexillologists,

Vexillology is the scientific study of flags. Vexillologists don’t just study what flags look like, they also study how they’re used, what they represent, and how they’ve changed through time. Earlier this year, we made a class flag using symbols that were important to us. We take that flag to assemblies, and we fly that flag in our classroom to represent us. Why did we choose the symbols we chose? What do those symbols say about us? What does our flag say about us?

Today you will make team flags. Before we do that, however, we’ll look at examples of flags and talk about the properties they all have in common. We’ll also look at some examples of flags that seem to break the rules of flag-making. As we’re learning the states and capitals, we’ll also learn the flag of each state. The symbols and language of each state’s flag can tell us a lot about that state, just as our team flags will tell us a lot about ourselves.

Happy flag-making,

Mr. Heimbuck
November 1, 2012

October 31st, 2012

Dear Gamers,

Playing games is the best way to learn math. Board games, card games, dice games–all games require us to solve problems, develop strategies, and look for patterns. And that’s really what math is all about. I know I learned how numbers work by using them to play games like Monopoly, Trouble, or Sorry. And I learned how probability works by playing card games like poker, hearts, and gin rummy. And I learned how to think strategically from playing games like chess, Settlers of Catan, and Risk. I learned all of these things without even knowing I was learning them. I thought I was just having fun.

Today as we play games and solve problems, I want you to be looking for patterns. I think you’ll find that the most beautiful and elegant patterns emerge from the simplest beginnings–the roll of two dice, the shuffling of a deck of cards, a compass and straight edge construction, or the tracing pattern blocks.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck
October 31, 2012

October 30th, 2012

Dear Ghastly Ghosts and Ghouls,

It’s Halloween, and we’ll have fun celebrating. We have a lot to accomplish first, however. Stay focused on your job of being an engaged student. We work hard, and we play hard. But the work always comes first.

Humans celebrate holidays so we can better live in rhythm with the earth and its seasons. Right now, it’s harvest time, so we celebrate by bobbing for apples and carving pumpkins. We rake dead and decaying leaves into piles and that makes us think about the more sinister things in life (and death!) like monsters, witches, and ghosts. Holidays are a chance to do something a little bit different. On Halloween, we quite literally put on a costume and try to see the world in a different way. We change a normal day into one of special significance. Use this day to celebrate the good things that come in life and have a bit of fun.

Trick or Treat!

Mr. Heimbuck
October 30, 2012

October 29th, 2012

Dear Language Learners,

Recently, I’ve been trying to learn more Spanish. Each day I learn new words and phrases, but I’ll never know everything there is to know about Spanish. Even if I keep studying, even if I spoke only Spanish for the rest of my life, I’d still keep learning the language each day. I’ve spoken English since I was born, and I’m still learning something new about the language every day. This is because language always changes. Each day people coin new words to describe something or put something in a new way. There’s no correct form of any language. There’s only how people use it.

In school, we try to show you some of the ways that people use language. Language isn’t just reading and writing; we also use it in math. And as mathematicians, we must always use clear, precise language. We don’t just call an angle an angle. We call it an obtuse, acute, straight, reflex, or right angle. We don’t do this because it’s the right way to speak. We do it because we want to be understood.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck
October 29, 2012

October 29th, 2012

Dear Future Electors,

Every four years, Americans pay extra close attention to US geography. That’s because of the method we use to elect the President of the United States. Depending on a state’s population, each state receives a certain number of electoral votes. All of those electoral votes go to the candidate who received a larger percentage of the popular vote in that state. As you watch the news, you’ll see Barack Obama and Mitt Romney are spending all of their time in places like Ohio, Florida, and Colorado. That’s because those states are still up for grabs, and whoever wins those electoral votes will most likely win the presidency.

The election is only 8 days away. We’ll spend our time this week talking about what we’re seeing in the news, having our own election, and thinking about the process of electing a President every four years.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck
October 25, 2012

October 25th, 2012

Dear Kids,

I had so much fun meeting your families last night. It’s always great to see you as sons, daughters, brothers, and sisters. I can tell that family is important to you. It’important to me as well. My brothers are my best friends, even though we fought a lot while we were growing up. Family stays with you your whole life but friends often come and go.

I look forward to meeting the rest of your families tonight. What you do in school reflects on your family, so make sure you make them proud.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck