CTC I Summary 12/10/12

This week we took some time to review some of our thoughts that we wrote down on the first day of class nearly three months ago! As we head into our last five classes (unbelievably!) it is my hope that your students will carry their newly found creative thinking skills beyond the classroom and into their everyday lives.

On Monday we wrestled with seemingly impossible problems and experienced some optical illusions. Kids love optical illusions and we took a bit of a detour to discuss how and why they happen. When our brain takes information from our eyes and translates it into a picture that is not in check with reality, how do we know what reality truly is? We decided that we rely on all of our senses to help us distinguish what is real.

For "play at home" they are to write the word "Teach" horizontally on an 8 1/2 x 11 piece of paper and put a mirror beneath the words to see if they can obtain the same effect we experienced in the classroom. Is it the word itself or the design of the font that created the illusion we saw?

We grappled with three hands-on problems in class and while one was quite easy, the other two were only solved after much discussion and playing with the problem. This is exactly what we are trying to achieve. Breaking through the frustration when you don't immediately know the answer and taking time to explore many answers is the ultimate goal of this class. It is my sincere hope that your students will apply these skills to other areas of study, whether it be math, or science, or writing!

I handed out seven riddles that your students should try to crack before Monday. Answers will be shared then.

For more illusions that kids will enjoy, click HERE.

We use curriculum in part from Art of Inquiry, LLC.