Week 2 of our class was filled with research, active learning projects, demonstrations, and lively discussions pertaining to both issues related to electrical grids and a deeper understanding of how electrical currents work.  Jointly and independently recording our thinking and questions for further consultation was emphasized.

We first learned about the blackout events of the Northeast United States in 2003 to more fully reason about the issues, points of view of different stakeholders, assumptions, implications, and goals for handling future events.  What can be learned about the grid system used at that time?  Was the grid obsolete?  Are current systems vulnerable in some regions of our nation or world today? What are the considerations for prioritizing power restoration?  What root causes of this event illustrate both the positive and negative aspects of interdependent systems? What systems interactions can we observe in Venezuela or other countries (government, utility, and financial)? Here is an article from the BBC that you might consider to further discuss with your child.

Additionally, students continue to observe models that decrease ratio and scale for design purposes, as well as models that increase ratio and scale for conceptualizing very small events.  While we can’t see how electrons move differently in direct current and alternating currents, we can act out the function.  We had the opportunity to get “active” at the sub-atomic level with a modeling game was fun and challenging (demonstrating the movement of electrons in direct and alternating current).  We will be using scale on a regional level to continue understand grid system design. These skills and knowledge will be critical for creating our culminating project next week to share with you!

We look forward to sharing this project and all our work next week at Parent Open House at the end of the day. See you then!

Mrs. Byrd