Summer SAVY 2022/Session 1 – Matter Mysteries for Rising 1st/2nd Grade
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Summer SAVY, Session 4 Day 4, “Creative Contraptions: A Study of Inventions” (1st-2nd)
Jul. 10, 2025—It’s hard to believe that we are already wrapping up our fourth day of Creative Contraptions! Today, we started our time together by exploring our last two simple machines: the lever and the pulley. Students worked in groups to create a lever using a ruler, a pencil, and tape to lift a load (a roll...
Summer SAVY, Session 4 Day 3, “Wonders of Electrochemistry” (7th-8th)
Jul. 9, 2025—SAVY Families, Today in Wonders of Electrochemistry, students explored the mechanism and real-world applications of electroplating, which is the process of coating a conductive object with a thin metal using electrochemistry fundamentals. Specifically, our content outcomes included students knowing (1) the process of electroplating and how industries use electrochemistry for manufacturing and (2) real-world applications...
Summer SAVY, Session 4 Day 3, “Social Determinants of Health: How Communities and Policies Impact Well-Being” (7th-8th)
Jul. 9, 2025—Day 3 of our Social Determinants of Health course was all about exploring research and publicly available data related to the social determinants of health. It was an engaging and insightful day, packed with hands-on learning and thoughtful discussions. We began by learning about what research is and learning the difference between qualitative and quantitative...
Summer SAVY, Session 4 Day 3, “Math & Music” (7th-8th)
Jul. 9, 2025—The third day of SAVY Math and Music was focused on the exploration of shapes and their unique role in music. We kicked off the day by discussing where shapes appear in musical experiences. The students eagerly shared their observations, especially focusing on dance. They recognized that dancers create various shapes and lines with their...
Summer SAVY, Session 4 Day 3, “Truth v Perception” (5th-6th)
Jul. 9, 2025—Good evening, families and students! I am so glad to be back in the classroom! Today we did A LOT of interactive reading and application activities to understand the many influences in the world and in society that change our perceptions and challenge our notion of the truth. We also talked about how people...
Summer SAVY, Session 4 Day 3, “Solving the Chemical Spill: Navigating Ecological and Chemical Systems” (5th-6th)
Jul. 9, 2025—Dear Parents, Today was the day of pH! We started the day learning that “Seven is Heaven.” Thank you for sending your children in with water samples this morning. We started the day testing their pH. We hypothesized that although theoretically, they should all be 7, the samples would test at different pH numbers,...
Summer SAVY, Session 4 Day 3, “Intro to Neurobiology” (5th-6th)
Jul. 9, 2025—Our first topic of the day was Sensation and Perception, one of the four key functions of the central nervous system (the brain and the spinal cord). We began by making a distinction between sensation and perception. The terms sounded abstract, so we did it using a very fun class activity, which many students volunteered...
Summer SAVY, Session 4 Day 3, “Tremendous Transformations in Writing” (3rd-4th)
Jul. 9, 2025—Today, our classroom was filled with more creating, collaborating, and community-building. We started our day with an in-depth look at character development. We watched a short video from “Pixar in a Box” that invited us to think about how conflict can reveal character and lead to transformation. We applied this new knowledge to the short...
Summer SAVY, Session 4 Day 3, “The Science of Senses” (3rd-4th)
Jul. 9, 2025—Hello families! Today was SIGHT DAY in our Science of the Senses course! To begin our day, students engaged in a “turning our brains on” introduction activity, which involved exploring the Nikon Small World Photomicrography Competition images (https://www.nikonsmallworld.com/). It’s worth checking out if you’re interested! The students viewed an image of Slime Mold (which is...
Summer SAVY, Session 4 Day 3, “Coding and Robotics” (3rd-4th)
Jul. 9, 2025—Today was all about autonomous driving machines! These lessons involved quite a bit of math, so I started the day by reading Count on Me by Miguel Tanco. This book introduced our first vocabulary term for today: trajectory. We also worked as a group to define “line.” Our unplugged activity helped students conceptualize the difference...
Summer SAVY, Session 4 Day 3, “Creature Connections: Animals, Humans, and the Natural World” (1st-2nd)
Jul. 9, 2025—Dear Families, Day three of SAVY Summer 2025: Creature Connections was another day filled with learning and discovery, and I know your SAVY zoologist will be excited to tell you about it! We started the day focused on our concept of interactions. We watched a video from Kid President about kindness and analyzed...
Summer SAVY, Session 4 Day 3, “Creative Contraptions: A Study of Inventions” (1st-2nd)
Jul. 9, 2025—Day three of Creative Contraptions has been busy and full of fun! We began by discussing simple machines. We talked about how simple machines do not change the amount of work, but they make it easier. We also watched a quick video of a Rube Goldberg machine designed to pour milk into a cup. We...
Summer SAVY, Session 4 Day 2, “Wonders of Electrochemistry” (7th-8th)
Jul. 8, 2025—SAVY Families, Day 2 of Wonders of Electrochemistry was action-packed with discoveries, challenges, and meaningful discussions! Today, we focused on the dynamic duo that makes electrochemistry tick: oxidation and reduction reactions, also known as REDOX reactions. We started the day by thinking critically with our ice breaker, “What could we use to power our...
Summer SAVY, Session 4 Day 2, “Social Determinants of Health: How Communities and Policies Impact Well-Being” (7th-8th)
Jul. 8, 2025—Good afternoon, We had a great second day of class! We covered a lot of new material today related to the Social Determinants of Health and policy. Our class took time today to explore the intersection of policy, local government, and public health, and how these systems influence the health and well-being of our communities. ...
Summer SAVY, Session 4 Day 2, “Math & Music” (7th-8th)
Jul. 8, 2025—Today’s Math and Music class dove deep into the world of copyright. We began by discussing what makes a work qualify as copyright infringement versus simply drawing inspiration from another artist’s creation. The conversation sparked some lively debate as students explored how originality and influence intersect in music. Some students argued that if it sounded...