2006-07: Forces

The Electrons Class (4th-7th grade): This year we studied FORCES. What are all the forces that operate in us and around us every day? How do we recognize those forces, understand them, and make use of them? How does this physical world work? What are the forces of nature and how do they work? What about the forces that effect us emotionally? How are we each a force? What about the forces of people and events that create history?

The curriculum included:

• Nature’s forces (weather, seasons, astrology)
• Geologicial forces
• Physics (Forces, energy, Laws)
• How forces act upon us personally, how we can react or respond to those forces, and what is freedom from habitual and mechanical responses to those forces
• The Civil War

This year’s theme included going out into the field and studying nature and geological forces. We started our year with a trip to Wyoming where we ended up in a blizzard and staying in a lodge for 4 days!

We spent the middle part of the year studying physics and doing lots of science experiments, visiting NCAR, having local scientists come to our classroom and finding out about all the physical, electro-magnetic and mechanical forces. We also learned about the early scientists that first discovered the laws that we now understand govern our existence such as gravity, inertia, motion and friction. Everything we look at in the material world, we also look for internally (inside ourselves). How do we feel and experience inertia, friction, attraction and more? By learning about these laws, we can also break free of being under their influence. For example, by knowing Newton’s Third Law of Motion (every action has an opposite and equal reaction) we can work to NOT react to a force that comes along, such as someone in a bad mood! These laws may govern physical existence, but as humans we do have more choice to choose freedom from certain influences. A concept worth exploring, especially in terms of independent thinking.

In the spring we studied the Civil War (where two opposing forces came into a huge conflict) which culminated with an original musical combining history, theater, music and dance. We also touched on another time in history when two great forces come into conflict by learning about Ghandi and non-violent resistance.