The Icons of Depth Complexity Language of the

The Icons of Depth & Complexity

Language of the Discipline What vocabulary is used? What does it mean to “speak a common language”? Why is word choice important?

Important vocabulary that every Brookside student should understand… • Balance • Respect • Ownership • Opportunity • Knowledge • Success • Integrity • Diversity • Education *Understanding these words will make you a better student and a better citizen of this school.

Details Who? What? When? Where? Why? How? -Tell more about the main idea or topic -Describe something

• My name is_____. • I am ____ years old. D E T A I L S A B O U T M E • My favorite color is____. • I have ____ siblings. • I am really good at ____. • My hair is _______. • My best quality is _____. • I like to _________.

Patterns What patterns do you notice? Can you predict what will happen next? Why do you think this pattern exists? What can we learn from patterns? Where do we see patterns in our lives?

A pattern I notice every school year is. . . A pattern I notice in my life is…

Rules What are the rules? How is this structured? Why do these rules exist? Can the rules be changed?

A rule in my home is… A rule in school is… A rule in nature is…

Trends What caused this? What will the effect be? What are the influencing factors? How do things usually go?

Because I do my homework, I… Because I brush my teeth, I… If I keep up this behavior…

Unanswered Questions What words do you not understand? What is still unclear? What information is missing? What would you still like to know? What do you wonder about?

• I am still wondering about… • I didn’t understand when… • I’d like to find out more about…

Ethics What is the conflict about? Is something wrong or unfair? Can you tell for sure what is right or wrong? Does everyone agree on what is right? Is it okay to do the wrong thing for the right reason?

If your friend is struggling with a test and wants to copy your answers, should you let him? If you could hack the computer system and change all your grades to 100%, would you?

Big Idea What is theme? What is this really about? What really matters about this topic?

What “big idea” do you think your teacher wants you to take away from fourth grade?

Change Over Time What was it like in the past, as compared to now? What might it be like in the future? What causes change?

Some things I would like to see change this school year are… I am different from my second grade self because…

Multiple Perspectives What can change a person’s perspective? What are all the different opinions there could be? Can more than one opinion be correct? Why do people disagree?

Imagine your class gets harder assignments and twice as much homework. Consider these perspectives: Yours? Your teacher’s? Your parents’? Your friend’s in another class?

Across Disciplines What common theme connects the topics? How is one topic like another? How might you apply your understanding of one topic to another topic?

How might you apply what you learn in math to gym class? How do you relate to your favorite character from a book? How are school rules similar to the rules in your own home?

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