heuristic

(adj.) A heuristic learning experience is one that allows you question, search, and discover until you learn.

(n.) - A heuristic is a framework or experience that helps someone to learn and discover things for himself.

• Synonyms: examining, probing, questioning, searching, inquiring, investigative
• Examples: inquiry project, science experiment
• Antonyms: uninterested, skeptical
• Non-examples: lecture, "take my word for it"
• Etymology: 1821, from Greek heuretikos, meaning "serving to discover or find out," or "inventive." This word is related to heuriskein meaning "to find" (from PIE were- meaning "to find;" related to Old Irish fuar meaning "I have found") + the noun-forming suffix -ist and the adjective-forming suffix -ic. This word was first recorded as a noun in 1860. 

Heuristic education is based on discovering and experiencing things for yourself.

How can using a heuristic approach to learning make you a better learner?

nostalgia

(n) - Nostalgia is a feeling that a time in the past was good, or the activity of remembering a good time in the past and wishing that things had not changed.

• Synonyms: fond memories, reminiscence, yearning, sentimentality
• Antonyms: regret, sorrow
• Etymology: 1668 Greek, from the word algos meaning "pain, grief, distress" + nostos meaning "homecoming," which originally comes from the PIE root *nes- meaning "to return safely home"
• Morphology: nostalgic - adj
• Example: When I look back on our blog, I get a sense of nostalgia for all of the fun projects and activities we have done.

premise

(n) - A premise is a statement or idea that you accept as true and use as a base for developing other ideas, like a hypothesis.

• Synonyms: hypothesis, idea, conjecture, notion, presumption
• Antonyms: guess, fact, reality
• Etymology: Late 14th Century Latin, from prae meaning "before" + mittere meaning "to send" (which is where we get the word mission)
• Example: I believe in the premise that you (or I) will never have a better class in your entire school career.

I also believe in the premise that there are GREAT people out there, like those from Phillips 66 Refinery, who want you to be GREAT students, and GREAT citizens of Billings and beyond.

serendipity

(n) - Serendipity is when interesting or valuable discoveries are made without planning or meaning for them to happen.

• Synonyms: blessing, good luck, lucky break
• Antonyms: choice, bad luck
• Etymology: 1754 English, first said by a man named Horace Walpole in a letter he wrote to he wrote to someone named Mann on 1/28/1754. He said he got it from the Persian fairy tale "The Three Princes of Serendip," whose heroes "were always making discoveries, by accidents."
• Morphology: serendipitous - adj
• Example: It was serendipity that brought me to Burlington, and that led me to teach a combo so that I could meet you!

ample

(adj) – If you have an ample amount of something (time, money, etc), you have more than plenty of it for what you need.

• Synonyms: plenty, more than enough, abundant, extensive, substantial
• Antonyms: insufficient, meager, not enough
• Etymology: Mid-15th Century Latin, from amplus meaning "large, spacious," which comes from ampla meaning "handle, grip"
• Morphology: amplify - v
• Example: I hope you had ample rest over our last 3-day weekend!

revitalize

(v) - If you revitalize something, you put new strength or power into it.

• Synonyms: breathe new life into, enliven, exhilarate, freshen, renew, renovate, repair, revive
• Antonyms: kill off, hamper, discourage
• Etymology: 1858 , from re- meaning "back, again," + vita meaning "life," + -ize, which is a verb-forming suffix
• Morphology: revitalization - n, vital - adj, vitality - n
• Example:  There's just nothing quite like Field Day to revitalize your energy for the end of the year!

Scientists in Yellowstone brought back wolves in 1995 to revitalize the park's ecosystem.

How can reintroducing a top-tier predator like a wolf actually help revitalize an ecosystem?

ominous

(adj) - If something is ominous, it makes you feel like something bad is going to happen.

• Synonyms: dangerous, doomed, haunting, threatening
• Antonyms: happy, lucky, promising
• Etymology: 1589, from Latin ominis meaning "warning"
• Morphology: omen - n
• Example: My car is making an ominous rattling noise, so it’s time to take it into the shop.

Math:

Probability Fair

Reading:

Click to play

traverse

(v) – When you traverse something (like a state or a lake), you move across, over, or through it, especially an area of land or water.

• Synonyms: bridge, travel, cross over, span
• Antonyms: back up, reverse, stay put
• Etymology: Early 14th Century Latin, from transversus meaning "turn across"
• Example: It took us several weeks to traverse the whole United States in our Heritage Project.

Congratulations to all of the Heritage teams!


Check out these pictures from Friday night, when you traversed the red carpet to receive your Vocademy Award!

substantial

(adj) - Something that is substantial is either large in amount or number, or is large and strongly made.

• Synonyms: abundant, bulky, heavy, large, massive, sizeable, significant, vast
• Antonyms: insignificant, little, minor, unimportant, unsubstantial
• Etymology: Mid 14th Century Latin, from sub meaning "up to, under" + stare meaning "to stand”
• Morphology: substance - n
• Example: Even though we are nearing the end of 4th quarter, we still have a substantial amount of work to do this year!

The Heritage Project was a substantial amount of work, and I'm both glad and sad that it's over. I think that CR Smith's visit yesterday was a great way to celebrate the conclusion of our trek across the USA:

Exploring the West to find a water route to the Pacific Ocean was a substantial journey that took over two years to complete. Click on the image or the link below to help Lewis and Clark on their trek:

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/west/main.html

feasible

(adj) - A plan, idea, or method that is feasible is possible and is likely to work.

• Synonyms: possible, doable, achievable, practical, reasonable
• Antonyms: impossible, unlikely, unreasonable
• Etymology: Mid 15th Century Old French... and Latin, from faisable meaning "possible, easy, convenient," which comes from faire meaning "do, make," which comes from Latin facere meaning "do, perform"
• Morphology: feasibility - n
• Example: Since we already live in Montana, a trip to some locale in the West is very feasible for us!

Click here to view the Virtual Field Trip

jubilant

(adj) - If you are jubilant, you are extremely happy and pleased because of a success.

• Synonyms: elated, excited, overjoyed, pleased, thrilled, triumphant
• Antonyms: depressed, sad, sorrowful, blue
• Etymology: 1660s Latin, from jubilare meaning "to call to someone," which comes from jubilum meaning "wild shout."
• Morphology: jubilee - n, jubilation - n
• Example: Tonight's Vocademy Awards event will be a jubilant celebration!

Let's get ready for tonight's event by looking at some photos of last year's jubilation:

oxymoron

(n) – An oxymoron is an expression that contradicts itself because it is a deliberate combination of two words that seem to mean the opposite of each other, such as 'cruel kindness.'

• Synonyms: contradiction
• Etymology: 1650s Greek, from oxys meaning "sharp," which is from the word akis meaning "sharp point," + moros meaning "stupid, foolish, or dull"
• Example: Some well-known oxymorons are: a civil war, a little big, alone together, awfully nice, baggy tights, bittersweet, black light, calm wind, classic rock

precocious

(adj) – Someone who is precocious is exceptionally smart. A precocious child shows intelligence or skill at a very young age, or behaves in an adult way.

• Synonyms: advanced, bright, intelligent, mature (but maybe a little sassy!)
• Antonyms: dull, dim-witted
• Etymology: 1640s Latin, from pre meaning “before” + coquere meaning "to ripen, or to cook"
• Example: Beware: using our words of the day may make you sound precocious.

spontaneous

(adj) - When something is spontaneous, it happens without a plan or all on its own.

• Synonyms: out-of-the-blue, automatic, impulsive, instinctive, random, unplanned
• Antonyms: planned
• Etymology: 1650s Latin, from sponte meaning "of one's own accord, willingly"

Have you ever heard of a flash mob? It is a spontaneous performance by a group of people, like this:

snippet

(n) - A snippet is a small piece of news, information, or conversation.

• Synonyms: particle, bit, fragment, part, piece
• Antonyms: whole thing
• Etymology: 1664 Low German, from snippen meaning "to snip, shred”
• Morphology: snip - v
• Example: News tickers give you little snippets of information at the bottom of your TV screen.

And now, it's time for Name that Tune!

redundant

(n) - If something is redundant, it is not necessary because something else already means or does the same thing.

• Synonyms: repetitious, extra, duplicated
• Antonyms: concise, essential, important
• Etymology: 1590s Latin, from re- meaning "again" + undare meaning "rise in waves," which comes from unda meaning "a wave"
• Example: As an added bonus, I will tell you about the basic fundamentals of the word redundant... consider it your free gift!

malinger

(v) – If you malinger, you avoid work or school by pretending to be ill.

• Synonyms: play sick, fake it, evade work
• Antonyms: ail, be sick
• Etymology: 1785 French, from malingre meaning "ailing, sickly." This word possibly comes from a blend of mingre meaning "sickly, miserable" and malade meaning "ill." Mingre is actually a blend of maigre meaning "meager" + haingre meaning "sick, haggard."
• Example: With only a couple of weeks of school left, there is no time to malinger!

 Click on the sites below to learn and review triangles:

• http://www.math-play.com/classifying-triangles/classifying-triangles.html
• http://www.crickweb.co.uk/ks2numeracy-shape-and-weight.html#triangles

 

naïve

(adj) – Someone who is naïve does not have much experience of how complicated life is, so they tend to trust people too much and believe that good things will always happen.

• Synonyms: childlike, trusting, gullible, innocent, ignorant, simple
• Antonyms: experienced, wise, skeptical, certain, confident
• Etymology: 1650s French, from naif meaning "natural, just born," which comes from the Latin word nativus meanng "not artificial”
• Example: I am very naïve when it comes to what happens in sports.

alter

(v) - If you alter something, you change it.

• Synonyms: change, adjust, adapt, modify, reform, renovate
• Antonyms: continue, keep, fix, leave alone, ignore
• Etymology: Late 14th Century PIE, from *al- meaning "beyond" + comparative suffix -ter (which is where we get the word other)
• Morphology: alteration - n, altered - adj
• Example: If your pants are too long, your mom may have to alter them to get them to fit you.

 Believe it or not, there are quite a few ways to alter Google.

Try searching "do a barrel roll" or zerg rush" and see what happens!

futile

(adj.) - Actions that are futile are useless because they have no chance of being successful.

• Synonyms: pointless, useless, unimportant
• Antonyms: productive, useful, beneficial
• Etymology: 1550 Latin, from futilis meaning "pouring out easily" (like from a vessel), which led to "easily emptied, leaky, unreliable." This came from the word fundere meaning "pour, melt."
• Morphology: futility - n
• Example: The idea of my family trying to plan a trip where everyone agrees is futile...