QuickWrite: Believing in Yourself

Our second QuickWrite (a short timed writing to help get ideas on paper quickly) of the year centered around a quote from Henry Ford. "Whether you think you can or think you can't, you're right". Students were asked to respond as to what Ford meant. While not everyone came to the same conclusion, most responses dealt with the importance of believing in one's own abilities to succeed. Conversely, when you doubt your abilities, you are often predicting your failure.

For our AVID students, many are just now understanding the hard work involved on the path to college. The outcome of their life has not been determined at this point. With the support provided through AVID, without a doubt these students can achieve their college goals.

Team building: Tower of Power

Being able to work in a group is a skill that will be beneficial throughout someone's life. Through collaborative activities, AVID students are able to learn how to more effectively work with students from a variety of groups.

The challenge this week was called Tower of Power. Students were sorted into groups different from their regular table groups. Each group was given the same set of materials:

• paper bag
• 3 index cards
• 2 pieces of paper
• 2 large paper clips
• 3 small paper clips
• a straw
• 1 rubber band
• a small plastic drink lid
• a ruler
• a paintbrush

Groups were given 20 minutes to build the tallest tower possible with only the provided materials. Towers had to be free standing and remain standing during the measuring process. The group in each class that designed and built the tallest tower won one of our fabu

lous AVID prizes. The tallest structure out of both classes was 34" with second place coming in at just under 33". After the activity, each student was given an opportunity to evaluate the group process and identify areas of frustration. Evaluations will be discussed in groups.

Research: Texas Colleges

Part of the focus of AVID is College Awareness. In order to expose the AVID students to the many colleges here in Texas, the 8th grade students each created a PowerPoint presentation of a particular school. A "lottery" style selection process was used to ensure a variety of schools were chosen. Students were given five days to research their school and put together their presentation. As a part of this process each student will write a letter to their chosen school requesting information. Over the coming weeks, each student will present their slide show to the class.