About Me

My name is Scott Johnson and I teach a 4th and 5th grade loop at the Center for Inquiry in Columbia, SC. We are a K-5 magnet school located in Richland Two school district. CFI is a professional development school, partnering with Richland Two and the University of South Carolina in a small-school setting. What makes CFI unique is our focus on "inquiry-based" instruction. Instruction emphasizes hands on, project-based learning, within an integrated curriculum.

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More "Balanced / Unbalanced" Activities

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Today we continued playing around with balanced and unbalanced forces. So today we an activity in which students sat laid down on chairs with their heads on another person's lap. The chairs were pulled out. If forces were balanced, students should be able to stay up (not for long).  Here are some pictures of students laying down in chairs then having the chairs pulled out while balancing.
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A Couple of Things for this Short Week

I hope that everyone is having a restful Labor Day weekend. 1) Remember that T hursday, September 6 (6:30-8:00 ) is Opening Picnic . We purposely hold Opening Picnic after Labor Day so that students become acclimated to school and feel comfortable showing you around the classroom and school. After we all gather for the picnic, students and parents will head into the classroom. I'll give students the chance to show you around before I spend a few minutes talking about a few items you as parents will want to know such as homework and discipline policies. Other than that, I'm more hoping to get to know all of you so we can quickly start relationships that will benefit the academic success of your child. 2) On Friday, September 21 at 2:20 will be our first 4th grade gathering. We will most likely be sharing about current studies such as student poetry, our study of Native Americans, and weather. 3) MAP testing in math will be this Wednesday, September 5th . 4) Have student
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First Week of School

We made it and everyone is in one piece! We got our first week of school and our first week of the new loop is out of the way. During this time we accomplished quite a bit: We started discussing our expectations for the new loop, We immediately began moving into new routines and schedules, As issues came up in class students began the task of taking on classroom jobs, We are reviewing math while I'm getting to know your child as a mathematician, Students are creating a presentation of things they  think I should know about them, Students got to meet our new MAT Mrs. Meredith, We are getting back into the flow of reading and writing by doing  real reading and writing. This helps me get to know them as readers and writers, Our Chromebooks are all set up and accounts have been created. Really, this list is simply about getting procedures down and setting up expectations for the next two year. This is a critical part of the class because it's these expectations that
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