Classical Conversations CC Cycle 3 Week 5 Tutor Plans Masters

Here is everything that I plan to do for Classical Conversations CC Cycle 3 Week 5 in my Masters class!

CC Cycle 3 Week 5 Memory Work

CC Cycle 3 Week 5 Timeline

This week for timeline, I plan for us to shoot the Timeline cards with a nerf gun.

Since I have 8 students in my class, I will likely have the first student go before we sing the Timeline song.

I then have each student take their turn at shooting a Timeline card after we sing the song once through.

If you have 7 students or less, you can also remove a Timeline card if it gets shot down to add an extra level of memorization needed.

Supplies needed:

• 7 Timeline cards pertaining to the week
• Nerf gun and dart

Approximate time it takes to play: 5 minutes

CC Cycle 3 Week 5 Math

For the Masters class, I like to do minute-to-win it type of games or mathercise. 

This week, I plan to do a thread the needle challenge.

You’ll want to get everything ready at home first but it is simple:

• Take a spool of thread & put drinking straws in it until the straws stay in (about 3 straws for the spools I used). You can cut the straws to your desired height as well.
• Cut pieces of thread that are about twice the length of the straw (this makes it easy to retrieve the threads for the next student).

To do the challenge in class, the student will need to thread as many straws as they can while the rest of the students recite the math fact.

No licking the threads since students will share! It also adds to the difficulty factor.

Rotate through all the students for each repetition.

If you have 8 students like I do, prepare two of the spools/straws/threads so that two can go at once.

It’s also nice to have two in case the straws gets crumpled or the threads get too unraveled anyway.

Whoever ends up having the most threaded is the winner.

Repeat the game while you do the 10s to see if they can beat their previous score.

Supplies needed to play: 

• spool of thread
• drinking straws
• scissors to cut drinking straws and thread

Approximate time it takes to play: 6 minutes

CC Cycle 3 Week 5 History

Last year my class loved playing Hot or Cold for history and since I have mostly the same class, I decided I’ll do it again this year.

If they decide they are over it, I’ll come up with something else and update these plans as I go!

To play Hot or Cold, listen to the history song one time all together.

Then, show the class the item you will be hiding.

This week, I plan to bring in something red/white/blue.

Have one parent bring one student outside into the hallway while the rest of the class chooses a place to hide the item.

Once hidden (tip – only give them 30 seconds so it’s not a big time suck), invite the student back in. Have the class sing the history song loudly if the student is close to finding the object and quietly if the student is farther from the object.

The student has six repetitions to find it. If they find it in time, they win, if not, the class wins.

If the student finds it before six repetitions are over, have everyone sing or say the history song as fast as they can for the remaining repetitions.

Supplies needed to play Hot or Cold: 

• object to hide – I plan to use something red/white/blue

Approximate time it takes to play Hot or Cold: 5 minutes

CC Cycle 3 Week 5 Latin

This week, I plan to do a song by Driven By Grace to the tune of “Are You Sleeping Brother John.” This is actually a continuation of the song we did last week since they are all verbs.

To get in the 7 repetitions:

1. Read all of the grammar for correct pronunciation
2. Read again for correct pronunciation
3. Introduce the song
4. Everyone sings for the last four repetitions

Supplies needed for Latin: 

• none

Approximate time needed for Latin: 3 minutes

CC Cycle 3 Week 5 Science

This week I plan to play Sparkle for the five main senses.

The masters know this grammar very well, as they have proven to me in the hands-on science leading up to this week.

To play Sparkle:

• first student says “the five main senses are”
• next student says “sight”
• next student says “hearing”
• next “taste”
• next “smell
• next “touch”
• now that all of them have been said once through, the next person says “sparkle” which causes the next person to sit down and be out of the game
• the person sitting next to the person who said sparkle sits down
• play starts all over, repeating for each repetition. The game starts with the person who is next to the person who sat down which may or may not be the same person who started the game originally.

To get in the 7 repetitions:

1. First read the question, then explain how to play Sparkle.
2. Play Sparkle for 6 repetitions, making sure the person starting it says “the five main senses are.” Whoever is left standing is/are the winner(s).

Supplies needed for science: None

Approximate time needed for science: 3 minutes

CC Cycle 3 Week 5 English

This week we will use the hand motions we have learned so far to recite the different verb tenses for “to be.”

Here is the song and hand motions that I will use by Driven By Grace which goes to the tune of If You’re Happy and You Know it:

If the song is just too much on top of the hand movements, we might just chant it. I’ll see what the class wants to do/can handle given our quick time frame!

Here are the 7 repetitions:

1. Read the grammar.
2. Introduce the hand motions for each part.
3. All practice the hand motions for each part.
4. Introduce the song (or do a chant) while doing the hand motion.
5. Have the students sing with me (or do a chant) and do the hand motion for the remaining 3 repetitions.

Supplies needed for English: none

Approximate time needed for English – 4 minutes

CC Cycle 3 Week 5 Geography

This year we’ve been trying something new in my Masters class.

Instead of tracing maps, I want to challenge my class to draw the US, week by week.

My director gives us large copies of the CC maps, one for each student. Last year, the students traced the maps.

I picked up some 11×8.5 paper. I plan for each student to keep their map all year (in a folder I will take home each week) and to build on the map each week.

Here is what I plan to do to get our seven repetitions in:

1. Read the states and capitals for the week while the students put their names on their papers.

2 & 3. Have the students draw just the states we are doing this week, with their dots for capitals, on their papers while I read the states and capitals 2x through.

4. Show me where _____ is… (all 5 locations)

5. Tell me what this is… (all 5 locations) as I point to my map on my board.

6 & 7. Everyone reads all the states & capitals while passing their maps back to me to put away for next week.

Supplies needed for geography: 

• large map for each student
• 14×8.5 paper for each student
• pencil for each student
• optional – Draw the USA by Kristin J. Draeger to reference if students are stuck – she blobs the shapes of each state to make it easy to draw 

Approximate time needed for geography: 5 minutes

CC Cycle 3 Week 5 Fine Arts

This week for fine arts we will be studying perspective.

To start, I will see if anyone knows the definition of perspective. (A technique that is used to add depth to drawing.)

We will talk about/define vanishing points as a way to create perspective.

For the activity, I will show a photo from my director of an old railroad in the west disappearing into the horizon.

I plan to have students first draw their horizon line (in pencil) and then find their vanishing point in the middle of the horizon.

Have the students use a ruler to create two lines coming out toward them from the vanishing point at an angle. It should look like an upside down V.

The students can then use the ruler to create the railroad tracks.

They can add a sun at the horizon line and then add any old west images they would like to the drawing.

Supplies needed for week 5 fine arts:

• Paper for each student
• Pencil for each student
• Ruler for each student
• Colored pencils/markers/crayons for students to share if time allows
• Optional – CC Connected file linked above

CC Cycle 3 Week 5 Presentations

This year, I plan to have a skill of focus each week.

For the fifth week, I plan to have the Masters focus on volume.

I will remind the class before the first presentation that we want to speak loud enough for everyone to hear but not too loudly that they are heard outside of the classroom.

I will also remind them to keep their faces up and not have their chins tucked which often times leads to mumbling.

At the end of their presentation, I will ask the class to give feedback on the volume.

Thumbs up for good, hands cupping ears toward the speaker if it was too quiet, and pointer fingers pointing to ears if too loud.

Of course, the class isn’t likely to all give the same answer but we can see the overall opinion.

You may need to remind your class to only give the feedback at the end of the presentation, not during, as that can be distracting.

CC Cycle 3 Week 5 Science

This week is Van Cleave’s experiment #72 & #77.

Both of these experiments are very quick so make sure to spend lots of time going through CC’s 15 tools of learning.

I plan to open the discussion by playing a quick game of telephone.

If you want to do this, try to pick a silly sentence that is harder to say since class sizes are small in CC.

The prickly porcupine struggled to position his paddleboat while holding pineapple pizzas.

We will talk about how it is important to be able to hear well and then go into our first experiment on the ear.

I’ll go through the scientific method with them as usual:

• What do we know about the lungs? (Research)
• Explain the materials and experiment plan. (Experiment)
• Ask what they think will happen when a normal breath is blown into the jug? A deep breath is blown into the jug? (Question & Hypothesis)
• Do the experiment and attend to the results. (Experiment/Analysis)
• Explain what happened according to Van Cleave’s and the script my director gave me. (Conclusion)

(Here is the script from my director by Tiffany Pena)

We will then do our experiment on the epidermis. This one should last a little longer, so plan to be done with the first before 15 minutes has elapsed.

Supplies needed for hands-on science:

• Van Cleave’s 201 Awesome, Magical, Bizarre, and Incredible Experiments
• Bar of soap
• Sheet of paper
• Coarse sandpaper

CC Cycle 3 Week 5 Review

For review this week, with it being October and spider season, I plan to have the class do a spider ring toss game.

I picked up a bag of spider rings from the Dollar Tree and some spider webbing to make it festive.

This is a simple way to incorporate fall vibes without it getting into controversial Halloween territory!

You will want 6 or 7 cups or bowls, each labeled with a grammar strand.

I only do 6 bowls because I have the class sing the Timeline song for all 5 weeks while we clean up rather than during the review game.

Label the bowls with math, history, English, Latin, science, and geography.

You can either put the spider webbing over the bowls (the rings get stuck which can slow the game down) or just spread some under the bowls. This is purely for aesthetic by the way!

Have students take turns tossing their rings into the bowls. If it lands in geography, pick a geography review question.

Once all of the weeks have been covered for one strand, remove that bowl.

I let the kids keep their spider rings. I don’t like spiders so I don’t want them in my house 🙂

Supplies needed for spider toss: 

• 6 (or 7) labeled bowls with the subjects/strands
• bag of spider rings, one ring per student

Save These Masters Tutors Ideas for Later

If you have a masters class for Classical Conversations this year, make sure to save this plan to reference during your CC Cycle 3 Week 5 tutor planning!