Week_2_Vocabulary

So I introduced our attempt at making learning vocabulary a relevant and practical application rather than the mundane... definition and rote quiz approach. It is the first time that I felt as if the students were looking for a cookie cutter box to climb into and feel comfortable.
I imagine that the freedom they are feeling can be overwhelming. I feel apprehension from the students that a pop quiz may be thrown out at them and they'll feel unprepared.
Here's the reality.... they have the world at their fingertips. They need to learn to understand that much information not memorize it. Learning the words will come with usage. They need a reference to help them understand the words and make connections. I'm discovering that those connections are scary for the kids.
The first day of real class some of the students informed me that many of them burn old Christmas tree lights on their campfires and the wires inside then, of course, create multi-colored smoke. Hmmmm.... who would have thought that those old lights could be "recycled". It seemed so absurd when I first heard it, but they didn't initially see the connection to science or anything else "academic".
Are we all missing connections on a grand scale everyday? Maybe we all need to slow down and find out what is around us and how everything connects to everything else.
Working on it... M