About Ms. Ewing

I'm proud to be a Chicago native and Chicago Public Schools alum. I received my bachelor's degree from the University of Chicago and my master's degree from Dominican University.

I believe that students learn best when they have the opportunity to examine the world around them, ask questions, solve problems, and appreciate how amazing our planet really is! Instruction in our classroom focuses on inquiry activities; students do hands-on labs and spend time collaborating with one another to describe their observations and draw conclusions. Research shows that inquiry-based curricula lead to a better and longer-lasting understanding of science. Besides that, we all know that doing something yourself is way more fun than just hearing about it in a lecture! My aim is to help every student reach his or her fullest academic potential, to walk away as a responsible and knowledgeable citizen, and to have a whole lot of fun in the process.

I like: teaching, reading all kinds of books, listening to and playing music, traveling everywhere, watching basketball, cooking. And reading science news, watching television shows about science, talking about science, dreaming about science....

I dislike: excuses, complaints, missing homework, and mosquitoes.

Please don't hesitate to email me at elewing@cps.edu if I can help you with something!

Astronauts On Break

I was thinking about the Hubble Space Telescope because it's been in the news a lot lately-- scientists are repairing it for the last time as they get it ready for retirement. I found myself wondering: what do astronauts like to take with them on a space shuttle?

A brief search didn't turn up an answer to my question, but it did lead me to an article about what astronauts do on their day off.

Of course, Alan Shepard famously played golf on the moon (YouTube video here). I think it would be pretty fun to play basketball on the moon....

But back to my original question-- what do astronauts take with them? Playing cards? Comic books? A Nintendo DS? What would you take with you, if you were an astronaut living in a teeny-tiny space shuttle?