With a few directions, they divided into groups.
Each group collected a large piece of paper, colored markers and wrote one word, fable, in the middle of the page.
Then silently, for eight minutes, each student wrote what they knew about the topic, based on homework from the night before.
Homework included watching a video Pardalis made about fables and watching or reading fables he embedded in the file he sent home on their laptops.
Class time was devoted to a lively discussion about the concept and the types of questions that would best expand upon the lessons, rather than the teacher lecturing, Pardalis said.
This "flipped classroom" approach means students take home materials they need to learn and take notes on them to prepare for class work the next day.
It is a new approach to teaching used in other area districts, such as Bethel, as well as at Western Connecticut State University in Danbury.
Elementary students seem to take to the flipped classrooms because they love technology essential to the model, and older students come around too, teachers say.
Anecdotally, teachers say using this method, they find the classroom discussions richer, students learning more independently, and the quality of work at a higher level.
The approach, which is gaining ground, crosses grades, and is used in elementary, high school and college.
"It's fun. It makes the classes more interesting," New Fairfield sixth-grader Ken Caselnova said during class.
The 11-year-old said his science, social studies and math teachers sometimes use the approach.
"We always do our work on computers," he said. "We have prior knowledge for the lessons we are going to do in class."
Pardalis, who has been teaching for 11 years, started using the flipped classroom method last year, once all sixth-graders had laptops.
"Last year, we were lucky because we had the first group of students to have the one-to-one computer initiative," he said, in which students either bring their own laptop or the school provides one. "It makes it so much more possible."
With so much demand on teachers' time, he said, this approach helps.
Sixth-grader Josie Trincillo, 11, said, "I like it because we have computers so we don't lose papers and we come to school with our notes and then talk about what we learned."
"You get to watch a video, take notes at home," she said. "It's easier."
Sondra Olivieri, a 13-year teaching veteran of sixth-grade language arts, plans lessons with Pardalis and they share the lesson videos they send home.
"The kids love it," she said. "They know the material better. There's no doubt about it."
She said it doesn't work for all the lessons, though.
"Some concepts are so difficult that they need you there one-on-one at the moment, but some lessons really lend themselves to the flipped classroom,'' she said. "It's really exciting. It keeps the learning so fresh for the kids."
A couple of Bethel teachers are using blended models of the flipped classroom, Associate Superintendent Jan Jordan said.
"I think the potential is enormous. It gives us the capacity to provide differentiated instruction in such a profound way," she said, and it changes the whole instructional model.
"If you expect kids to look at videos at night and come in the next day with the information and talk about it, that's using time and talent differently," she said.
Western Connecticut State University's Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching will hold a discussion for staff on "Flipping the Classroom" on April 4.
It's the second time on the topic, said Daniel Barrett, associate professor of psychology, who directs the center.
Barrett and Edwin Wong, associate professor of biological and environmental sciences, will discuss their approaches.
"The principle is the same in college as in the elementary schools. I have no lectures. We discuss what they did at home. I think it's a great way to teach," Barrett said. "Some students didn't like it at first, but most started liking it and enjoying class time."
The approach is a crucial change, New Fairfield Superintendent Alica Roy said.
"We're trying to make sure our schools are student-centered and that includes students being responsible for their learning," Roy said. "It means we throw out ideas and essential questions. The best assignments are those that require them to synthesize and analyze, and that makes the flipped classroom a perfect model."
Roy said she read about Harvard professor Eric Mazur using the flipped classroom for his physics classes. While his students were good at taking tests, Mazur found they were not good at applying the material.
Bethel High School calculus teacher Maria Peterson used the flipped approach. She has more advanced students make tutorial videos for other students about concepts that have yet to be learned. Or she assigns students a concept and sends them home to find it.
Because students also get questions they have to answer, she knows they will be working at a certain level of rigor.
When they come into class the next day, Peterson gives the students a brief digital assessment that provides insight on grouping the students by their level of understanding.
Class time then is spent applying the concept they learned, instead of getting a lecture.
"It doesn't come easy at first. It takes time, but I see the results. The kids are so much more independent. They are not waiting for me to answer their questions," Peterson said.
"I believe this is a great thing to change the classroom model," she said. "There is no research to say if the flipped classroom is better than the traditional classroom yet, but I believe it will be done."