Words of Wisdom

GOAL Students: To present your Words of Wisdom, you may use any of the following Web 2.0 tools. You may also come up with an idea of your own, and that's great too. Run it past me in class. The sky is the limit!

Pixton® - Make a Cartoon - Create Comic Strips

Wordle - Beautiful Word Clouds

Glogster – Poster Yourself | Text, Images, Music and Video

VoiceThread - Group conversations around images, documents, and videos

PhotoPeach - Fresh slideshows to go!

Animoto - The End of Slideshows

Zooburst - Augmented Reality 3D Pop-Up Books

Image Chef - Customize Photos, Clipart

Here's a quick example of the kind of project you can make with Zooburst!

Wal-Mart Wins!!!

I never thought I would type those words, but I found the book at our little Wal-Mart in Fairfeld, Iowa! I now have 2 copies to check out, and there will be more coming when the Amazon.com order comes through. Ms. Mangler has a copy now too, and Mrs. Lantz has ordered three for the library. All your Mockingjay needs will be met!

Sorry, Kids!

I could not be more disappointed in Amazon.com right now. I'm sorry you have to wait for the Mockingjay copies to arrive. I would have bought them at Target had I known they would get here so far after the book's release date. A fellow blogger even called Amazon.com to complain. I feel that I've vented by reading this blog. Maybe you will too. Hang in there. It will be here soon!

Learning How We Learn

GOAL classes are having a mini unit on individual learning. They're getting advice from others to see what's important to people at different stages of life, and they're examining their individual smarts, comparing right and left brain thinking and studying Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences (see image).
By understanding how we learn, we can make the most out of each class & learning experience, tailoring it to our own needs.

Welcome Back!

It was a good first day here at Fairfield Middle School... I was glad to see you all!

Here's what's coming up for the rest of this week:

GOAL Classes: We're going to start/work on/complete the reading survey. Then, we're going to get your notebooks set up for reading journals and reading logs. We'll discuss all the requirements of the independent reading contract at that time.

Language Arts Classes: We're going to complete a personal writing inventory, start DWA (Daily Writing Activity) journals, and get spelling books handed out. If we get all of that done, we'll move on to the first pen pal letter... we'll see how much we accomplish in that time!

Loved meeting you and/or seeing you again today. Here's to a great year!

The Purpose

I maintain 2 blogs: one for myself and one for school. As I'm sure you figured out, this is my school blog. I probably need 3 different blogs for school. I know that this blog is probably trying to do too much. My school blog is for: 1. my students... with important information for them to know, 2. professional reflection... where I like to think about what I've done in class and what's ahead, and 3. my colleagues... where I like to post resources for them to use and where I keep track of some digital and building colleagues who blog and post resources of their own. Whew! It's a lot. For now, I'm keeping it all here in the Nelson Universe. We'll see if this format continues to suit my needs.

Why do I blog? I blog to write. I work hard to be a writing teacher who is also a writer. I communicate with others, I reflect on my life, and I get my ideas down and out of my ever-spinning brain.

Do you blog? If so, I'd love to read your blogs. Comment here, & leave me your blog's address. I'll check it out!

Welcome Back!

Students, Parents, Colleagues... lend me your ear... Oops. Guess it's time to get out of the theatre mode and back into school mode. ;) Welcome back to another wonderful year at Fairfield Middle School.

This Monday, I'll be welcoming you new 6th grade students to my classes, so don't forget to come to orientation from 6-8 p.m. You'll feel much more comfortable with the building and your schedule. You'll also get to know your teachers a little bit too... it's always nice to see some friendly familiar faces the first day. I'm looking forward to meeting you all!

7th & 8th grade GOAL students: You'll have a special treat on the 3rd day of school. You'll get to meet some of the cast members from the current Way Off Broadway show Big River. This will tie in with the Mark Twain unit coming up at the end of the 7th grade year of GOAL. It will be a nice preview of what is to come for you 7th graders, and 8th graders can enjoy reflecting back on our trip to Hannibal last spring.

7th grade language arts students: Mrs. Wiegand, Mrs. Wolf, and I have been finalizing all the pen pals for this year. I'm anxious for you to be assigned to one. This will be the 38th year of the FMS Pen Pal Program. It's a great way for the community to get involved in our school and for you to get to know people in the community. It's also a great writing exercise (Sorry, it's the teacher in me... I had to bring that up).

It's back to work for me now. My bare walls are calling for posters and decorations. I will answer that call, and I'll see you all soon!

Summer Enrichment!

Are you getting bored this summer? Want to have some fun? Come to FMS Summer Enrichment!

1. Drama Boot Camp: Do you love theatre games, acting, comedy, and improv? Do you love (or think you would love) FMS Drama Club? Imagine 10 Drama Clubs all crammed into one week! Come to Drama Boot Camp, and spend the week tapping into your creativity with Theatre Games, Skits, and FUN! August 2-6, 2010; 8:30-11:30 A.M.; FMS

2. Express Yourself: Make your mark! Share your views! Let the world know where you stand! This class gives you the chance. Animoto, Glogster, Debate, Blogs, Poetry Slam, Wikis, Mock Trial, Graffiti Poetry, Movie Making, Online Comics, Games, and more... a multitude of ways to make your voice heard! August 2-6, 2010; 12:30-3:30 P.M., FMS

Cost for each class is $50. You may sign up for one or both. Any student who has completed grades 4-8 may register (entering 5th grade and exiting 8th grade). Lunch is not provided. Make checks payable to FMS, and bring them the first day of class. E-mail me at tena.nelson@fairfieldsfuture.org with questions or to register. Class space is limited, so don't wait! Registration Deadline: July 28, 2010. Come one, come all!

Fight Summer Boredom!

I'm taking a new class today called Web 2.0. I'm learning about some awesome sites. You all should explore them too. Become the experts!

Photo Peach... yet another cool way to make digital slideshows

Flip Book! Make your very own digital flip book right here

Voice Thread... this is an awesome way to record comments to go along with pics

I'll post more as I learn more! 50 NUPoints to anyone who tries a site and links their project to the comments for us all to see!

Mockingjay

I. CANNOT. WAIT.