This website has BEAUTIFUL and AMAZING pictures of snowflakes, up close and personal. Click here to see for yourself!
For 20 NUPoints, leave a comment with a link to something you think is BEAUTIFUL and AMAZING.
Friday, February 12, 2010
Thursday, February 11, 2010
53 Hours Per Week? That's More than a Full-Time Job!
The Chicago Tribune recently ran an article on how many hours kids spend "consuming media." Click here to read the article. For 20 NUPoints, read the article and respond with your thoughts.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Adjustments in the Rehearsal Schedule
Please take note:
The original dress rehearsal scheduled for 9-12 on February 19th (this was supposed to be our day off after parent/teacher conferences, but now we have school) will now take place during the school day on February 19. Please be at school by 7:30 a.m. You will miss periods 1 & 2 and possibly part of period 3. We will also have rehearsal after school that day. It will be another dress rehearsal.
The original dress rehearsal scheduled for 9-12 on February 19th (this was supposed to be our day off after parent/teacher conferences, but now we have school) will now take place during the school day on February 19. Please be at school by 7:30 a.m. You will miss periods 1 & 2 and possibly part of period 3. We will also have rehearsal after school that day. It will be another dress rehearsal.
Friday, February 5, 2010
The Science of the Olympic Games
NBC Learning has produced several awesome videos about the science that goes into Olympic sports. Click here to go to the site. Click the "Original Video" tab, and then go to "Science of the Olympic Winter Games." They're just fun to watch, but if you'd like 20 NUPoints, comment here about something you learned from each video (20 points for the first video, 10 points for each subsequent video). I just watching the snowboarding video, and it was fascinating. I can't wait to watch the rest!
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
New Semester!
Time to start fresh, boys & goyles. Set those goals high, and reach for the stars. Clean slate! At the very least, I know you're all happy about tardies and unprepareds starting over! ;)
Quarter Overview: Here's the very basic skeletal overview of the quarter for all of my classes. Enjoy peeking ahead!
6th GOAL: Invent Iowa (2/17/10) & Oceanography Extension
7th GOAL: History Day (3/16/10) & Census Exploration
8th GOAL: Images of Greatness (3/18/10)
7th Language Arts: Design-An-Ad, Word Collages, Disease Detective Research Papers, and maybe Parts of Speech, depending how far we get.
Before things crank up too far and fast, for 20 (and only 20 this time... no extras for additionals) NUPoints, check out one of the sites in my Idleness Prevention, and comment about it here.
Quarter Overview: Here's the very basic skeletal overview of the quarter for all of my classes. Enjoy peeking ahead!
6th GOAL: Invent Iowa (2/17/10) & Oceanography Extension
7th GOAL: History Day (3/16/10) & Census Exploration
8th GOAL: Images of Greatness (3/18/10)
7th Language Arts: Design-An-Ad, Word Collages, Disease Detective Research Papers, and maybe Parts of Speech, depending how far we get.
Before things crank up too far and fast, for 20 (and only 20 this time... no extras for additionals) NUPoints, check out one of the sites in my Idleness Prevention, and comment about it here.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
I'm Just Wondering...
20 NUPoints for responding to the following...
Watch the video clip. Why do people bully others? Why are there some people who are never accepted into society? Why are some of the most profoundly gifted people in the history of the planet ridiculed and belittled? Why are differences not embraced? Why are gifts and talents not applauded by peers? What do you think?
Britain's Got Talent Andrew Johnston - Watch more Funny Videos
Watch the video clip. Why do people bully others? Why are there some people who are never accepted into society? Why are some of the most profoundly gifted people in the history of the planet ridiculed and belittled? Why are differences not embraced? Why are gifts and talents not applauded by peers? What do you think?
Britain's Got Talent Andrew Johnston - Watch more Funny Videos
Thursday, January 21, 2010
A Note about NUPoints
If you're not sure how to comment to receive NUPoints, see me in class. I don't mind if you respond anonymously, but write your initials into the post along with your period number, or see me in class to claim your post. I want to make sure everyone gets credit for their effort.
For 20 NUPoints today, write a Haiku about any of the following topics:
ice storms
missing school
Haiti
earthquakes
plans gone awry
Remember, a Haiku has 5 syllables in the first line, 7 syllables in the second line, and 5 syllables in the third line.
(20 points for the first Haiku, 10 for each additional)
For 20 NUPoints today, write a Haiku about any of the following topics:
ice storms
missing school
Haiti
earthquakes
plans gone awry
Remember, a Haiku has 5 syllables in the first line, 7 syllables in the second line, and 5 syllables in the third line.
(20 points for the first Haiku, 10 for each additional)
Last Week of the Semester, Revised
Who was I kidding? Of course we'd have another snow day! How could I be so silly to plan the week ahead? Let's try this again. We will NOT be moving the last day of the semester, so the new quarter and new semester will start as planned on Monday.
6th GOAL: If we don't have time to present your posters, you'll just be handing them in for me to grade. We'll still read aloud (be sure to respond on the class wiki) and go to the library today.
7th GOAL: If we don't have time to finish presenting your Venn Diagrams, you'll just be handing them in for me to grade. We will still go to the library today.
8th GOAL: Mrs. Flinspach is still coming tomorrow as planned. She juggled some things on her end to make it work, so we appreciate that! We'll be reading aloud (be sure to respond on the class wiki) and going to the library today as planned.
7th Language Arts: Your spelling assignment that was due yesterday is now due today, first thing. I'll give you another day on your Quarter Letters, so those will be due tomorrow (Friday) at the end of class. We'll review for spelling today at the end of the period, and we'll have the posttest tomorrow as planned.
Cast of The Secret School: Just stick to the schedule. I think Section 1 is going to need some additional work, but for now, just follow the schedule as printed.
Hopefully, that makes sense. Comment here if you have any questions or concerns!
6th GOAL: If we don't have time to present your posters, you'll just be handing them in for me to grade. We'll still read aloud (be sure to respond on the class wiki) and go to the library today.
7th GOAL: If we don't have time to finish presenting your Venn Diagrams, you'll just be handing them in for me to grade. We will still go to the library today.
8th GOAL: Mrs. Flinspach is still coming tomorrow as planned. She juggled some things on her end to make it work, so we appreciate that! We'll be reading aloud (be sure to respond on the class wiki) and going to the library today as planned.
7th Language Arts: Your spelling assignment that was due yesterday is now due today, first thing. I'll give you another day on your Quarter Letters, so those will be due tomorrow (Friday) at the end of class. We'll review for spelling today at the end of the period, and we'll have the posttest tomorrow as planned.
Cast of The Secret School: Just stick to the schedule. I think Section 1 is going to need some additional work, but for now, just follow the schedule as printed.
Hopefully, that makes sense. Comment here if you have any questions or concerns!
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
The Last Week of the Semester
Here's what's happening during this last week of the semester...
6th GOAL: I will continue reading Al Capone Shines my Shoes, and you should continue discussing it on the class wiki. You will be completing your quarter self-evaluation and then presenting the posters on the invention or inventor you've researched. That mini-project will start off our Invent Iowa project. The Invent Iowa competition will be in Burlington on February 17. I need help finding judges, so if you know an adult who could help us out that day, let me know by commenting on this blog! And, of course, we'll have library day on Thursday.
7th GOAL: You will be completing your quarter self-evaluation and then presenting the Venn Diagrams you created comparing the epidemics books you've been reading. From there, we will start brainstorming about and learning about the National History Day competition. And, of course, we'll have library day on Thursday.
8th GOAL: I will continue reading To Kill a Mockingbird, and you should continue discussing it on the class wiki. You will be completing your quarter self-evaluation on Tuesday. On Wednesday, you will continue solving Venn Perplexor and Deducible puzzles. Thursday will be library day. On Friday, Mrs. Flinspach from the high school will be visiting our classes to talk about taking TAG as a class in high school. This will help you in planning your high school schedules.
7th Language Arts: We'll work on Spelling unit #16 this week. It's a short week, so don't forget that you only have one day to work on your assignment (p. 99, 1-20, + pretest corrections). I'll collect your assignments first thing on Wednesday. Then, you'll have two more class days to work on your end-of-the-quarter letters to me. These are important because they help me fairly figure your Writer's Workshop grades. They also let me see what you've learned during the 2nd quarter of class.
It's a short week but a busy week. Keep on top of your deadlines. Let's make it a great last week of the semester!
6th GOAL: I will continue reading Al Capone Shines my Shoes, and you should continue discussing it on the class wiki. You will be completing your quarter self-evaluation and then presenting the posters on the invention or inventor you've researched. That mini-project will start off our Invent Iowa project. The Invent Iowa competition will be in Burlington on February 17. I need help finding judges, so if you know an adult who could help us out that day, let me know by commenting on this blog! And, of course, we'll have library day on Thursday.
7th GOAL: You will be completing your quarter self-evaluation and then presenting the Venn Diagrams you created comparing the epidemics books you've been reading. From there, we will start brainstorming about and learning about the National History Day competition. And, of course, we'll have library day on Thursday.
8th GOAL: I will continue reading To Kill a Mockingbird, and you should continue discussing it on the class wiki. You will be completing your quarter self-evaluation on Tuesday. On Wednesday, you will continue solving Venn Perplexor and Deducible puzzles. Thursday will be library day. On Friday, Mrs. Flinspach from the high school will be visiting our classes to talk about taking TAG as a class in high school. This will help you in planning your high school schedules.
7th Language Arts: We'll work on Spelling unit #16 this week. It's a short week, so don't forget that you only have one day to work on your assignment (p. 99, 1-20, + pretest corrections). I'll collect your assignments first thing on Wednesday. Then, you'll have two more class days to work on your end-of-the-quarter letters to me. These are important because they help me fairly figure your Writer's Workshop grades. They also let me see what you've learned during the 2nd quarter of class.
It's a short week but a busy week. Keep on top of your deadlines. Let's make it a great last week of the semester!
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Booktalks
Today was Library Day in GOAL. That means more booktalks! Here are the books I discussed with my students today...
Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick
Blood Red Horse by K. M. Grant
Iowa Curiosities: Quirky Characters, Roadside Oddities, & Other Offbeat Stuff by Dan Coffey and Eric Jones
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and its sequel, Catching Fire
Have you read any of these books? 40 NUPoints for commenting with a review to these or any of the books I've discussed in class (40 points for the first book review... 20 points for each additional review). Click the "booktalks" label to see the other booktalk posts.
Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick
Blood Red Horse by K. M. Grant
Iowa Curiosities: Quirky Characters, Roadside Oddities, & Other Offbeat Stuff by Dan Coffey and Eric Jones
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and its sequel, Catching Fire
Have you read any of these books? 40 NUPoints for commenting with a review to these or any of the books I've discussed in class (40 points for the first book review... 20 points for each additional review). Click the "booktalks" label to see the other booktalk posts.
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