Dec 19, 2012 Nile River

What kind of learner are you?  Auditory?  Kinesthetic? Visual?  Word?

There are a lot of us that are visual learners, so today in class we took visual notes on the Nile River.  This means that we took two pages of written notes and condensed them down to one page of pictures basically. The pictures tell the story of everything you need to know about the Nile.  I have the notes on a smartboard doc, so if you missed them, come check with me!

No homework, and HAPPY SNOW DAY TOMORROW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dec 18, 2012 Egyptian Geography

Today in class we continued looking at what our background knowledge was on Egypt and we began talking about the geography and landscape of Egypt.  We looked at Egypt on a global map to compare it to where we live, and discussed how the different locations on the globe causes us to have different climates.

We also used an interactive map online to read about all of the different landscape features Egypt has.

Tomorrow we will take a closer look at the Nile and how it was a center of life for the Ancient Egyptians.  

Dec 17, 2012 Intro to Ancient Egypt!

Homework: Egypt Section 1 vocabulary

We are officially done with our Mesopotamia unit!  That is aside from referencing it in class all the time.....We have moved on to our new unit which is, drumroll please......Ancient Egypt!  Egypt is so fascinating so this should be a really exciting unit!

We started this off by doing a KWL.  This is a three column chart that students put in their notebooks.  The K column is filled with things that they already know about Ancient Egypt.  The W column is for this they want to know about Ancient Egypt, and the L column will be filled in later with things that we learned about Ancient Egypt.

We had tons of questions filled in in the W column so I will compile all of those and put them on a google doc so you guys have a list of questions you want answered during this unit!

We finished up class by completing the vocabulary for the first section.  You most likely finished them in class, but if not here are the words, and they need to be completed in your notebook for homework (with picture)

1. Nubia: An ancient region in the Nile River Valley, on the site of present-day southern Egypt and Northern Sudan
2. Cataract: A large waterfall; any strong flood or rush of water
3. Delta: A plain at the mouth of a river, formed when sediment is deposited by flowing water.
4. Silt: Fine soil found on river bottoms

Dec 14, 2012 Current Events

Today we had current events.  Students presented their current event articles and discussed them with the class.  We had a couple of really cool prezi's and some great visuals created using Google presentation.  We had a couple people cover the story of dogs being trained to drive cars!  And a few others did the origami house (read the full article on Dogo News!)

We also watched CNN student news.

On Monday we will begin our Ancient Egypt unit!  Have a good weekend!

Dec 13, 2012 Tomorrow

Don't forget if you have current events tomorrow to share your template with me by tonight! If you're not sure if you have it, check the calendar at the bottom of the page.

Dec 12, 2012 Study for Test!

Homework: Study for test and answer essential questions in post below as a comment on that post

Tomorrow is our Mesopotamia unit test!  Here is the blank study guide that you should use to study, and here is the completed study guide that you can use to check you answers.  I did not give answers to the essay questions because I want you to come up with those answers on your own!

Make sure you study the quizlet cards on Monday's post.  Study your notes, the notes linked on the blog, and anything else you have from this unit!

Today in class we did a review activity (see post below) where students came up with review questions and then we used those to study, but study at home as well!  Use the study guide and your resources!

Don't forget to answer the essential questions in the post below as well for homework!  Good luck!

Dec 12, 2012 Review for Test: Mesopotamia

Tomorrow is our unit test on Mesopotamia!  DON'T PANIC!  The following review exercise will help get you prepared for the test.  Today in class you have a number of objectives:

1. With your group create 3 jeopardy questions to be used in our review game/study guide, and one essay question for the subject you are assigned.  The essay question has to be a question that will require more than a 1-2 sentence answer.

• Mesopotamia/The Fertile Crescent
• Sumer
• Babylon
• Assyria
• Cuneiform
• Hammurabi's Code
• Phoenician

2. Answer these essential questions by commenting on this post

• After learning everything that you have learned about this region, how did Mesopotamia impact the world?  
• What group of people do you believe had the biggest impact on the modern world? 

Remember to write like a reporter!  Use complete sentences and think outside the box!

Dec 11, 2012 Notes for Phoenicia

Today in class we finished the last part of our Mesopotamian unit, we took notes on the Phoenician section in the book (linked here).  We went over the key terms and reviewed all of the main details of the culture, including how they gained wealth and what their influence was on the rest of the world.

Thursday is our unit test on Mesopotamia so start studying!  Below is a quizlet that covers all of the vocab that we have had for the unit.  Practice!

Tomorrow in class we will work on a review game to help us review all of the major concepts of the unit.

Civilizations to focus on: The Babylonians, the Assyrians, the Phoenicians, and the Sumerians
Concepts to focus on: Region, government, writing, and religion.

We'll review tomorrow!

Dec 10, 2012 Phoenicians

Today we started the last civilization of Mesopotamia!  We started talking about the people of Phoenicia.  We studied the map to make inferences about their culture, and reviewed the key terms prior to reading.  We found out that they were sea-faring people who dominated trade in the Mediterranean area.  They were famous for the purple ink that they used to dye clothes which they harvested from snails on the coast!  They kept their monopoly in this area by telling others stories of horrible sea monsters to keep them off the water!  Clever.....

Tomorrow we will take notes on this section and begin reviewing for the test on Thursday....that's right, the Mesopotamia unit test is on Thursday!  So you might want to start reviewing your notes.....  

Dec 7, 2012 Current Events

Today was our first current events of trimester 2!  From what I saw today, it looks like everyone took the comments I left on their last current events and made sure to make those corrections for this one, which was AWESOME!!!  Great job everyone!

We had some REALLY interesting stories this week.  One was about bottled water vs. tap water (fill a plastic water bottle with oil and that is how much oil it took to make the bottle!).  There was another story about a hotel made entirely of ice.  Every summer it melts, and each year they build it again!  

We also watched CNN Student News,  See below....

We also found out who won the CNN Heroes competition!  The story is amazing, definitely check it out.

Dec 6, 2012 Hanging Gardens of Babylon

Homework: Current Events (for some)

Today in class we put on our conspiracy theorists hats and watched a video on the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.  Based on archaeologists finds, some believe that these gardens never existed!  Remains of the gardens have never been found and there is no mention of the gardens in any Mesopotamian writing that has been found.....but obviously it has been documented in Ancient Greek writing which is how we know about it...so the mystery remains!  In the video archaeologists attempted to recreate a miniature of the gardens using only tools that would have been available at the time.  We didn't quite finish is, but here is the video below....



If you are signed up for current events tomorrow, do not forget to share your template with me tonight!

Dec 5, 2012 Writing in Cuneiform

Today in class we practiced our writing (and drawing) skills by taking a page out of the Babylonian's tablet and writing in cuneiform!  Everyone had to write their name in cuneiform, print, and cursive.  It was tedious!  No we know why scribes had to go to school for 12 years!

Here is some of our work.....

Dec 4, 2012 Hammurabi's Code

Homework: Compare/Contrast Hammurabi's code to our laws today....At least one paragraph 5-7 sentences.

Can you believe it's December already!  And that it's 60 degrees outside.....

Yesterday and today we began discussing Hammurabi's code, which is a a set of laws created by King Hammurabi in Babylonia.  There are a total of 282 laws and they cover everything from taxes, to property, to adoptions, to murder!  We looked at some of the laws in class, as well as the (very harsh) punishments!  Here is a list of Hammurabi's laws.

We also discussed the reason that we even know about these laws, is that they were written down in cuneiform, or groups of wedges and lines used to write languages in Mesopotamia.

We took notes on this using Cornell Notes (two columns), which everyone also uses in science.  We will continue using this in class since it is being used in many other classes.

Here is the video on the development of writing

Nov 29, 2012 Quiz Day!

Today was quiz day!  The grades for the quiz are already entered in skyward so log-in and check out how you did!  We also signed up for next trimesters current events so if you did not do this in class please do so ASAP!

Remember tomorrow is the last day of the grading period so be sure to get in any missing work by tomorrow!

Tomorrow in class we will have current event presentations and CNN Student News.

Nov 28, 2012 Babylon & Assyria Quiz Tomorrow!

We opened class today with news from New York!  Paris has the Eiffel Tower light show and we have this! Thank you Alicia Keys!

We have a quiz tomorrow!  The quiz will cover the section we just went over in our book about Babylon and Assyria.  Below are Quizlet flashcards and games that you can use to review.  MAKE SURE to review your notes!!  There are a lot of new and strange words from this section so you will need to carefully review your notes and practice.

Here is a study guide for the quiz.  Use it!

Once you've practiced with that, check your answers with the completed study guide here.

Nov 27, 2012 Babylon and Assyria

Back to blogging!  It's been a while since our last entry because of thanksgiving break, so here we go....

We opened today with strange news which was about a new millipede found that has 750 legs!  And the legs have claws!  They also spin their own clothing by creating silk from the long hairs on their back.....I'll buy my silk in stores thank you.

We had our student jigsaw presentations today.  What this is, is the section in our book on Babylon and Assyria was broken up and each student group got a section to read about and present.  Students presented the main ideas they took from their section so that everyone else would end up with completed notes on that section.

Tomorrow we will finish up these presentations and then will review the section to make sure everyone has all of the information they need.

Nov 20, 2012 Myth Sharing

Happy Thanksgiving break!  On this Tuesday/Friday we started class by sharing our myth stories (only those that wanted to).  They were so awesome!  Thanks to those who shared!

We then completed a vocabulary sheet for our upcoming section on Babylon, in our notebooks.  The key terms students needed to write down were:

• Empire: Many territories and people's controlled by one government.  
• Babylon: The capital of Babylonia; a city of great wealth and luxury
• Caravan: A group of traders traveling together
• Bazaar: A market selling different kinds of goods
• Battering Ram: A powerful weapon with a wooden beam mounted on wheels

After that we read about the first thanksgiving and shared thanksgiving plans!  There is no homework, have a safe break!

Nov 19, 2012 Short week!

Happy Monday!  Class today was FILLED with everyone's hunting stories!  I learnedmore about hunting today than I ever have in my life!

We listened to this hilarious radio clip about someone's confusion on the purpose behind deer crossing signs.....

Strange news today was about the "rain-forest" of bacteria found in people's belly-buttons!  It was DISGUSTING!  Clean your belly-buttons!

Back to Mesopotamia.....we finished learning about Sumer last week, finishing up by learning about how Sumer was conquered.  In the end they were conquered by the Babylonians, so that is who we will learn about next.  You may have heard of the Hanging gardens of Babylon.....one of the wonders of the ancient world....ringing any bells?

We watched a video on how people in Mesopotamia transported good and people and how trading worked in that time.  We will continue this tomorrow and begin with Babylon.

Nov 16, 2012 Myth Writing

We took our vocabulary quiz in class today.  Students took the quiz on the computer and submitted them online.

Once they were done, students worked on their myth stories.  REMEMBER: There is no set length for this assignment  just write as much as you need to in order to include everything on the rubric.  Your myth should tell a story and be entertaining, not just a "This happens because of this, The end."  See Wednesday's post which has the myth rubric linked to see all of the elements that you will be graded on.  Myths are due Monday.

Tomorrow is a half day and we will have student current event presentations and CNN student news.  

Nov 14, 2012 Vocab Quiz tomorrow!

Homework: Vocab quiz tomorrow!  Myths due Monday

We started class with some interesting news.  Yesterday there was a total solar eclipse that could be seen over Australia.  Here is the link to the video.  In the beginning, what you would think is a crescent moon, is actually a small sliver of sun!  The rest is being quickly covered up by the moon.....

We finished up the section in our book on Sumer and took notes on the Fall of Sumer.  Which we discussed did not mean Autumn.....

Tomorrow we will have a vocab quiz.  The flashcards are below with all of the terms you need to know, along with games to help you review.  

After the vocab quiz students will have time to work on their myths which are due Monday.  Don't forget to put your story in the shared folder!

Nov 13, 2012 Myths!

Homework: Write your own myth!  Due Monday

Today in class we reviewed what myths were and how it affected the daily lives of Sumerians.  We brainstormed myths that we knew, as well as examples of what would NOT be a myth.  We read an example of a myth from Ancient Greece that taught us the lesson, Don't be greedy!  It also gave an explanation for where the Narcissus flower came from.

Sooooo, in class we will be writing our own myths!  Students need to write a myth that either tells us why something happens (like why does it rain) or teaches us a lesson....or both!  This is a myth tool on the scholastic site that might help you if you have complete writers block.  Finally, here is the rubric that will be used to grade your myth so make sure to check it out before you finish your final draft!

Myths will be due Monday.  When you begin writing them, create a new Google doc.  If you don't know how to do this, see me!  The sooner you share it with me the sooner I can edit it before it is due!

Nov 12, 2012 Mesopotamia

Homework: 1st hour: Mesopotamia map worksheet

We continued learning about Mesopotamia today.  We turned in and checked our Mesopotamia map worksheet.  (1st hour this is due tomorrow for you!).

We finished taking some notes from the book on the city of Sumer.  We finished up by watching a video on how writing was developed in Mesopotamia.  I couldn't get it to link on here but I will keep trying!

Here is the updated notes sheet.  We will continue with these tomorrow   Something to think about before class.....what are some myths you know?

Have a great night!

Nov 8, 2012 Back to Mesopotamia!

We finished up our last day of WKCE testing today so we got back down to business and back to learning about Mesopotamia!  We continued taking notes from our textbook.  Here is the updated notes sheet.

2nd hour and 5th hour have homework tonight, it is a Mesopotamia map worksheet due tomorrow (Friday 11/9).

Our strange news today was again about the crazy weather they are having in New York!  Last week they were flooded with water and today they woke up to this!

It looks pretty but with no power and no heat I am happy to be in Green Bay!

We have current events tomorrow so if it is your day to present make sure you get your template to me tonight!  If you are not sure if you go tomorrow (and weren't listening for your name in class, tisk tisk....) check the calendar at the bottom of the page.

Nov 7, 2012 Election results

We had another day of shortened classes due to WKCE testing so we discussed the election results from last night.  We watched both candidates speeches and clips of both can be seen in the video below.

Tomorrow we will continue on our Mesopotamia unit and will have the last day of WKCE testing.  Have a good night!

Nov 6, 2012 Election Day!

It's election day!  Any election day is an important day in history so we spent some time today talking about how the elections work (a.k.a what the electoral college is, what would happen if there was a tie, etc)

We took a silent vote in class and we'll see how our results stack up against the country's decision tomorrow!

CNN student news was great today since it explained the election process and went through elections in history.

WKCE continues tomorrow so get a good night's sleep!

Nov 5, 2012 More Mesopotamia

Happy Monday!  We opened up class with some strange news about an elephant that speaks Korean!  He puts his trunk in his mouth and makes different sounds to mimic the human voice.  He has a vocabulary of six words.

We got back into the topic of Mesopotamia.  In the video last week a girl was making a journal entry about what life was like in Sumer, the city-state she lived in in Mesopotamia.  So today, everyone made journal entries about what life is like in Pulaski, WI.  We had a lot of entries about Polka Days!

Then we spent the rest of class reading about Mesopotamia from our textbooks.  Here are the notes that we have completed so far!  If you are missing anything from the notes you took make sure to fill it in.

We will continue with notes tomorrow and will fill in a map of the region.  Don't forget WKCE testing tomorrow!

Nov 1, 2012 Mesopotamia

Homework: Current Events!

Can you believe it's November already!  Sounds like everyone had a fun and safe Halloween!

We continued on today learning more about Mesopotamia.  We reviewed what we had learned yesterday and then watched the following video which gave a ton of information in a really clear way!



Mesopotamia From Nomads to Farmers from Rose Ngo on Vimeo.

After the video we discussed and took notes on the inventions and ideas that came from the people of Mesopotamia.  The consensus was that they were much more civilized than any of us had ever imagined and contributed a TON to human civilization!

Some of what the Mesopotamian's invented or ideas they developed were: the wheel, a zodiac calendar, writing, mud bricks, levees, irrigation systems, the plow, taxes, slaves, laws, kings, and many more!

Oct 31, 2012 Happy Halloween/Mesopotamia!

Happy Halloween!  As well as happy start of a new unit day!.....not as exciting?

Today we began our unit on Mesopotamia.  We started by brainstorming about what Mesopotamia might mean/what it could be, as well as what various vocabulary words might mean.  This process got our brains thinking and more importantly, curious as to what all of things really mean.

After the brainstorming session we dove right into it and visited this website to learn more about this region.  We discovered that the worlds first civilization was located in what is known today as the Middle East between the Tigris and Euphrates River (Mesopotamia means the land between two rivers).  We also discovered that the reason civilization was able to grow there was because of the fertile soil deposited by the rivers each year that made farming possible.

Tomorrow we will use the textbook to take more detailed notes on this region and learn more about it.  No homework, have a great night!

If you're interested here are some pictures of some of the damage done by Sandy at my Aunt's and brothers homes in New York!

Oct 29, 2012 Quiz Tomorrow and Hurricane Sandy Watch!

Homework: Study for Old & New Stone Age Quiz tomorrow!!

Welcome back!  I hope everyone had as awesome a fall break as I did!  Sunday was my birthday and we went to the Packer game to celebrate!

Go pack!!

As many of you have heard Hurricane Sandy is quickly bearing down on the east coast!  Since I'm from New York and my whole extended family still lives there, I like to think I have the inside scoop!  Here's video taken this morning by my cousin of the winds starting to pick up.  The storm is still hundreds of miles away and the wind is already this intense!

Here is a live webcam from the 51st floor of the NY Times building in Manhattan.  The camera takes a picture and updates every 60 seconds so you will be able to see the storm as it hits the city!

Now I promise this is my last Sandy rant....but here's a picture of some flooding already happening near my cousins house...

Now on to class news!  Tomorrow there is a quiz on the old and new stone age material.  You should study from your t-chart that is in your notebook and your old vs new stone age worksheet.  Make sure to focus on their differences and the vocabulary from the section.  Below are some flashcards from quizlet that you can use to help you review.

Oct 22, 2012 Guidance Presentation

Today in Social Studies we had a presentation from Guidance which built on their previous presentation on bullying.  We will have another presentation from them tomorrow before the break.

No homework, don't forget to wear running clothes tomorrow for the Road Runner Run tomorrow!

Oct 19, 2012 Current Events

Since it is Friday today's class was about Current Events!  We had student presentations and watched CNN Student News.

We had some very interesting student presentations.  One was about the wolf hunt happening in WI which spurred an awesome discussion/debate!  Do you think there should be a wolf hunt or do you think it will send them back to the endangered species list?

Two students did an article about "scary shoes" that were recently designed.  The thought behind the outrageous shoe design was to show that beauty can be unconventional and does not have to follow certain rules or guidelines.  Great message!

We finished up with CNN Student news.  If you scroll all the way to the bottom of the page you will see that there is a class calendar.  This will be updated with major events coming up like current event presentations, quizzes, tests, etc.  Hopefully this will help keep you updated on what's coming up in the class!

Finally, I leave you with this.  As a student in class you have recently heard about my adventures trying to give George his eardrops everyday for an ear infection he has.  The only way I got him to sit still for these pictures (and to come out from under the table since he is terrified of eardrops) was to dangle bacon in front of him....a couple of you have requested footage of how big and nasty his ears are so here you go....

 

Have a great weekend!

Oct 18, 2012 Stone Age WS

Homework: Stone Age Worksheet

We opened up class with yet another run in of mine with random wildlife!  I did see more deer last night but the picture was too dark!  However, when I was leaving school last night I saw a bunch of turkey hanging out by the pool doors!  See below

Strange news today comes from Taylor.  She sent over an article from Pennsylvania where some highway paint crews re-painted the street lines right over the middle of some roadkill!  Poor raccoon!

Today we reviewed the information we had on our t-charts and then tested our knowledge with a worksheet that reviewed the vocabulary and t-chart information.  We will check it in class tomorrow so don't forget to bring it with you!

Tomorrow we will have student current event presentations and CNN student news.

See some of you at parent/teacher conferences tonight!

Oct 17, 2012 Old vs. New Stone Age

Today we continued our research on the Stone Age.  We finished reading about the new stone age and completed our t-chart.  We added several vocabulary words such as specialize, artisan, technology, cultivate, and domesticate.  

We discovered that the major difference between the new and the old stone age was that in the new stone age people began building communities.  Since the Earth warmed up and they learned to farm, they no longer had to be nomads that traveled from place to place in search of food.  They could put down roots (both figuratively and literally...) in one place.

Strange news today came from Mississippi where a circus truck crashed, resulting in elephants running down the highway!  Imagine seeing that on 41....

Tomorrow we will test our knowledge of the old and new stone age with a review activity.    

Oct 16, 2012 Old vs New Stone Age

We continued our research on the old and new stone age.  We are reading an article that gives tons of information on both time periods along with really good vocabulary words.  Students are taking all of this information and separating it into a t-chart with one side holding all of the information about the old stone age, and the other side the new stone age.  We'll finish up with this tomorrow and test our knowledge with a worksheet.

Strange news today came from Kori and was about a rare oarfish that washed up on a beach.  This fish is rare in the sense that it is rarely seen by humans as they live close to ocean floor.  Give their snake like appearance and lack of scales, they have often been the source of loch ness monster sighting tales!  Thanks Kori!

Oct 15, 2012 Stone Ages!

We had a lot of strange news today.....first we checked out my picture of 3 deer that ran in front of my car this weekend!  Luckily I did not hit them, but I did manage to snap a photo!

Then we watched a video of the man who skydived from space this weekend!  It was amazing!  He dove from 24 miles above the Earth.  It took him 2 hours to get up there and under 10 minutes to fall back to Earth.  At one point he was falling at 833 mph!

Finally we discussed an article that came out that showed that the ingredient in perfume that makes the smell "stick to us" is whale puke.  I did NOT know that....

Today we began our stone age unit.  We started by brainstorming about what we thought we knew about the stone age.  Reasons why we thought it was called the Stone Age include....

• Everything they used was made from stone
• They lived in stones houses
• People were dumber than stones
• The main resource at the time was stone
• The only word they knew was stone
• The Earth was mostly made up of stone

And the list goes on....we also brainstormed about what we thought the difference was between the old and new stone age.  We kicked off reading an article about the two with the following videos. Quite amusing...

Tomorrow we will continue reading the article that discusses the differences between the Old Stone Age and the New Stone Age, as well as finish our t-charts in our notebooks.  No homework, have a great night!

Oct 12, 2012 Question of the Week

This weeks question went along with our read aloud in Comm Arts, Touching Spirit Bear.  It was, If you had to be banished somewhere for one year, where would you choose?

Oct 12, 2012 Current Events and Wear Pink!

Happy Friday!  Today was our pink out at school and I must say everyone rocked it!  Check out our display of pinkness below....

Way to rock the pink everyone!

In class today we had current events.  The student articles were awesome!  One covered how scientists are going to try to journey to the center of the Earth using drills, another covered the new Guinness Book of World Record holders, and another a local business supporting Breast Cancer awareness.  There were many others as well.  Good job everyone!  We finished class by watching today's CNN Student News (link on the left).

There is no homework so have a great weekend!!

Oct 11, 2012 Death of the Iceman

Homework: Wear Pink

Today we finished watching the video on Otzi the Iceman.  We learned about the different tools archaeologists and scientists use to decode the secrets of the past.  If you missed any of it or want to watch it again, the video is attached in yesterday's post!

We discussed what we learned from the video and how that would relate to our next unit, the Stone Age!

Tomorrow we will have student current event presentations and watch CNN student news.

DON'T FORGET TO WEAR PINK TOMORROW FOR THE PINK OUT!!!!!

Oct 10, 2012 Death of the Iceman!

Today's class was all about murder and death....WHAT?!

It's true, today's class was more gruesome that most as we discussed the life and death of Otzi the iceman.  Otzi is a man that lived approximately 5,300 years ago.  His EXTREMELY well preserved body was found in the ice along the Italy and Austrian border in a mountain pass in the Alps by two hikers.  Since he died and was frozen he is the most well preserved ancient body ever found.  He skin is so well intact they even his tattoos are visible.  They also found many artifacts with him including clothing and tools.  We discussed how this relates to the archaeology unit we just finished up and how this would transition into discussing our new unit, the Stone Age.

We read an article on Otzi which answered many of the questions you had posted on my blog a few weeks back about Otzi.  We then watched the following video regarding him which we will finish up tomorrow....




This link will also take you to a photo gallery about Otzi from National Geographic

Today's strange news came from Bryan!  There is a waste facility in France that processes waste from m&m's.  Apparently the bees in this area have taken a liking to the sugary substance and are now producing honey in a variety of bright colors!  Unfortunately the honey is not allowed to be sold since it is produced from "waste" so beekeepers in France are not too happy.....but it looks cool!

No homework, have a great night!

Oct 8, 2012 Test Review!

Homework: Study for test tomorrow!!

Tomorrow is the test for the Archaeology unit!  Make sure you study off of the review sheet (completed review sheet on Thursday's post).  Make sure you can recite the answers without looking at your paper!  Also, don't forget to bring your completed review sheet with you to class since you will be turning it in before the test.

Since we watched a presentation from the guidance counselors on Friday we had student current event presentations today.  There were some awesome articles!  Great presentations!  Once article was very reminiscent of the movie The Lorax as there is a business man in China selling "canned air" due to the pollution in the city he lives in.  Crazy!  Good thing we have all this fresh air in Pulaski!

There will be a sub in class tomorrow so please be on your best behavior as always!  Remember to bring something to work on in case you get done with the test early.

Oct 4, 2012 Study Guide!

Today in class we finished up our fossilization filmstrip worksheets.  If you didn't turn it in today it's now late so get it to me ASAP!  The link to a copy of the worksheet is in yesterdays post.

This Tuesday the 9th we will have our first TEST!  Everyone should have written it in their agendas, but I'll put it on our class calendar as well.  So in preparation for the test today we filled out our study guides as a class.  Here is the completed study guide in case you missed something in class or just want an online copy!

We'll review on Monday so don't worry about the test!  Make sure to hang on to your study guides because you will turn them in the day of the test.

Tomorrow we will be watching a presentation in the auditorium from the guidance counselors.  Have a good night!

Oct 3, 2012 Fossilization

We transitioned to talking about the process of something becoming a fossil by discussing what happened to our prehistoric animals after they died.  

We reviewed the definition of a fossil which is the remains of a living thing.  We also talked about the 6 steps to fossilization which are: 

• An animal, plant, or human dies
• Before decay begins it is covered quickly in mud, silt, sand, volcanic ash, or in tar
• Time passes, more dirt and sediment covers the remains and the soft parts disintegrate (skin, organs, etc) until only the hard parts remain (bones, teeth, bark, shell, etc)
• Water filters through the sediment and replaces the organic materials with minerals
• The remains are now petrified or turned to stone
• Someday because of erosion or an excavation an archaeologist may find the fossil and share it with the world

On the filmstrip sheet you needed to write one of the fossilization steps in each box and draw a picture to go with it.  

Our strange news was the grossest one yet!!  It was about a girl in India that had a 4 lb hairball removed from her stomach and intestines!  When she's at school she likes to munch on hair and chalk and eventually it built up in her stomach....gross!  

Have a good night!

Oct 2, 2012 Last Day of Glogster!

Today was our last day of working on Glogster!  If you did not finish your Glogster you need to do so as soon as possible because it is now late!  Tomorrow we will discuss the steps to fossilization and create our own filmstrips.....

No homework have a great night!

Oct 1, 2012 Glogster

Today we continued working on our Glogsters.  In preparation for classes that will be switching this week we took students around the building to see where their new classes would be.  Since we didn't get the whole class period to work on our Glogsters we will finish them up tomorrow.  Tomorrow is the last day we will be working on them!  So if you think you need extra time you might want to work on them tonight!

No official homework, have a great night!

Sept 28, 2012 Question of the Week

This weeks question was....What is your favorite app/video game?  This one got tons of answers!  And now I know what my next game will be....

Sept 28, 2012 Current Events

Since today was a 1/2 day we had shortened class periods so we were just able to get through the student current events presentations which were awesome!

If you would like to check out CNN student news the link is over to the right.

We will spend time finishing up our Glogster ads on Monday but they will be due by the end of the class period on Monday.  So if you have a lot to do on your glog you might want to work on it this weekend....

Have a great weekend!

Sept 27, 2012 More Glogster...

Two big Happy Birthday's go out today....first to Mr. Fullerton!

Nicely done 2nd hour :)

Our next birthday shoutout goes to Google!  Google is 14 today!  Where would we be without you...

Strange news today came from Emily.  It was about an artist who bakes bread, hollows out the inside, and creates electronic devices that can later be eaten!  The creations include alarm clocks, computer mice, radios...imagine waking up, shutting off your alarm clock, and then eating it!  Sign me up for that...

Today in class we continued to work on our prehistoric animal ads.  They are looking amazing!  I am so impressed with every one's creativeness and focus while working on this!  Below is an example of an ad created by Cade.

If you have any questions on the project or have any Glogster issues shoot me a comment or an e-mail!  We will continue to work on this in class, but all final projects are due by the end of class on Monday!  Remember tomorrow is a half day, have a great night!

Sept 26, 2012 Glogster

Today we went over how to use Glogster and the requirements for the prehistoric animal project.  The project instructions can be found here.  On those instructions there is a link to Glogster and a link to instructions on how to use Glogster.

We had some major technical difficulties with the computers so we did not get as far as I hoped we would!  We will continue working on these tomorrow!  Don't forget to bring your animal notes sheet with you to class tomorrow!  Have a good night!

Sept 25, 2012 Project Introduction

Today's strange news was.....the Packer game!!  Really refs!  We also had some legite strange news...it was a video of some dolphins playing volleyball with jellyfish!  Ouch.

We finished taking notes on our prehistoric animals and then we discussed our upcoming project.  Students will need to create an ad for their assigned animal trying to get someone to adopt their prehistoric animal as a pet.  They will be similar to a Humane Society ad!  Certain information will need to be included which can be found on the project instruction sheet.  This sheet was also e-mailed to you, so you can find it in your "Shared with Me" folder on Drive as well.  You will be using Glogster to complete this project and we will model how to use this in class tomorrow.  Here is an instructional sheet as well for Glogster.  The idea behind this project is to get creative!  Think outside of the box!  While still learning real information.

Tomorrow in class we will begin working on this project and will model how to use Glogster.  No homework!  Have a great night!

Sept 24, 2012 Prehistoric Animals!

Homework: Complete animal notes sheet on your assigned prehistoric animal using this Prehistoric Animal Website

Strange news today came from Kori.  It was an inspiring video of a one-legged soccer player scoring a goal.  It was awesome!  Thanks Kori!

Today in class we started discussing prehistoric animals!  We opened by checking out this collection of pictures called Beasts in the Streets!  Just for fun :)  Each student was assigned a prehistoric animal that they will use for an upcoming project which will be discussed in more detail tomorrow.  We went through each animals basic statistics using this prehistoric animal website.  Students were to take down the information presented on the website, on this notes sheet for their animal.

Tomorrow we will discuss the upcoming project in more detail and go over the requirements.

Sept 21, 2012 Question of the Week

This week's question was....If you wrote a song about yourself, what would it be called?

Sept 21, 2012 Current Events

Let me say I was SO impressed with this weeks current events!  The stories were so interesting!  Below is an example of part of Quinn's presentation he created for an article he read about bringing back the Woolly Mammoth!  Scientists in Russia discovered a complete Woolly Mammoth preserved in ice.  They believe the remains may still have have a living DNA cell, so they are hoping to recreate the species.  So Amazing!



Sara also showed us an awesome new invention called the Popinator!  You say "Pop" and it sends a piece of popcorn flying towards your mouth.  Definitely want one of those!

 

We took our vocab quiz today which seemed to go very well for everyone!  A lot of you used the study tools in yesterday's post which was awesome!

We finished up class with CNN Student News.

Monday is Packer apparel day so wear your favorite Packer gear!  Have a good weekend!

Sept 21, 2012 Study and Review!

Homework: Study for vocab quiz tomorrow! 

Ok.  There is a lot I want to include in this post!  We opened our class with news....I don't know that I would call it strange, more informative.  It was about the science of procrastination.  Below is the video:



Here is the link to the article

Definitely a good read/watch for anyone but especially those that are feeling overwhelmed about middle school!

We also did what I would call a very strange!  But totally awesome activity/social experiment today.  We "laugh bombed" some classrooms!  To laugh bomb is to silently walk into another classroom and then to suddenly burst out laughing!  Hysterically laughing!  For as long as you can!  Laughing is so good for us and we need to do it more!  We just wanted to take a couple minutes to do a really positive thing and get everyone feeling amazing!  Try it at home!  Here is a video on the thought behind "Laugh Clubs"




Now we can FINALLY get to Social Studies!  Today in class we reviewed for our vocab quiz tomorrow! The words to know are: History, Prehistory, Archaeologist, Geography, Oral Traditions, Fossil, and Artifact.

We used Quizlet to help us review which is an online tool to create flashcards that you can study off of.  Once created you can play games with the flashcards or complete practice tests to help you study!  Here is a link to our set of vocab words.  Or see them below:


5th hour did not see this set since my smartboard was being tempermental!  But as they reminded me....yes they had to remind me....there are bigger problems in the world than my smartboard being down :) So we improvised and they played a review game where they had to describe the vocab word in their hand without using the actual word to find the other kids in the class that had the same word on their paper.  It ended up being an amazing way to review for a test!  Something that we will definitely use in the future!

Tomorrow we will take our vocab quiz, watch student presentations of current events, and CNN student news!

Now I finally am done writing at you!  For now...

Sept 19, 2012 More Archaeology

We opened up class with strange news sent by Brenden, and it was a tearjerker!  A dog has sat vigil over his owner's grave for six years!  He leaves the site occasionally but is there everyday, for the majority of the day.  The strangest part was that no one knew how the dog found the grave since he had never been to the cemetery.  He just showed up there one day...spooky!  But really does it get any sweeter than that!  Thanks Brenden!

We then checked our vocab sheets to make sure all of the words were completed and added two more to complete our list.  Today we added artifact and fossil.  The difference between these two is that an artifact is man made and a fossil is the remains or imprint of a living thing.  We expanded our knowledge of this with a Bill Nye the Science Guy video.

There will be a vocab quiz on Friday, but we will review tomorrow!  There is no homework so have a great night!

Sept 18, 2012 Archeology & Geography

Homework: Finish vocab sheet

Thanks for all of the wonderful questions about Otzi!  If you have not yet commented with a question, make sure you do so as soon as possible.

Today in class we opened with strange news sent by Madisen.  It was about a man that called 911 because he wanted his tacos!  The drive-through would not serve him since he was walking through on foot, and so he decided that lack of tacos was emergency enough to call 911!  I mean I love a taco as much as the next guy but come on....definitely strange!

We spent time discussing the questions students posted with partners and small groups and then shared the different pictures people drew to help remember the vocabulary words from yesterday.  It was really helpful to hear others ideas for pictures, you guys are so creative!

We finished up reading section 1 today which discussed some of the ways archaeologists discover information about ancient civilizations and how geography helps them with this.  The vocabulary words we learned today were archaeologist, oral traditions, and geography.  So to complete the homework tonight you should have all five vocab words on your sheet, their definitions, and a picture to go along with each.

Here are some examples of completed vocab sheets....

 

September 17, 2012 The Ancient World

Homework: 

• Post a comment to this post with a question that you have about Otzi the frozen iceman.  Just anything you might want to know about or are curious about in regards to him. 
• Finish the pictures on your vocab sheet for the key terms History and Prehistory

Today we finally dove into our textbook!  We did a book tour with students and talked about where they could find everything in their book (index, glossary, gazetteer, etc).  We also talked about how previewing chapters and doing the pre-reading exercises (reading the key terms, looking at pictures, making predictions, etc) would help them understand the material better and practice good reading strategies!

In our book we began reading section 1 of chapter 1, The beginnings of Human Society.  The chapter opened by discussing a frozen iceman that was found in the Alps.  It talked about how scientists used clues to make inferences about his life.  For example, his clothes were finely stitched so they assume his community included people that were skilled in sewing.  It also talked about the weapons that were found with his body.

This section had two key terms that we covered today.  History: The written and other recorded events of people and Prehistory: The time before history (period of time before writing was invented)

Our strange news today came from Kylee, who sent me a link to an article from the Time for Kids website about how scientists believe Jupiter has been saving Earth from asteroids headed toward us!  Since Jupiter's magnetic pull is so strong, asteroids on a path towards Earth end up getting sucked in to the giant planet and hitting there instead.  Thanks Jupiter!

Don't forget to post your comment!

Question of The Week

Every week I put up a new question on one of the whiteboards in my room.  Throughout the week students jot down their thoughts and by Friday the board is packed!  I think it will be a great way to get to know everyone and spark up conversations between students.  This weeks question was

What's your favorite activity to do for fun?

Some answers we got were: Wiffle Ball Party's (love this idea!), Travel (Fancy!), Cross country, football (a lot of these!), Soccer, Chill, hang with friends...the list goes on!  Thanks everyone for filling it out!

  

Sept 14, 2012 Current Events!

First things first....QUIZ!  We took our first quiz today.  Everyone's behavior during the quiz was FANTASTIC!  So thanks everyone for being so awesome!   If you were absent yesterday, I sent you home with the study guide for the weekend and you will take the quiz on Monday.

Once the quiz was done we jumped right into our current events presentation.  They were great!  Everyone was super creative with the presentation styles, we had a prezi, a glogster, a powerpoint with a video (See images below)...it was great!  Just remember, eye contact and volume!  You want to make sure that you are talking to your audience, not the smartboard, and that we can hear you in the back of the room.  Way to go to those brave souls who went first though!  

We finished up with CNN Student News.  Some highlights....sugary drinks larger than 16 oz. were banned in New York City....that stirred up some debate!  A new species of monkey was found and updates in the upcoming election was covered among other things.  The link to today's video can be found under Helpful Links to the right. 

There is no homework, have a great weekend!

Current Events presentations....

   

Sept 13, 2012 Review Time!

We started off class with some strange news sent to me by Jacob.  In honor of the Olympics held in London this summer an artist/engineer built a double decker bus with two enormous red arms coming out the sides.  The arms are wired to do push ups, so the whole bus raises up and down and groans like a person!  It was awesome!  Thanks Jacob!

Today in class we spent time reviewing for tomorrow's quiz!  The quiz will cover labeling the 7 continents and 4 oceans, the equator and prime meridian, and the four hemispheres.  Study your study guides!

We played an awesome review game in class, unfortunately it is a smart board document so I haven't yet figured out a way to get it up on the blog, but feel free to peruse games from yesterdays post to help you review.

We did come up with a few mnemonic devices to help remember the names of the continents....

Never Sew Eating Apple Acorns At Aeropostale
Never Ever Say Anything About Auntie Andrea
Nearly Every Adult Should Add Additional Allowances
Never Stare Eagerly At An Anxious Adder
Never Sing Eating Antique Apples And Artichokes

Here is a link  to the presentation in class that has the continents and oceans labeled, as well as the continent and ocean rap!

Happy Studying!

Sept 12, 2012 Continents, Hemispheres, Oceans, Oh My!

As I told you in class, don't panic....there is a quiz on Friday.  DON'T PANIC!

The quiz on Friday will be on the continents, oceans, and hemispheres.  We went over all of this information in class today, we will review it again tomorrow, and you will complete a study guide, so everyone will do great!  Below are the links from our smartboard lesson today to some geography sites that you can use to review, practice, or just play games on!

Geography Links (World Online)
Web Geography for Kids
Equator and Prime Meridian
Geography Games

A couple of you were still having trouble or forgot to sign up for a Current Event date so make sure you do that tonight if you have not yet!  (Instructions in posts below)

Natalie sent me our strange news today.  It was about a house in Bulgaria that was shaped like a giant rainbow snail!  Because of its shape it is apparently extremely environmentally friendly....go figure!

Everyone was really into the 9/11 memorial video so my cousin also sent me a picture of the tribute lights that they put on every year on September 11th.  Pretty sweet!

We talked in class about coming up with a mnemonic device to help remember all of the different continents using the letters NSEAAA (for North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Australia, Antarctica, and Africa)  2nd hour came up with Never Sing Eating Antique Apples And Artichokes.  Can you think of any good ones??  Comment if you come up with any!

Sept 11, 2012 Latitude Longitude

Homework: 

• Check e-mail, make sure you received the "Shared Current Event Template" and the shared calendar.  Sign up for a current event date on the calendar
• Latitude and Longitude Worksheet

Figuring out where we are in the world continued today with more study into latitude and longitude...

We reviewed the concept of latitude and longitude on the smartboard and watched a video from Brainpop about it.

I modeled to the students how they would go about getting onto their calendars and signing up for a date but if you need a review, the instructions are in the post below!  Helpful hint: It will probably be a good idea to set yourself a reminder in your calendar for the Monday before your Current Events is due.  Example: If your current event is due on Sept. 21st, click on the 17th and create an event that says "Current Event due Friday".  Click Edit Event and set the reminder to e-mail you.  DEFINITELY write it in your agenda as well the date it is due

Our strange news came from Madisen today who e-mailed me a link to an awesome article about a grandmother who was being sued for painting her granddaughters playhouse pink....the homeowners association did not approve of the shade of pink so they are suing!  Definitely strange news...thanks Madisen!

Finally....since today is September 11th, we discussed that a little bit in class.  Here is a short, but still cool, video of the new memorial from my cousin Mike that works in New York City...

  

Sept. 10, 2012 Themes of Geography Continued

Homework: Check your e-mail and make sure you received the shared Current Events Template and Calendar.  Using the calendar sign up for a date for your Current Events Project.

Happy Monday!  Today in class we finished up discussing the Five Themes of Geography.  We talked about Place, Region, Movement, and Human-Environment Interaction and what the difference is between those.  We also talked about the different tools that geographers use and why they are important.

Have you ever been on Google Earth and looked up your address?  Try checking it out!  One of the students in 5th hour said that she had been on Google Earth earlier that week and had "climbed Mount Everest".  Not for real!  But by using the satellite and camera images they provide you can see what it looks like to climb Mount Everest!

Now, the homework tonight was to sign up for a date for your current events project.  There was some confusion on how to do that.  Here's some help....

What you need to do is open up the calendar I shared with you.  It will be called Ms. Blaney Social Studies (the hour you have it).  When the calendar is open look at any Friday.  It should say Current Events.  Click on that event and hit "Edit Event".  Once in the edit screen, add your name to the title of the event.

So when you are done the event should now read "Current Events: Your name".  If someone else has already signed up for that date put a comma after their name and add your name after theirs.  There can only be three people per Friday.  If three people are already signed up for your date you must pick a different date.  We need three people to sign up for this Friday and then every Friday until Nov. 30th.  Nov 30th is the last week you can sign up.  

If you are having problems with this, leave a comment!

Sept 7, 2012 What's up world?

Today's class was all about current events.  We started class by watching today's CNN Student News.  A link to this can always be found on the right hand side of the blog under helpful links.  This is an awesome quick rundown of current events happening around the world that is super kid friendly and engaging.

This was also a great segue into discussing our current events project for class!   Throughout the year students will need to present current event articles for class.  Right now I will have a sign up sheet for the first trimester and will then have them re-sign up when trimester 2 begins.  The template for the current events article write-up can be found here as well as under Helpful Links to the right.  Essentially, you will need to find a current events article present a one paragraph summary of the article and a one paragraph personal reaction.  The presentation method is TOTALLY UP TO YOU!  Be creative and have fun with it!  Think about what you would like to see if you were watching a presentation!

Since I have no shame.....attached are the example videos I created for you of a BAD presentation, and a better presentation.  While the better presentation gives a good summary of the article and is more professional, DEFINITELY feel free to jazz yours up and make it more exciting!

So there is no homework this weekend except to keep your ears to the pavement for interesting news stories!

EXAMPLES OF CURRENT EVENTS PRESENTATIONS

Bad presentation.....


Better presentation.....

Sept 6, 2012 Geography!

Where in the world are we??

Today's class focused on the 5 Themes of Geography, which are Location, Region, Place, Movement, and Human-Environment Interaction.  But before I delve into that good stuff, we opened up with of course an odd news story.  Today's search  came up with an article from USA Today about a man whose teeth had rotted out of his mouth because his orthodontist had left his braces on for 11 YEARS! Longer than some of you guys have been alive!  There was some gagging, but overall it sparked some interesting discussions!

Back to geography.  While this year in social studies we will be covering ancient civilizations we wanted to start out the year with some review of important background knowledge students would need throughout this class.  Today we got through the first theme of geography which is location, or where is it?  Location deals specifically with:

• Cardinal Directions (N, S, E, W)
• Intermediate Directions (NW, NE, SW, SE)
• Latitude: Distance N or S of the equator, measured in degrees.  Think of climbing a ladder, you can only go up or down
•  
• Longitude: Distance E or W of the prime meridian, measured in degrees.
• 

And finally....

• Hemispheres: The equator divides the Earth into the Northern hemisphere and the Southern hemisphere, while the prime meridian divides the Earth into the Western and Eastern hemispheres

We practiced figuring out which hemisphere different countries and oceans were in, and as we found out you can be in more than one hemisphere at a time!

Tomorrow in class we will discuss current events and when you will be presenting them!

Sept 5, 2012 One more intro....

Hear anything strange in the news today?

I opened class today with a couple of strange news stories, which I will likely start doing most days from here on out since it was a hit.  As we discussed in class today, students will be presenting current events articles throughout the year so I decided to present some "current events" articles to begin class...The first article involved a missing woman that joined the search party for herself.  The second story was about a woman that was arrested four times in a 26 hour period for playing her music too loud.  Not a good day for the ladies!  These amusing stories sparked a great discussion about recent news stories students had seen or read about.  

Students then completed a notecard about themselves that I will use throughout the year to call on students, make groups, pick "volunteers", etc.  Finally, since we only had time for a very short icebreaker yesterday we played the game 2 truths and a lie, where students write 3 things about themselves (one being false) and the other kids have to guess which one is the lie.  It was a great way to get to know everyone and the kids practiced working in small groups.

Tomorrow we will begin discussing and learning about the 5 Themes of Geography.

First Day of School!

If you are reading this....it means you have survived the first day of school!  Congratulations!  Today in class we went over what supplies you would need to bring to class everyday and did some fun icebreakers.

What you need to bring to Social Studies class everyday:

• Agenda
• Social Studies Notebook
• Social Studies Folder
• Writing utensil

Some interesting facts I learned about students....

• Two of my students have Russian tortoises' 
• One of my students has a black belt in karate...watch out 5th hour!
• A lot of you went on much cooler vacations than I did this summer!

By the time we went over the supplies and got to know everyone a little it was time to head out.  Hopefully the rest of the year goes as well as the first day went today!  Thanks everyone for being so polite and friendly!

Welcome!

Welcome to 6th grade!  If you are reading this it means I have the privilege of having you as a student during my first year teaching at the middle school.  I promise I will do my best to make this class the best learning experience I can for you.  When it comes to teaching I really strive to get the students as involved in planning their learning experience as I can.  If I can teach in a way that is based on how they want to learn I feel that the students are more engaged and take more ownership for their learning.  I respect their views and opinions and want that to come across when planning units. 

Now some of you may be wondering what the deal is with this blog....

Before the school year began I was determined to set up a class blog for a number of reasons.  Obviously technology is a huge part of our everyday lives.  Blogs are rampant all over the internet and it seems there are hundreds of blogs for almost any topic you can imagine.  It is really important for me to make it easy for students parents/guardians to be able to connect with my classroom.  On this blog throughout the year you will be able to find out what we are doing in class throughout a week, if there is homework/what it is, when tests are coming up, etc.  I will also post links to important forms, worksheets, and project instructions. 

Now a little about myself....

My  name is Ms. Blaney and as I said this is my first year teaching.  I student taught in the Pulaski District this past spring at Hillcrest Elementary in 5th grade, so some of you I have already had as students!  I have a Bachelor's degree from UWGB in Business Administration and received my teaching license from Concordia University through their Masters of Education program.  I am 24 years old and live in Green Bay (Go Pack!).  Now here's the fun stuff.....

I recently got engaged and am getting married next summer!  Whoo hoo!  So I'll only be Ms. Blaney for this year...

I come from a huge family, I have 5 sisters and 3 brothers....

I have a big, smelly, lazy bloodhound named George.  How can you not love that face!

In my spare time when I'm not imparting wisdom to you young minds, I love to read, run, crochet, and sew. 

I promise not all of my posts will be this long!  Now that you know some more about me I cannot wait to get to know all of you and your families throughout this school year!