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....