Feeling Better
After feeling like last week would never end, this week was more of a breath of fresh air (the storm did clear a bit of a path). I was able to prioritize a few things and check items off my to-do list (mainly grading), which is luckily getting shorter. Things also quieted down at home a bit, so that really helped, too! So, by the end of this weekend I am predicting to be fully caught up with grading and to have the next couple of weeks' plans sketched out.
It's been a big geology week in 7th and 8th grade! The 7th graders started the week with a quiz...I thought for sure that there would be groans about having it on Monday morning, but I think they were probably actually happy that I had pushed it off from Friday so that we could get a little more review in on Friday. Overall, the class did very well on the quiz--there were only a few students who received a strong recommendation from me to make corrections. For the rest of the week, the students have been working on a research and presentation project on a National Park of their choosing. Since we had been learning about how weathering and erosion have changed the earth's surface, the students are researching how the National Parks have been sculpted. They will take what they learn from their research and present it with a Google Slideshow or by creating a park brochure.
The 8th grade students have been spending their week working on rock projects from a menu of choices. There are students making information cubes, writing acrostic poems, and creating rock-themed games for their classmates to play. They are making photo collages of household items made from rocks and minerals, designing crossword puzzles, and developing game shows. We also have a skit that is going to be performed, as well as a rock rap. Some students have been writing recipe cards for various metamorphic rocks, while others are creating rock trading cards. It's been a very creative week, and the students have been working hard. I'm very proud of them! Next week we will start off with an activity day (or two), where the students will share their creations in small groups.
Mindfulness thought for the week: It doesn't cost a thing to be nice to people. --Don Meyer
I had a feeling that at least one of my students (and I was right about who it would be) would say, "But it doesn't cost anything to be mean to people, either." So we took this opportunity to talk about the costs of being mean to others, and the students came up with a pretty good list.
It's been a big geology week in 7th and 8th grade! The 7th graders started the week with a quiz...I thought for sure that there would be groans about having it on Monday morning, but I think they were probably actually happy that I had pushed it off from Friday so that we could get a little more review in on Friday. Overall, the class did very well on the quiz--there were only a few students who received a strong recommendation from me to make corrections. For the rest of the week, the students have been working on a research and presentation project on a National Park of their choosing. Since we had been learning about how weathering and erosion have changed the earth's surface, the students are researching how the National Parks have been sculpted. They will take what they learn from their research and present it with a Google Slideshow or by creating a park brochure.
The 8th grade students have been spending their week working on rock projects from a menu of choices. There are students making information cubes, writing acrostic poems, and creating rock-themed games for their classmates to play. They are making photo collages of household items made from rocks and minerals, designing crossword puzzles, and developing game shows. We also have a skit that is going to be performed, as well as a rock rap. Some students have been writing recipe cards for various metamorphic rocks, while others are creating rock trading cards. It's been a very creative week, and the students have been working hard. I'm very proud of them! Next week we will start off with an activity day (or two), where the students will share their creations in small groups.
Mindfulness thought for the week: It doesn't cost a thing to be nice to people. --Don Meyer
I had a feeling that at least one of my students (and I was right about who it would be) would say, "But it doesn't cost anything to be mean to people, either." So we took this opportunity to talk about the costs of being mean to others, and the students came up with a pretty good list.
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