Sorting rocks by diameter

Okay, so far, we separated a pile of rocks and sand into three equal piles, according to mass. One pile is labeled, "wind." Another, is "Mountain Stream," and the third, "Mass Movement."

Now then, starting with the wind pile. Students separated the pile according to diameter size and placed them in categories that include; boulder, cobble, pebble, gravel, very course sand, and course sand. The pile was weighed, the categories counted, and the sand weighed separately.

One rock was picked, weighed, an outline drawn, and it was painted with fingernail polish.

The pile and painted rock was placed in a plastic jar with a lid. A stopwatch was set for 3-minutes and the jar was shaken vigorously for three minutes. The painted rock is retrieved, weighed and outline drawn.

This process is repeated with mountain stream and mass movement.

Have a great night, folks.

Will be absent on Tuesday

Sorry, folks. I will not be in school on Tuesday. Family emergency. However, my sub will be showing a video in science, starting a packet on metrics in REACH, and starting a packet on learning to use maps, in social studies.

I will be at an area hospital, all day, doing school work on my 'puter, as I wait for a family member to undergo minor surgery. I will be checking my email, as always.

Have a great night, folks.

Edline is Updated

Better check your munchkins' grades in science. This, after hand-holding, fix-its, and downright chasing after the kids.

I handed back the leaf collection project/science notebook. Ask your cherub to see it.

Please do not ask for extra-credit work. Also, please do not ask me to adjust the project or notebook grade. I went over everything in class, gave classtime to do work, made certain students that were absent received work they missed the days they were out, and even conferenced with students over the work.

Final note: I had a blast at the Bloomsburg Fair with my son and his family.

Have a great night, folks.

Bar graphs

Wow, what a neat class. We learned the concepts of making and interpreting data tables and bar graphs. Let's see how the cherubs learned, today, There tables and graphs are due on Friday.

Have a great night, folks.

My current anchor is interpreting data

Tomorrow, we take those leaf projects and determine the most common trees in Loyalsock Twp. by surveying each class and tallying the top seven common trees, or something like that. We will then create a data table to show that survey and create a bar graph. All this ties into my current anchor of interpreting data. I was surprised to find that Mrs. Antonacci is currently working with data tables in her math classes. Cool.

Have a great night, folks.

Some Halp Wit 'Tyar Tree ID

http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/FORESTRY/commontr/commontrees.pdf

First test tomorrow

Well, the first science test of the year is tomorrow. Today, I handed out and reviewed a study guide to prepare the cherubs for a 10-question, multiple-choice test on chapter 1 - soils.

I have thumbnail photos of each kiddo that I had laminated. Tomorrow, before the test, they will cut-out their photo and adhere it into their leaf project.

On Monday, the munchkins will need their completed leaf collection project. They will receive a 24-point project grade for the mounted leaves, and a 5-point test grade for their folder containing all the leaf project handouts. Parents, you will need to sign a paper verifying you checked that folder and all the items listed are included in the folder.

Also, on Monday, we begin our first experiment on soil.

Has this week really been as long as it feels?

Have a great night, folks.

When is the leaf project due?

look at my blog, look at my homework page, look at my daily agenda entries, look at the posters on the wall in my classroom, passed out the rubrics with the due date, passed out a page detailing what is required on that due date, along with a parent signature, and, of coursed, listen to the daily oral reminders by Mr. Z. I really should make an effort to communicate to these children. OKAY -- the leaf collection material are all due on Monday, Sept. 28, at the start of class.

Have a great night, folks.

In the 'puter lab

we introduced the leaf id key, today, in the computer lab. kiddoes are invited to work at home on the internet. however, we will be in the lab on Tuesday, and Wednesday.

The big news is the leaf collection project is due on Monday, Sept. 28.

Chapter 1 test on soils is this friday.

have a great night, folks. the shift key on my laptop is sticking and i am having difficulty with capital letters.

This Week's Game Plan

Okay, here it is:

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, we are in the computer lab with our leaves and data tables. Using the link on my website (http://www.oplin.org/tree/) we will find the common and scientific names of our leaves to complete the leaf booklet.

That pesky leaf booklet is due Monday, September 28, at the start of class. One letter grade penalty for each day late.

Also, we are completing Chapter 1 - soils and I plan to have a review on Thursday and the start of class on Friday, before handing out a 10-question multiple-choice quiz on Friday.

Starting on Monday, September 28, we begin an experiment with sand. Actually, there are a couple of sand experiments, before we move on to Chapter 2 - landforms.

Whew! Welcome to middle school. The paper chase - begins!!!

Have a great rest of the weekend, folks.

'my Bad

It's been a couple of days since my last blog. Sorry. It's just been so hectic, this week.

Well, open house is over. It was nice to meet or remeet some of the parents, last night. I, of course, was in rare form as I bounced around the classroom. The show was free, the information I relayed was important and true. Please, please, please, please peruse your child's agenda and binder, often, just don't take anything scholastic out of the binder.

Leaf press is due, tomorrow. We will mount the leaves and complete the available data before we hit the computer lab, next week, and research the identity of our leaves.

Have a great night, folks.

Sorry for the late blog

Had to drive to state college to pick up my son from the airport. He is home on leave as he transfers from Lackland AFB, San Antonio, to Warren AFB, Cheyenne.

Anyway, we introduced soil to the munchkins, today. They learned the definition of lithosphere, geo, regolith; the suffixes, logy, and, graphy, and the difference 'twix soil and dirt.

What's the difference? Dirt is simply, regolith, is nothing more than weathered and powdered loose rock, and soil is dirt with minerals and live and dead organisms.

The homework handout covers that material.

4-sight Testing
Tomorrow, we do reading 4-sight during 3rd and 4th periods. Section 61 - my normal 4th period class will meet after lunch. Oh, yeah, all sixth graders eat lunch from 11:10 to 11:40 a.m. Several of the sixth grade teachers will be in the cafeteria to teach our kiddoes proper cafeteria ediquette. It seems a handful of them are using the cafeteria as a track and many, many more seem to think normal conversation volume is to shout.

Have a great night, folks

No Fungus, Among Us

How to demonstrate taxonomy - the action of organization through sorting and elimination. Okay, we sit in a circle toss our shoes into the middle of the circle and through direction sort and eliminate shoes and sneakers until we come down to just one or two possible choices that fit our requirements. Thank goodness, sneaker and shoe-wearers had socks. And, the sandals and flip-flop wearers were made aware of the bacterial dangers associated with walking around in flip-flops.

Have a great night, folks.

Impressive Press

WoW! The munchkins took well to making their leaf press, today. I brought in a few newspapers for those children that forgot, but, for the most part, they did well. Now, parents, ensure your kiddo finishes the press and places the press with leaves on a shelf or counter with a book or rock atop it for the next 7 to 10 days.

In social studies we are making posters of the Freedoms of Expression. The only problem is the posters have no words, other than the student's name. Hee hee, what a great lesson on interpretation.

Have a great night, folks.

WoW! No Questions!!!

I kept a laptop with me all weekend, thinking some of my new cherubs will have some difficulties in collecting their leaves for the current project. As of right now, I've only had one email from a young lady with a very fixable problem.

So, as I prepare for my last night of summer and a cookout at a location with absolutely no cellphone reception, the laptop stays home. Afterall, I just can't imagine any of my students waiting until the last minute to complete their science assignment.

Students should have their leaves and an old newspaper for tomorrow's class. We will cut the newspaper into multiple sheets to create a leaf press. In between several sheets of newspaper, munchkins will place a leaf. Upon completion, students will have a leaf press to take home and place on a shelf or counter with a brick, or heavy book, atop. They will leave the press there for about 10 days before bringing the press back to school.

Have a great (end-of-the-summer) night, folks.

Time to leave

LOL!!! Munchkins, get those leave collected and those data tables completed for next week. No rocket science, here. Collect a leaf and note the items for each leaf and tree before moving onto the next tree.

Enjoy the weekend. See you on Tuesday.

Should I Post My Units?

Currently, we are creating a leaf collection. To do so, we need to learn a little background and then proceed to collect leaves, according to directions. Well, here I have kiddoes that went out and gathered leaves and placed them in ziplock baggies or something as such.

Where in the agenda do these kids have written to collect leaves? Everything in due time, folks. You would not have your kid cross a street without looking both ways, first, would you?

Therefore, I went over the field packet the munchkins will use this weekend, and, tomorrow, I will take them outside the practice how to use that packet in this assignment.

Think of my class as a jigsaw puzzle. Perusing the entire unit is like looking at the completed puzzle illustrated on the box cover. The actual puzzle needs to be assembled.

Have a great night, folks.

I am so tired, but, delighted with my new sixth graders

What a pleasure, it was, to work with my newbies, today. I actually got through with two lesson plans with better retention. We got to joke around and play. I am so tired. I'm gettin' old, but, boy its a good tired. I adore this class.

Although they have a homework assignment due on Friday, most of them finished it with me, in class. It's in their binder, check it out.

Have a great night, folks.

WE HAVE TO DO THIS AGAIN! TOMORROW?!?!

They were nervous, the incoming sixth grade, some, even terrified. Some were told Mr. Z is nice, others that he is an ogre. Some of the cherubs were fearful of being the little fish in the big pond. And, all along, those teachers heaped information after information on these children that would make any adult grimace in complete confusion.

We gave them a schedule that was short of being a highly-secret code, then, we gave them lockers and combinations, then, we put them in groups and asked them to go to lunch at this time or at that time. Then, we placed them strange related arts rotations and gave them a tour of the building. INFORMATION OVERLOAD!!!

What a sweet group of kids. Way too much information to absorb in a short time span. It will be okay. You will quickly get into the swing of things.

Have a great night, folks.

Mex As A Celebrity

We took the daughter to State College airport as she left again for school in Texas -- she is now a junior. Anyway, the wife picked up a copy of "Town and Gown" to see a photo of our former superintendent, Dr. Richard Mextorf. The article was about his history in education as he takes the reins as superintendent of State College public schools. Needless to say, we snatched a handful of copies of the magazine and I dropped off a few at the district office, Schick elementary and the middle school.

Our New Principal
Although I have yet to meet Mr. Gaetano, our new middle school principal, a few parents in the district stopped me recently to say they think he is a real charmer. That's great that parents like him. It is tough to move into a new neighborhood and make such a great impression. I think I'm gonna like this fella. I hope you all welcome him to our district.

More New Faces
Well, our boys' and girls' gym teachers have moved to the high school, and the newbies have been assigned to the middle school. I will meet them, nxt Wednesday. Apparently, they subbed or student taught in our schools. Also, I am eager to see who gets the learning support teaching job for sixth grade. Mrs. Pulizzi's classroom is now the new learning support room, and Mrs. P. has moved into the old learning support classroom -- right next to me. Poor woman does not like loud music and in the mornings, I crank the tunes until the windows rattle.

Mr. Johnson has moved into the old middle school computer lab and is now the 7th grade reading teacher, while Mrs. Krout, came down from the high school to each 7th grade language arts. She is a nice lady and the kids will be very pleased with her.

I Was Correct!!!
For a couple of years, I've been harping about not permitting flip-flops in school. My reason is sanitary. Click on this link for a neat article about the footwear. http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/32453516?GT1=43001

Have a great night, folks.