Math Problem Solving: Logic Puzzles

This week we are going to be doing some math work. First we will start with logic puzzles from the Puzzle Baron Presents Logic Puzzles site.

100,000 Visits!

The blog officially had its 100,000 visitor yesterday. I would like to thank everyone that has visited and left a comment. When I started this blog almost four years ago I thought it might be a fun thing to use with my class. Since then it has become the most important tool I have ever used. I am amazed at the support I have received through the years from so many great people!

Halloween Games

Here are a couple sites you might enjoying visiting for Halloween. The first site is online pumpkin carving. What kind of face does your pumpkin need? The second site is Zap-A-Ghost. How many ghosts can you click on? The last site is Hidden Spirits. Can you lead a scientific investigation to debunk a haunted hotel?

Online Pumpkin Carving

Zap-a-Ghost

Hidden Spirits

Ben and Jerry's Halloween Fun

Transylmania 2

Here is a Scariest Places on Earth Show you may enjoy watching.

3rd Grade Singing During the Assembly

How to Calculate the Slope of a Line

How To Find the Slope Of a Line on Howcast

Comments4Kids:Commenting Bombing All Week Long!

Since this is a short week, we are going to spend it commenting on blogs. First we are going to look at the Does Commenting Make a Difference? post. Then view Mr. Wood's post on 5 Smart Ways to Get Comments4Kids on Your Blog. Then we are going to pick some posts to comment on here. There are 84 blogs that are wanting comments! let's see how many we can leave a comment on.

I want you to make a link list of the posts you comment on. Put them on a blog post on the 8th grade groups. Hyperlink the list to the actual post.


Does Commenting Make a Difference?
5 Smart Ways to Get Comments4Kids on Your Blog.
Comments4Kids Blogs

Create a Comic Strip: Peace

This month's word is peace.We are going to create a comic strip using the Marvel Create Your Own Comic.You will need to create a strip with the theme of peace. It needs to be no more than two pages. The best one will be printed and distributed to the school!

****Follow these directions to post on the 8th Grade Group****

1) Download the comic. It will be in a pdf.

2) Open the pdf, then copy the image.

3) Open paint and paste the image.

4) Save the image as a jpeg.

5) Upload to the 8th Grade Group as a blog post.

Breast Cancer Awareness Day

Our school had a breast cancer awareness day where students were encouraged to wear pink. There was a fundraiser and our principal, Mr. Nichols, agreed to wear pink if enough money was raised. Do you think we raised enough?

Student Survey for Character Education

Students, you need to take this survey. It should only take three minutes to do.

CLICK HERE

Weather Cycle Animations Using Pivot Stickfigure Animator

We are going to use Pivot Stickfigure Animator to create a video of the water cycle. The software should be installed on your compter. If it is not, see me.

BBC has a video of the water cycle. Watch the video to get an idea about how you will create your water cycle.

Label the water cycle: evaporation, condensation, precipitation, transpiration, and run off

Explorer Reflection

Today I want you to write a blog post reflecting what you have learned from your research and presentation. Below is the required information for you to include in the post.

1. What you learned from creating the PowerPoint.
2. What you learned from creating the essay.
3. What you learned from giving your presentation.

Rebelling To Revolution

Pick two of the events below to include in your journal writing. 

Lord Dunmore's Proclomation
Battle of Bunker (Breeds) Hill
Capture of  Fort Ticonderoga
Knox Expedition
Siege of Boston

Poptropica

"Poptropica is a massively multiplayer online game and virtual world, targeted at children ages 6 to 15, where players can travel, play games, compete in head-to-head competition, and communicate safely with each other. There is a role-playing component as players are encouraged to finish "island missions" and get medallions."
Wikipedia.com

As we are missing a large percentage of our students today and it has been a couple weeks since I have given you a mental health day, enjoy!

Boston, Bloody Boston

We are looking at journaling or diary writing. The first entries need to be about activities that took place in and around Boston. Make sure you understand the difference between a journal and a diary. Here is a very interesting post about the difference. Do we want to create a hand written journal/diary? Think about it and we can discuss it on Monday.

Yesterday we watched and talked about the Boston Massacre where British soldiers fired on British colonists. (Remember we were still a part of Great Britain?) This would make a great first person account especially if it was followed up by accounts of the trial.

Boston Tea Party took place in December of 1773 as a protest to import taxes. You should definitely read about Sam Adams (John Adams cousin) role in the protest. Perhaps a quick sketch using paint would be a good addition to the entry.

The Intolerable Acts were a series of acts that came from Parliment in 1774. The Boston Port Act was one act that came as a direct result of the Boston Tea Party. If you choose to write about this you will probably want to record your reactions to them. It is an easy thing to see negatively, but you may decide to take a "loyalist" approach and try to defend them.

We didn't get to see much of the Battles of Lexington and Concord but we did talk a little about Paul Revere. Perhaps you would like to write about his "midnight ride".

Eric Langhorst alerted me to this animated timeline of Lexington and Concord.

If you are reading the end of this post, please point out to your classmates that this does not have to be finished today. Take the time to read the information. Look at some of the citations at the bottom of the Wikipedia articles and follow them to read what they have to say. Discuss what you are reading with each other. I would prefer you spend the whole class period reading and thinking, not writing.

Lord Dunmore's Proclamation

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Murray,_4th_Earl_of_Dunmore

By His Excellency the Right Honorable JOHN Earl of DUNMORE, His Majesty's Lieutenant and Governor General of the Colony and Dominion of VIRGINIA, and Vice Admiral of the same.

A PROCLAMATION

As I have ever entertained Hopes, that an Accommodation might have taken Place between GREAT-BRITAIN and this Colony, without being compelled by my Duty to this most disagreeable but now absolutely necessary Step, rendered so by a Body of armed Men unlawfully assembled, firing on His MAJESTY'S Tenders, and the formation of an Army, and that Army now on their March to attack his MAJESTY'S Troops and destroy the well disposed subjects of the Colony. To defeat such treasonable Purposes, and that all such Traitors, and their Abettors, may be brought to Justice, and that the Peace, and good Order of this Colony may be again restored, which the ordinary Course of the Civil Law is unable to effect; I have thought fit to issue this my Proclamation, hereby declaring, that until the aforesaid good Purpose can be obtained, I do in Virtue of the Power and Authority to ME given, by His MAJESTY, determine to execute Martial Law, and cause the same to be executed throughout this Colony: and to ****** the Peace and good Order may the sooner be restored, I do require every Person capable of bearing Arms, to resort to His MAJESTY'S STANDARD, or be looked upon as Traitors to His MAJESTY'S Crown and Government, and thereby become liable to the Penalty the Law inflicts upon such Offenses; such as forfeiture of Life, confiscation of Lands, &. &. And I do hereby further declare all indented Servants, Negroes, or others, (appertaining to Rebels,) free that are able and willing to bear Arms, they joining His MAJESTY'S Troops as soon as may be, foe the more speedily reducing this Colony to a proper Sense of their Duty, to His MAJESTY'S Crown and Dignity. I do further order, and require, all His MAJESTY'S Liege Subjects, to retain their Quitrents, or any other Taxes due or that may become due, in their own Custody, till such a Time as Peace may be again restored to this at present most unhappy Country, or demanded of them for their former salutary Purposes, by Officers properly ***** to receive the same.

GIVEN under my Hand on board the Ship WILLIAM by Norfolk, the 7th Day of November in the SIXTEENTH Year of His MAJESTY'S Reign.
DUNMORE

(GOD save the KING.)

We will be revisiting the effect of this document at the 

end of our study of the American Revolution.

Comments4Kids: You Choose the Blog!

Today is Comments4Kids Day! You will get to choose the blog and the post you wish to comment on. I have created a new site for teachers and students to register their blogs. There are blogs from the United States, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, and Brazil!

Assignment:
1) Choose four blogs from the list.
2) Leave a comment on four posts.
3) Write a post on the class group about the four blogs you commented on.

Do not forget the Rules of Commenting!

8th Grade PowerPoint Project

Picture of Captain Cook from Wikipedia.com

Here are the links for your explorers assignment. Read the directions very, very carefully and follow them. The links are also found on the right of the blog below the green bar. Make sure you cite your sources! You will upload it to Google Documents when you are finished.

Instructions for the Explorer Project

Links for the Explorer Project

Comments4Kids: Tuesday is Workday!

Thanks to the new Comments4Kids site we have several new blogs to visit.

Savvy 7 is a class of Yr 5/6 ( 9,10,11 yr old) children in Wellington New Zealand. Mrs. C (not my wife ;) asks for ideas to use with the class blog. Give her a good one!


Baily Road Team 17 is a blog for Team 17, a Year 6 class at Bailey Road School in Mt Wellington, Auckland, New Zealand. This post is on a team winning a Netball championship. Congratulate the team but don't be afraid to ask how to play if you don't already know.


Learning Together is a prep blog (5-6 year olds) in Melbourne Australia. Watch the Smilebox presentation and read what the students decided they could do to help the environment. Leave them a positive comment.


The Clem Eighth grade Language Arts blog where they post stories and poems. Pick one and read it, then comment.

Rules for Comments4Kids

1) Relevant
2) Positive
3) Comment only when you have something to say.
4) Always use good conventions (capitalization, punctuation, etc.)

VozMe

I would like to see you using VozMe.com to help you listen to the posts. Copy the words from the post by highlighting the words, then right click on the words and select copy. Paste the words onto the box on VozMe.com and then click the listen button.

3rd Grade Music: A Special Performance for Me!

My daughter's third grade music class sang a couple songs for me today. Here is a video I took with my Droid X using the Ustream mobile application.

It's a Grand Old Flag

Boo

Creating Postcards from Student Work or Pictures

Here is a quick way to let your students show off their artwork and get in a quick lesson on writing postcards. The picture above is a postcard I made in class from picture a student drew to go along with a media history assignment. I took the pictures and printed them onto card stock and cut them out. Then I had them write a postcard explaining the assignment and had them mailed. Soon the parents will get a surprise in the mail!

You can do the same thing with pictures of the students as well. Why not take a picture of the science experiment they are doing, the activity they are doing in their PE class, or them working on a computer? There is something special about receiving handwritten mail and it is even more special when it is from someone you love!

Please note: If you are using a laser printer you need it to heat up before running card stock in it. I print 25-30 blank pages first before I run the card stock through so it heats up enough that the toner sticks to the paper.