A Virginia Colonist' Despair/Colonial House

Loving and kind father and mother:

My most humble duty remembered to you, hoping in God of your good health. This is to let you understand that I, your child, am in a most heavy case because of the nature of the country, which causes much sickness. When we are sick there is nothing to comfort us. Since I came out of the ship, I never ate anything but peas and loblollie (that is, water gruel). As for deer or venison, I never saw any since I came into this land. There is indeed some fowl. But we are not allowed to go and get it. We must work hard both early and late for a mess of water gruel and a mouthful of bread and beef.

We live in fear of the enemy every hour; we are but 32 to fight against 3,000 if they should come. And the nearest help that we have is 10 miles from us. When the rogues overcame this place the last time they slew 80 persons.

I have nothing to comfort me. I have nothing at all—no, not a shirt to my back but two rags, nor no clothes but one poor suit, nor but one pair of shoes, one pair of stockings, and one cap. My cloak was stolen by one of my own fellows. And to his dying hour, he would not tell me what he did with it. Some of my fellows saw him take butter and beef out of a ship, which my cloak, I doubt not, paid for.

I am not a quarter as strong as I was in England, and all is for want of victuals. I tell you that I have eaten more in one day in your home than I have here in a week. You have given more than my day's allowance to a beggar at the door.

If you love me you will redeem me suddenly, for which I do entreat and beg, And if you cannot get the merchants to redeem me for some little money, then for God's sake get a gathering or ask some good folks to lay out some little sum of money in meal and cheese and butter and beef. The answer of this letter will be life or death to me.

Your loving son,
Richard Frethorne
Virginia
3rd April, 1623

http://www.sitesalive.com/hl/tg/private/hltgReasons.htm

After watching some of the Colonial House episodes, how does the letter above compare to what you saw on the video? Was the colony in the video realistic?

Imagine you have been selected to participate in Colonial House 2. Write a letter home talking about your living conditions. Are you a freeman, indentured servant, or even the Governor? What kinds of things do you do day by day? Are you having trouble keeping the rules? Is the life you are experiencing similar to the writer of the letter?

Use Paint to draw a picture of your colony and include it in your post. Make sure you save your picture as a JPeg so it will upload properly. Here is a link to a virtual tour of Jamestown.

Internet Safety: Learn How to Stay Safe Online

Today we are going to be looking at internet sites dealing with safety.

Site one is Netsmartz.org. We will be looking at the teen section today. As we watch the videos make sure to note the lessons learned through them.

Site two is Disney's Surfwell Island. You will play a few trivia style games. Be careful with your answers and error on the side of caution if you want to do well. Are there any answers you disagree with? Write them down so you can talk about them on your blog post.

Site three is Welcome to the Web. Find out what each letter in the acronym SMART stands for. Definitely a good thing to write about on your post!

Assignment

You will be writing a blog post about what you learn in this assignment. Here are some questions to answer:

• Which site did you like best? Explain
• Which site had the best information? Explain
• Would you recommend any/all of these sites? Why or why not?
• What did you learn? How will that help you be more safe online?
• What does the acronym SMART stand for?
• Did you disagree with any of the advice? Explain why you disagreed.

Play only after have all your posts caught up.

 Netsmartz Cyberbully Zombies This is a Plants vs. Zombies clone where you keep zombies from getting in your house and posting inappropriate messages on your computer. 

It's Not About Me! (Actually This Time It Is!)

The next assignment for your new blog is to create an "About Me" post. Read this great About Me page done by Karl Fisch before you begin. Below is the information he is asking his students and I would like you to answer them to:

Please include information about:

• you and your family (First names only please)
• things you like to do (sports, hobbies, volunteer work, etc.)
• things that are important to you
• you as a student, and particularly as a math student
• What are your strengths as a student?
• What are some challenges for you at school?
• What’s your experience in math class been like?
• How can I help you be successful in my class?
• anything else you’d like to share that doesn’t quite fit into the categories above, but that you think would help me get to know you.

*stolen by permission from Fisch Algebra 2010-11

Student Learning Manifesto

A manifesto is a written statement declaring publicly the intentions, motives,
or views of its issuer. I wrote my teaching manifesto last summer. In it I describe actions I will take to make my classroom a better learning environment and myself a better educator.

Now I want you to write a student learning manifesto. I want you to seriously consider three or four positive actions you can take to be a better student. You can model your manifesto after mine if you like or you can come up with your own format as long as it fits the definition.

Here is Kiley talking about her manifesto:

Lookin' For Lyrics (in All the Right Places!)

The eighth grade reading class is searching for lyrics to songs.The assignment is to find a song that tells a story. Here is the link to the only lyrics site you will be able to use for this assignment. If the song you are looking for is not here, see me and I will find it for you. Do not do a Google search! 

A-Z Lyrics Universe

Because much of the music played on the radio is not appropriate for school, choose wisely. If you think the song you want to look for is inappropriate for school, do not search for it. If you search for songs that are inappropriate, the school handbook will be followed and you will

If you cannot think of an appropriate song to search for, here is a great Wikipedia page on Folk Songs. You should be able to find an appropriate song here without any trouble.

Back to School!

In the vernacular of the times: It is time to do work! The first two days of school happen to be the last two days of the week and that makes it difficult to come up with a really engaging project, especially when the students can't get online until they turn in their technology agreement form signed by their parent/guardian. With less than half of a year for my students to learn I really don't want to wast any time.

After the first few minutes where we discuss class rules I am going to challenge my students to do something they rarely have to do on the first day, think critically. You may notice that these questions really are not about technology, instead they are about learning.

1) What do you want to learn in this class?
2) Why are you going to school?
3) How can this class help you be a better student?
4) What can you do to be a better student?

Here is one of my classes answering these questions. Tomorrow we will continue to discuss these questions and answers.

Crossing a River with a Canoe can be a Real Math Problem!

Room 8 in Melville, New Zealand came up with an interesting math problem and asked people in their learning community to help find the answer. Here is a link to the post. Although my school is out on summer break, I decided I would ask my daughter Aidan to find a solution.

Canoe Problem
- Watch more Videos at Vodpod.

Here is her answer. Here is a post from Room 8 showing how others have answered the problem.

I Am Getting a Smart Phone

from Wikipedia.com

I will be buying my first smart phone on Thursday.  I will be getting the Droid X from Verizon. I chose this phone because I don't have 3G coverage with AT&T so the iPhone makes no sense and because the X has a very large screen. (I must be spoiled with my iPad;)

I plan on using the smart phone in my classroom and school and will soon be writing a post about how I will be using it. Good things are in store for this year!

What I Learned this Year

It is time to do a little reflection on the past year.

There is a desire in my community for more interaction with my school. I had a lot of success with visitors coming to watch streaming video on my blog. I had over 40 viewers watching this basketball game. There were almost 100 visitors watching our district spelling bee. Obviously I need to make streaming of our school events a priority.

Comments4Kids has started to take off. Leaving a comment is something that can really help encourage students to write and to write better. I hope to expand this into more classrooms next year.

Be careful what you wish for because you just might get it. I really wanted to move to the position I am in now. It was a way to do "my tech thing" with a larger group of students. Unfortunately the position wasn't all I bargained for. My students needed to learn the skill of typing, but it is a very personal learning process. As a teacher it tends to be pretty unfulfilling work. Fortunately we are moving typing down to a lower grade level so that I will only have to teach one semester of it next year.

2010 Noel School Talent Show

Please Vote for Makenzie's Doodle 4 Google

Makenzie Melton, a 9 year old student from El Dorado Springs, Missouri is a finalist in the Doodle 4 Google contest. She wrote:

I chose this doodle because the rainforest is in danger
and it is not fair to the plants and animals. I love
everything except spiders and snakes, but
I would still save them.

Please go to the Doodle 4 Google Regional Finalist page and vote for REGION 6.

A Visit With Sean Hunt

My digital media class had a visit from a local former student, Sean Hunt. Sean just graduated from Webster University with a degree in film production. Here is a link to his website.

Sean deconstructed a few scenes from his last feature length film Platinum and answered questions from the students. He also met up with my former and future student Parker (above left) who makes movies to put on Youtube.

Before he met with my class I grilled him for an hour about making movies and he politely answered all my questions. I truly find the process of movie making fascinating and I understand that I would in no way be able to make them. We talked about telling stories, what his future plans are, and which directors inspire him (Spielberg and Lucas).

Sean is working on a new movie called Swing Set. He plans on having it ready for a Christmas vacation viewing. It was a real pleasure talking to Sean.

My Top Ten Blogs

The class blog has been given this blogging award by three different teachers. The first is Mr. Webb from http://melvilleroom8.blogspot.com/ As any reader of my blog knows I have the utmost respect for Mr. Webb and his use of blogging in the classroom. His emphasis on student created video is inspiring and he is a valuable member of my personal learning network.

The second class blog that gave us the award is Super 7 Scoopers @ St. Clair. Ms. Bee's has become part of my extended personal learning network. Although she has had ties to several class blogs that I follow in New Zealand, I know her best from my class leaving Comments4Kids. The Scoopers blog is another amazing blog from New Zealand.

The third class blog that gave us the award is Bailey Road Team 17. Mr. Wood has become a real Comments4Kids warrior. When I see a link to comment on more often than not Mr. Wood has already left a great comment on it. To top it all off, he also has an amazing class blog! If you are not familiar with NZ's schools quality of blogging, I suggest you visit these three great examples.

For those receiving the award, here are a few rules to follow:

1. Copy and display the picture of the award.
2. Link back to the blog that nominated you.
3. Nominate 10 new blogs.
4. Inform the people who's blog you nominated so they can continue to spread the word about the other great blogs out there.

As usual I am going to do things a little differently. The blogs I choose are important to me for a variety of reasons. They may not be the 10 best blogs of all time, but they all have qualities that I appreciate. Please enjoy!

Daraja Academy-Official Blog I admit that I am not brave enough to quit my job and move to Africa to build a school. That is why this blog is so important to me. While I complain about computers not working, the staff at Daraja is finding solutions to their school's lack of drinking water.

At the Fireplace Mrs. Tarasevich's blog really interests me. She teaches in Russia and fills her blog with great information about her school. I really enjoy learning about education in other countries and her blog is a joy to read!

East Dragon Den Mr. Moore and Ms. Vander Velde have created a wonderful learning environment on this blog. Their use of back channeling for their students is cutting edge. While I experimented with the bacK channel last year, these two perfected it


Fairview Physical Education Mr. Beringer probably doesn't even know who I am, but I am a big fan of his blog. I rarely find physical education blogs but if I were to give only one blog as an example it would be this one. Mr. Beringer fills it with explanations of what his students are doing and great pictures of them doing it. A real find!

Flattening the World Mrs. Pohanka's blog focuses on geography, but she accomplishes so much more with her students. Not satisfied with teaching facts about the countries her students study, she gets them to think about the problems and issues those countries face. This is how technology can truly transform a curriculum.

Little Voices, Little Scholars Mrs. She works with young children's literacy. She uses audio, video, and web tools to help her students learn how to read and write. If you teach very young children you can learn a lot about literacy from Mrs. She and her class.

Mr. Lamshed's Class Mr. Lamshed personifies making a class a family. He teaches an all boys class and has created an amazing atmosphere. Through Mr. Lamshed's hard work his students get opportunities that otherwise they would never experience. If I was making an all star teaching squad, Mr. Lamshed would definitely be on the team.

Mr. McClung's World Mr. McClung is a former colleague of mine. Two years ago he showed up for his first year of teaching and promptly jumped into class blogging. His progress has astounded me. He makes me feel like a Sith Lord uneasily waiting to be challenged by his brilliant apprentice. Mr. McClung does two things with his blog that are amazing. First he posts almost daily (which can be unbelievabley hard) excellent posts on what his students are learning. Second he reflects weekly about what he has learned. This is a wonderful example which I plan to emulate next year with my students.

My last two blogs are not class blogs. (I told you I do things differently!) These two blogs are by young ladies that attend the Shanghai American School in China. Tiffany and Rachel are probably the ones most responsible for my drive for commenting on blogs. They noticed my blog a few years ago when I was not getting any comments (especially from oversees.) Not only did we trade comments, but we often communicated through Google chat (even during school when they were supposed to be working :). The interactions I had with them showed me that connections can be made through blogging. Unfortunately because Blogger is blocked by China they no longer can leave comments on my blog. This too is a bitter lesson I have had to learn.

Tiffany
Life Long Learner Rachel's blog.

Comments4Kids: The Kidblog.org Editions

More and more classrooms are using Kidblog.org. Not only has it been adopted quickly, but because it aggregates students posts into one page it makes it very easy to see the posts and comment on them. Today we are going to comment on four different class blogs.

Rules for Comments4Kids

1) Relevant
2) Positive
3) Comment only when you have something to say.

BRS Room 17 Mr. Wood has been a great supporter of Comments4Kids and I often see him leaving comments on many class and student blogs. It is time to repay the favor.

CLG Enrichment is a blog created by Mrs. Guest. Her students have written about the movie Avatar. Read her post here and then leave a comment on a student blog using the guidelines from Mrs. Guest's post.

Grade 6 Computers is a class blog from Japan. The class teacher is Ms. President. This is a first since I haven't found a class blog in Japan before!

Mrs. Kolbert's Class is a blog we have visited before. You may want to revisit a particular student's post or you may want to choose a new student to write a comment on.

Mrs. Dyke's Class is a blog we visited last week. The students are writing first person narratives about World War II. This is the first time I have done back to back weeks with one class blog. Make your comments good!

Live Streaming Today: District Spelling Bee

Live streaming video by Ustream

It\'s What I Do!

Comments4Kids Thursday: It's What We Do

Today we are going to comment on Mrs. Dykes' Class blog. Her students are writing journal entries pretending to be living during World War II. I hope you remember studying that war. I want you to pick three posts to leave comments on. Make sure you follow the rules:

1) Relevant
2) Positive
3) Comment only when you have something to say.

If you need a quick "refresher" on the war here are two links you can look at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II
http://www.worldwar-2.net/

Comments4Kids Friday: Because Any Day is a Good Day to Comment!

#Comments4Kids is a marathon, not a sprint!

First we will stop at Mr. Wood's class blog. Mr. Wood teaches in Auckland, New Zealand. His students wrote about their holiday (vacation). Pick two posts to comment on.
BRS Room 17

Next we will go to Miss Dunsiger's class blog. Miss Dunsiger teaches first grade students. They have some posts about Earth Day, Flat Stanley, and a party. Leave them two good comments too.
Miss Dunsiger's Class Blog

I now have a special treat for you. A former teacher of yours has fulfilled a commitment to this years class. I don't think you need any guidance for this comment.
Mr. McClung's World

Creating a Visual Sequence of Events

We are going to work on creating a visual sequence of events from a book we will read in class. Your responsibility is to identify one event in each chapter of the book we are reading to capture in some visual format. Here are some ideas that you may want to use:

1. Use Paint to draw your visuals.
2. Draw you pictures on paper. Use bold colors so when we digitize the picture we can see the work.
3. Use cut paper. As you know, I am a huge fan of cut construction paper art.
4. Use charcoal or pastels.
5. Create 3D models using objects or clay.

Mrs. Smith has agreed to let us use her art supplies for those of you that need them. Make sure to thank her when you get them.

As I read the story to you, take notes about a specific scene you would like to capture from each chapter. There are fifteen chapters so you will have to create fifteen visuals.

After you have created visuals from all fifteen chapters we will create a Voicethread where you will explain what is happening in each picture. On the first frame of the Voicethread you will need to reflect on what you have created. Include what you did well and what needed improvement.

The book I have chosen to read to you is The River Between Us by Richard Peck. I chose this book because of the excellent writing and the subject matter. The story takes place not to far from here and tells a story about an important battle in the American Civil War that you probably never heard of.

The purpose of this assignment is for you to create a visual sequence of events. I will use these as models for next years 4-8 grade classes. Let's make these excellent models for next year's students!

Directions:

1. Listen and take notes as story is read.

2. Create visual representations for each chapter.

3. Take picture of the representations if necessary.

4. Create Voicethread and describe each image.

5. Reflect on what you have learned on the first image of the Voicethread.

Secret Builders

 Secret Builders brings something new, the opportunity to converse with other people outside of the classroom. Use common sense and the online safety practices we have talked about in class. I am no saying you cannot have a conversation, just remember that you are looking at an avatar and not the person. You really don't know anything about them, so don't let them know anything about you!

Comments4Kids Thursday: We Are Back!

Rules for Comments4kids

1) Be positive
2) Be relevant
3) Don't comment if you don't have anything to say.

3rd and 4th Hours

These are students from a 5th/6th grade class in Dundas Ontario, Canada. Pick a post they have written and leave a comment on it.
Liki's Awesome Blog
Cara's Blog
The Blog of Awesomeness
Myang's Blog
Awesomista Stuff
My Blog
Stuff and Stuff

5th and 6th Hours

This post is from the Room 3 in NZ blog we have on our blog roll. Read Brian's story and leave a comment.
The Worst Storm Ever

This blog is actually from a town close to here, Sparta Missouri. Mr. Bennett just started a class blog for his students. Leave them some nice comments.
Mr. Bennett's Beach Brains

Justin wrote a blog post on coin collecting at the Elementary Learning Blog
Coin Collecting

Julia in Mrs. Kolbert's class wants to know "what you think is the most important place for humans to change our actions in simple ways". She wants two or three sentences.
A Cool Competition

Zoey has written several interesting posts. Pick one to leave a comment on.
Zoeyc1's blog

Veronica has a couple interesting posts about making her own dress. If you are interested leave a comment.
Veronica's Blog

Liam has written an interesting post on human rights titled "Rights are Given, Not Inherited". Since you have studied government this year, read the post and leave an insightful comment.
Liam's Place Blog