Mr. Black got married!!!

On June 20th, I got married to Rachel Crooks (now Black). She teaches kindergarten at Frankstown Elementary, which is one of Hollidaysburg's elementary schools. Our wedding was awesome and everything turned out well. A few days later we went on our honeymoon to Fort Myers, Florida. If you get a chance to check it out on Google Maps you should. It was a really nice area and we saw a lot of different animals and plants. We also got to eat a lot of really great food. We saw the Wizard of Oz at the Broadway Palm Dinner Theater. If you want to work on your "Googling" skills, you could check out their website to see all the new shows that will be going on there. The next show that was going to be on after Wizard of Oz is High School Musical. I know a bunch of you would probably enjoy that. We also got to go out on an airboat and see alligators. Finally, the last major highlight was when we went on a jet ski tour to see dolphins. Seriously, if you are bored take some time to read up on alligators and dolphins. Maybe you can even look up the difference between gators and crocodiles and post a little summary of what you find. I would love to hear what all of you have been doing so maybe you can comment letting everyone know how your summer is going. It will be over before you know it!!!! Now that things have calmed down a little I will try to make a few more posts. If any of you read this be sure to pass it on to your classmates. I have a feeling Parker will check it out!

School's Out for Summer...

School may be finished for a while, but you don't have to stop learning. Keep up to date with things this summer as I hope to make about 1 post per week. One of the first things I want to update you on is a link to some pictures of the Envirothon, the class trip to Baltimore, and Track & Field Day. Miss Sollenberger took all of these pictures and I uploaded them to the internet so you could all check them out. I have also added the link to the right side of this page. There are over 200 pictures, so check them out!

http://community.webshots.com/user/nbcgrade6

You can keep in touch if need be by emailing me at gblack@nbcsd.org.

End of the year is upon us...

Well, well, well...

We are just about finished with the 07-08 school year and summer is just around the corner. What were some of your favorite things about sixth grade? Best memories? Just comment and tell your story as long as it is appropriate!

Memorial Day...

On the last Monday every May, Americans observe Memorial Day. Take a few minutes to read about this day so you have a better understanding about what it is.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memorial_Day

Also, I'd like anyone who reads this and has a relative who is in or has served in the military to post a little somthing about him or her. Memorial Day is more of an observance for people who are no longer living but there is no reason not to celebrate those that are still with us today as well.


Here are a few of mine:
Grandfather-
Edward Holesa, served the US military in the Korean War

Uncles-
Mike Price, Vietnam veteran (received the Silver Star for his actions in battle)
Jim Pepple, served in Desert Storm

Brothers-
Step-brother, Terry Bush has served in the US Navy for over 15 years and has been overseas
Brother-in-Law, Jason Salas recently completed basic training (Air Force) in San Antonio


Another option for commenting is to post about which branch of the military you would want to be a part of and tell why.

Have a great weekend and enjoy the weather, but take some time to remember why we are off school on this day.

Create-a-Country Projects...

It has been a few weeks since my last post, but I figured now would be a good time to start gathering feedback from you on this project. I was hoping you would comment with your thoughts and feelings regarding your favorite parts of this activity as well as listing things you would like to see changed. Remember that you will be presenting on Monday! I'm really excited to see all the interesting things you have come up with!

Have a great weekend... Hopefully, you can find a way to enjoy all this rain we are getting :)

What do you want to know about Japan?

Wednesday and Thursday of this week, you will be searching the internet to find out all sorts of interesting information about Japan. It is your chance to learn about whatever interests you the most. Maybe you want to know about Japanese food, cars, art, music, sports, history, and on and on. Whatever it is you want to know about you can research today. I want you to look for at least 3 facts, summarize them on an index card (no copy and paste allowed!), and then post it as a comment to the blog.

Here are some sites to get you started:
http://web-japan.org/kidsweb/ (look under LEARN on the left side of the page)
http://www.uni.edu/becker/japanese.html
http://www.kidport.com/RefLib/WorldGeography/Japan/Japan.htm
Finally- http://www.yesnet.yk.ca/schools/wes/webquests_themes/japan_theme/japan_theme.html
(There are links on the right you may want to look at as well.)

If those aren't what you are looking for you can search on Google. Just be sure you are specific in your search and that everything you are looking up is appropriate. I did a search for "Japan for kids" and found all sorts of great stuff, so I know that search will work.

Have fun in your search....

Adverbs...

We've been learning about ADVERBS in my English class, so I decided now would be a good time to add the Schoolhouse Rock version of adverbs... ENJOY!

Bridge to Terabithia...

This week after PSSA's we watched the movie Bridge to Terabithia. One movie was made in 1990 and the other was created in 2007 by Walt Disney. The newer movie was a big hit and most of you really seemed to enjoy it.

Time to BLOG! I want to see you create an alternate ending to the movie that would change the story. It will take some writing and some extra time, but this could be pretty neat. Start creating your new ending at the point where Jess gets invited to go to the art museum with his teacher. I am excited to see the new endings you come up with. Hopefully we get a couple so we can discuss our favorites. Let's see some comments!!!!

In search of facts about Siberian Tigers..

Comment with any information you can find about Siberian Tigers. I'll post some of the better stuff you guys and gals find! I know we've moved on from Russia, but there is no reason to stop learning about things you might find interesting.

POETRY!

Since we are writing poems about Russia, I thought it would be fun to give you guys and gals some poetry to read. http://www.gigglepoetry.com/poemcategories.aspx is one of my favorite websites for funny poems. Check it out!

I thought this one by Robert Pottle was pretty good. It is called "Gotta Go".

I gotta go! I gotta go! I’ll ask the teacher first.

I gotta go! I gotta go! I think I’m gonna burst.

I gotta go! I gotta go! I’d better raise my hand.

I gotta go! I gotta go! But maybe I should stand.

I gotta go! I gotta go! My hand is raised up high.

I gotta go! I gotta go! I hope my pants stay dry.

I gotta go! I gotta go! I’m really in a bind.

I gotta go! I gotta— Uh-oh. Never mind.

Extra Credit Available...

I'd love to see a PowerPoint, movie (created with MovieMaker), or a written report on Scandinavia. If you make any of these, you need to focus on Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, and Denmark. You don't have to do all of them though. This would be due on Thursday morning in order for you to earn extra credit for the activity. Maybe you could take us on a tour using pictures you find. Perhaps you could write a play about Vikings. There are all kinds of ideas out there...you just need to think of a way to show me you learned about this part of the world.

I found a neat website on Vikings that you might want to check out also. It is full of interesting material. http://worldhistory.mrdonn.org/vikings.html

Finally, I told some of you about a guy known as BrainMan that I saw on 60 Minutes one time. I found a clip on him that is pretty cool. It is amazing what this guy is able to do! Enjoy!

PS. Be sure to vote in the new poll question!

Discovery Atlas: Italy Revealed...

Today we started the video program created by Discovery about Italy. You can find the website for this program here: http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/atlas/italy/italy.html

Today we met Alessandro, a gondolier from Venice. I was hoping maybe a few of you would check out some information about gondolas and Venice. Comment with anything interesting you learn. Have a great evening!

Click here to read about gondolas: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gondola

Click here to read about Venice: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venice

If you want to create your own gondola made out of paper check out this link: http://home.howstuffworks.com/paper-gondolas.htm

If you make one, bring it in and we'll show it off in class!

Great website...

I just found this great website in an email. Here is the description of the site:

With the Interactive United States History Map, students can become a geography whiz as they learn how the United States was settled. Using the interactive map, students will discover how the continent was changed by European colonization, what events caused the displacement and decimation of the land’s original inhabitants and how the 50 states came to be formed. At the end of their journey, students answer questions to see how much they learned through the interactive.

http://www.learner.org/interactives/historymap/index.html

Enjoy! Comment if you do this activity...

AND for another neat US website: http://www.census.gov/schools/facts/

I was out on Thursday...

On Thursday, I was out for a technology meeting at Plum High School near Pittsburgh. See if you can be the first one to reply with the name of their mascot! Search on Google to see if you are able to figure it out.

Have a nice, long weekend! I'll be going to Columbus, Ohio for UFC 82 where I'm rooting for Dan Henderson to win the title! Our wrestlers will be competing at regionals for a shot at going to states. If you finish in the top 5 at regionals, you get to go to states. Our girls' basketball team plays Saturday evening at Central Cambria High School against Bishop Guilfoyle in the first round of PIAA playoffs. Guilfoyle won the state title last year, and they are ranked #2 in the state right now!

UPDATE: Madi was correct when she said the mascot was the Mustangs. They have a pretty neat football website so check it out! http://plumfootball.com/

Italy, Spain, and Greece...OH MY!

We are now nearly finished with the prep part of our unit on southern Europe. On Wednesday, you will be presenting your section to people from other groups. Make sure you become an "expert" by then so you do well with your presentation! I am excited to see how things go. I'd like to see some comments about how you think things are going so far with this project. I might update this later with some new info if I get a chance. Have a good night and comment if you please...

More winter weather on the way...

We are getting a storm from our southwest that will bring us snow and freezing rain/sleet. It is supposed to come after midnight so make sure you check the news in the morning to see if there are any delays or anything. I hope everything went well today while I was out. If you want to, you can comment and let me know how you felt things went today. I'd like to see what you thought of the activity. Also, how about some predictions for the amount of snow we'll get by noon tomorrow. If we are in school, I will go out then and see exactly how much is outside of Miss Sollenberger's room.

To check the weather, go to www.weather.com or http://www.wjactv.com/weather/index.html

President's Day is Monday

We have school now because of the snow days last week, but you should still spend some time checking out information about President's Day.

GEORGE WASHINGTON (February 22, 1732 - December 14, 1799). Early in his life George Washington became an experienced surveyor. Following these years, he fought in the French and Indian War. After the war he returned to Mount Vernon in 1758, married Martha Dandridge in 1759, and became a planter. That same year he became involved in politics when he was elected representative to the Virginia House of Burgesses. He was a representative until 1774 when he became a delegate to the Continental Congress. In May of 1775 George Washington was appointed Commander of the American army during the Revolution. He was the first President, (1789-1797) governing the 13 states.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN (February 12, 1809 - April 15, 1865). Abe Lincoln was born into a poor family and had little formal schooling. He basically taught himself to read and write and walked long distances to borrow books. He failed in early business and political ventures, yet became President in 1861 and guided the Union through the Civil War. He shaped his own character and education as was evident in the simple language he used in his speeches. His famous Gettysburg Address was delivered in 1863. LincGln was assassinated on April 15, 1865 during a performance at Ford's Theatre in Washington just a few days after General Robert E. Lee and his army surrendered.

Information Retrieved From: http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~maggieoh/Pd/prindex.html

Look up information about any president you want and post what you find as a comment!

US President List

Presidential Biographies- From the official White House website!

Presidential Biographies2- Smithsonian website

Inside the White House- Really cool site

UPDATE: Looking up US Presidents in class...

ANOTHER Snow Day...

Well, we're off again, so I'm sure you are at home practicing your states! If you aren't you should be. For today, I decided to post a little "Snow Day" video for your viewing pleasure. Have a great day and see you all tomorrow. Reply with comments telling what you've done the last two days since you haven't had school.

2 Hr Delay Monday and TEST!!

I'm in Hershey for that technology conference, and I just saw you are on a 2 hour delay. Don't forget to study for the test tomorrow. The US map test is on Tuesday, so I suggest practicing for that. You can click on this link to practice for that. USA MAP Well gang, best of luck on your test. Maybe you can reply here and let me know how you think you did. I took my computer with me to the conference. Stay warm!

Western Europe Test is Monday, USA Map Test is Tuesday!

Ch. 10 Study Guide
Western Europe

Belgium is known for its fine chocolates.
In the UK, the king or queen is head of state, but does NOT have great political power because the Prime Minister does.
Much of France’s energy comes from __________ ____________ _____________.
France’s government is known as the Fifth Republic.
In Germany, a system of superhighways is called the ______________.
Nazis killed millions of Jews in the ______________.
When Germany was divided after World War II, the US had power over West Germany.
The London Eye is found in England and is the world’s largest ferris wheel.
Multinational companies do business in multiple countries.
France is bigger than Ireland.
Drained lands in the Netherlands with rich farming soil are called ______________.
The leading food producer in Europe is ______________.
The Netherlands has to reclaim its land from what body of water (look at a map, it is directly north of it)? ______________ __________
Switzerland remained neutral during the two World Wars.
The _____________ _____________ in Germany is being damaged by acid rain.
The Pyrenees Mountains separate ______________ from ______________ and form a natural border.
Violence in Northern Ireland was between the Protestants and the ______________.
______________ was divided in two after the World War II.
Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg make up the Benelux countries.
The UK has a nicer climate than Canada because of the ___________________________ which brings warm air from the Gulf.
The ______________ connects France to Great Britain and runs under the English Channel.
The Netherlands is also known as ______________.
Nickname for the Republic of Ireland- E_____________ I_______
The Alps form a natural border between France and Italy/Switzerland.
What caused over 1,000,000 people to die in Ireland? _____________ ____________
4 regions that make up the UK-

KNOW YOUR VOCABULARY!!! (loch, currency, constitutional monarchy, multilingual, peat, bog, navigable, autobahn, communist state, neutrality, Holocaust)

More 6th Graders Make the 'Net!

During today's planning period, I put more of your videos on the internet. Now, we have Madi, Zak, Tiarra, and Raegan online! I'll have a link on the right side of the blog from here on out with all the videos on it that you guys and gals make. So, check them out already! (*All videos I post will be appropriate for school. Any other videos you watch that aren't created by me is your choice and your responsibility. Inappropriate use could get you into trouble.) Below, you will find Madi's video which will be great for helping you prepare for the test. Enjoy!

Allison's Video Hits the Internet!

This afternoon during period 10, I uploaded Allison's video to YouTube. After only a couple weeks of working on this blog, we've made some big strides. I'm really proud of some of the extra work you are doing. By creating videos like Allison did you are learning some great skills for the future. I have a friend who makes videos like this for weddings and gets paid to do it! This was made with Windows Movie Maker. You can probably find this on your computer by going to Start then Programs. Under Allison's video, I am posting a short tutorial you can use to help guide you through making a movie with Movie Maker. WAY TO GO ALLISON!

No school Friday

There is no school and no dance tonight due to the weather.

Have a good day!

Test your knowledge of European Countries..

I found a website that will really help your mapping skills to learn the countries of Europe. Click here to go to the site. I recommend going to the section under "Countries" and picking Level 1-Beginner. There is also a version for dial-up users. After you get really good at this level, and I mean at a level where you know them all then you might want to move to Level 2. On the left side of the web page, you can click on any European country and learn a lot about it. The capitals game and landforms game is also really great. I think anything on the page is going to help you learn more about Europe for sure, but the Level 1 Countries game is probably the most useful right now for you.

Now, to see some different comments from you guys and gals, I'd like to you to go to the site and read about one country we haven't talked about in class. Reply with a comment telling a couple of things you learned about the country you decided to read about. I'll post a sample for you.

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/European_Geography.htm



UPDATE (5:45 Wed): Since we talked about Darfur today I decided to add two videos I found on it. The first one was created by a middle school student for a school project! The second is a music video and song telling about Darfur. Remember the middle school dance on Friday is a Diversity Club dance, and they are trying to raise some money to send to Darfur.

France!

Want to learn a little more about France? Click on the word France and you'll get to check out a site with some information about the country. Remember tonight's homework is to read pg. 300-304, then answer 2, 3, 4, and 6 on pg 304.

Now for tonight's fun video, I decided to pick something that art students and technology students might really find interesting. A guy posted this video using Microsoft Paint to re-create the Mona Lisa, which is an extremely famous piece of artwork created by Leonardo da Vinci. Using Paint, this guy was able to make his own version of the painting in about 2 and a half hours. Try to use Paint sometime to draw something, and you will see that this would be EXTREMELY difficult to do. Using time lapse (basically like fast forwarding), he took the video from 2.5 hours to under 5 minutes. You can comment and tell me how you think this guy's picture turned out. I was amazed by how good the guy is....

Congrats to NBC sports teams + Ireland!

In the last several nights we have had some really great things happen. Both basketball teams defeated good Tussey Mountain teams (the girls won on Thursday and the boys won Friday night). The girls are the top seed in the district right now and the boys knocked off a Tussey team that only had one loss before the game Friday night. We also have a couple of guys in Saturday's semifinals at the Thomas Tournament in Bedford. T. Chesney and B. Sollenberger will wrestle in the morning. A win means a chance at a gold medal in one of the best tournaments in the state. Good luck guys!

For your viewing pleasure this weekend, we have a travel type of video that is super neat. It feels like you are flying over the country. I think you will be able to tell why they call it the Emerald Isle. Look at all that green! The second video of the weekend shows some great Irish dancing. In this type of dancing the focus is on rapid leg movements while the body and arms remain nearly motionless. The dancers in this video are IMPRESSIVE!

Have a wonderful weekend...

Some math games and London, England

I found some neat math games today during my planning period that I thought you might want to check out. Spend a few minutes and play these things! Don't forget to check out the videos from yesterday for parts of speech.

Egg Catch- In this game, you practice the times tables by catching eggs in a basket!

Times Tables- This is a flash card game. See how fast you can type in the correct answer.
Division Facts- This is a matching game for division problems. How fast can you get through each round?
Math Vocabulary- How about a little bit of PSSA Math vocabulary? You have to be able to talk to the talk to understand math. This should help you learn some words!

Click this video to take a ride on the London Eye!

This is the world's largest ferris wheel and looks over London, England. Click here to go to the London Eye website.

The start of a 3 day week...

Today we started our unit on Europe. Over the next several class periods we will start with the countries of western Europe. We will also watch Discovery Atlas: Italy Revealed in this unit. I really think you will enjoy this. My favorite part of the video is about a horse race called the Palio.

Since we'll learn about Spain in this section, I thought you might like this Spanish #'s game. There are numbers from 1-100 listed. You might learn a few numbers just for the fun of it doing this... http://www.quia.com/mc/65552.html

Here is another Spanish game for you where you try to learn the months in Spanish. This is easier since there are only 12. http://www.quia.com/pp/2088.html

Have a good night everyone. If you are going to the wrestling match versus Bellwood at home tonight have some fun rooting for our guys to win! The junior high match could be one of the best ones of the year and it starts at 6.

Finally, I decided a short clip on pronouns would be appropriate to add for English class. This is from an old show called "Grammar Rock" that was really popular back in the day for learning language arts. I know it is a little corny, but it might make you laugh while you learn a little something about pronouns. Just click on the video below to watch it.

and for the fun of it... Why not watch a similar video on verbs?

MLK Day!

I hope you are all enjoying your long weekend. I'll see you again on Wednesday. Today we did not have school because of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Hopefully, you will check out this link to learn more about this man who worked hard for change.

http://www.usemb.se/Holidays/celebrate/mlk.html

You really should scroll about halfway down that page and read the "I Have a Dream" speech if nothing else. If you want any help understanding it, you can bring your questions to me when you get back from your time off. Have a great day on Tuesday!



Click on this video to watch Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" speech!

If you want to watch a good movie on your day off, consider "Remember the Titans" because it is a good fit for MLK Day.

A snowy Thursday... Jan 17, 2K8

We just finished our unit on South America, and now we will be starting our unit on Europe.


http://www.lonelyplanet.com/worldguide/europe/


That link will allow you to look at the countries of Europe. You will also be able to find all sorts of information about each country as you just follow the links through new material.


In English, we started on pronouns this week. Here are some great links to games and quizzes you might want to check out:

http://www.quia.com/quiz/1148330.html?AP_rand=1659775610

http://www.quia.com/pop/35480.html

http://www.quia.com/pop/108109.html

http://www.quia.com/cb/84201.html

Enjoy the snow tonight!!!

If it keeps up over night and schools start delaying, you can check updates here:

http://www.wjactv.com/ or http://www.wearecentralpa.com/

The weekend...

Well gang, the weekend is upon us....

The geography quizzes went really well! I am extremely pleased with what each of you learned about Brazil this week. I hope you thought it was interesting.

Movie recommendation for the weekend: Ice Age (It is going to be cold out, so this is my choice for the weekend if you want to watch a movie.)

If you want something to do this weekend that is geography related, you can do a webquest on Brazil. Just follow the directions from the website and work at it. Now, this isn't something I am assigning or grading so you can pick and choose the parts of it you would like to do. Make a log of what you do and show me early next week and we'll discuss some BONUS POINTS! Click here to find the webquest-
http://www.teachnet.ie/stpats/2003/discover_brazil/introduction.html

To do the webquest you start at the introduction, then the task, then process, and so on. Have fun! Some of the links aren't working so like I said, try to do what you can. I did not create the webquest so there may be links that don't work or directions to do things that you can not do (you might not have the program it says to use).

Topic for next week: The Andes Mountains
Link for some information on the Andes: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andes

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!

Some things to know...

10 things to know for Friday's quiz:

1. Who was the first group of Europeans to discover Brazil?


2. What is the estimated population of Brazil? 100 million, 200 million, or 300 million


3. What is the world's largest festival/parade called?


4. What is the largest city in Brazil? Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador


5. In that city, what is a fast growing form of transportation?


6. What long river is a major part of Brazil?


7. What is the most popular sport in the country?


8. In terms of size, Brazil ranks ____ in the world.


9. Brazil is the world's leading producer of what meat?


10. Brazil is the world's leading producer of _____________ which is used to make a drink.





Answers: 1. Portuguese 2. 200 million 3. Carnival 4. Sao Paulo, 5. helicopters 6. Amazon 7. soccer 8. 5th 9. beef 10. coffee

Link for the day: http://www.braziltourism.org/

Also, Kaitlyn C. is moving to Florida. If you want to check out where she is moving to you can go to http://maps.google.com/ and search for La Belle, FL.

Finally, congratulations to Sienna B. for being the Student of the Month!!

January 9, 2008

Geography: In geography, we are currently finishing up Discovery Atlas: Brazil Revealed. This is an outstanding program created to teach about Brazil through the lives of seven people. You can find out more about the program here: http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/atlas/brazil/brazil.html


We will discuss the video and more on Brazil from the textbook tomorrow, and there will be a quiz on Friday.


English: We are working on limericks. A limerick is a 5 line poem that is meant to be funny. Lines 1,2, and 5 rhyme and match syllables and lines 3 and 4 rhyme and match syllables.
What is a limerick? Find out more here: http://www.gigglepoetry.com/poetryclass/limerickcontesthelp.html

Spelling: This week is a review unit (18). The test is 50 words. On Thursday our homework is due and that is as follows: 1-25 (sentences), 26-50 (5x each), and pages 86-89 proofreading.