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!