Spring Break

     Wow! I can't believe the break is over.  I did nothing over the break, and it was wonderful.  My batteries are recharged and I'm ready to go back to school.  Actually, I did get the opportunity this past week to sleep late, read a novel, watch some movies ("Slumdog Millionaire" was really great, but "Seven Pounds" was pretty awful), relax with my wife, and take my dog on ridiculously long walks.  I discovered a website called pizzashare, which enables the browser to search for good pizza locations wherever they might be in the US.
     I'm really excited to go back to work tomorrow, because my students are about to begin my favorite social studies project.  They will be researching life during colonial times, coming up with a family name (based on real census date from that period), pretending to open up a shop that focuses on a specific trade, and make skits for "Ye Olde Colonial Faire!"

Poetry

Currently my English class is studying poetry.  I heard about this poem from a workshop I attended and felt like sharing it with everybody.  Feel free to leave comments.

"Booger Love" by Brod Bagert (taken from his book Giant Children)


I love this little booger,
All shiny, green, and black.
You can hold it for a minute,
But I want my booger back.

It stays right where I put it,
It sure knows how to stick.
And if it gets too dry...?
It just needs a little lick.

I can hold it on my finger,
I can flick it in the air,
I can stick it underneath a desk,
Or underneath a chair.

I can make a ball and roll it
Just to see which way it goes.
I love this booger anywhere...
Except inside my nose.

Here is a great poetry website:  http://ettcweb.lr.k12.nj.us/forms/newpoem.htm

Great website

The other day I found and started using immediately a great website--

http://www.superteachertools.com/

This site enables the user (for free) to generate class lists and use them for a variety of purposes. Also, they send the list to your email, so that you can save it for future use. You can use the site to randomly generate names, groups, and other activities. I recommend all educators to check out the site.

Hooray March is Almost Gone!!

             I can't believe how fast time goes by! Anyone who is a teacher is feeling a sense of jubilation, because March is almost gone. It is the longest and dreariest month of the year (no breaks and bad weather). This month was a lot of fun in my classroom. My students did a research report on their wikispace page (link is located on blog). These reports came out really awesome.
            The students were required to read a novel about a famous woman and do some additional research on her. Then they had to type the information into the wiki. Next they had to do a slideshow on their person using www.slidelicious.com . Then they had to create a works cited page using www.bibme.org.  You should check them out!!

I also learned a bunch of useless information about food from various sources:
Groaking is watching people eating in the hope that they will offer you some.
Pound cake got its name because the original recipe called for one pound of butter.
M&Ms stands for the last names of Forrest Mars Sr. and Bruce Murrie (candy makers). The candy was developed so soldiers could eat sweets without getting their fingers sticky.
Cashews can help prevent tooth decay.

Challenge for my students

Play the game at the bottom of my blog. It is a geography game that tests your knowledge of the world. If you beat or match my Travel IQ of 100, I will give you extra credit for social studies. I only ask that you try and don't get too frustrated. The game is a lot of fun!!

Message from a friend

This website has tremendous potential. It can be used for a variety of activities. The website is at the bottom of the picture.

Brain Test

A friend sent me this really neat color test. Visit the link and see how well you do:

http://www.humorsphere.com/fun/8787/colortest.swf