A while ago I wrote about leaving edublogs…and then I came back.  Well, I’m off again.  I know I don’t have any real followers yet, so this isn’t a big deal.  I know it seems that I go through blogs like their disposable, but this is the last time that I switch.

For those of you actually following me, please update your bookmarks.

I’m over at The Kneighborhood Annex.

Lately, I’ve had some writer’s block.  That is…creating activities that will both be fun and helpful.  Emphasis on fun…with a hint of technology.  My block must have something to do with the dog days of winter up here in New Jersey.  I thought the cold was almost over, but for the past 2 weeks it has been extremely windy.

So…with the help of my colleagues (real and virtual) I’ve planned out my next few projects.  Without going into the specifics, I’ll just give you the main ideas.

1.  Use Google’s Sketch-Up to create buildings of the Middle Ages and/or Renaissance. (still working on the specifics)

2.  Create a stop-animation video for a scene out of any period or age that we have discussed in class.  This will be sort of like a final project for the school year.  (I need to thank my virtual “colleague” for the inspiration for this little gem. Mr. Mayo has his kids create stop animation videos for literary terms.  They are quite clever!  This just proves it to me that my 7th graders can do stuff like this.  Thanks Mr. Mayo.)

I took a page out of my old friend’s playbook and decided to spread the 21st Century Educator’s love.  After half a school year, my computer geek (I think she knows I call her this) friend decided to start a blog for her computer classes.  This probably would have happened without my help, but she is really busy in school helping other teachers just turn on their computers and network their printers.  She finally decided to do something for her classes and create a blog.  I just wanted to give her a shout-out and welcome her to the wonderful world of the Edublogosphere.

Stop by and say hello to Ms. B

Just gave an impromptu “professional development” session on using a personal student response system in the classroom.  All things considered, it went well.

These little things are awesome.  They give you immediate feedback as to whether a student “gets it” or not.  They keep the kids focused on whatever question is up on the board.  They keep kids interested because they have a “toy” to play with in their hands.

I’ve used them for informal and formal assessments.

They can be used in any subject.  It doesn’t matter!  As long as a student can answer a question (T/F, Y/N, M/C, Numerical Response), they can use this system.

I hope these catch on in the school.

Here’s a sweet little Newspaper clipping generator.  You can do awesome things with this in the classroom, but I chose to write my own awesome news clipping.

I recently had a conversation with my friend about all this data I’m collecting.  I’m tracking a few aspects of my life from coffee consumption to miles run and books read to number of tweets.  Apart from asking me, “why in the world are you doing this?,” he was quite amazed at my dedication to collecting this data.  I’m still questioning my dedication in the summer months, but I guess only time will tell.

He had another intriguing questions…”Do you think your results will be skewed because you are aware of what you are collecting?”  Do I consciously make an effort to “pad” my stats because it will make me look good?  I don’t think so.  If I wasn’t collecting data, would I run as many miles?  Who’s to say?  I think seeing a “0″ in the column of miles run makes me feel guilty which, in turn, makes me run more miles.

This thought brings up the idea of the Hawthorne Effect.  This idea says that if someone thinks they’re being watched, their production goes up.  Tests were run in a warehouse where they increased the amount of wattage used in the lighting. Productivity went up.  Then then decreased the amount of wattage used in the lighting.  Productivity went up.  Then they pretended to change the amount of wattage used in the lighting. Productivity went up.  Just the fact that the workers thought they were being watched was enough motivation for them to increase productivity.

Now, lets talk about teacher observations.  Isn’t the Hawthorne effect present in every single teacher observation?  The scenario goes like this…Administrator informs teacher of his visit.  Teacher makes his “best” lesson.  Administrator gives good review.  Rinse and Repeat.  Teacher eventually receives tenure.  What happens the other 177 school days?  That teacher might really be good, but sometimes that is not the case.

Possible solutions:

1.  “Pop in” Observations: I am not a fan of this solution, but it might work.  “Catching” a teacher off guard will definitely prove for a bad lesson.  That is of course if the teacher has no clue what he is doing.  If that is the case, then get out of teaching.  But still, even good teachers have bad days.

2.  Two-Way Mirrors: This is an idea I can get behind.  Think of the possibilities!!  Teachers would always think they were being watched, forcing them to be on their “A game” every single day.  Plus, the kids would think they were being watched, so some of the classroom management issues would go away.  And then there would be the constant paranoia of the staff.  This would just make me laugh, because all those teachers that have no business in the classroom would have the worst paranoia.  Think of the conversations that would take place in the faculty room.  It would almost feel like 1984.

If you have any other solutions to this problem, feel free to share.

This is a saying that I’ve seen or heard in a couple places in the past two weeks.  What gets rewarded gets done.  Unfortunately, this might ring true.  But, I’ll have to say…what gets rewarded gets done poorly.

Look at it as a teacher rewarding students for doing something…anything.  Completing their homework, staying quiet in the hallways, being respectful in any situation, the list goes on.  These are actions that are expected of them…why would you reward them for something they are supposed to do.  It reminds me of a Chris Rock joke…”I ain’t never been to jail!” What do you want, a cookie?! You’re not supposed to go to jail.”  Of course I’ve taken out any potty-mouth words.

Now look at it as an administrator rewarding their faculty for doing something.  This is adults we’re talking about that might expect a reward for doing something they are supposed to be doing.  I find it to be a bad situation if your administrator is bribing you to do your work.  Just do it like you’re supposed to do.

I feel it all comes down to motivation.  Everyone likes to feel motivated…right? If you have the right person motivating you, you’ll do anything for that person.  Take Hitler…he motivated thousands of people to follow him and he was asking them to complete horrible tasks.  Yet, he was a great speaker and motivator.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying Hitler should be a keynote speaker for anything, but he did possess that quality of motivating people.

When people are motivated, the activity they are completing will be more rewarding and fulfilling for them.  When I’m motivated, I feel a sense of accomplishment.  It feels good.  Eventhough most kids wouldn’t admit to it, they must feel a sense of accomplishment when they study really hard for a test and ace it.

Instead of rewarding someone for doing what they are supposed to be doing, lets motivate that person and make them understand that the reward is how you feel when you are finished.

What Gets Rewarded Gets Done….NO…What IS REWARDING Gets Done.

My wife just joined twitter.  I’m trying to explain it to her, but I can’t put it into words.  Often times when I explain the concept to people, they say…”why would I ever want to do that?”  I believe that twitter can be used for good or for evil.

For good: Sharing helpful information with people.  I follow a lot of educators and ask my network for help most of the time.  I offer websites and different strategies to whoever is listening.

For evil: Sharing every minute of your day.  No one cares that you just ate breakfast or you sneezed 5 times today.  If you do share that, you can at least share a recipe for your breakfast or the webmd link for your sneeze attacks.

So…I’m back to edublogs…I’m sure no one missed me.

I think I’ll use this as more of a professional blog.  We’ll see.

I’ve recently started keeping track of some “data.”  I’m pretty intrigued by the Feltron Report and by what Dan Meyer does on a daily basis. So, as per Mr. Meyer’s recommendation, I’ve started collecting data that pertains to various aspects of my life….coffee intake, miles run, photos taken, and a whole slew of teaching related activities.  I’m actually excited to see the results, but most people I explain this to say….”Why are you doing this again?”  My only quick response goes something like this…”Just to analyze my daily activities.” To which they say…”Why would you want to do something like that?” I have no further response than to just smile.

I hope my excitement for collecting this data doesn’t wear off somewhere around June.

mrgranito.wordpress.com

After much consideration, I’ve decided to leave edublogs and migrate the classroom blog to another blogging site. 

Edublogs was great while it lasted.  I think it would be a great starting point for any teacher out there who wants to introduce blogging to their students.  I think it would be a great starting point for any student out there that wants to start their own blog.  It is extremely easy to use, so the beginner wouldn’t get discouraged because of their technophobia.

My next step would be to actually pay for a blogging service.  I have a few more things to buy before I start paying for something that I get for free anyway. 

So…the new classroom blog will be located at http://mrgranito.wordpress.com

Please update your bookmarks.  Please update your rss readers. Please update anything.

There will be another debate tonight.  Hopefully, the candidates will not repeat themselves as much as they did on the previous debate.  I highly doubt that.

There is no extra-credit attached to this debate, but I think you’ll benefit if you watch it.

I believe the action starts at 9 pm.  It might be past your bedtime, so don’t worry if you miss it.  We’ll be watching clips of it in class.

Well…It is October…the weather is getting colder…and our topics are heating up!!  Ok…that was cheesey.  Here is our schedule for this shortened week.

Monday, Oct. 6th

• Review Game:  Social Studies Basketball

Tuesday, Oct. 7th

• Unit Test
• Grades are due today…Hopefully I’ll put the Unit Test on the Mid-Marking Period Grades.  Check TeacherEase for an up to date average.

Wednesday, Oct. 8th

• We’ll start talking about debates today.  Hopefully we’ll get to watch some of the presidential debate and discuss.

Thursday, Oct. 9th

• Take the day off…my treat

Friday, Oct. 10th

• Watch the presidential debate and analyze.

Next week, we’ll start discussing River Valley Civilizations…Can you feel the excitement?!?!  I can!!

This past week in school was great.  Back to School night was a great success.  I’m so glad I met all of your parents.  I’m sure your parents were excited to hear about TeacherEase.

I’ve also posted a variety of 9/11 comparison projects for everyone to see.  Check them out at the project page.

For those of you involved with the Investor$.  Please check out the Investor$ page for information about the Stock Market Game.  The Game begins NOW (9/29/08)!!!

Looking ahead…we have a Unit Test to prepare for. I’ve decided to move the test from its original date of 10/3/08 to 10/7/08.  You get an extra weekend to prepare for it.

Here’s your schedule for the week…

Monday (September 29, 2008)

Finish Video – Neanderthal

Complete Venn Diagram in class. –> neanderthal-cromagnon-venn

Tuesday (September 30, 2008)

School is closed.

Wednesday (October 1, 2008)

HAPPY OCTOBER!!!

Read pages 33-40.

Complete Fact Sheet on Paleolithic Age. Download here –> Prehistoric_People_Fact_Sheet

Thursday (October 2, 2008)

Read pages 41-46

Complete Fact Sheet on Neolithic Age.

***Extra Credit*** – Watch the VP debate and write a 2 paragraph reaction paper.  (10 point assignment)

Friday (October 3, 2008)

Causes and Effects of the Paleolithic and Neolithic Age.

The SMART board has arrived and I’m super excited about it.  It is just a giant touch screen…what is not to like?  The next step is to figure out how I’ll integrate it into every aspect of my class.  Difficult?…possibly, but It’ll happen.  

The SMART board company also makes something called an airliner.  This is simply a remote slate that can be used in addition to the board itself. For those of you familiar with Interwrite pads…it is the same thing.   If anyone knows where and how I can get my hands on one of these guys, please let me know.  

 School (with students) is about to begin here in (ahem) sunny  New Jersey.  As far as the curriculum goes…I know the kids will enjoy  it.  For the bulk of the year, we will examine the Birth of Civilization  through the Renaissance.  Luckily, I’ve almost finished Guns, Germs,  and Steel…this book is extremely excellent in explaining how certain  societies have developed and prevailed and how other societies have  not evolved on the same pace.  Big Book!!!  Took a while to finish.  I  hope I can use some of the excerpts in class. 

Teaching Social Studies at the middle school level, you always have to spend time on certain “Social Studies Skills.”  So, for the first week or two, we’ll have to review geography, map skills, primary and secondary sources, and all that good stuff.  

There are also various other topics I’d like to touch upon as well.  I’m thinking about starting an economic club, so teaching all about economies would be ideal.  

I’d like to teach Current Events in some capacity.  New Jersey history is also a great topic!!

Of course I’d also like to keep the technology themed projects alive, but there might be some limitations with the building.  I’m sure I’ll figure something out.  

I’m still up in the air on how I will use the Kneighborhood.  I am leaning towards keeping it a place for assignments, worksheets, announcements…with a little bit of commentary.  

I know I’ve put 2 other Pawleys Island commercials up here, but the creators of this one have been stalking the site all the way from Germany.  Here it is girls…your masterpiece!!!

olivia-and-kristen

Plus… Olivia is one of the only students who started a blog and actually updates it regularly.  Nice Job Olivia!!

Well…I’ve spent two years of my life in a middle school in South Carolina.  They were the best of times and the worst of times…actually…the were the worst of times and then the best of times…

My first year in the school was also my first year teaching.  Now I know every teacher will tell you that their first year was the toughest, but I think mine took the cake.  Yes it was tough.  No my classroom management was not good.  Yes there was something in the water the year this group of kids were born.  Some days I dreaded going to school…class.  The only thing that kept me going that first year were my colleagues.

And then my second year came.  This year came equipped with a laptop, projector, and handheld interwrite board.  Without these new weapons, my life might have taken a different path.  With these three little beauties, I could control the attention span of a 13-year old.  I revamped my classroom policies and expectations…and I must say…I had a better year. But then again, there must have been something GOOD in the water the year this crop of kids were born, because there were major differences.  You can only blame classroom management for so long…

I truly did enjoy the company of my colleagues.  I can only hope that the next school I am involved in has a group of teachers and administrators like the bunch that I have come to know.  I will miss you.

OH…and much love to teacher munchie day…I will miss you too.  Oh how I loved the first Tuesday of every month.

For those that would like to help…I’ll be accepting interviews all summer.  North Jersey only…South Jersey need not apply.

I’m writing this post from my cell phone as I wait outside a New York City apartment complex. I’m waiting for my wife who is in a meeting. Technology is cool enough to do this. I still wish I had the iphone, but I can wait until verizon carries it.

Wow…with an ever increasing readership, these radio commercials are gaining popularity.  I’m up to 4 listeners!!  Here’s another Pawleys Island commercial.  Another example of the perfect background music for a commercial.

Pawleys Island – maddie-and-haley

Here’s another fun example of our end of the year radio commercials.  Pretty soon I’m going to have to write about something other than these radio commercials.

Pawleys Island -  chanan

I beg to differ on this one, but apparently Rock Hill is a very decent place.  They missed The Oratory and that one Beef O’Brady’s knock off that had the superb chicken fingers and quesadillas.  (If you don’t know what sarcasm is, please re-read that second sentence.)

Rock Hill – mccall-and-jess

Here’s another radio commercial for Murrell’s Inlet.  Sometimes the music in the background sounds too perfect.

Murrells Inlet – sadie-and-kylie

I’m back from my honeymoon in Cabo San Lucas and it was amazing.  The weather was perfect, although a little chilly at night.  We had a blast.

Unfortunately, we had to come back to reality where my wife has to work and I get the Summer off.  With that being said…I’m going to have a busy, busy summer.

Aside from developing myself professionally, I’m also going to have to make a living during the summer.

So, PACT testing comes to an end this week and that leaves us about 10 teaching days for the kids.  If you take away the last 2 days of school, that leaves 8.  Then, we need to take away 1 day for “Tiger Fest,” and that leaves 7.

Seven full days of school where the kids know that they are finished with the end of the year exam.

Seven full days of school where the kids are just itching to get out for the summer.

Seven full days of school where most teachers have given up and started planning “end of the year parties.” (with and without students)

I’ve decided to plan a project loosely related to the 8th grade curriculum, South Carolina History.  I’m hoping this will keep their attention and keep them involved and interested until the end of the school year.

What do you do during the last week of school?  How do you keep the students engaged?

On Friday, May 2nd, 10 of my students are invited to the 18th Annual SCCEE Awards Luncheon.  The event is to recognize their efforts in the South Carolina Stock Market Game.  We had two separate teams that earned a 2nd place finish in two different 10-week competitions.

Each team had $100,000 to play in the stock market.  They did their own research and bought as many different stocks as their money could buy.   The goal at the end of the 10-week competition was to have the most money.  Under my direct tutelage, these two teams were cents away from a gold medal, but I guess a silver finish isn’t so shabby.  After all, this was the first year we competed.

I’m extremely proud of the kids…and they are excited to get their trophies!!

On a side note…There was a teacher’s Stock Market Game as well and the teacher with the best portfolio won a free laptop.  I guess you can already figure out who won that…otherwise I wouldn’t be writing about it.

We will begin our PACT review this week.  It is always fun to dust off the material from September and October to see what the kids actually remember.  I really don’t want to be disappointed, so I’m assuming that they don’t remember much.  Now, here’s the question…Do they not remember the information because I didn’t present them the material in a memorable fashion?…or…Did they truly forget because they are teenagers going through changes in their life where their social activity far outweighs the enlightenment ideas of John Locke or Jean-Jacques Rousseau?  I know what was going through my mind when I was in middle school…and it wasn’t European Exploration.  Maybe that’s why I kind of understand why so many kids “hate Social Studies.”  I just wish some of them would try a little bit harder, who knows, they might actually like talking about this stuff…I know I liked it as soon as I tried it…Hey, isn’t there a Dr. Seuss book about that?

So…slowly I’m gaining recognition in the “blogosphere.”

Recently, animoto.com contacted me about the projects that my classes produced. Nothing special…but they informed me of a classroom password that can give your classes a 3-month all access pass to animoto and everything it has to offer. Although the longer videos might be too much for some students to handle, it is nice to have that option.

As of last night, my request from donorschoose.org has been fulfilled. That was extremely exciting news! If anyone out there needs something for their classroom, but can’t afford it or doesn’t have the budget for it, you have to check out donorschoose.org. I wanted a classroom set of microphone headsets for various projects that required them, so I asked for 30. The total bill was almost $400. Last night donorschoose.org sent me an email informing me that my project had been funded. Awesome!! I can’t wait to get my shipment, it’ll be like Christmas!!

I’ve also been contacted by the people of Create South. They call themselves a “grassroots group of Grand Strand Bloggers.” Create South is having a conference here in sunny Myrtle Beach, South Carolina on Saturday, April 18th and they asked me to present during a session about blogging in the classroom. I’m honored!! That’s pretty neat!! I hope I don’t disappoint. I’m hoping that there will be some teachers in the audience since I can relate to them, but if they’re not in the audience, then maybe they know some teachers they can relay the information to. Regardless, this will be a great experience. I’m looking forward to it.

In a continual effort to bring podcasting to my 7th graders while still keeping pace with our curriculum, I’ve decided to create an extra credit assignment.  The assignment is simple…write a report about any topic that we have discussed in class.  Record that project on the audacity software.  Add music.  Post podcast.

My vision is that every student would create a different topic and our curriculum will be represented by 100 podcasts.  I’m sure that will happen this school year.

I unveiled the extra credit project about a week ago and just yesterday a student has recorded the first podcast.   This student did his podcast on Adolph Hitler.

hunter-hitler.mp3

It is March and Spring is right around the corner. That means….YANKEES BASEBALL. But enough about me…what about the kids? I’ve decided to allow all my blocks participate in this neat little project. I think they will love it. Once we finish our Unit on World Wars, we will jump right into animoto.com.

Here’s our schedule for the week…2 days late.

Monday, March 3, 2008:

MIRP

CNN Student News

Tuesday, March 4, 2008:

Vocabulary Discussion:

Anti-Semitism, Nuremberg Laws, genocide, concentration camps, liberate, Holocaust

Places to Go:

Auschwitz, Warsaw, Nuremberg

7-5.6 – Vocabulary Log – Holocaust

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

7-5.6 – Notes – Holocaust – part I

Video Clips

Thursday, March 6, 2008

7-5.6 – Notes – Holocaust – part II

Video Clips

Friday, March 7, 2008

Review Game – Jeopardy??

Wednesday: January 30,2008

Today we’re starting our study of World War I.

We watched a few video clips from unitedstreaming.com.

Tonights Homework was to read pages 181-188 in your red books and answer questions #1-5.

Thursday: January 31, 2008

Start of the World War I foldable

Friday: February 1, 2008

Continue Phase I of the WWI foldable.

After much consideration, I’ve decided to postpone the wiki-project.  I felt that there was a combination of my under-planning and a lack of interest with the students.  I’m a little upset that it didn’t take off like I expected.  I feel really bad for the few students that were really into the project.  I’m going to have to send that project to the shop for some re-tooling.  I hope to bring it out later on in the year with some revisions to the directions.  A sad, sad day. 

This week we start our wiki project.  I’m a little apprehensive about the entire thing.  I’m also excited to see how it turns out.  I’m placing all responsibility into the hands of the students.  All I’m showing them is how to work with the wiki website.  All research and editing is up to them.

Our project schedule is as follows:

This project should take no longer than 5 school days.

Monday: January 27,2008

“Wikis in Plain English”

Video from: http://www.commoncraft.com

The Rules of Wiki – The Warranty
Groups and Topics
Preliminary Research in Classroom.

Tuesday: January 28, 2008

(Media Center)

Research in Media Center
Pictures and Information with citations
Wednesday: January 29, 2008

(Media Center)
Edit text in MS word first, then copy and paste to Wiki
How to edit in Wiki.

Thursday: January 30, 2008

(Media Center)

Complete editing.
Touch-ups.

Friday: January 31, 2008

(Media Center if needed)

Any finishing touches

I’d like to say we’re in the Home Stretch, but we’re not. But, I can see the finish line…you just have to squint your eyes a little.

Here’s our agenda for the week:

Monday – January 21, 2008

No School – MLK Jr Day

Tuesday – January 22, 2008

Review page 166 – #1 and 2

7-4.4 – Graphic Organizers – page 169

Vocabulary Discussion – Modernize – To advance technologically

Read Pages 169-171

Answer Questions #1,2,3

7-4.5 – Questions #1-3 on page 171

Wednesday – January 23, 2008

7-4.4 & 7-4.5 Notes – Discussion

Now What?

Thursday – January 24, 2008

Review Game

Friday – January 25, 2008

7-4 – Big Quiz

Pick Groups For Wiki-Project 

With the exception of the Yankees, my favorite sports teams aren’t really known for winning….until this year.

My alma mater, Rutgers University had a so-so year. They ended their season 8-5 and won the 2008 International Bowl in Toronto, Canada. Let’s hope the Scarlet Knights get to achieve something big next year.

And then comes the Giants…Continually doubted this year by football analysts and the general population, the G-Men got no respect. They were the underdog the past three weeks, with only Terry Bradshaw and myself picking them to win. I can not tell you how excited I am!! Now they’ll get a rematch with the undefeated Patriots. I honestly think the Giants have a chance to upset the cheaters Patriots.

Go Giants!

So I got tagged by a booklover. I hate to disappoint, so here it goes.

7 random facts about me:

1. I have a crooked arm. I fell out of a tree when I was seven years old and broke my elbow. After 6 weeks with a cast on, the doctor removed the cast an realized that something was a little askew. It was my arm!! So he offered to re-break it and set it straight. I declined his generous offer and now I have a crooked arm.

2. When I find a hobby, I get really into it for about 2 months. I search all possible internet sites for information about whatever I’m into at that moment in time. I get all these cool accessories for that hobby. I buy all sorts of books to further my interest. Then all of a sudden, something else comes up and that original hobby takes a back seat. Right now I’m into photography.

3. Clichés, catch phrases, and repetitive wit drive me insane.

Cliché – “A penny saved is a penny earned”

Phrase – “It is what it is”

Repetitive Wit – (I also bartend, so I hear a lot of it) – Here’s the scene…I clear an empty plate from in front of a guest and he decides to be witty and tell me that he didn’t like it…”Oh you’re so funny sir, I have never, ever heard that one.

4. I’m training for a marathon….kinda. I was in training for a marathon and then I find out that I’m scheduled to do something that weekend with my fiancée. I’m still going to train like I’m running the marathon and maybe run a mock marathon the next weekend.

5. My dream car is a Jeep Grand Wagoneer. There is just something about that wood paneling that I love. I actually had one that my dad bought for me when I was in college. He saw it driving on the Garden State Parkway and it just happened to pull off our exit. My dad got his attention and he pulled to the side of the road. It turned out the guy was selling it. I actually had to go on an interview with the guy because he wasn’t going to sell this car to just anybody. I passed!!

6.  I play the guitar.  I started taking guitar lessons when I was 12.  I was in bands all throughout high school.  I’ve played in NYC a few times.  The most serious band I was in, I played the bass guitar.  We were fresh out of college, still living at home with our parents and just having fun.

7.   I’m getting married in April 2008.  I proposed to my fiancée with a Canadian beer bottle and a string.  She loved it…I think.

So, I have to tag people and hopefully they’ll keep the meme going.  Let the record state that I don’t really like these things, but I felt I should complete it anyway.  I choose Greg (he won’t do it), Cheryl, CMS Library (That’ll be interesting).  How about some students… Glenn, Kristen, Kirby, Aly, Kylie,  and Olivia.  That’ll give them something to do over this long break.

Here are the rules:
- Link to the person that tagged you and post the rules on your blog.
- Share 7 random and or weird things about yourself.
- Tag 7 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs (I tagged 5…it’s dinner time!).
- Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Here’s our agenda for the week

Monday – 1/7/2008

MIRP

CNN Student News

Vocabulary Discussion: Imperialism, colony, direct rule, indirect rule, protectorate, sphere of influence

People to Meet: James Cook, Ferdinand de Lesseps, Thomas Raffles, Robert Clive

Tuesday – 1/8/2008

7-4.1 – Vocab. Log

Wednesday – 1/9/2008

Map Activity – European Imperialism in Africa

Thursday – 1/10/08

7-4.1 Cause and Effect Activity

The Four Questions Review

Friday – 1/11/08

7-4.1 and 4.2 Quiz

In your red workbooks:  Read Pages 155-158.  Answer questions 1-3

Sorry I haven’t updated the blog in a while, but I’ve been super busy. Since the last post we’ve been on vacation, Benazir Bhutto was assassinated, the New Year came, I lost my passport, Rutgers won the International Bowl, and we started a new unit in Social Studies.

Here we go…holiday break is any second now.

Monday – 12/17/2007

CNN Student News

Finish our vocabulary flash cards.

Study for Test.

Tuesday – 12/18/2007

7-3 Test

Wednesday – 12/19/2007

2 1/2 hour early dismissal today!!

VoiceThread Theater

For all of you educators out there. Check out your blog’s reading level. It looks like I’m writing on a Junior High School level. I guess I did that on purpose because that is my main audience, but I can’t say I’m satisfied with this. I’ve been in school systems for 23 years now. I’m really disappointed to be writing as a teenager, and an early teenager at that. The website analyzes the most recent post, so somewhere down the line I’ll strive for that High School level. I’ll have to thank big bro Greg for that link. He’s a year older and his blog reads at an elementary school level. Trumped!!

You can also check the gender of your blog post at a different site. I won’t tell you how I write. It’s official…the internet has everything.

Sorry there was no podcast this week. We’ve been busy, busy, busy!!! I’ll get one up as soon as possible.

Here is our schedule for the week:

Monday – December 10, 2007

MIRP w/ conferences

Current Events – CNN Student News

Tuesday – December 11, 2007

Vocabulary Discussion:

nationalism, kaiser, chancellor, militarism, guerrilla warfare

People to Meet:

Napoleon Bonaparte, Guiseppe Garibaldi, Wilhelm I, Otto Von Bismarck

7-3.6 – Vocabulary Log

Wednesday – December 12, 2007

Growth of European Nationalism:

NOTES

7-3.6 – 6-pack

Thursday – December 13, 2007

Unification of Italy & Germany

7-3.6 – Notes

Friday – December 14, 2007

Let the Review Begin

People to Meet Graphic Organizer

Ok…It’s nothing special, but I’ve created a wikispace for the class. It is completely editable by you and me. Give it a shot, you just may like it.

Just click the badge below.

Here is the schedule of events for this week:

Monday: December 3rd, 2007

Finish VoiceThreads in the Media Center

Read “Great Britain Leads the Way” –> Answer Review and Write Question

Read “A Revolution in Textiles”

Complete Review and Write paragraph for homework

Tuesday: December 4th, 2007

Read “Thomas Newcomen Invents an Engine”

Read “James Watt’s Fire Engine”

Compare and Contrast both engines in a Venn Diagram.

Wednesday: December 5th, 2007

Vocabulary Discussion:

Patent, mass production, interchangeable parts, division of labor, assembly line, puddling

page 127 Question #6

7-3.5 – Vocabulary Log

Thursday: December 6th, 2007

Read “The Development of Factories” –> Answer Review and Write

Read “The Social Impact of the Industrial Revolution” –> Answer Review and Write

Video – The Industrial Revolution

Friday: December 7th, 2007

Review Game: Baseball Challenge

Quiz: 7-3.4 and 7-3.5

This past week was crazy!! I had my students create a VoiceThread. During the week I had to contend with several different obstacles. The first issue came with the jumbled up schedule due to MAP testing. Everyday had different times to meet with the classes. Then I had to deal with a blocked website. That was ok because I had a password to get past the firewall, but I had to put in the password every single time the students went to the website or even refreshed the page. It got old quick. Then my headsets with microphones came just at the nick of time, unfortunately getting them all to work with the computers was another issue. I had to log on to the computers as me and not as student, just to go into the control panel and fix the microphone settings. After all was said and done, only about half of my students finished their projects when I wanted them to finish. There were too many technical difficulties to contend with. Next time I know I’ll be better prepared for this. Even though, towards the end of the week I had a short fuse, I was extremely happy with the out come of the projects. I’ll post the links to the VoiceThreads later on in the week, once everyone has finished.

In addition to creating the VoiceThreads, I had a handful of my students create our podcast for the week. I ended up mixing all of their comments, but they created the entire podcast.

Here it is…

Project Week

Welcome Back to School.

I hope everyone enjoyed their long Turkey Day Weekend. I know I did.

I hope you had a chance to check out our first official podcast. We made it rather quickly because of our short week, but it was still fun to make.

Lets take a look at the week ahead:

Monday 11/26/2007:

We will meet in the 7th grade computer lab today and begin our initial picture research for our revolution voicethreads. Remember to look for pictures at our 2 available websites:

images.google.com

or

commons.wikimedia.org

If you stumble or get stuck just visit our project page.

Tuesday 11/27/2007

MAP testing begins today.

We are back in the classroom today for a quick vocabulary discussion.

Factory System, Urbanization, monopoly, Partnership, corporation, Trade union

Industrialism, Agricultural Revolution, Enclosure Movement, Textile, Crop rotation, Domestic System

7-3.4 – Vocabulary Log – Indsutrial Revolution

Wednesday 11/28/2007

Today we will meet in the Media Center and continue to work on our voicethread projects. You will write 2 sentences for each picture you have saved. Use the picture script that I have supplied for you.

VoiceThread Project

Thursday 11/29/2007

We’re back in the Media Center today to begin the recording phase of our revolution project. Hopefully our headsets will have arrived today.

Remember to follow the directions on our project page.

Bummer!!! Headsets didn’t come in. Only one microphone worked at a time

Everything will be fine.

Friday 11/30/2007

We’re in the Media Center today continuing to work on our VoiceThread Projects. I hope we can get more finished today.

I’m going to have a group of people working on our podcast for the week.

Here is the first official podcast. Although we had a shortened week, we still managed to put something up. I’d like to thank all the kids who worked so hard to help create the podcast.

Today in Social Studies I learned…

Let’s get ready for a short week!!

Monday – 11/19/2007

MIRP

CNN Student News

Finish our 7-3.3 – Reading Questions and our 6-pack of Questions.

Tuesday – 11/20/2007

7-3.3 Quiz – Latin American Independence Movement

Begin The Industrial Revolution

Industrial Revolution Begins – Questions

Wednesday – 11/21/2007

2 1/2 Hour Early Dismissal!!!

Announce VoiceThread Project!!

**All of your project questions can be answered on the project page

I hope everyone has a Happy Turkey Day!!!

Thursday – 11/22/2007

Eat a lot of Turkey!!

Friday – 11/23/2007

Recover from eating a lot of Turkey

The Kneighborhood:

The Kneighborhood 11_16_2007

The first of many podcasts is up. I am definitely open to suggestions on what content to put on the podcasts. The podcasts are here to have fun and learn something while listening. I hope you enjoy.

Hey, I just tried this program called voice thread. It is really cool. I created a simple 2 minute voice thread about a classroom revolution. Since we are studying revolutions, soon I will ask you to create a voice thread about any revolution you want.

Check out mine here.

A Classroom Revolution

I got the help of my fiancee to record some of the comments. Our librarian Ms. Nelson has also recorded some comments into the voice thread. I think this will be an exciting project for you guys.

What a weekend!! (refer to previous blog)

Here’s what’s on the agenda for the week. Now we’re on the fast track to learning.

Monday- 11/12/07

MIRP

CNN Student New –> Student News Questions

Reading – “The French Revolution Begins”

The questions – French Revolution Begins – Questions

HOMEWORK – Finish “The French Revolution Begins” and 5 questions

Tuesday – 11/13/07

Things got jumbled up today because of our work in the computer lab. Sorry for the inconvenience. We’ll just catch up tomorrow.

Wednesday – 11/14/07

Reading – “The French Revolution Expands”

The questions – French Revolution Expands – Questions

Causes of the French Revolution – G.O.

Extra, Extra – Notes on the French Revolution

Video on the French Revolution.

HOMEWORK – Finish “Causes of the French Revolution” Graphic Organizer

Thursday – 11/15/07 – PAY DAY!!

7-3.3 – Latin American Independence movement.

Vocabulary Discussion – peninsulares, creoles, mestizos, caudillos, mulattos

People to Meet – Simon Bolivar, Miguel Hidalgo, Jose Maria Morelos

7-3.3 – Vocabulary Log

Friday – 11/16/07

CNN Student News

Reading – pages 107-110 – Latin American Independence

7-3.3 – Reading Questions

6-pack of Questions

I have just experienced the worst computer store ever!! Yes EVER!! DO NOT….I repeat….DO NOT EVER go to Computer Inferno or Seaside Computers. This is a local computer store in the Myrtle Beach area.

Immediately after dropping off my computer, I started having reservations. Two hours later they called and said my hard drive was fried. (Of course it was, why would it be an easy fix?) They told me they had to install a new one and it would cost $160….and they needed my credit card number over the phone. “I’ll pay you when the computer is fixed and ready to pick up…” is what I should have said. Instead I ramble off my credit card number and expiration date because I’m just so worried about my little computer who I’ve become so reliant on. They said it would be ready the next day at 3.

So I show up at my second job (I’m a teacher) and immediately tell my co-worker where I was and why I was late. He then goes into detail on how his father has a stop payment on his credit card because of this horrible place of business. Apparently, they sell old computers as new, with pirated software. I did not know this. Uh-oh!!

I have 101 scenarios of what is going on with my computer. It’s like an evil lab with an evil doctor operating on my defenseless computer. Slowly opening the machine and ripping out its guts while extracting all my personal information from my “crashed hard drive.”

I arrive home and google the evil laboratory and find out that they have about 100 complaints to the better business bureau about them. They are under investigation!! In my mind, the “salesman” I spoke with is laughing as he extracts password after password. He’s on his way to the bank right now to clean me out.

I calm myself down as I drive to the “Inferno.” I arrive 2 hours after the estimated time of completion. “Damien” tells me that it is not finished and should be ready at noon tomorrow. I give a disgruntled sigh and storm out of there. As I leave, I take a look at the car Damien drives and it is a fairly nice looking sports car…especially for someone who works at the “Inferno.” The scenarios ensue in my brain.

I couldn’t sleep all night knowing that my notebook was on the operating table. I call Damien the next morning hoping it will be ready by noon….its not…it’ll be ready by 5pm. I arrive at this place at 4pm in the hopes that it is done early…its not. I am now officially the disgruntled customer that I hope Damien has been trained to deal with…he’s not. I ask for my computer back. He says “No.” My jaw has dropped in amazement. This is my computer, why can’t I have it back. The only thing that kept me calm was another associate that came from the back room holding my compy. AHHH…my notebook is alive!! I felt like I just caught a glimpse of my kidnapped computer and everything will be all right. So I told him that someone would come and pick it up at 5:30.

Finally my computer has come home. I turn it on and I’m skeptical already. I look at my hard drive and it has shrunk. It was originally 40GB now it is 20GB. I’m done. I don’t even care. I immediately reformat everything that has been put on the “new” hard drive and start fresh. I hope Damien didn’t put any non-erasable spyware on the drive. That’s just my paranoia kicking in again.

I know it doesn’t sound that bad…but I felt helpless in that situation. It’s like going to the mechanic for an oil change and getting your car back without a working radio. (that also happened to me this week)

Moral of the story: Do your research before leaving expensive equipment at any store.

Hey everyone.  The 1st quarter is over, November is here, and Winter break is in sight.  I’d like to thank all of you for working so hard for the first nine weeks.  Keep up the great work.  All your hard work is paying off.

Just looking ahead…We have some exciting topics to learn and some great projects coming up in the near future.

Welcome to the wonderful world of Granito online!!

I created this page to add another dimension to the learning that already goes on in the classroom. I will supply you with links, pictures, games, and extra resources during the year.

We will also keep track of our year on our handy-dandy calendar.

This space is an open-forum so feel free to comment on any information or request to add any information.

Here are some helpful links to get you started.