Saturday, March 28, 2015

Almost spring break!

This week we move ahead to the unit on adverbs in our Easy Grammar book.

HOMEWORK THIS WEEK: Complete through page 186 in EG. by Thursday. On each page, complete at least four items. Be sure to leave the book with me on Thursday or it will be considered late!

We will discuss A Wrinkle in Time on Monday, then watch the movie on Days 2 and 3. We'll focus on whether the visual interpretation matches what we, as readers, see in our own mind's eye. Additionally, you will receive the next novel, When You Reach Me, on Day 2. This novel alludes to A Wrinkle in Time, and is a perfect follow-up, although there are more books in the W-I-T series: Time Quintet

Plan on reading When You Reach Me while on Spring Break.  The pacing chart is available via the important links to the right. You should have completed reading of this book by 4/23.


Have fun at your seder...next year in Jerusalem!





Sunday, March 22, 2015

The week ahead...

This week you will be assessed on your understanding of adjectives and vocabulary/roots unit 11.  I provided you with a Unit Study Guide on Thursday in class. Look carefully at page 153, especially, to see if you are finding all words that are identified as adjectives. By Friday, complete your reading of A Wrinkle in Time. If you have NOT completed your Prayer Flag, please do so sometime this week. They will be hung on the field soon!

IN CLASS
Mon./Day 1: Review of Adjectives Unit, diagramming adjectives, clarification of confusing words/roots from Unit 11
Tues. & Wed./Day 2: Adjectives Test, when completed, work on Persuasive Essay body paragraphs
Thurs./Day 3: Vocabulary/Roots Unit 11 Test
Fri./Day 4: Fragments, run-ons, splices - common errors in writing

HOMEWORK
Study for the two assessments.
Due on Friday - A Wrinkle in Time, Easy Grammar pages 219 - 222.
Due Monday 3/30 - Journal Entry #12 Please give this one significant thought before submitting.

Enjoy all the fabulous resources I posted about quantum mechanics!




Saturday, March 21, 2015

Want more mind-blowing science?

Several of you asked me for the links to the video I showed in class and to the TED talk mentioned. Your excitement about this is exactly why I choose to be a teacher. Even if you don't understand everything, understanding a little bit may lead you to learning more, and more, and more.... Additionally, you wanted "PROOF!" that the time travel experiments are real. You are wise to question the validity of these assumptions. Here are more documents for you to enjoy.

Time Travel Simulation Brief and here is the information I mentioned, which Eric and Jordan Liban explained to their blocks.

Both the general and special relativity theories have been proven with GPS satellite technology that has very accurate timepieces on board. The effects of gravity, as well as the satellites' increased speed above the Earth relative to observers on the ground, makethe unadjusted clocks gain 38 microseconds a day. (Engineers make calibrations to account for the difference.)
In a sense, this effect, called time dilation, means astronauts are time travelers, as they return to Earth very, very slightly younger than their identical twins that remain on the planet.

Here is the link to the full article where I copied the above information: Time Dilation


The original experiment write-up  This one is too technical until you get farther along in understanding the science and math, but I included it to show you it really does exist.

More about being in two places at once






Brian Cox (Physicist at Hadron Collider, CERN, Switzerland)



More about the 12 Particles and 4 Forces:




Sunday, March 15, 2015

Week of 3/16 Break a leg, thespians!

This week we continue with both the Persuasive Essay and our unit on adjectives. Friday will be a powerful and poignant trip to Whitwell, TN. The Fusion classes will wow us on Thursday evening with the Spring Concert.

Day 1: Persuasive Essay/instruction on parenthetical citation, continue work on research/begin writing body paragraphs

Day 2: Spend part of your class time working on the essay, and part of your class time working on Easy Grammar through page 163. I will be available to answer any questions.

Day 3: Lesson on the realities of time travel, review of degrees of adjectives (comparative and superlative). EG pages through 163 are due today.

Day 4: Field Trip

HOMEWORK:

Easy Grammar through p. 163 due by Thursday.
Begin learning Unit 11 vocabulary and roots.
Continue reading A Wrinkle in Time

NOTES: Adjective Unit test will be 3/24 or 3/25 depending on your block. We will review adjectives on 3/23. Unit 11 vocabulary and roots test will be 3/26. There will be no out-of school option for this test going forward.

Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Socrative -- fix thyself!!!

To all you hard-working people trying to complete the V&R 10 test on Socrative tonight, something is definitely wrong with the site. I will see what the situation is in the morning, and will have paper copies for everyone in class if the site is still not working.

Some of you were able to complete the test successfully tonight before the craziness began. I'll have a list on the board tomorrow of who does not need to take the test. Sorry about this - there is truly nothing I can do to fix it. Thank you all for being flexible about a situation that is out of our control.

Saturday, March 7, 2015

Another short week

For all you thespians, Tech Week has arrived. Muster all the patience you can for this arduous process. In class we will be pushing the "play" button on our essay process. Remember I said I would be introducing the essay, then pushing "PAUSE" for the puppet show.

Purim was an astounding success, as I knew it would be. You all were totally focused on the process and the product. You made adorable puppets, which are waiting for you to claim them in the classroom. The students at the Lower School were mesmerized! Kol haKavod to each and every one of you. Thank you for demonstrating kehillah, ruach, kavod and FUN!

See my Twitter feed for photographs of the shows and the days leading up to and including Friday.

THIS WEEK:

Monday is a regular schedule. Tuesday and Wednesday are "A" schedule days.
You may take your Vocabulary & Roots Unit 10 test on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday (no later than 5pm on Wednesday) via Socrative. Same class code: 7901110.

On Monday I will provide information about how your essay should be structured, as well as suggest tips for keeping track of your research using Google Slides.

On Tuesday I will explain parenthetical annotation and how to use EasyBib as a Chrome add-on.

On all three days, use your remaining class time to work on researching and pre-writing. You may use Webspiration, Google, hand-writing, or any other program you choose for your pre-writing. No matter which method you choose, you  MUST turn in your pre-writing with your final essay.
I don't have a due date yet. I will know the due date next week.

Homework: Complete pp. 150-157 in Easy Grammar by Wednesday, and be reading A Wrinkle in Time.  The pacing chart is under Important Links.