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April 20, 2005
Folk Tales
Over the last several days we have read some folk tales from around the world and learned a lot about cultures we are unfamiliar with. The People Could Fly is an African American folk tale that dates back to the days of slavery and teaches a lesson about not giving up and freedom. We read two different versions of the Cinderella story one from China and one a Native American tale. These stories provided us with an insight into a common story told from multiple perspectives. We also learned a little about the binding of the feet that was practiced in China. Today we added to these tales with two very short stories from Sweden and Syria.
In Social Studies we are working our way through Africa south of the Sahara and learning a whole lot about war diamonds and poverty. Even though some of us are not in possession of as much as we want, we are not suffering like so many people from this area of the world. I think it really struck the kids the number of people in southern Africa who have died or are infected by HIV/AIDS. Bono said, “This is the greatest moral dilemma of our generation.” The average in southern Africa is a staggering 20% infection rate with the numbers climbing to an unimaginable 33% in some areas.
All of our Field Trip arrangements are made and we are so excited to be going to Myrtle Beach on Tuesday. It is going to be an adventure and I think the kids (and adults) will really enjoy it. Be sure we will take plenty of pictures and I will have them posted up here as soon as I can when we return.
Posted by hlperson at 02:25 PM | Comments (14)
April 13, 2005
Myrtle Beach Field Trip
The All-Stars are headed to the Beach! Myrtle Beach that is, for some food at Hard Rock Café, a movie at IMAX and some fun at Broadway at the Beach. Our trip is scheduled for April 26. We will depart from school at 7:00 am and will return about 9:00pm. Transportation, lunch (including tax and gratuity), and the movie (Lewis and Clark) are included in the $38.00. The students will only need whatever money you send for them to spend. Broadway at the Beach has several shops, a Putt-Putt Course, and a Ripley’s Believe It or Not Aquarium. We are looking for some chaperones but the bus will only hold so many people so let us know if you are interested as soon as possible. The students will choose their meal ahead of time so take a look at the menu. I am attaching the Information we sent home today and itinerary here.
We took a vocabulary test today. Some of the students might be developing a case of the “pre-summer excitements” early because the scores were not as good as they should be. Please remind the students to stay on top of their work and to make sure they are studying like they should be. That extra effort will make a lot of difference.
This afternoon Norwayne was entertained and educated by the Power Team. This group has a positive message and is extremely exciting. The students seemed to have a great time and I hope they take the message to heart.
Posted by hlperson at 10:20 AM | Comments (14)
April 12, 2005
Cube It - Segregation
Today we did an activity I wish I had seen before the Writing Test. It is a great little tactile piece which makes the kids focus in on different aspects of an issue – today it was segregation – and organize their ideas. They take their topic and – Describe It, Associate It, Compare It, Argue for or Against It, Analyze It, and Apply It. I realized they did not want to “think that hard” when they began asking a million questions. Miss Yelverton worked well with Ms. Cox’s homeroom since we switched up classes this morning. This kind of an experience is extremely important to a young person who is considering education as a career path.
We are participating in the “Coins for the Cure” fundraiser to fight Parkinson’s disease. This is one of the medical issues that affected Pope John Paul’s decline and also is negatively affecting the actor Michael J. Fox. If you would like to contribute, I have told the kids I would match what our homeroom brings in up to $50.00. We are a country of so much; we must remember to do our part for those less fortunate.
Tomorrow we have a Vocabulary Test on Unit 12. It will be an eInstruction test. Today as a quick review we did a little Vocabulary Baseball. I am so glad this idea was shared with me. The kids really seem to enjoy it!
Posted by hlperson at 08:57 AM | Comments (9)
April 09, 2005
Civil Rights Grand Slam
Sometimes as a teacher you pick a lesson and it flops and then other times you hit a homerun. With the Civil Rights Unit from teachingtolerance.org the All-Stars Hit a Grand Slam!
We wrapped up our discussion of some of the “other people” involved in the Civil Rights Movement on Friday and the discussion was EXCELLENT. These young people have taken the lessons and made them their own. They have worked beyond the requirements and gathered a tremendous amount of knowledge and shared countless personal experiences. I am very proud of the work they put into the lessons and on the outcome.
Kids please share with your parents and especially your grandparents what you learned. Parents strike up a conversation. Ask them their thoughts. You will be impressed!
On Monday we will have a new team member in our class during first block. Miss Yelverton, from the Teacher Cadet program at Charles B. Aycock, will be coming to spend the next five weeks with us during first block. Miss Yelverton is interested in education as a career and decided she wanted to come and participate in our learning journey. Miss Yelverton was in my second seventh grade class at Norwayne and was on the Yearbook staff with Mrs. Elmore and myself her eighth grade year. She will be an excellent partner in our quest for more knowledge over the next five weeks and she will inspire children to enjoy learning as a professional educator. It is an honor that she chose to come back to my classroom having sat through two years of my same old jokes. I hope she learns even more with this new experience and she will shape young lives for a very long time to come.
Posted by hlperson at 12:31 PM | Comments (8)
April 06, 2005
Brackets and Civil Rights
Congratulations to our NCAA Bracket Contest Winners! Reagan H. and Jason S. finished in the lead with 41 correct. While Shawn H. was next with 40 games called right. Finishing out the leaders group were Jenny C., Jeff C., Chris S., and myself with 39 correct. The competition was intense and fun. These kids got a candy bar for coming out on top. I hope all the kids that chose to participate enjoyed the activity.
Today each student shared with students at their table, the stories they read on Monday about individuals involved with the Civil Rights Movement. What I had anticipated in being a 12-15 minute activity turned into a strong 30-minute conversation and association of how their respective people were involved with each other and at some of the same places. My goal was for this realization to happen and for the students to see how these individuals had common experiences. So I could not be happier with the kid’s and their level of thinking.
I am attaching a calendar for next school year to this document in case you want to download and print it off. It shows workdays, holidays, and early dismissal days so you can go ahead and begin scheduling. This new calendar is not ideal for me and will take some getting used to. It is geared toward keeping the high schools on the 4x4 plan without the kids having such a large break during Christmas holidays to keep the from forgetting so much material before the End of Course exams.
Posted by hlperson at 02:08 PM | Comments (10)
April 04, 2005
Just Back from Spring Break
I realize this is an awfully late post but we might have to consider this post as Monday and Tuesday. Today was our first day back from Spring Break. How do I describe the kids – hummm maybe lethargic or maybe just plain sleepy? If I hadn’t been so busy last week I probably would be extremely sleepy like the kids also. Parents can agree with me here – these kids will miss their breaks when they are older.
Today we began and exciting unit on Civil Rights. Each one of the children carried home a short story about a different person who was involved in America’s Civil Rights Movement. They have an Admission Ticket that they must complete in order to enter the discussion in class tomorrow. The discussions were exciting today but the students did not know as much about their own rights as I would of hoped. We are going to fix that! Many were surprised to learn the Norwayne Middle was the segregated school for this end of the county. When you compare it to CB Aycock the differences are striking. We pretty much put the idea of “separate but equal” out the window today. I really do hope that this unit will be a huge positive for the kids as we head forward.
On a very positive note – Our Visual Presenter and Document Camera arrived today. Ms. Cox and I played with them a little after school and I hope to have both set up and active tomorrow. This kind of technology is pretty unheard of in public schools much less middle schools. Many colleges and universities are trying to incorporate this equipment into their classrooms and we are extremely fortunate to be able to be at the front end of the movement.
Posted by hlperson at 07:23 PM | Comments (12)