The Map That Leads to You

In Social Studies, we have been utilizing basic map skills in order to perform various tasks. We have drawn maps of the classroom, school, surrounding area of Floyd, etc. Also, we took a student-led tour of the school using the maps found in their agendas. We have viewed all kinds of maps on the Smart Board as well. Students used a compass and a key to help them identify and locate important parts on their maps.

 

 

You can review the cardinal directions (North, East, South, & West) and the intermediate directions (Northeast, Southeast, Southwest, & Northwest), too. Have students find things around the house by giving them directions seen on the compass.

 

 

 

Students should be able to locate Georgia and Texas on the map. We discussed how I traveled back to my home state of Texas over Fall Break. Outside of Atlanta and Dallas, what other cities can you find on the map? 

 

 

Here is one of our favorite songs to listen to in class during our Social Studies lessons.

 

 

A-Town ELA

In English Language Arts (ELA), we are discussing the differences between nouns, verbs, and adjectives. The students know that nouns refer to a person, place, or thing. They also learned that a verb shows action. Lastly, we figured out that an adjective helps describe a noun. They make stories more interesting by providing detail. Check out some of the images below of popular Atlanta landmarks and see if you can identify the nouns, verbs, and adjectives...

 

Happy B-Day!

As part of our morning meeting everyday after breakfast (students get to eat in their homeroom classes now in middle school), we have been referencing a monthly calendar to learn days of the week, important dates, numbers, patterns, sequencing, etc.

This last week, we had fun trying to guess birthdays of my sister and Beyonce on the Smart Board. Check out Mrs. Carter's contribution to the aforementioned "Let's Move!" Campaign.

See if your child remembers when Queen Bey turned the big 33! We have the pleasure of permanently seeing one of my favorite fellow Texans next to my desk in our classroom.

Jammin' Minutes

In between lessons, my class likes to take some "brain breaks". Jammin' Minutes allow us a chance to get up out of our seats and participate in a little movement activity intermittently throughout our daily routine. We just concluded Jammin' Minute 5 this past week. With each week, comes a new Jammin' Minute. See how many action verbs your student can name from the featured video.

The idea came from the school district where I worked for the past five years. I taught 7th & 8th grade at Agnew Middle School in the Mesquite Independent School District (a suburb of Dallas, Texas). The Jammin' Minutes were created as a result of the "Let's Move!" campaign led by our nation's first lady, Michelle Obama. 

Sid the Seed

In Science, we have learned about the germination process. Students took part in planting their own seeds, watching them grow, and analyzing the results. We have discussed that germinate is a fancy word for "grow". The following video was an educational story that illustrated the concept for the students perfectly.

The students enjoyed this video as well. It showed them the process in fast forward.

The Story of the Cracked Pot

A water bearer in China had two large pots, each hung on each end of a pole which he carried across his neck. One of the pots had a crack in it, and while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water at the end of the long walk from the stream to the master's house, the cracked pot arrived only half full. For a full two years this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots full of water to his master's house. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, perfect to the end for which it was made. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do.

After two years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream. "I am ashamed of myself, and I want to apologize to you."

"Why?" asked the bearer. "What are you ashamed of?"

"I have been able, for these past two years, to deliver only half my load because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your master's house. Because of my flaws, you have to do all of this work, and you don't get full value from your efforts," the pot said.

The water bearer felt sorry for the old cracked pot, and in his compassion he said, "As we return to the master's house, I want you to notice the beautiful flowers along the path."

Indeed, as they went up the hill, the old cracked pot took notice of the sun warming the beautiful wild flowers on the side of the path, and this cheered it some. But at the end of the trail, it still felt bad because it had leaked out half its load, and so again it apologized to the bearer for its failure.
The bearer said to the pot, "Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of your path, but not on the other pot's side? That's because I have always known about your flaw, and I took advantage of it. I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back from the stream, you've watered them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate my master's table. Without you being just the way you are, he would not have this beauty to grace his house."

-An Ancient Chinese Proverb