Sixth grade has been studying ancient Rome, so...

Postcrossing

I've joined up on Postcrossing.

At Postcrossing you get to send postcards and receive random postcards from anywhere in the world. I thought it would be a fun way to teach geography. I hope to start a second blog for my Postcrossing postcards. I'm going to let the students contribute to the blog and manage the postcards. That's the plan, at least.

UPDATE! I finally got the blog going. It is the WR Geo Blog. Check it out!

Chicken Mummies

Wow! It's been a while since we updated this blog. Spring semester always seems to get so busy! Well, the chicken mummies took about eight weeks to dry out. The didn't stink up my room too much except when we had to open the bags and change the salt. I had some very brave students that volunteered to work with the chickens and some very strong deodorizing spray. I couldn't even get near them or I would gag! The chickens lost a considerable amount of weight over the eight weeks, but the measurements the kids took weren't always accurate because of the type of scale we were using, so I'm not sure of exact amounts.

In the end, we decided we would only wrap up one chicken because the gauze was so expensive and the things smelled so badly. During study hall some very brave girls wrapped the chicken with the gauze dipped in glue. It took a couple days for the gauze to dry. During that time the class didn't smell so great. Some of the kids expressed an interest in taking the chickens home, but I didn't think any parents would be too keen on that, so one evening I stayed late, threw all the chickens away, and thoroughly cleaned my classroom.

The chicken mummies were an interesting project, but they took too much time out of my class. We probably spent the first two weeks just changing salt everyday, so that put me way behind schedule for the rest of my lessons. Also I couldn't eat chicken for a few weeks! I'm glad we experimented with this project this year, but I doubt I'll do it again anytime soon.

Sixth Grade Quiz

Our sixth grade social studies quiz was moved from Friday to Tuesday. Don't forget!

History Changes. - Sixth Grade

This week in social studies students will learn how new archaeological findings can change theories of history. We will also discuss migration, social division, the rise of villages, and the difference between the Old Stone Age and the New Stone Age. On Friday we will have a quiz over our information on Early Man. Vocabulary includes: prehistory, migrate, archaeology, artifact, technology, domesticate, agriculture, surplus, nomad, social division, Stone Age.

Iceman History Mystery - 6th Grade

Sixth grade students are learning to think like archaeologists before beginning their trip around the ancient world. They have been studying the mystery of the Otzi, the Iceman and analyzing the evidence and artifacts left behind to determine a theory about this early man's life and death. This project sets the stage for a year of archeological adventures!!!

Ancient Egypt

Interested in Ancient Egypt? Be sure to check out the sixth grade links at the side of the page.

Blogs for Students

An idea I dabbled with last year was letting the students create their own blogs for use in the classroom. I recently read another couple articles about student blogs in elementary schools. I really like the idea and am pondering ways to use student blogs. We could definitely use them instead of the notebooks for the daily journals. I think we could use them in reading class as well. Social studies too, but I'd have to set the other class up with blogs to make it fair. Mrs. Pacheco could use it for science also. I would like some input from students or parents. How would you feel about writing responses in a student blog? The blog would be your own creation, and I would give you time in class to log in and use it. Blogs would be safe because no personal information is given and the publisher can set their own privacy level so nothing would be publicly viewed (like on a search engine). Like I said, I would like to hear some opinions on this. Write a quick comment on this post or take the poll on the right side of the page!

Reading Roosters!

Several students have completed independent book projects. Each completed book and book project bring us that much closer to our 100 book goal and our ice cream sundae party! Projects range from letters to authors to posters to skits. I love seeing how creative my class is! Students who have completed projects include: Alejandra, Candace, Kyle S., Kristyn, Hannah, Ricky, Sheldon, Kyla and Emma (hope I remembered all of you). Keep reading!!!

Our First Rockin' Rooster this Year!

I have a class full of students that I could have easily picked for Rockin' Rooster, but I chose someone who has a great attitude, someone who always gives 100 percent no matter how small the assignment. I also chose someone who is probably in competition with other members of his family for the first Rockin' Rooster of the year. I know he rocks because he tells me everyday! Congratulations Tou Lor!!!

The Iceman!

Sixth grade students are learning to think like an archaeologist as they uncover the mystery behind the Otzi, the ancient "Iceman" discovered frozen in the Alps in 1991 by a team of hikers. If you want to learn more, try checking out this link. For pictures (some are gross) of the discovery look here.

Congratulations Alejandra Marin!

Congrats to Alejandra for being the first to complete a book project and get her name on the board for the Reading Roosters' ice cream sundae party! Keep reading!

Sixth Grade on Field Trip

I found these photos on my camera that I took on our field trip to Roaring River. I thought it was a cute shot of all of sixth grade. Hope you enjoy!

Middle Ages Project for Sixth Grade

Links to use for the Middle Ages project can be found on sixth-grade links section. Remember, your project is due Wednesday, April 30.

Egypt is a Wrap!

Sixth grade students really impressed us with their pyramid projects! Congratulations to all the students, and thanks to all the parents for their help and advice. Several of the pyramids are on display in our library. I'll probably send them home next week.

Now we are off to ancient China! I'll put some links on this site for you to check out. No big projects are scheduled for China, but we will do some really fun things in class such as make Chinese lanterns and make our own paper! Should be lots of fun!

Reading Roosters

The Reading Roosters in Mrs. Pacheco's class have been reading up a storm. They have met their goal of 50 books! Now it's time for my students to kick into high gear. We are still 21 books away from our goal and the ice cream party!!!

Pyramids!

What an awesome job the students did on their pyramids! I hope to get some photos of them uploaded soon. I can't wait to see the castles in the spring!

Egypt!

Our Egyptian project is underway. Projects are due Wednesday, November 14. Look below at the sixth grade links for lots of cool sites about Egypt!

Color Test

Do you know your colors? Check out the "General Links for You" area and look for the Color Test!

Moving Day!

Moving day has come and gone, and it was crazy!!! Thanks to all you students who gave a helping hand. We couldn't have done it without you. Of course, we will still be living out of boxes for a while, so be patient. I'm going to try my hardest to have us all settled in and all the boxes out of the way by the end of next week. Hope you like our new home!