Who's Michael Jordan?

Tomorrow is the anniversary of 9/11.  Most of us probably don't remember that at the time Michael Jordan was considering coming out of retirement.  In fact, that was the news of the morning. 

I asked my students today how many of them knew who Michael Jordan is.  Almost all of them raised their hands.  They said things like, "Who doesn't know who Michael Jordan is?!?!" with something like contempt in their voices.

"It's crazy," I said, egging them on, "Seriously, I have students who don't know who Michael Jordan is."

Guffaws from the class.  "You can't really blame them, because most of them were barely alive in 2001.  This is after his prime, when he came back out of retirement.  Isn't it weird though," I continued, "that I have students who don't know who he was?"
Resounding consent from the classroom.

"So, you can imagine how I feel when I tell you that the majority of my students have no recollection of 9/11.  I'm neither shocked nor saddened - they were barely alive at the time.  But it is a strange feeling.  How can they not have heard about the single most important historical event of my lifetime?"

That may be extreme.  The majority of my students have heard about 9/11, but they know very little about it.  I don't blame them, but it is a surreal feeling.  I feel like I'm on the HMS Firebrand. I see the rocks ahead - I know that the students are going to know less and less about this event - but I can't turn the ship around.

Maybe this is even worse, but I think it's the last year I'll teach the lesson.  It's not in our standards, and there is such a push to teach to the test.  But I still feel like it's important.  It's worth it.

At any rate, if you read and discussed the blog and want the extra credit, discuss 9/11 with the adult you read the blog with.  See what they remember about it.  Then write down some of their thoughts (at least three sentences) and have them sign the paper.

Graded and What Not

I know I'm a little late putting this post up.  Sorry to those of you who were hoping to get a ba-jillion extra credit points.  You'll now have to settle with 5 less than that.  (Unless you're checking this after 7:30 PM Sunday night.)

So, the reason I didn't update the blog on Friday was because I was updating your grades instead.  There's something to be said for extra credit, but there's something even more to be said for timely feedback.

If you want to check and see how you did on that quiz, it's on STI.  Go ahead and look.  I hope you aced it.  Yeah, you.  The reader reading this right now.  ...If perchance you're not in my class and you happen to be reading this, I hope that you ace the next test you take.

In case you're wondering what we did in class on Friday, we read an excerpt from Dava Sobel's book: Longitude.   Then the students had a little quiz.

In order to get extra credit, read and discuss the blog with an adult.  (Maybe tell them what happened in the story from the bellwork...  I'll give you a hint: Shipwreck.)  When you're done, write the following quote on a scrap piece of paper: "Another hour flying by, and if you told me I was wonderful I probably would wonder why."  Then, have the adult you read and discussed the blog with sign the paper.

Tilted

I don't get to see my kids too much these days.  I coach volleyball and have games on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so generally speaking they're in bed before I get home.  The rest of the week we have time for dinner and story, and then they're in bed.

My wife sent me a picture of Gwennie - she had her first day of preschool today.  Apparently, she had some advice for my students:

Well Gwennie, overall the students are doing a good job.  They come in and start working right away.

While they were working on their bellwork today, I gave my first binder check.  Remember, organization is the key to success in junior high. 

The bellwork asked if they knew what caused the earth to have seasons.  (Students, you can check and see if the adult you're reading this with knows the answer.)  Then we watched this short (2:18) clip:



So, did you know the answer? 

Finally, we worked with globes in the classroom.  I gave out coordinates, and students worked together figuring out the country.

If you want credit for reading and discussing this blog with an adult, write a short explanation of why earth has seasons on a scrap piece of paper.  Then, have the adult you discussed the blog with sign the paper.  Make sure your name, date and class hour are on the paper.

You Know It, But Can You Find It

*EDIT*  I couldn't insert this picture from school since the website's still blocked.  I'm putting it at the beginning rather than the end, that way if you read this earlier and you're coming back to it, you'll catch it.  Hopefully you figure out why I put it on here after reading the whole post.

 

The past week we've been doing a lot with latitude and longitude.  Today we put it what we've learned into practice on a map.  Students had to use latitude and longitude to find various countries on a map of the world.

Here's a list of the coordinates I used in the class.  If you were absent today, it might be a good idea to check it out.  You'll have to find a map of the world online somewhere since I only have a classroom set of National Geographic Maps.  Maybe try THIS ONE.

We also broke out the globes and used latitude and longitude to find places on them as well.  I also pointed out why maps are not perfect representations of the globe.

I should probably mention how much time bellwork took.  I want my students to gain a spacial understanding of the world in here.  Granted, I think that true appreciation of this comes with age and travel - but I have them draw a map of the world once a week.  Eventually, they should be able to get one relatively quickly - under two minutes.  Today, I let them look off another map so they could better get the shape and scale of each continent.  Many students had ovals or circles for the continents on the first day - and they were in the wrong spots.  The students were were really supposed to focus today.  The maps didn't have to be perfect, but no circles.  Sometimes it helps if they imagine the continents as something else.  I always see a cat when I see Australia.  (No offense if you're Australian...) 

Remember, to get the extra credit, you have to read the blog with an adult, and discuss it.  If you did this, see if you can draw a map of the world from memory in under two minutes and have the adult you discussed the blog with sign it.  Do not take more than two minutes on the map.  If you want to practice drawing  them, that's fine... but make sure your math and language arts homework is done.

I should probably also say that the original (pre-cat) map/picture came from THIS SITE.  I'm not sure if it matters, and the copyright expired in 2010.  But credit where credit is due.  I like to think that I'm adding value, although the mapmakers may disagree.

Another Day, A Shorter Prep...

It's crazy that 5 minutes can make all the difference, but I have to cut this post short.  If you're wondering what we did in class today: we looked at some more latitude and longitude problems, played one last game of Latitude and Longitude Battleship, and looked at the globes for a while.

Tomorrow we'll use the globes most of the hour.  We'll see how it goes.

In order to get the extra credit today, plot out the following on the chart below: (10°N, 5°E) and (20°S,15°W).

Parents/Adult reading this, ask whoever you're reading it with how they got to those points.  If they could adequately explain it write: "RIGHT ON!" on a piece of scrap paper and sign it.  If you feel like they couldn't adequately explain it, write: "We'll get em next time" on a scrap of paper and sign it.