Olivia's First Polar Plunge

Watch the video of Olivia jumping in her first polar plunge ever. She loved it and said she will do it again. I had a lot of fun jumping with her and seeing her do something challenging. Every so often, we need to challenge ourselves, to do something just to see if we can do it. I always encourage Olivia to be a leader and do thinks that take bravery and toughness. For the Polar Plunge, it was a great experience for Olivia to jump in the freezing water just to see if she 'could do it,' which she did. I asked Olivia what she was thinking right before we jumped in, as we were looking into the water and she said, "Well, there's no turning back now." I love that. It shows she is brave and going to take on whatever challenge she is facing and not back down. Be like Olivia. Be brave. Don't back down from anything.

Post-Test Stress Reliever

You have completed the Ancient India test. You might be feeling a little tired, or perhaps feel as if a huge burden has been lifted, or feel the stress leaving your body, or excited about your good grade or depressed about your poor grade or wondering why you are reading this. You might feel as if you can conquer the world now that you have conquered the India test. Well, I am here to tell you that you can. You can conquer the world or whatever you want to conquer. All it takes is a focus. Make decisions in your life that will lead you to your goals. Anyway, now that you are done with the test, you might need to relieve some stress. I am going to provide you with some options. These are the ONLY options you have once you are done with the test.
OPTIONS
StickMan animation (cool site. Draw a stick-man and watch it come to life!)
Fun Mind Games
CNN.com (read up on your current events)
Build a Ziggurat. My All-time record: 59 seconds. (this site might not work)

Sweet Pictures

Never Before Seen Deep Sea Creatures!

Optical Illusions

Ancient India Study Guide

Ancient India students: I have provided for you a study guide for ancient India. Being that I will not be able to hold a WSG Live! Study session, I still wanted to provide you with something that will help you study for the test. This study guide doesn't have everything on it, but it will guide you to what you will need to know. Read through the study guide a few times, then perhaps have your parent and/or friend quiz you. Much of the material you used in your newspaper project and collage project is what you need to know, so we have been using the information quite a bit already. If the above slideshow doesn't work, then use the link under the "Ancient India Unit" section on the right side of this site. You have heard me say this a lot, if you have no idea how to study for a test, then start with this study guide, or use the online flashcards posted on the Online flashcard page. Put in some time getting yourself prepared. It will pay off on Friday when you rock the test.

Thank you.

Navy SEAL David Rutherford Visits BVMS

Last week, David Rutherford, US Navy SEAL, visited our school and talked to us about his life philosophy called Froglogic. This name, very cleverly, combines the ancestors of the Navy SEALs called frogmen and the brain making a new way of thinking. David talked to us about the eight mission: positive attitude, PT/living healthy, motivation, mentoring, setting goals, integrity, having fun, and earning respect. These missions, as David points out, are all free. It doesn't cost anything to have a positive attitude, it just takes a conscious effort to change your thinking. You all wrote great reflections about David's visit. Now, I challenge you to not just say you are going to change but to ACTUALLY change. Follow through with what you said you were going to do. Pick a mission from froglogic and focus on doing it. Set a goal. Wake up in the morning and tell yourself you are going to have a positive attitude. Find a mentor. Go have fun. Get some exercise. Eat healthy. Be great and make a difference in this world. You have that ability. Just ask David. http://www.teamfroglogic.com

Water for Sixth Grade Photographer

For the first time in the 4 year history of Water for Sixth Grade, a new employee is going to be hired. Since the beginning, I have been the only one that has worked on WSG. As CEO and President, I have done everything. It has reached the point where there are things I do not have time to do but want to do on this site. So it is time for me to hire WSG's first ever employee. Do you have what it takes to be the first ever employee? This is a job that needs to be taken very seriously because it is an important job. This is a job that will take some bravery and guts. A job that your work will be on display. It is a job that will be a lot of fun to do. I will be your boss but also someone who will help you do a good job and give you ideas.
JOB DESCRIPTION: Water for Sixth Grade Photographer. I have a page at the top of WSG that is called "Snapshots." Well, as you can all see, it is blank, there are no snapshots. I do not have time to take pictures and upload them, so that is what your job will be, if you are hired. The "snapshot" page could be a very fun page on WSG because it can show the life of sixth graders here at Brandon through pictures. The person who is hired will meet with me about what to take pictures of, when to take them, etc.
APPLYING FOR THE JOB: If you want to be the FIRST ever employee of Water for Sixth Grade, then all you have to do is post a comment to this blog post with:
1. Name
2. Why you think you would be a good WSG Photographer.

The application process will close on Sunday, January 22 at 6:00 p.m. On Monday, the announcement will be made as far as who got the job. I will select the person in a fair way in which everyone has a chance that applied.

Good Luck and I look forward to working with you.

Blue-Man Teaches Us About the Aryans

I would like to introduce to you Blue-Man, a slightly odd and not very intelligent person who is blue. Blue-Man always finds himself in weird situations but somehow manages to learn about the ancient world. Move over, Johnny Rawten, Blue-Man is here to help us learn. (Don't worry, Johnny, you are still our main character). Blue-Man loves to watch t.v., but gets annoyed because the t.v. is broken AND a mysterious person is randomly shouting facts about the Aryans. Your job? No, not to fix the t.v. Your job is to post a comment telling me 5 things you learned about the Aryans from our first Blue-Man comic of the year. For now, Blue-Man is obsessed with his television, but what is next? Stay tuned.
TASK: Post a comment with 5 things you learned from the Blue-Man comic. Number each piece of information. (1. 2. 3. 4. 5.)
Points: 20 points
DUE: Friday, January 20th, 2012. 11:00 p.m.

David Rutherford, US Navy SEAL, Visits 6th Grade

Tuesday, we have a tremendous opportunity as a US Navy SEAL visits our school and talks to our 6th graders. David Rutherford was a SEAL for 8 years and served all over the country. Now, we serves his country by speaking to kids and adults about living a team life with focus on self-confidence, attitude, commitment, and many others. Pay attention because what David has to say are things we need to hear!

The Taj Mahal

There are major structures of the Ancient World. We have studied some of them such as the Pyramids of Egypt and the Great Wall of China. Now, as we study ancient India, we again find a major structure, which is considered to be one of the seven wonders of the world. I would like you to learn about the Taj Mahal and to do that, let's take a look at a website.

Task: Use this Taj Mahal Website to answer the questions about the Taj Mahal.
Points: 15 (3 points per question)
DUE: Friday, January 13, 2012. Midnight.

QUESTIONS
1. Who ordered the construction of the Taj Mahal?
2. How long did it take to build?
3. How many visitors does the Taj Mahal attract annually?
4. How much did the Taj Mahal cost in modern American currency?
5. Summarize the origins of the Taj Mahal.

Post a comment to this blog post with your answers.

Ancient Quest: "I Build in Mohenjo-Daro"

At the beginning of the chapter, Johnny finds himself on the top of Mt. Everest but that isn't his only problem as he begins his attempt to earn his 5th golden coin, getting one step closer to saving the Tiger. In Ancient India, Johnny will be foreced to live in horrendous living conditions, that is, until he decides to make things better.

Read: 6. I Build Mohenjo-Daro

Christmas Prezi from Italy

Christmas 2011 at Petrignano di Assisi,Italy on Prezi

What Happened Over Break?

Class time gets busy with social studies, learning, teaching, and so on. So sometimes we don't have enough time to do other just as important things like talking and continuing to get to know each other. Yesterday, on our first day back from break, we did not get a chance to share with our classmates what we did over the winter break. I hope it was a week of relaxation and fun for all of you. I enjoyed myself with my family, reading, watching movies, and playing with BeyBlades with Olivia's new Beystadium. Anyway, just because we didn't get a chance to share yesterday, doesn't mean I don't want to know how your break was. So, with this blog post, share your winter break memories. What did you do? Get anything cool for Christmas? Go on any trips? I want to hear about your vacation. Thank you.

A Vision of Students Today...

Students, I found this video on YouTube. I think it is a very interesting look at students in today's world. You/Us are so much different than students of the past in the way we think and learn. Check out the video and tell me what you think...

Current Events! Spanning the Globe

Welcome back. Though the winter vacation was wonderful, it is good to be back in school and back to work. We had a great first semester, now lets focus on having an even better second semester. I would also like to welcome you back to Water for Sixth Grade. Our blog has a new look and is ready to go. For our first week back, to help us "ease" back in to the school routine, I am going to have you do a "current event" activity. Being 6th graders, you are not too young to know what's going on in the world. In fact, you are at the perfect age because you are just starting to develop your own thoughts and opinions so this is a good time to explore that. A lot happens in our world everyday, things that I think we should be aware of. A "current event" is something that has happened in the last few weeks. I am going to have you find a current event that is of interest to you and share that with the class. This is the first time we have done this, so do a good job. I think you might find it rather interesting once you start digging into the news. Below, I will provide you with some good websites that you could use to find a current event.

Task: Find a current event from the USA or from somewhere around the World.

-You will NOT post a comment on this activity. You will write/type your current event on a piece of paper and turn it in on FRIDAY, January 6th after we share.

Format: Title of your current event activity is the name of the article and the website you found it. First paragraph (4-5 sentences) is a summary of the current event article you found. Second paragraph (3-4 sentences) is your opinion of the current event, just what you think about it.

DUE: Friday, January 6th in class.

Points: 20 points.

Websites to help you:

http://www.cnn.com/

http://www.keloland.com/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/

http://www.drudgereport.com/

http://www.foxnews.com/

http://www.dogonews.com/

http://www.currentevents.com/

http://www.argusleader.com/