Memorial Day

Today is Memorial Day. A day to remember and honor those who paid the ultimate sacrifice defending the United States of America. Being that I am a history/social studies teacher, here is a quick Memorial Day lesson.  Memorial Day was originally called "Decoration Day" and was first created to honor all those who died in the Civil War. Memorial Day was officially proclaimed on May 5, 1868 by General John Logan, general of the Union army and was first observed on 30 May 1868, when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery. The first state to officially recognize the holiday was New York in 1873. By 1890 it was recognized by all of the northern states. The South refused to acknowledge the day, honoring their dead on separate days until after World War I (when the holiday changed from honoring just those who died fighting in the Civil War to honoring Americans who died fighting in any war). It is now celebrated in almost every State on the last Monday in May (passed by Congress with the National Holiday Act of 1971, to ensure a three day weekend for Federal holidays), though several southern states still have an additional separate day for honoring the Confederate war dead. 
We enjoy an amazing amount of liberties here in the USA. What allows that? Well, it is the men and women fighting and dying to protect our country and to protect our rights. Today is a day that can not pass without us giving some time to think about what today means and why we have it. It is a day that we must be conscious of and be appreciative of. We tend to take a lot of things for granted in America (myself included) but please, stop and think about all the people who have died for this country. Find a war veteran. Talk to them. Thank them. Be a good American and show respect and honor for all those who died protecting you. 

Decisions, Decisions...

School is over. Summer vacation is here. So what does that mean? Does that mean you should sit around and do nothing productive? Waste every day and not take advantage of the opportunity to make yourself better? What you do with your summer, your life, is one of them many decisions you have to make. The average adult human being makes 35,000 decisions per day. That is a lot. I've been thinking about my own decisions. Some are very small. Other's are quite big. I am making decisions constantly, like: what am I going to have for breakfast? What websites I'm going to browse? What TV shows should I watch? What type of attitude will I have? As a kid, your decision making is something you need to be conscious of. Some decisions you make are small, but again, some are large. When you wake up in the morning, are you going to make a decision to do something that day to improve yourself? Are you going to stare at a video game all day, or pick up a book and learn something? Are you going to horse down a bag of chips, or are you going to go outside and get some exercise? What decision are you going to make when it comes to your behavior? How you act towards friends, family, and others is a decision you make. If you act disrespectful, then that was a decision you made. So, why? Why choose that? Instead, why not make the decision to be respectful? Make the decision to help out, to be nice, and to do what you can to make a difference. A common question is, "Well, how do I know what the right decision is?" When faced with a decision that is rather large, just think about it for a moment. If you think, you will get a feeling of what you should do. If not, ask a trusted friend for advice. Decisions, Decisions.....Make good ones.

Sioux Falls Rocky

Here is a video you might find interesting. This is a video my brother-in-law and I made for the West Mall 7 Theatre. I play the role of "Sioux Falls Rocky" and I'm running to the West Mall theatre because of the cheap tickets. It was fun to make and yes, I did drink real raw eggs at the beginning.

Shingling has begun...

This is me standing on a roof. 

Well, we are into our first full week of summer vacation. I hope you are all having a splendid time. Thank you to those of you who posted a comment on the last blog post. I appreciated reading what you had to say and was glad to hear from you. Well, our family vacation to the Black Hills was fun, except for the fact I was without internet/computer for 3 days!!!  I barely survived. We saw some buffalo which the girls thought was cool. I really enjoyed eating Rocky Road ice cream in a waffle cone. Delicious. The vacation is over which means I have started shingling. We had an easy day on Monday but today was a little longer. The wind is extremely annoying, but the temperature is good. I will be shingling in Brandon on Thursday, so perhaps I will see some of you riding your bikes around. I have also continued my training for this summer's Triathlons. The schedule is: Sioux Falls, Canby, and Watertown. They are a blast.
 Like I said in school, I will posted once in a while during the summer, so check back to see what I've been up to.  Please feel free to comment on anything you want. It's fun to hear from you. 
-Mr. Klumper

6th Graders No More...

The school year is over and you are 6th graders no more. No matter what happens in the future, it will never be the same as it was this year, when I got the awesome opportunity to be your teacher. As I sit down at my computer, I can't help but look at the clock, checking to see what class period we would be in, thinking about what types of activities we could be doing, wondering what would be going on, listening for the door to open. But no students will pass through my door today. My room will remain silent and empty, with just me and my thoughts of this school year. You, my 6th grade students of 2011-2012, will never pass through my door as my students again. I hope that you will not be strangers as you get older and pass through the grades. I hope that you would still find time in your ever increasingly busy lives to come see me or send me an email, or just say Hi. Why do I hope this? It is simple: because I care. I care about you. I care about your future. It is because of this, that you need to know something very important: I am here for you. I am your supporter. I am in your corner as you take on whatever life throws your way. You need to make sure you know that if you ever need anything, I will do all that I can to help. Though my title is no longer "teacher" for you, it has become and will remain "friend."  Yes, I will definitely miss you all but I am excited to see what you become in life. You have so much potential. Please realize this and don't waste it. Continue to think, to search, to discover. Be fearless in life. Make a goal and do whatever it takes to achieve it. Don't let anything stop you. Go out and dominate life and if you ever come across an obstacle, know that I am there to help you. Take care and have a great summer. 

-Mr. Klumper

PS: If you have time and would like to, post a comment to this blog post about anything you are thinking about that you would like to say to me...

The Donation has Been Made!

Today during our 6th grade awards assembly, we donated $4,000 to the Make-A-Wish foundation, which we raised during the 2012 Wax Museum. We do the Wax Museum for many reasons: reading, writing, thinking, learning, researching, speaking, etc, but because of the way we do the Wax Museum, money is collected. It only takes a penny to make our wax statues come to life, but that penny soon turns into thousands of dollars, which is a testament to the generous community we live in and to how awesome you all did. The 6th grade awards assembly is a time when individuals are honored for various things. However, each student in 6th grade had a huge part in making the 2012 Wax Museum a success. Great job. I am so very proud of you.

BlueMan gets a new neighbor

BlueMan is excited that he is getting a new neighbor, until...........

The 1,000 Word Challenge

Welcome to the 1,000 word challenge. You have been preparing all year for this. Now that we have completed all 8 ancient worlds and have finished the book "Ancient Quest", it is time to embark on our own quest, a quest to reach 1,000 words in one blog comment. Many have attempted this challenge, but few have accomplished it. There have been blog all-stars from the past, some of them might even be your siblings. However, in order for you to reach 1,000 words, it will take effort, fortitude, toughness, bravery, skill, and a lot of words (duh). So, what is the 1,000 word challenge, you ask? Well, we have covered a lot in social studies. You have also covered a lot in all your other classes and in 6th grade in general. So, for your 1,000 word challenge, I want you to write about 6th grade. Start with some things you learned in social studies, activities you liked, things you thought were cool, favorite things, things you will miss and then move on to your other subjects. What will you remember from 6th grade? When you are 50 years old and you look back to your 6th grade school year, what will stand out in your memories? You have a lot to talk about, so coming up with 1,000 words is not the problem, the challenge will be sticking with it and getting all those words typed.  I wish you good luck on this monumental quest. If you are lucky enough to succeed, you will have earned the titled: Master Blogger of WSG. 

If you are unable to reach 1,000 words, then just post how ever much you have. 

Example of what 1,000 words looks like in Microsoft word. 
Deadline: May 16th, 2012

WSG Live! Medieval Times

Welcome to the grand finale for WSG Live! This will be the last live chat session on Water for Sixth Grade for the school year. This has been a new feature this year on WSG and I hope it has been one that has helped you. It is not very often that you have the opportunity to study WITH your teacher the night before a test. I hope you join us for WSG Live! tonight at 7:00. If you do not participate, then PLEASE, PLEASE use some of the other study tools to get prepared. I would recommend the online flashcards and the video: "Crazy Izzy's Medieval Study Guide." Also, your word chop can become a very valuable tool if you put in the work. No matter what you choose to do, please put forth max effort in getting prepared for the Medieval Times exam. Thank you. 
WSG Live! will begin at 7:00 sharp.

2012 Wax Museum

Watch the video and relive our magical Wax Museum night. I am proud to call myself your teacher. If you would like a copy of this video, bring me a DVD and I will burn you a copy.

Crazy Izzy's Medieval Study Guide

Watch this video and discover some questions that will be on your test. Crazy Izzy has a bunch of questions for you, but you must figure out the answers. Good Luck!

Preparing for the Medieval Times Exam

Medieval Times Test: May 8th, 2012 in class. The test will be approximately 40 questions, multiple choice. Since this is your last big test of the school year in social studies, I think it would be good for you to start preparing over the weekend. Monday we will review in class, but it takes a little bit more effort than that to be successful. 
Monday in class: Review Looping, Word Chop challenge (difficult)
Review on your own: 
-WSG Live! 7:00-7:30 p.m.
-Study your physical feature map
-Study your European countries map
-Complete Information packet/Questions (Life in Medieval Times, Rulers/Invaders, and Crusades)
-Finish Manor Map
-Complete "I Stop the Black Death"
-Go through ONLINE FLASHCARDS review on WSG
-Watch "Crazy Izzy's Got Some Questions" (coming soon on WSG)
-Complete Islam Wheel
-Review Black Death notes

The Religion of Islam

Islam is the second largest religion of the world behind Christianity. Islam has roughly 1.5 Billion followers. During the Medieval Times unit, we study the Crusades, which was a holy war between Christianity and Islam. We shall now take a closer look at the religion of Islam. With this prezi, fill out your graphic organizer exactly how it shows. The pictures the prezi takes you to is just for your information. This graphic organizer needs to be filled out for your test. Good Luck!

Chart of the Major Religions of the World

via chartsbin.com

The Black Death

The Bubonic Plague, nicknamed the Black Death for the black spots it caused on the victim's skin, terrorized Europe during the Medieval Times. It killed over 20 million people in five years, almost 1/3 of the population. Not only was this devastating but the effects of this population loss reached beyond just people dying. Shortage of labor, people questioned their faith, and entire towns would simply just disappear. People had no idea what was causing it or how to not get it. Crazy methods were used to cure people who got infected. Methods like bloodletting which is when you cut open a hole in the person's arm or leg and let the "infection" bleed out. This did not work. Some people thought they were being punished for their sins so they would punish themselves by whipping their own backs. Little did people know that this horrendous outbreak was caused by rats and fleas. The dirty conditions of the time made it a perfect spot for rats and fleas. To help you picture how terrible the Black Death was, read this eye witness account.

Black Death Eye Witness Account 

Bubonic Plague Music Video

The Manor System

The Manor system was a very important aspect of the Medieval Times. It set the stage for farming and land-owning. It wasn't just a farm. It was basically its own complete unit. Above, is video of me taking you through the Manor system and explaining what the components are and showing you a diagram of its layout.
STUDENT EXPECTATION: Watch the video, write down the components of the Manor system, and understand what each item is/does. In class on Thursday, we will work on sketching out the Manor system of poster paper so we can get a better idea of what they look like. 
IMPORTANT: You need to watch the VIDEO before Thursday's class period! 
How to view the Video: It will be posted on Water for Sixth Grade. It will also be in the Apps drive under the folder: "Klumper" If you do not have computer/internet at home, you need to watch it at school (before school, after school, during lunch, during study hall etc.)
The video is only 7 minutes long. 
Good Luck and make sure you are prepared for Thursday.