Friday April 29, 2011

I am so proud of my students and their efforts during this weeks Ohio Achievement Tests. Our seventh grade students took the Reading portion this morning, however much of the week was spent in preparation for the test and reassuring our students that we believe in them.

Tuesday afternoon we had the privilege of listening to Jim "Basketball" Jones speak to the student body. Jim Jones was a special education student in high school but graduated at the top of his class from BGSU with a degree in business. He sent a message of positivity, humor and always doing your best– for you! I am sure our students walked out of the assembly knowing that we do not expect them to do perfect on the test; however, we want them to do their personnel best. My students thought he was amazing.

We have one more test on Thursday. This is the math test and I am sure you can understand that there will be some students who are intimidated. I will do everything on my end to reassure them that they will do their best!

HAPPY MAY!

I am so excited for May because we will be getting into our digital camera unit. I think you will be totally amazed at the photos your sons and daughters will be taking. I have a classroom set of digital cameras for them to use; however, if they have their own camera it would be great if they could bring it in. I will be able to help them with all of the extra settings on their cameras that often times get ignored. I will have a special locked cabinet in my room for them to keep their cameras. They will need to begin to bring their cameras on Tuesday, May 3.

Have a great weekend and enjoy the sunshine!

April 22, 2011

In the 1920s, Ernest Hemingway’s colleagues bet him that he couldn’t write a complete story in just six words. Hemingway won that bet with the following story: "For sale: baby shoes, never worn."

I challenged my students to write and illustrate a six word story using their word processing skills. I am very proud of their results.

You will need to click on "open publication."

Open publication - Free publishing - More story

Our blog question for this week was "I wish......"

I hope you will take a minute to read and comment on your son or daughter's post.

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SPECIAL NOTE: On Friday, April 29 our seventh grade students will be taking the Ohio Reading Achievement Assessment. On Thursday, May 5 they will be taking the Ohio Math Achievement Assessment.

It is extremely important that students be present and well rested on test days. This is an extremely stressful week. I hope you will take the time to reassure your child. Let your child know that you know tests can be hard, but that taking them provides a chance to show how well he or she can do. Be encouraging. Let your child know that you know they have been working very hard in school and you know they will do their best.

I truly believe that all of my students are champions and will be doing everything I can do to encourage them to do their very best. If there is anything I can do to help you or your child be a success please feel free to contact me. pharesr@edgewood.k12.oh.us

April 15, 2011

I am so pleased to report that once, my students considered Microsoft Excel a frustrating program; however, they are starting to get the hang of things! As a classroom teacher, Excel can be a bit frustrating to teach. There are no bells and whistles or flashy graphics, but when they see how it can actually perform complicated math problems their little eyes light up! We had several small assignments these last two weeks that were leading up to their final challenge.

I gave them an imaginary check for $7000.00 and had them go shopping on amazon.com. Their goal was to get as close to $7000.00 as they could.

They had to set up an Excel worksheet to help them keep track of their spending. They all got a big lesson when they realized how much 6% tax added up to.

While we are working with spreadsheets, students also designed a survey to give each other through Google Docs. The results will be gathered into Google Spreadsheets and students will be able to see the relationship between Excel and Google Spreadsheets. Here are a few samples of their surveys.

I will be setting up a page with a link to all of our surveys soon.

Our blog question for this week was "If I had a million ...... I would ........"

I hope you will take a minute to read and comment on your son or daughter's post.

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Excel

This week I introduced my students to Excel. According to Microsoft, " Excel is a spreadsheet program which allows one to enter numerical values or data into the rows or columns of a spreadsheet, and to use these numerical entries for such things as calculations, graphs, and statistical analysis." HOW MUCH MORE FUN CAN A SEVENTH GRADER HAVE?

Our first assignment was a student made word search. The assignment required students to design and format their first excel spreadsheet. This two day project went smoothly and was a great introduction to Excel.

Next, we started to explore the charting feature on excel. Students have found this to be very helpful as they are starting to work on their science projects which require a chart. To complete this assignment, students had to use their Internet research skills to discover and chart the Planetary Distances from the Sun.

Next week students will be discovering Excel's mathematical formulas and functions.

This weeks blog question was "What is your favorite memory of Spring Break 2011?" You can read and comment by following the links below.

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