Mrs. CG’s Class Blog

WHAT IT MEANS TO BE GT…WE’RE GT ON THE INSIDE, TOO.

Gang,  Check out the website at the right–Hoagies’ Website for Gifted Kids.  This is FOR YOU and there’s everything there from fun and games to personal issues that you’re worried about.  Lots of resources.  There’s even information for your family!  But, mostly, it’s all for YOU!

WHAT’S BEING LABELED GT GOT TO DO WITH ANYTHING?

We know we’re different.  That’s a big reason why GT exists!  It’s about intellectual capacities, absolutely.  That’s the first issue that brings students into a GT center.  But, then there’s this other stuff…the stuff that we spend time thinking about, worrying about…and sometimes this stuff boils into issues that we are very, very sensitive about–FRIENDS, FRIENDSHIPS, AND RELATIONSHIPS IN GENERAL WITH OTHER PEOPLE!

We are just looking at life with some very different lenses on than some other folks…you know what I mean?  I am thinking we all need a spot to download some of those thoughts.  First off…anybody out there just feel different?  You feel like you’re not like other people?    I’m happy to go first with this one because let me just say right now that I definitely do not feel like other people.  When I look at other people interacting, I do not feel that I fit into the mold that has people hanging out together!  When in conversations with folks from dinner parties with grown-ups to talking to somebody in a store, etc…you know…grown-up interactions…my thoughts are often different than the people I’m talking to.  My feelings are often different and unexplainable to others that I’m interacting with.  And I often feel shy or put-out to even open up and tell people all of the crazy ideas that are racing through my mind 100 mph!  They certainly will think I’m as freakish as I think of myself!

So, are you alone?  No.  Anybody out there with feelings or thoughts like that?  Friendship woes? 

Because nice matters…

Let’s discuss it.  And this is a touchy area, so everybody keep their most polite communication skills on full power so we don’t hurt one another’s feelings, ok?  I know you can do it!  You’re all remarkably good hearted people.   Let’s see if we’re all feeling just a little bit different from time to time…or a lot of the time, like me!!

A daily assignment given to a different student each day is to assemble and publish detailed class notes from science class.  As we have many students, we must share this responsibility.  Your posting must be done and posted by 5PM in the evening so study time is allowed to all students.  Our goal by the end of the year is to have assembled a detailed book on everything one needs to know to be successful in 5th grade science in Virginia!  What an awesome task we have, but I feel confident that you’re all up to it and look forward to reading these notes each day.  As always, consider that your work is instantly published to the world, so you have truly an global audience to your writing.  Do your best work, as always. 

WEEKLY SCIENCE ASSIGNMENT–OUTSIDE, EVERYBODY!

This is going to be where you find your weekly Outside Assignments.  Your first assignment for the 08/09 school year is this:  Each week, you’ll be expected to put down your precious DS, GameBoys, computers, cells, gadgets, and all things electronic in order to make a concerted effort to go outside and observe nature.  On your nature journey, the only electronic devices you may carry are flashlights and cameras in order to record special findings.  You will want your notebooks in order to record observations.

NATURE JOURNEY?  WHAT THE?!?!?!

Your nature journey requires you to be outside in the gorgeous, fresh air for a minimum of 30 minutes straight.  You are to walk of your own volition, not being pushed in a buggy by your parents, and to explore the natural world around you.  This may be as simple as walking through your own backyard or on one of the many green spaces and paths we have in Northern Virginia.  Perhaps your family will do a family hike in the Shenandoah on the weekend, and your nature journey can happen there as well. 

YOUR MISSION, SHOULD YOU CHOOSE TO ACCEPT IT…(and, of course you will!)

Your mission is to find a biotic or abiotic feature,  photograph it, observe it and take notes about its environment.  Then you will return to your technologically-powered reality to research this biotic or abiotic specimen.  You will enter a blog on  Science-Get Outside! including uploading a picture of your specimen.  Your blog entry will include scientific name, physical characteristics described, location found, type of environment (woodland, swamp), how it produces energy, how it is consumed, who eats this, what does it eat?  How does this thing live or exist?  If abiotic, how do you think it possibly came to be in this location, in this physical condition.  Of course, as time goes on, we will think of more information to include, and you are always welcome to include as much information that you can research!  In other words…tell me all about your specimen in detail.

WHAT AM I GETTING FOR ALL THIS TROUBLE, MY BELOVED TEACHER?  TELL ME THAT!

Worth 10 points!  This is a weekly assignment, due by Sunday evening each week unless otherwise noted by me.  So, Get Outside!! And enjoy!  And please remember that when you blog, you have an instant audience around the world.  Choose your words carefully, manage what you write elegantly, and consider your audience thoughtfully.  The whole world can see what you write.

Enjoy, my nature bunnies!

Kiddoes, This is your chance to put your creative genius to work!  How do you think our blog should be used?  What is helpful?  Should this be a journal for all of us to share our thoughts?  Should we have many pages which serve many purposes?  Do we need a page of just our chatter?  How should we proceed with these blogs?

Now, I would say this…It is important that we have a focus and a purpose.  This cannot be a spot for willy-nilly kidspeak, as you all know how I dislike that.  We must have a place to talk about life, but we also need a space to proceed with our academics.  Remember, you’re being trained to be intellectuals, and hence we shall drive on!

So, comments and ideas, please…!  Here’s a place to go to for some basic information on blog:  http://computer.howstuffworks.com/blog.htm

5th Grade Class from 07/08…Your Feedback is Essential!

You’ve had an action packed year, My Wonderfuls, and it ended all too soon.  As you can see, this is a brand new blog which I hope you will join and share your thoughts with me and with one another.   I’m always interested in your thoughts about your time in fifth grade so I can continue my experiments next year…so in this spot you have a chance to comment on the highlights in your core subject areas as well as your overall experiences in 5GT.  Remember, I asked you to do this for the book I kept on your thoughts this year?  Well, how awesome would it be for you to share those thoughts with everybody so all of you could read one another’s opinions?  Don’t be shy! 

And as always, remember that this is open to the public, so when you publish your words, you want to use your best manners!  …and your best grammar!  No IM language, please.

I’m just back from Chincoteague where I checked out the birds, the ponies, and the intercoastal waterway on a pontoon boat!  In this photo, I’m slogging through a marsh stream which was in low tide.  As amazing as it seemed, two welks were found trying to dig into the mud so gulls would not get through their shells and end up as dinner.  Along with the welks, fiddler crabs, a variety of clams, and many jellies were found in this stream.  In our biology unit, we discuss these life varieties.  If any one has pictures or samples, feel free to share!

Does anybody have any pictures of  the great outdoors that you can post for us in this blog?  Feel free to do so!

THE MUST SEE GUY IN CHINCOTEAGUE!! is definitely Captain Barry!  Captain Barry will pilot a pontoon boat FOR YOU so you can just enjoy the nature!  He knows where to go to see the most wildlife and get you right in the middle of it.  If you see him from a distance over the water, you’ll think you’re seeing people walking on water! 

CLAMMING THE CAPTAIN BARRY WAY…means stopping at what seems to be the middle of the water in the Intercoastal Waterway which in some places is very shallow, getting off the boat, and WALKING!  We dug our feet into the mud to find clams which feel like rocks.  Captain Barry then shucked a clam for me and I got to eat it RAW right there!!  Super cool!

Hi Everybody!  This is my brand new blog, and my hope is that you will join in here to discuss what you’ve been reading this summer.  Maybe that way we can all find new books to read and love!

I’ll start:  Currently, I am reading Kurt Vonnegut’s ‘Slaughter House Five’ because I know you read an excerpt from it in class with Mrs. S. this year.  I’ve also just finished reading Maya Angelou’s ‘I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings’.  I’m also in the middle of ‘Crime and Punishment’, but it’s a bit heavy, actually.  Not sure if I’m going to hang in there with that one.  All of these are books written for adults, but I am very interested in what you’re reading, why, and what you’re thinking of it.  So, let me know!  As always, I’m interested in your thoughts about what you’re reading….