How to Access Google Drive

We've been working hard on putting together our magazine articles.  Many of the kids have been using their chrome books to access information and type their article.  I have asked them to have a completed rough draft of at least 5 paragraphs by Tuesday.  They asked if I could post the information to access their google drive from home so they could work on it.  So, here goes (Thanks to David for explaining how to do this):
1. Go to google.com
2. In the upper right hand corner you will see a button to sign-in - click this button and sign-in
3. Once you've signed in their will be a bar across the top of your page that says "search, images, maps..."
4. The drive tab is almost all the way over to the right of the bar.
5. Click on "drive"
6. This should allow them to access anything they have saved on their chrome books

I hope everyone has a great and restful weekend.  I look forward to seeing everyone on Monday.

Mr. Chris

A fun picture of the class as they got ready to leave Friday afternoon.

Homework: March 18 - 22, 2013

1. Read each night for at least twenty minutes.
2. I’ve asked the students to bring in 2 samples of dirt from around the house for our science investigation on Tuesday March 19th.  The samples should be in a clear Ziploc bag or Tupperware container so we can investigate the differences between types of soil.  Some of the students are worried they may only find one type of soil around the house which is fine.  I’m hoping to get a good variety by asking everyone to bring in some samples.  Samples could be potting soil, sand, clay, or whatever you have around your house.
3. Rock Books: We will be working on putting together books about rocks this week.  My intention is to give the students plenty of time to complete their books during class.  If they do not finish them in class I will ask that they bring them home and complete them.

Newsletter: March 18, 2013

Dear Families,

Last week seemed to be the week of the flu, as we were missing at least 2 students every day.  I had my own battle with the flu early in the week, but managed to recover in time to begin my 2 weeks of full time teaching on Wednesday.  The kids and I had a lot of fun as we continued our study into magazines, and began learning about geometry, rocks and Non-Fiction books.

This week we will have the PASS writing test on Tuesday and Wednesday morning.  Mr. Hass and I are confident all the students will do very well as they are all fantastic writers.  We worked on prompt writing for about a week to help prepare the class for the type of writing expected on the PASS test.  All the students did very well and if they take their time and do their best they will all be successful.

While I was out sick at the beginning of the week Mr. Hass worked with the class to explore magazines.  We noticed lots of great things about magazines including: table of contents, facts, graphs, comics, advertisements, and lots of articles.  We have decided to take our interest in magazines and create our own.  The class had a chance to divide up based on their interests and begin thinking about what types of articles their magazine would include.  This week we will have the chrome books in the room in the morning so we can research our articles and begin composing them.

The class and I began our investigation into rocks on Thursday of last week.  Their enthusiasm is infectious.  To help get our investigation off on the right foot we had Ed Emmer come and speak to us on Friday.  He is Richland Two’s science coordinator and a geologist by trade.  He brought in lots of rock samples for the kids to investigate and answered all of their many questions.  We had a lot of fun learning how different rocks are formed and want to give a sincere thank you to Mr. Emmer for coming in and spending the afternoon with us.

Mr. Emmer answering our questions about rocks.

A sample metamorphic rock Mr. Emmer brought in for us to investigate.

To help with our investigation into rocks and minerals I am going to ask each student to bring in 2 samples of dirt from around the house.  This could be potting soil from plants, sand from the driveway, or just regular old dirt that is around your house.  This will help us to identify the many different soils around us in South Carolina.

I am really excited to continue my full time teaching this week with the class.  If you have any questions or there is anything I can help you with please feel free to email me at cqtiscornia@gmail.com

Newseltter: March 11, 2013

Dear Families,

I hope you had a chance to attend our final Gathering last Friday. The kids did a phenomenal job. Never before have they been so relaxed and confident in front of their peers. If you weren't able to make it in be sure to ask your child about their part.

We have six students and one MAT out today due to illness. We scrubbed down the entire classroom this morning and are working to keep our things out of our mouths. Hopefully this passes soon!

Thank you everyone for helping your children last week with the construction of their "insulators." We had great fun on Monday seeing which designs and materials worked best. After seeing what worked for others I've provided a new challenge for today: Can you keep the ice from melting over night? This will be a good opportunity to make some modifications if things didn't work out last week.

Thank you also for the thoughtful written conversations you had with your kids this week about the song "Flowers are Red." This song, while an oldie of sorts, was very new to me. I loved the message about the potential dangers of teaching (and parenting for that matter). Our class discussion centered on the fact one of the teachers worked to squash creativity and free thought while the other welcomed it. Here is a sampling from your conversations at home...

I would have him meet the second teacher first. He would feel free to draw colorful flowers and other things he saw...Why do you think the teacher always disagreed with the child? Maybe because that's how it always has been at that school and maybe it's a rule...There are two adults that are left out in this song which are the little boy's parents. If his parents were in there how would it be different?  If it were me I'd support the boy's creative side at home - even if he wasn't allowed to express it at school...The boy was so excited to draw with all the colors. By the end of the song he didn't seem to like to draw any more. Did it make you as sad as it made me?...I think the song is about how you should be able to believe whatever you want to believe...Teachers leave a great impression on children. The boy went to another school, had a nice teacher, but he still remembered what his old teacher said about how a flower's colors are supposed to be...I think it is trying to teach you to think what you want to...I feel sad she is trying to convince him that flowers are only green and red and feels because she is the teacher he should agree with her...If everyone was the same it would be a boring world because no one did anything unique...Closed minded means that someone is not open to new thoughts or ideas. The second teacher was very receptive (open to ideas) to children being creative. What if all teachers were like teacher #1? -- I would want to be home schooled!...I am glad you see the rainbow of possibilities. I want you to keep the child wonderment you can create. You can explore. Your mind can soar...I notice the teacher changed the little boy's mind in a bad way...I read somewhere that 98% of all children are born with a genius IQ but that their IQs actually lessen once a child starts school and levels off in your grade (3rd). The reasoning for this is because schools tell you what to think instead of letting kids have the freedom to express themselves...I think that this song is about how we sometimes conform to what we've heard or have been taught...It is an old recording but the message is timeless.

Finally, Mr. Chris will be taking over the teaching duties later this week. This will include two weeks of planning, teaching, newsletters, and so on. If you need anything from him please send a note in with your child. I will also ask him to send out his e-mail address to you some time soon. I will be available as well.

Have a great week!
Chris

Homework: March 4 - 11, 2013

1. Read each night for at least twenty minutes.

2. Complete a written conversation with someone at home about the song "Flowers are Red."  Write about the song, what you notice, and what you think. Bring this back in on Thursday.

3. After seeing today's results you have a full week to modify your insulator. Next Monday's challenge is to keep 10 ice cubes frozen all night while we are away. We'll place the ten ice cubes in just before leaving on Monday afternoon and check them when we arrive Tuesday morning. This is due in next Monday.