Descriptive Language

Post a comment with an example of some of the figurative or descriptive language you used in your long comp on Tuesday. How creative did you get?

Here's my example: "The first week of August hangs at the very top of summer, the top of the live-long year, like the highest seat of a Ferris wheel when it pauses in its turning." from Tuck Everlasting, by Natalie Babbitt

Favorites Survey

I am currently taking a class on Google Docs and I am trying out the survey feature. Please take my survey!

Pavement Drawings

Believe it or not, all of these drawings were done on flat pavement but give the illusion of being 3-D...amazing! Search for Julian Beever online to see more. Wow.

Capable of Evil

After today's discussion, I want to know what you think. If you knew Tucker and Anvil, which one do you think you would be more likely to be friends with? Who is more evil: Tucker or Anvil? Why?

Inessa's Art & Writing Websites

As many of you know, Inessa Burnell from our 7 Rockies team is an amazing artist and writer. Following are links to her websites. I highly recommend browsing and reading!

www.elainsilverblood.webs.com

www.elainsilverblood.deviantart.com

Nothing Gold Can Stay

Nature's first green is gold
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf's a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.

This poem by Robert Frost reminds us to appreciate the things we value. What is "gold" in your life?

Outsiders Glog & Scavenger Hunt

You may link to the above glog at the following:
http://scott7red.edu.glogster.com/the-outsiders-setting/

Imagine if this were your school...

The link below will take you to the education section of the UNICEF website. I know when we toured the United Nations building in New York last year, I was awed by the conditions of some of the schools in our world. Take a look at a few examples in the pictures above. Log on to the website below and look at the photojournal or another section of this site to discover just how lucky you are.

http://www.unicef.org/voy/explore/education/explore_education.php

Team Hoyt

We have been talking so much about "equality" and "handicaps" lately, that I think it is time we put a new spin on things. Rick and Dick Hoyt are a father/son team from Massachusetts who have run over 1,000 road races, including marathons, triathlons, and multiple Ironman triathlons. They have even bicycled across the country and have run in our local Slattery's Turkey Trot, a race my own father directs. The trick to this is that Rick Hoyt is a non-verbal quadriplegic, meaning he cannot talk or move most of his body. Rick's father pushes him in a wheelchair as he runs, swims with his son attached to a dingy, and rides a two-person bicycle as they compete. Rick says "When I run, I feel like I am not handicapped." This is reason enough alone to get Dick to train and compete for his son. When asked what Rick would do if he was not in a wheelchair, he comments, "I would have my father sit in a chair so that I could push him." We will watch the attached video this week to be inspired by this duo.

Breje on Scholastic

Check out the link below to Scholastic's website section "The Stacks" where Breje teaches the reporter how to dance. I was so excited to see that he recommended the Maximum Ride series, gave a shout out to math and geography, and credited his family and Michael Jackson as his inspiration. Good for you Breje for giving the advice "Usually, we wait for someone else to make the change. Instead of waiting, why don't you make the change yourself?"

http://blog.scholastic.com/ink_splot_26/2009/09/breje-teaches-kid-reporter-matt-to-twist-wit-it.html?cid=6a00e55007a31488340120a5b0c4ba970b

Smile

A smile can hint at happiness, hide a nerve, and have a conversation all its own. We are reading "I Just Kept On Smiling" this week and I have a question. What makes you smile?

Fall is Found

This weekend's perfect fall weather makes me want to eat apple crisp, carve a pumpkin, and dive into a pile of crunchy leaves. What are your favorite things about fall? Post a comment and tell me...extra credit if you use a simile or metaphor in your description.

Join The Flock

Always wanted to fly with Max and her crew? Use a photo of yourself and join the flock. http://jointheflock.maximumride.com/experiment/index.html

High Fives All Around

We have a new plan for our homeroom (a la Maddie Cochran) that we would like to spread around. Give random high fives to at least three people per day...you will notice how it makes a difference. Don't just high five your best friends, high five anyone! And hey, high five a 6th grader once in a while as they go by...grade 8 come up to visit and give us some high fives too.

Welcome!

Welcome back to THMS and to 7 red! I am really looking forward to spending the year with you. This blog is a place for me to put tidbits of interesting info. and things for you to view, learn, try, create, write, etc... It is also a place for you to react, tell me how you are doing, make suggestions and more. I hope you have fun with it. I love hearing from you guys!

My whole household went back to school this week since both my husband and I are teachers and my daughters are in 2nd and 3rd grade. We had an unbelievable summer which included trips to Cape Cod and Disney World (you may have noticed the picture of Emerson and Elle in front of Cinderella's castle).

Make a comment and let me know how you feel about grade 7, ask any questions you may have or tell me something about your summer. Your comments come to my e-mail first so you won't see them until I post them. I can't wait to read what you have to say :)

OK...The MJ Tribute

You know I had to do it...I was just leaving 7th grade when Michael Jackson came out with his "Bad" tape (oh yeah, it was not even a CD) and I already had his trading cards plastered all over my walls from "Thriller".

Idioms

No need to bend over backwards or act like a chicken with its head cut off. Just let sleeping dogs lie and rise and shine to check out the idiomsite.com. I have a gut feeling you'll be head over heels before you hit the dog days of summer. I'm no fuddy-duddy.

IdiomSite.com

India's Widows

This link will take you to CNN's article and video on the widows of India. Makes you appreciate what we have here in America.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/07/05/damon.india.widows/index.html

May 21 & 22

Looking forward to touring New York with those students who are attending the trip. For those of you who are staying in Lunenburg, they have a lot of fun planned for you too! Post a comment about your New York experience or about what you did while we were gone. See you all on Tuesday!

Kurt Vonnegut

Tiger got to hunt,
Bird got to fly;
Man got to sit and wonder, 'Why, why, why?'

Tiger got to sleep,
Bird got to land;
Man got to tell himself he understand

- Kurt Vonnegut

One of Kurt Vonnegut's fewly published poems appeared in Cat's Cradle (1963). The poem was from "Bokonon" who was the founder of the Bokononist religion in the book.

-Posted by student guest blogger, Nick Barney