There are two blog posts for you this week. This is the first one!

REVIEW FOR VOCAB FINAL:

1. Pick about 20 words from your vocab & prefix lists that you really need to focus on and study. (You can choose more if you find you need to.)

2. Create a free account on www.quizlet.com . You may either use your email address or mine.

3. When you receive the email saying they’ve created your account, click on their link to then access your account. (If you use my email, I will do that part for you.)

4. Start creating the flashcards. Click on the "Create" button at the top. Follow the directions listed on their page.

5. Once you’ve created your flashcars, click "Create Set" at the bottom of the list.

6.  Look at the blue box under the "cards" in the middle of the page.  Find the 3rd category down, "Tools."  Go across that list and find the "Embed" button.

7. We are going to embed these in our blogs, so click on the “flashcards” HTML and copy it. Login to your blog, open your “articles,” and paste into the article box. Don’t forget to title the blog, AND request publishing!

8. THEN…. Study!! Play the games. Practice the spelling! Practice testing! Have fun!

Let me know if you need help!

As you left International Towne, the leader talked about Nelson Mandella and said you would receive a postcard from them with a quote on in from Mandella.

"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world."

Knowing what you know about Mandella, what does this mean to you? I know you were given opportunity to send this postcard, to whom did you send it? What message did/do you want to get across?

Our All School Reads book this year, Hero by S.L. Rottman, has been one of my favorites for years! I’ve heard some great comments from many of you since we started it this week. What do you think about the book so far? What do you like and/or dislike? What do you think compared to last year's book? Please be specific and use specific events or descriptions from the book to support your answer.

Last Monday we watched The Ernest Green Story, which was the story of The Little Rock Nine. We all talked quite a bit about what happened. What is your reaction to the movie? What would you have done? Would you have had the courage to continue on or to not fight back? What did you think? Please support why. Also, how have things changed, or have they? Are there other instances of discrimination going on in the world today? Watch the following videos which show two of the actual students talking about their experience.  Be sure to watch the 2nd one!

***If you were absent on Monday and missed the movie, watch the following videos and check some of the links to read about what happened, so that you can post a response.

This is a video with Minnie Jean Brown talking about her experience.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

I’ve been hearing many verbal “complaints”, suggestions, and ideas for blogs over the last few weeks, so I thought we would do another choice or free write. I know some of you hate having to choose something, so go look at some other posting and other blogs to get some ideas. Again, remember you can choose what you want to write about, and how you want to write about it- just DON’T summarize your day or your week!

PART 2: PLEASE go to Mrs. G’s class and look through their comments and feedback for the wiki. Leave comments there as well. I would love to see you leaving comments on other blogs from the “Related Links” on the left side of our main blog page. Please let me know which blogs you posted a comment on and I will assign credit to you for your comments.

We all know it exists, so I’m curious about your thoughts on our speaker from last week, Mark Brown. What did you think of what he had to say? Did it have an effect on you, your friends, our school? What was your take away? What did you like or dislike about him? I’m curious to know if there has been an effect or change in you, your friends, or at MRMS. I feel like, as a teacher, I’ve seen some positive things, but at the same time, some of the same old thing! Let me know what you think and see.

Pick one of the motivational quotes below and address the following in a paragraph in your own blog:

a)Explain/interpret what you think it means.
b)How could you apply it to our own life?
c)Could it be used to make a positive change in someone's attitude?
d)How could it make an impact on the world?

1) "Believe you can and you're halfway there." Theodore Roosevelt

2)"You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give." Kahlil Gibran

3) "Compassion and tolerance are not a sign of weakness, but a sign of strength." Dalai Lama

4) "The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing." Albert Einstein

5) "Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into friend." Martin Luther King, Jr.

"'Nothing endures but change,' said Greek philosopher Heraclitus. It’s the beginning of a new year, a fresh start, and for some, a time to make resolutions. However great or small, deciding to make changes in our lives can be powerful..."(www.thisibelieve.org)

This is the time of year when people evaluate or reflect on the previous year and set new goals for the new year. What are your goals for the year 2013 and how do they involve change? Be specific and give details. Don't just say, "I want to get good grades." You must also state what you will need to do, add, or change to accomplish them. Think about both academic and personal goals.

As we prepare for Veteran’s Day, Mrs. Gagnon has asked you to write a “Thank You” letter, where you addressed the theme of GRATITUDE, and were asked to share your thanks, appreciation, and gratitude. Please blog your introductory paragraph or one paragraph you think either needs some help or feedback on, or your strongest paragraph. ASK for feedback regardless of which you choose. THEN…… go give feedback on other paragraphs posted by your peers. You must give feedback on students who are not in your humanities class!

Now that we've spent the last quarter blogging, I'm interested in your thoughts about it.. What do you think? What has been your experience? Has it gone smoothly for you or have you had problems? Explain. Since we would be writing anyway, what do you think of blogging as writing assignments? Be honest and give constructive feedback! Check back to see what others have experienced, and do some commenting!

There's a lot going on in the World and I know you all have opinions!! SO.... check out the links below and find a current event article which is interesting to you. Give a short summary of what you read and then your opinion with support.

PLEASE copy & paste the URL of the actual article you are referring to so that someone else could go back and read what you did. Don't forget those basic writing rules! :)

http://www.headlinespot.com/for/kids/

http://www.cnn.com/studentnews/

Read a good book lately? What are you reading now? What are you enjoying or disliking about your current book? Don't forget to mention the title and author. I just finished a book called Shadow of a Doubt by S.L. Rottman. Rottman is one of my favorite authors. The character's name is Shadow. I really like that the character is real and has real problems, maybe more extreme than others, but real none-the-less. Great book!

This week is Banned Books Week, the week we celebrate the freedom of speech and freedom to read in America. In America, no book can truly be banned due to the First Amendment, but books are constantly challenged -- people ask that certain books not be used in the classroom, that certain books be removed from the library shelf, etc. Freedom of speech includes the freedom to speak out against an idea or a book.

Check out the following links and find a list of banned books & background on the books themselves and the background in the banning of books. http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/bannedbooksweek/index.cfm

http://animoto.com/play/t2wqNA74yFvN2OJ793eC7A

How do you feel about this? Where does Freedom of Speech fall into this? Is this something that’s ok or do we all have the choice to choose? Should books be banned? Give your opinion and SUPPORT it.

I've found several other classrooms doing 7 Random Facts! I have the links listed below. Take a look and leave some comments!! Please be sure that you leave positive comments in complete sentences which are spelled correctly! Don’t forget to run your spell check, capitalize your name, all proper nouns, AND … "I" when referring to yourself. Do NOT leave any email addresses, but DO make sure you are logged in so it leaves your URL with your comment & name. Let's see how many comments you get back!

 http://classblogmeister.com/blog.php?blog_id=1471423&blogger_id=364444 Thornton Bloggers

http://classblogmeister.com/blog.php?blogger_id=195166 Mrs. Casey

http://classblogmeister.com/blog.php?blogger_id=4771&l=1336443512 Mr. G

http://classblogmeister.com/blog.php?blogger_id=127350 Mrs. Wood

http://classblogmeister.com/blog.php?blog_id=1358831&blogger_id=346357 Mrs. Hill

This is a great assignment! (Thanks to Professor McGonagall) 7 Random Facts gives us a chance to look for connections all around the world. We post 7 things about us, everybody else posts 7 things about themselves (not personal)...we go around the world and leave comments! It's supposed to be fun and supposed to teach us how to leave appropriate comments with other classes around the world. You will need to sign your comments with your online name and leave a hyperlink back to your blog. (Please do not fill in your email address.)

Keep track of the blogs that you respond to, and be ready to turn that in. You may do it as an article posting on your blog, OR give it to me the old fashioned way.

THEN.... We wait until the other classrooms have posted their 7 Random Fact assignments, then we start our search!