Viewing: November, 2012
November 28, 2012
Would you want to sharpen pencils?
David Rees’s chosen profession is to sharpen pencils with tremendous precision and artistry. That’s why he’s called an artisan. Would you ever want to be an artisan pencil sharpener like David? Why or why not? Use specific details to support your answer. (If you want to rewatch the video, go ahead and click here. Remember, always have an adult supervising you when you’re working online! This is ALWAYS a rule, whether I specifically mention it or not!)
If you choose to comment on someone else’s response, remember to think about our BEST PRACTICES for online discussion!
Posted in Homework Assignments|By Jon Moss
November 20, 2012
I am thankful for…
Today, we discussed that all families can celebrate Thanksgiving. Whether it’s your family’s tradition to eat turkey and stuffing or not, we can all take time to be thankful for what we have and all the great things in our lives. Tonight, your homework is to do just that.
Post a comment to this post that begins with the following phrase:
Be sure to explain WHY you are thankful! REMEMBER to respect your family’s privacy when sharing online. It’s better to be safe (and ask Aunt Petunia) than to post something private. ALSO, remember our BEST PRACTICES and be kind when posting and responses!
Lots to do tomorrow, in only a half day! Anyone feel like staying a little extra tomorrow so we can get it all done? (Yeah, me neither! :-)) Have a good evening, everyone!
-Mr. Moss
Posted in Homework Assignments|By Jon Moss
November 14, 2012
Practicing Prefixes, Suffixes, and Root Words
For homework tonight, I found a cool matching game online! In this game, you need to match a word (which has a prefix or suffix) with its meaning. No need to print it out!
http://www.quia.com/mc/938758.html
There’s more! In a comment for this post, write a sentence that uses either a prefix or suffix in one of your words. Make sure that the sentence shows that you understand the meaning of the word. For example…
“I reread the book.” <-Doesn’t show the meaning of REread.
“I reread the book because I enjoyed it the first time.” <-Shows that you read the book again.
Posted in Homework Assignments|By Jon Moss
November 13, 2012
Candle of Hope
This holiday season, Avon Teachers invite you to honor the special people in your life with a “Candle of Hope” by making a donation to Kids for Kids, Inc.
This active A.H.S. student group raises money to help fight childhood cancer. Proceeds will be donated to The UCONN Children’s Cancer Fund at C.C.M.C. in tribute to Avon Students Morgan Platt, Kam Rahman, and Robby Brisco.
For each $5.00 donation, you will receive a certificate and a votive candle to present to a special teacher, family member, or friend.
For more information, please download the flier and order form! Thank you!
Posted in Class Updates|By Jon Moss
November 13, 2012
Picture Retakes
Photo retakes will be THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 29th, from 9:00-10:30am in the cafeteria. Please call the school office with any questions.
Posted in Class Updates|By Jon Moss
November 12, 2012
Clarification on Tonight’s Homework
To access tonight’s homework about Veterans’ Day, look down to the next post.
I apologize for any confusion regarding tonight’s homework. Our time was a bit tight this afternoon because of a fire drill during the kids’ chorus time, and we did not have time to write down tonight’s homework. For anyone who is unclear on the assignments:
- Language Arts: Veterans’ Day discussion on the class website (see next post); study spelling words
- Math: Adding with Number Bonds practice worksheet; study math facts
If you need help with the math homework, I recorded a 10-minute video to explain the process. I hope it is helpful. (See below.) I just recorded it (5:00pm) and it is processing on the site’s server right now, so it may take a few minutes to be ready for viewing.
Posted in Homework Assignments|By Jon Moss
November 12, 2012
Honoring our Veterans
In school today, we celebrated Veterans’ Day. We discussed how easy it is to enjoy a day off and to forget why we are enjoying the day off. Having a town meeting to pay tribute to our veterans gave us a special opportunity to recognize the true meaning of a holiday and to say thank you to people who have sacrificed a lot to help our country. I was so proud of our entire school community today!
For homework, please post a message that finishes the following sentence:
If I saw a veteran today, I would…
For the purposes of this assignment, don’t worry about strangers and not talking to strangers. (Imagine that the veteran is someone you know and that you’re allowed to talk to and interact with them.) Finish the sentence and explain what you would and would not do. Remember our “best practices!”
If you choose to comment on someone else’s post, keep your comments purposeful and thoughtful. Please – make no more than three replies total. (That means that you may post 4 messages in all: One original post and up to three replies.) This is to keep the number of website posts manageable for me as we get started in these online discussions.
Posted in Class Updates|By Jon Moss
November 8, 2012
Homework – Brainstroming Best Practices
Best practices are, basically, lists of “good things to do.” Here are some we brainstormed in class!
Car repair:
- Keep bandaids in your tool kit.
- Wear protective gloves.
- Always have someone else with you in case something goes wrong.
- Never go under a car while it’s running.
Best practices for football:
- Never tackle helmet to helmet.
- Never run with your head down.
- Don’t grab someone’s face mask.
- Don’t ever play without your gear.
Best practices for long car rides:
- Bring something to keep you entertained. (Passengers)
- If you’re the driver, pay attention to the road.
- Don’t read or watch videos if you get car sick.
- Try to avoid the middle seat in the back.
- Always test your brakes and check your fluids before you leave.
- Never sit next to an annoying member of your family. 🙂
Tonight, your homework is to think about items that could be on a list of “Best Practices for Class Website Discussions.” Log on and post your ideas in a comment. You can click “reply” to comment on someone else’s idea!
Posted in Homework Assignments|By Jon Moss
November 7, 2012
Homework – Testing Your Login
We will soon start to use our website for class discussions in a SAFE online setting. We will discuss safe online habits AT LENGTH before beginning any activities online. Tonight, just test your login information:
- Click on the login link (top right of the screen).
- Your username is the school year code, a dash, and your class number. Such as 1213-23 (if you were student 23).
- Your password if your last name, all in lower case.
- Come back to this article, click on the comment link, and leave a simple comment like “Hi” or “Hello” or “I love snow!” NO NAMES AT ALL! NONE! ZIP! ZERO! ZILCH! NADA!
- If you have problems logging on, come see me tomorrow. NO PENALTY. But please TRY to login. You can also email me with problems.
Posted in Class Updates|By Jon Moss
November 5, 2012
Decathlon Wednesday
The annual PGS decathlon will be held on Wednesday. Kids are asked to wear BLUE shirts (our school color) and sneakers. (Sorry, I just got word of this and wanted to make sure you knew about it for Wednesday!) Enjoy your day off tomorrow, and remember to VOTE!
Posted in Class Updates|By Jon Moss