Wednesday, Feb 22nd

Posting a bit later than usual.
I had a fitness class after school and I have to be speedygonzales as I also have a curling game tonight- the last league game of the season!

Homework
List 9 and list 10 spelling tests tomorrow
Math 7 show the 'middle steps' for p.20 #15- #22
Read novels to chapter 10 or more if you are really into the story :)
Reminder
Climate workshop tomorrow afternoon after a safety drill

General Day
Daily French was on the board but I didn't get around to it (I wonder if you can buy a round tuit? )

We did a bit of housekeeping this morning regarding the use of cell phones at school and in class. I also asked for some help and support with the four or five personalities that constantly hold our class and time hostage by being silly. We are considering another desk switch before spring break.

Spelling practice time

Language - we had some fun with dangling participles (no, dangling participles do not hang low) or defining and specifying the reference of a sentence noun or antecedent.
Do you remember the old : I bought a piano from a lady with wooden legs or I watched my father bring home the horses dressed in cowboy attire?
Today we did our best to clarify and reconfigure what actually had the wooden legs and who was dressed in cowboy attire. It was kind of fun for grammar...
That reminded me of a book called Anguished English by former professor Richard Lederer. It had some 'howlers' from students exam answers...
Joan of Arc was burnt to a steak
The leader of the Bolsheviks was John Lennon
Pompeii was destroyed by an overflow of saliva from the Vatican
The two main religions of Ireland are Catholic and Prostitute
Shakespeare wrote in Islamic Pentameter (should be Iambic)

We had a good laugh. I remember once one of my senior students when answering a question about Macbeth wrote that the king exposed himself to his banquet guests and I thought it was so funny that I couldn't mark another question about Act III without giggling and conjuring up this image of the King of Scotland in a dirty raincoat!
Then there was the mood question about the atmosphere of the novel (meaning how the author created feeling in readers) which one student answered in great detail about how the rainstorm in chapter 9 must have had an affect on the atmosphere!
It is bloopers like this that keep me laughing and looking forward to reading my students' papers.

Band

Math 7 better return of trials for homework and also a bit of confusion which we were able to address in class. Today we finally did the word problems #13 and #14. I ask that students copy the class examples from the board for two reasons 1. they are getting some practice taking accurate notes (brain-eye-hand coordination and focus) and 2. they have some reference for studying the examples for the upcoming quiz on the skills.
For homework I have asked the students to find the 'middles steps of the remaining eight examples on page 20. We will have spent three days on this page by tomorrow.
11:30-noon computers for Math practice IXL and MathLinks 7 practice solving one step equations on-line.

Silent Reading (we had a bit longer today by 5 minutes)
provided some catch up and I did a check on math for a few students

desk clean out- much needed or some
new seating group preferences (student wrote down their preference for a group and I will work from those to determine a new plan)
Great Mail Race - another letter from Nova Scotia

Physical Education
 basketball/ half gym class game- it was just okay- some drama and some overly competitive antics on the class game side of the gym. Appreciation goes out to Jack who asked me in all sincerity after today's class how I managed to stay calm. Thanks for the compliment, Jack- thanks for noticing. Gotta love that!
I told him it was students like him who kept me sane!

Group Creative time on the chocolate bars and the video games. Good use of time to the end of the day.
Nice Wednesday all in all. Thanks everyone, see you Thursday.
Have  a great evening.
Mrs. J.
I'll leave you with this doozy
Hitler spread his testicles all over Europe like an octopus hungry for power. OMG