Mirrors
Written on May 8, 2013 – 8:53 pm | by Mrs. Klein
This is a Justin Timberlake song with a bit of Michael Jackson near the end.
Tags: Anthem Lights, music
Written on May 8, 2013 – 8:53 pm | by Mrs. Klein
All Around the World
Written on May 2, 2013 – 9:33 pm | by Mrs. Klein
Anthem Lights guys have another Justin Bieber cover.
Tags: Anthem Lights, music
Authors in April, 2013
Written on April 17, 2013 – 3:42 pm | by Mrs. Klein
The sixth graders created Glogs, online posters, to extend some of the topics introduced in their Authors in April book, Notes From the Midnight Driver by Jordan Sonnenblick.
Tags: Authors in April
The Heist Society
Written on April 2, 2013 – 9:19 pm | by Mrs. Klein
Our library has this book by Ally Carter in print and on Playaway. I listened to the audio version and enjoyed it. Oh, and apparently, this book is going to be a movie, too.
The story has an element of mystery, which is not totally resolved, but since this is the first in a series, the answer may be revealed in a later book. I have not looked at the descriptions of the other books in the series, but the author said she intended them to be more episodic (meaning each one can stand alone) rather than one long story told in stages. I would like to know if you all like this book well enough for us to get the next two books in the series.
Tags: family, friendship, mystery, thieves
The Host
Written on April 2, 2013 – 1:12 pm | by Mrs. Klein
I am not a literary snob. In fact, I am downright mawkish. (There’s a new vocabulary word for you; it is new to me, too.) So, I do not care that literary snobs think that Stephanie Meyer writes sentimental drivel. She draws me in to the characters, and I love a good love story. This is a love story with a twist: two characters occupy the same body, love the same man and also two different men.
I recently found out that the book is a movie. As I was reading the book, I remember thinking that this could never be a movie because so much happens inside Melanie/Wanda’s head. I am planning to see the movie because I enjoyed the book so much, but I have to wonder how well the filmmakers can pull off the voices inside the head.
Tags: Romance, science fiction
Irresponsibility
Written on March 3, 2013 – 10:55 pm | by Mrs. Klein
According to my dictionary, responsibility has to do with being accountable for one’s own actions. A responsible person is trustworthy, uses good judgment, and can do the right thing without having an authority figure telling him what to do. So an irresponsible person would naturally be the opposite of all of these things.
What are some examples of irresponsible behavior, both in and out of school? Does one irresponsible act make someone irresponsible? Would five irresponsible acts?
How do you respond to an irresponsible person? Is it different from the way you respond to just one irresponsible act?
I tend to be very serious about student responsibility. I have very little understanding for irresponsible behavior. I expect students to do the right thing. This is one place where I am not likely to be flexible.
Tags: behavior, responsibility
Don’t You Worry Child
Written on February 25, 2013 – 10:20 pm | by Mrs. Klein
OK, I admit it. I’m old. I never heard of Swedish House Mafia before, so I checked out their YouTube live performance, and WOW–there were SO MANY people in that audience. I liked the original, but these guys are my faves, you know.
Tags: Anthem Lights, music
Hide Your Love Away
Written on February 14, 2013 – 4:26 pm | by Mrs. Klein
This group has a new original song that speaks to single men and women who have not yet found the person they will marry. This video shows the lyrics, and if you hang on for the next video, you will see the guys talking about their thoughts that went into the writing of the song.
Tags: Anthem Lights, music, purity
Grades
Written on February 11, 2013 – 1:34 pm | by Mrs. Klein
I am asking all of my middle school students to evaluate themselves in the classes they have with me. What grade would they give themselves? What do the grades mean? How do they feel about grades?
Do grades show what the student learned? Does it matter if it took two or three tries to learn the material? Do deadlines matter? Should the grade be affected if work was not turned in on time? Does it matter HOW LATE the work was? Should behavior or work ethic be part of the grade?
There are so many things to think about!
Tags: grades
Twitter Beginner
Written on February 10, 2013 – 6:00 pm | by Mrs. Klein
Image from twitter icons
Lately, I have been following more people on Twitter and reading tweets under specific hashtags. Recently, a teacher asked his followers to comment on his student’s blog. I replied that I would send students there; therefore, I am asking you to go to this blog and write a comment.
In turn, I mentioned the fact that I have a student who underwent surgery and wrote a heartfelt post. The teacher promised to read it. If you have not read this post, I would like for you to see what quality content looks like. The voice comes through clearly.
Sorry..I digress. Back to Twitter. Since I follow few people, I tend to read everything that has come into my feed since the last time I logged in. For people who follow thousands, this would never work. They somehow use a tool to sort the tweets in their feed to narrow down their reading selection.
Are any of you Twitter experts? I am willing to learn more about how to use it more efficiently.
