Posted on March 14, 2008 by Bryan McDonald
Today, in 7th grade we “Linked” some key words dealing with weather and climate:
Global Warming, Greenhouse Effect, Gulf Stream, Ocean Water, Sea Ice, Glacier, Permafrost, Climate in Western Europe, Polar Bear, Large Waves, Fossil Fuel, Coastline Erosion, SUV’s (sport-utility vehicle), Methane, Severe Weather Events (tornadoes, hurricanes), Arctic, Antarctic, Global Economy, Climate Change, Climate, Global Climate
You were all given a card with one of the key words. We passed a ball of yarn connecting the terms. Much like the world wide web, words are interconnected. Hopefully, by doing this activity, you gained a greater appreciation for our vocabulary.
Filed under: General, Projects | Tagged: Connected, Fun, Vocabulary, World Wide Web | No Comments »
Posted on March 10, 2008 by Bryan McDonald
I am not sure of the scientific accuracy about this, but saw it on a friend’s blog and thought it would be cool. This site analyzes your site and rates its readability!
Note: This can be done with your Facebook, MySpace, or other profile pages!
BTW: My other blog (which I will not reveal) is as follows, despite common tyops (ha):
Ah, yes, I knew it!
Filed under: General | Tagged: Genius, Junior High, readability | 1 Comment »
Posted on March 4, 2008 by Bryan McDonald
Enjoy your snow day…current events are due on Wednesday now.
Filed under: Assignments | Tagged: Current Events, Snow Day | 1 Comment »
Posted on March 3, 2008 by Bryan McDonald
I have been reminding you in class for several weeks now…the time is here CURRENT EVENTS ARE DUE TOMORROW!
If you still do not have articles you can get them from the news papers, magazines, the internet, or my classroom!
Filed under: Assignments | Tagged: Current Events | 2 Comments »
Posted on February 22, 2008 by Bryan McDonald
My wife took this picture from the living room window last weekend…The boy in the picture’s name is Tucker. He is 7 years old and in the 1st grade…His kite was stuck in the tree. This was his fix to being too short! Talk about thinking outside the box…Way to go Tuck!
**NOTE**
No Children were hurt during the recovery of this kite.
Filed under: General | Tagged: Creative, Fun, Pictures | 3 Comments »
Posted on February 21, 2008 by Bryan McDonald
Current events are due on March 4, 2008 for 7th and 8th graders…If you are still needing an article, I have several available. If you are needing graphic organizers you can go to the stuff link on the right side of this page and look for “summary paragraph planning sheet,” which is third from the bottom on the list of documents.
Good luck, and don’t be late!
Filed under: Assignments, General | Tagged: Current Events | 1 Comment »
Posted on February 20, 2008 by Bryan McDonald
My friend Mark posted about a “pocket projector” that you could potentially hook up to show videos on cell phones, Ipods, and laptops. Best thing is…the cost will be between $300-$500 which is cheaper than most LCD projectors! HOW COOL!!! You can now download movies on your Ipod and watch it from virtually ANYWHERE!
Filed under: General | Tagged: Technology | 4 Comments »
Posted on February 11, 2008 by Bryan McDonald
There is a new software out there called Jott that allows you to call a free 866 number and leave a 30 second voice recording that is converted into text and sends to any email or cell phone (that can receive SMS messages) FOR FREE! The person you are sending the message to doesn’t even have to be a subscriber…there are numerous applications to this technology…I can see myself sending myself reminders to do things.
Filed under: General | Tagged: Technology, Texting | 2 Comments »
Posted on January 23, 2008 by Bryan McDonald
I thought this article was pretty cool. You might like to use it for a current event.
And not just WiFi, but also courses complete with online tests. Now, I know there is a lot that could go wrong with this just like with anything else, but I can’t tell you how happy I would have been surfing the web or doing courses while on the bus. Nice idea and hopefully coming soon to a bus near you.
Sure would cut down on discipline!
Filed under: General | Tagged: Technology | No Comments »
Posted on December 20, 2007 by Bryan McDonald
I am not sure what the holiday season means to you and your family, but to me and mine, it means a time for all of us to get together, share a cup of eggnog and share in the good times, laugh about the funny times, cry about the sad times and just enjoy each others company. The holiday our country recognizes as Christmas, is a good time for reflection. This holiday season, I hope you can find all of this and more. What is some of your families Christmas time traditions? Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night…
See yall in 2008!
Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night…
Christmas Time Is Here, from a Charlie Brown Christmas
Christmas time is here
Happiness and cheer
Fun for all that children call
Their favorite time of the year
Snowflakes in the air
Carols everywhere
Olden times and ancient rhymes
Of love and dreams to share
Sleigh bells in the air
Beauty everywhere
Yuletide by the fireside
And joyful memories there
Christmas time is here
We’ll be drawing near
Oh, that we could always see
Such spirit through the year
Oh, that we could always see
Such spirit through the year…
Filed under: General | 1 Comment »
Posted on December 18, 2007 by Bryan McDonald
World’s ‘oldest’ man dies in Ukraine, aged 116
Grygory Nestor credited his longevity to never marring, “If I had had a wife, I would have been in a coffin long ago,” he told Agence France-Presse in a recent interview. I always thought I would live longer because of my spouse but who knows? I wonder if there is any scientific research to support Nestor’s hypothesis?
UPDATE:
In a seemingly unrelated story:
Couple shoot at each other; wife is killed, Police say woman was first to fire gun
Filed under: General | 4 Comments »
Posted on December 12, 2007 by Bryan McDonald
Most of you that grew up with computers connected to the Net (who are parents) are used to what has come to be known as Web 1.0. Below is a comparison chart of Web 1.o and Web 2.0 .
- Web 1.0 was about reading, Web 2.0 is about writing
- Web 1.0 was about companies, Web 2.0 is about communities
- Web 1.0 was about client-server, Web 2.0 is about peer to peer
- Web 1.0 was about HTML, Web 2.0 is about XML
- Web 1.0 was about home pages, Web 2.0 is about blogs
If your kids are connected they are likely visiting sites like Facebook, MySpace, Xanga, and other social networking sites. Like it or not these social networking sites are here to stay. I would be willing to bet that even if you do not have a computer in your home your child has an account with one of these companies at a friend’s house. Social networks are not something for parents to be scared of, but rather embrace. I believe, however, that children need to be taught how to interact on these sites by an adult. I have posted a link on the column on the right for the Connect Safely site for “parents and teens to discuss safe socializing on the web.”
Online safety is all of our responsibilities…this site helps make that task a little easier…
Filed under: General | 1 Comment »
Posted on November 15, 2007 by Bryan McDonald
8th Grade Test on Tuesday, November 20, 2007 Tuesday, Novembe 27, 2007.
Here is the G2 Study Guide. 
Filed under: Tests | No Comments »
Posted on October 20, 2007 by Bryan McDonald
We had a good discussion about energy drinks today in my 7th grade classes. I found some articles for you. Some date back to 2001. Here are some more…
http://ezinearticles.com/?Dangers-Of-Energy-Drinks&id=501337
http://www.dangersofenergydrinks.com/
http://www3.whdh.com/features/articles/healthcast/DBM1357/
http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/energy-drink.htm
Energy Drink Bans
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/5753.php
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/19/health/healthspecial/19drinks.html
Feel free to use one of these as a CURRENT EVENT!
Please be wise…
Have a great weekend!
Filed under: General | No Comments »
Posted on October 18, 2007 by Bryan McDonald
Ladies & Gentlemen,
In the future, if you leave a comment, PLEASE DO NOT PUT YOUR LAST NAME IN THE NAME BOX. If you feel like you need to you can put your last initial, but I would prefer you NOT to include your last name for safety sake!
Thank You,
Mr. McDonald
Filed under: General | 3 Comments »
