Reflective Voices

No Good-byes, Just Go Forwards!

I have enjoyed the year with all of you. I don't like good-byes, I just say "Go forward!"  I know all of you will do well and I hope you continue to add to the conversations on blogs! I thank all of you and Mrs. Emmert for being able to be a small part of your education.  You are a terrific group of students. I'll miss our weekly visits and here's wishing you the very best of everything life has to offer!! SO GO FORWARD, PURSUE YOUR PASSIONS, READ, REFLECT, LEARN, & MAKE A DIFFERENCE!!!!!

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A Day to Reflect and Enjoy

I know you are having a couple of weeks of testing coming up so I thought it would be great to just have some fun today. We'll reflect and have some good conversations and then you can catch up on whatever you want, pursue whatever you want, post whatever you want, comment to whomever you like, and we will  just enjoy the moments! How does that sound?

Every year for the past six years  I have been very fortunate to work with students on blogging and how it affects their literacies. You all have been a terrific class and I have admired your perseverance and your joy in learning. We only have a few more sessions so let me know if you have any thoughts for what you'd like to do. I have seen a lot of improvement. You have built a community of learners - well done reflective bloggers! Well done!

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We love Harley!

Today we are going to do a creative activity for Harley. I'll explain in the morning. What fun! I know he has been one of your favorite bloggers this year. He sure is a good role model, don't you think? We have learned a lot about blogging and many other things with a lot of help from our "best friend"!  Now I love the JHH song about doing your personal best so make this one of your best blogging pieces!  Think about how he has made a difference for you personally. Reflect back over the year. Reread a few of Harley's posts.

Guess what!  Harley needs you to put your thinking caps on today and help him with something that is going on with a red bird that wants in.  After our creative activity go see his latest post! Make a comment to him and help him out. Then we'll see who the real problem solvers are! Tomorrow is going to be fun!!  I can't wait to see you!

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Landy & Rina - Technology Fair Winners!

Wow! Landy and Rina tied for first place at the local technology fair. Their entry placed in the "Web 2.0 Internet Applications!" Just think, a few years ago such a category would not have even existed!  Trend setters - that's what these two young students are and we are so very proud of them!

Let's have a little fun today!

 

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It was a good blogging day!

It was excting to read about all of your passions. You made your blogging come alive! Riding bikes, playing baseball, legos, Obama, video games, church, acting, basketball, and art were listed as some of your passions. All the posts were good reads and we will follow this up with some more activities relating to your interests. Good blogging, students!

This week's session is going to be a day for you to catch up, either on posts or comments! We will also have some fun with podcasting so put those thinking caps on!  See you Thursday of this week!

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Being passionate!

What does it mean to be passionate about something?

Martha Graham was a famous American dance teacher who once said, “Great dancers are not great because of their technique, they are great because of their passion.”

You can really see this when someone is dancing. You can feel someone telling a story with their body when they dance versus simply going through the motions. It's like they come alive. The costumes help. The music helps. The scenery is important but their passion is what makes you truly enjoy the dancing.

You've seen people who love doing what they do. They have a zest for a hobby, an activity, learning about a topic, a game, a sport, or a cause like helping others. So what's something you love doing when you can do what you want?

Can't you think of some times when you noticed passion in someone else and you were amazed and excited just watching the person tell you about why they loved it?

Let's look at some samples from some other fifth graders. Check out Jennifer's post on country music, jazz music, and art. You can really feel her passion because she gives details and really makes her enjoyment come alive for you. What makes you come alive?

Angelica, a fifth grade student, is passionate about teaching others. It inspires her.

Derrick is passionate about bowling. He tells how it makes him feel.

"When I'm up on the lane ready to throw a strike and when I throw it..."BANG!!!!" All the pins go flying and I have gotten another strike.

So go make your passions come alive! Put some "spark" in your writing to get your readers engaged and inspired. They will love hearing your story.

Tips for your writing:

• Pick interesting ideas about your topic to share.
• Start off with a dynamite first sentence so you really hook your readers and make them want to keep reading.
• Think about the details your readers would want to know.
• Add descriptions to your ideas.
• Finish up with a sentence that really leads your readers to understand why you are so passionate about this topic.

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Traits of Successful School Bloggers

• Accept the challenge of blogging to their “personal best.” Having challenging assignments provides the opportunity for them to demonstrate higher levels of performance and successful elementary bloggers welcome that challenge.
• Show improvement on their posts (or comments) with practice and guidance from others. Posts are thoughtful and show sharpened thinking. This includes not only good content, but – because these are school-related blogs – also follows writing conventions including spelling, grammar and punctuation.
• Respond to posts (or comments) by others. They begin to understand the power of blogs is in their connectedness – they are connected to a larger community of ideas. They anticipate and enjoy those connections.
• Work toward including posts (or comments) that include textual references to support their opinions. They begin to add quotes or links to other works. Their voice is apparent.
• Respect others. It’s okay to disagree; it’s not okay to be disagreeable. Be respectful of others and their opinions, and be polite when you disagree.
• Dare to take responsible educational "risks" to "bump their reading, writing, thinking and blogging up several notches!"
• Celebrate their own and their peers' successes!

Pictures from Greg

Your King Tut posts prompted Greg to visit the exhibit and he wanted to share his pictures with you!

Speak the lines within your heart

I received this email from Greg. Greg is one of our student assistants in the Instructional Technology Center in the College of Education at Georgia State.  He keeps up to date on your blogs and is impressed with your blogging. He always comes into the office and a big smile always crosses his face when he talks about you guys.

Here is Greg's email:

I think this would be a good song for your students that I wanted to share with them

Download Tremolo - You Were Born For This

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I think this stanza from the song particulary fits for you....

No one else can play your part
Liberate all of your dreams
Speak the lines within your heart
Alright alright Alright

You were born for this
Your were born for this
C'mon light it up
It's your life you don't want to miss