Author: chris1011

Student Led Conference by Chris

chris1011 0 - Student Led Conferences, 6th Grade Writers
The Student Led Conference or SLC is not like a normal parent teacher conference in which the teacher talks to your parents about you academically. In a SLC the student leads the conference telling the parents and teachers their strengths, positive learning experiences, weaknesses and disappointments. We also set goals for the future to help with things such as time management or test taking. We prepare for this conference by finding examples of our work that show those points and are good examples of our goals.

We started preparing for this by looking at our report cards and pinpointing good and/or bad things. We looked at these pinpoints and found examples of our work that match them. We then brought together all the self-reflections we did in each class and used them to fill out a graph.
After that graph was completed we used it to gather any more necessary examples. Finally, we put down all of our information into a packet that we brought to the conference.

The actually presentation was very easy for me. I think this is because I had a Student Led Conference last year and I know what it is and how to do it. We begin the conference with the positive examples and strengths. After discussing the positive stuff we moved on to the negative examples and weaknesses. Finally, as the SLC comes to a close we talk about our goals and also set another goal with our parents and teacher.

The biggest thing that I learned from the SLC is how I work as a learner. I learned that time management was an issue and now one week later I am already making adjustments to help me with time management. I also learned that my weaknesses are most of the time something very specific. They would be for example “Has trouble telling time in Spanish” not something like
“ Does not understand Spanish at all 🙁 .” Another important thing I learned is that if you have a class that you don’t like at all or you do bad in you still have to keep working hard to try to get better in it or else it will always bother you.

SLC……. Student Led Conference or SLC…….. Sharing Learning Cooperatively.

Nature’s Classroom By Chris

chris1011 0 - NATURE'S CLASSROOM, 6th Grade Writers
The PDS Middle school went on a 4 day 3 night trip to Nature’s Classroom in Ivoryton, Connecticut. Nature’s Classroom is an organization that has campsites all over the U.S. and where schools visit to learn about Nature and Science. Every day at Nature’s Classroom we had a class called Field Group.

The whole middle school was  split up into different Field Groups. Each Field Group had around ten students and had one counselor as the leader. My Field Group Leader’s name was Rustauche, he was very nice. During Field Group we hiked around the property and played games such as: Camouflage, Hippie, Flood, Hippie Flood and Hippie Hippie Flood. The Nature’s Classroom has a great property! The reason it’s so great is because on the property there are “landmarks” such as the dam hill (which you roll down), lookout point, roller-coaster island, the farm and the cedar swamp.

After Field Group, we had an activity that we chose. These activities ranged from shark dissection to building a ti-pi. Some of the activities I was in were: Back to Basics ( variety of Colonial and Stone Age survival skills), making a Geo-dome, shark dissection and fishing.

Wednesday night we had a very intense experience. We acted out a simulation of the Underground Railroad in the woods. We played the slaves and had to pick cotton in a field. While our master was inside two conductors came and rescued us. We then began our journey from Georgia all the way to Canada. On the journey we ran into friends called friends of friends, bounty hunters, angry farmers, the sheriff and a nice safe house keeper.

First we ran into a friend of a friend who tried to trick us into believing she was a bounty hunter. She helped us by giving us two dollars and a pass that would bring us safely through North Carolina, South Carolina and Virgina. She told us never to use both dollars at once because if we did we would have no money. The next person we ran into was a farmer that was furious that we were on her land. She said, “ If I turn you in, I would get hundreds of dollars. On the other hand it would be a burden for me and would take a long time for me to get my money.”
We offered her one dollar if she’d let us free and she accepted.

Unfortunately, we were not as lucky later on. We then ran into a bounty hunter. When he captured us he burned our pass and took our last dollar. Then, he took us to the sheriff’s office. On our way we stumbled upon another bounty hunter that took us from the first bounty hunter because we were now in the second bounty hunter’s territory. After getting out of the first bounty hunter’s sight the second one said “I’m a friend of a friend.” We were all so relieved when he told us that there was a safe house coming up. When we  got inside the house we heard a knock so we all hid. The sheriff walked in and talked to the house keeper. The keeper convinced him that we weren’t there. The sheriff left so we all got up but as soon as we opened the back door to get out he walked back in and saw us. As we ran out we heard nothing but the keeper’s scream. We had finally made it to Canada. In Canada we got jobs and learned some French but most importantly we were free at last.

Nature’s Classroom was an amazing experience and I recommend it to everyone!

Imagination Day! By Chris

chris1011 0 - Imagination Day, 6th Grade Writers

March 15 2011 was an awesome day! We did a whole new activity that turned out great. Many students taught a subject to other students. These subjects weren’t your everyday school math and science subjects they were subjects like soccer skills, how to bake brownies, how to speak Chinese and other awesome topics.

I taught baseball skills and had a big group. We went over the basics of baseball and ended up having a great time. Each student got two periods to either teach or learn. The first period I went to soccer skills and learned shooting techniques and that self- confidence is very important in soccer. The second period I taught the baseball skills. The teachers that taught soccer did great they showed us great ways to angle and elevate the ball so that there is a great chance it will go in the goal.

In the end I learned a lot about soccer and even a bit about baseball! I would definitley do this again! Thank you to George our principle and all the teachers for organizing this amazing day.

Our Surprise Trip To Vassar College! By Chris

chris1011 0 - In The Footsteps of Marco Polo, 6th Grade Writers
Hi Denis,
My name is Chris. I was one of the 6th graders from Poughkeepsie Day School in your audience at Vassar college on 2/16/11. I really loved your presentation and wished you had shown the whole movie. I saw the movie on the website a couple days before the presentation. Our school also bought the signed copy of the book. We love your message: “ To the kids of Poughkeepsie Day School. Remember: There is so much more to explore!” Thank you for everything.

Sincerely,
Chris

What Makes A Great Teacher? By Chris

chris1011 6th Grade Writers

T.T.T.

(The Teacher Torah)

A great teacher would need to be patient and kind. Great teachers are usually not very strict but I think that they would need to be a little strict just so the kids couldn’t take advantage of them. To be great they would need to be great with kids and other teachers. Teachers need to be able and willing to teach five days a week.It is very important to know a lot about what you are teaching. Teachers that are funny are usually kids favorites. A great teacher would find out how a certain kid learns best one by one. A teacher would definitely have to be good with kids. They should also try not to overload the kids with homework. Instead they could try doing more in class. Great teachers would also have lots of hands on activities and project.

What makes a great student? By Chris

chris1011 6th Grade Writers

SECRET STUDENT SOCIETY

Handbook

To be a great student you have to have these following traits. You must be: a good listener, good at following directions and rules, patient, excited about school and respectful. I think a great student would be prepared for class and attentive. Great students should be clever and intelligent. Great students are definitely creative! Hands on activities are generally best for kids to become great students!

What makes a great teacher? By Chris

chris1011 6th Grade Writers

T.T.T.
(The Teacher Torah)

A great teacher would need to be patient and kind. Great teachers are usually not very strict but I think that they would need to be a little strict just so the kids couldn’t take advantage of them. To be great they would need to be great with kids and other teachers. Teachers need to be able and willing to teach five days a week. It is very important to know a lot about what is being taught. Teachers that are funny are usually kids’ favorites. A great teacher would find out how each kid learns best. A teacher would definitely have to be good with kids. They should also try not to overload the kids with homework. Instead they could try doing more in class. Great teachers would also have lots of hands on activities and project.

My Favorite Web 2.0 Tool by Chris

chris1011 6th Grade Writers
My favorite web 2.0 tool is Edmodo. I like it the best because you can easily communicate with other students. I especially like how it is just like other social media sites but a lot safer. I feel comfortable with Edmodo’s security. I find it very cool that we can still communicate and have classes from home! I think using Edmodo will be very fun and convenient.

Blogging Challenge 10 by Chris

chris1011 0 - Blogging Challenge, 6th Grade Writers

During the last few months I have written eleven posts. These posts include: Win Win Win, Copyright usage, Skype and much more. I wrote four posts set by the challenge. The rest of my posts were not. I had two of my classmates and four teachers comment on my posts. They all had positive things to say so I think I did a good job. My scary story and summer cruise posts got the most comments. I think this is because they both grab the reader’s attention easily. The horror genre tempts the reader to read it. Cruises are also interesting. I enjoyed writing the Win Win Win the most because I like to write as if I am someone else. No we didn’t change themes at all. Our blog currently has eleven widgets. We are planning on adding a class pet to the blog soon.
Here is a link to the website.

http://studentchallenge.edublogs.org/2010/12/12/challenge-10-sept-2010/

Edgar Allen Poe

chris1011 6th Grade Writers
Edger Allan Poe

Edgar Allan Poe was born on January 19th, 1809 in Boston. He was born with the name Edgar Poe. His mom died when he was two. He was adopted by Mr. and Mrs. Allan. Mr. Allen was a successful merchant so Edgar went to good schools. Edgar sadly drank too much and was in debt. Mr. Allan refused to give Edgar money so Edgar decided to run away to West Point. Mr. Allan signed the application so he could go. Mr. Allan still refused to give Edgar money and Edgar had to drop out. After he left West Point he became a writer and poet. His specialty was the scary genre. He wrote many different stories and poems but The Raven is one of his most famous poems. Some of his most well known works are Eldorado and The Black Cat. He died on October 7th, 1849 at the young age of forty. His legacy lives on and his scary story genre writing is still appreciated.  One of his most frightening stories is The Tell Tale Heart.

The Tell Tale Heart is horrifying. I know because I have experienced its HORROR. In my opinion Edgar Allan Poe is the king of horror. If you don’t believe me now you soon will !  This story is about a man who’s master has an evil eye. This man wants to kill the eye but not the master. To do so, he must kill him when the eye is open but the man is still asleep. The servant enters his master’s chamber every night to see if the eye is open. He can’t kill the man with the eye closed because then he would kill the man not the eye. The servant is mad with insanity in a terrifying way. Mr.Poe plans the plots of his stories to include a surprising horrifying twist. In this tale, Edgar Allan Poe’s words are chilling, “ –Tear up the planks — here,here –here is the beating of his hideous heart.” That is the final sentence of this horrible tale.

My opinion of The Tell Tale Heart is that it is a very well written story. I think that the title is well written  because The Tell Tale part represents him confessing the murder and the Heart part represents the last sentence. Edgar Allan Poe was a successful writer because he uses descriptive words. His use of adjectives set the spine tingling mood of his stories.His story plots are always filled with a twist. Mr.Poe had a tough life which could give him ideas for scary writing. I would think he got his plots and characters from his own experiences and imagination. He probably had a big imagination which would help with stories and poems. I would most definitely read more of his works. I think he was a very great writer and has many great works.

This picture is owned by Tom Conger. http://www.flickr.com/photos/14951550@N08/3289900840/