What are you reading?

Currently, Ms. Lawver is reading Dies the Fire by SM Sterling (geared for adults, but ok for 8th grade advanced readers).  This dystopian book starts off like the new show Revolution where all of a sudden all of the electricity goes out and planes fall out of the sky.

So, what are you reading?

Tell us the title of your book, author, and a few sentences about it in the comments of this post.  Don't forget, if you are a kid, don't post your full name, first only!  My current students can get a goodie ticket for a good comment!

Revolutionary War

A great resource we have in this area is war re-enactor, Dr. Roy Wells.  Today he came and spoke to the 8th grade students about the different uniforms, weapons, and about life in general for soliders during the Revolutionary War.

Here is Evan as a Patriot.

Dr. Wells

Tea.

Special thanks to Kailey for great pictures!

6th grade archeologists!

Another great activity we did in 6th grade was an archeological dig.  The students set up their "dig" boxes as a group, burying "artifacts" (aka, man made items).  The next day a different group had the opportunity to excavate the box and discover the different clues to "ancient civilization" that left these artifacts behind!  (Of course, playing in the dirt was the highlight!)

Here you can see the girls recording the artifacts they uncovered.

This group is ready to dig with their box gridded off (with the string) and a ruler ready to get the details.

Ready to find out what is in this box!

6th Grade Cartographers

One of the first assignments the 6th graders did this year as groups was to create a map of the world from memory!  They could only use glue and paper, so they had to tear out the shapes of the continents.

Mosaics

While studying our unit on Rome and the Byzantine Empire, the 7th grade class made mosaics to represent their cultures.  Here are some shots of them working!

Delaney and Daisy Duck!

A few students used their devices to help them find images of their ideas.

The California Poppy is a great symbol to represent our state!

What Ms. Lawver read this summer.

I hope everyone had a great summer full of reading!  Here is a re-cap of what I read this summer.

I started off finishing George RR Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series, with A Dance with Dragons.  This series (for adults) was a bit long, even for me, but I did enjoy it.

Sleepaway Girls, a perfect light summer read for girls.

Trapped, this book was a bit intense as 5 students are stranded at school in a blizzard.

The Lying Game, this was also a good mystery.  I need to read the next book so I can find out who the killer is!

Epitaph Road, a dystopian novel where women rule the world and very few men and boys actually survive...

Queen Bees and Wannabees, this is a good one for parents of teen girls.  It discusses the drama and cliques of adolescence.

Out of Sight out of Time, the fifth book in the Gallagher Girls Series, another great adventure.

When You Reach Me, I can see why this is a popular book (also a mystery), but I didn't love it.  It was good, but not a favorite for me.

The whole Dead is...  series.  I was really surprised with how much I liked these.  It is a paranormal series with great mysteries.  The series actually has a second set (books 6 and 7 are out), with new main characters, I look forward to reading those too.

Not pictured:

Just Listen, by Sarah Dessen.  Probably my least favorite of my summer reads, it was a heavy novel dealing with older teen issues.

Uncommon Criminals, by Ali Carter.  I am halfway through with this, and like the Gallagher Girls (same author), it is a great adventure/mystery with strong female protagonists.

"Ms. Lawver, you read too many girly books!"

- I know... sorry, boys... I will have some recommendations for you too soon.  Trapped and Epitaph Road were both "not girly" (really!) and I keep meaning to read the Ranger's Apprentice books... 

Jacob

Jacob says there aren't enough 7th graders on this blog.  He is right... I will work on it!

7th graders at Field Day!

Um... I have a few more photos, but they didn't come out well, so I will try to snag some from Senor so that there is enough blue for this blog!

Jackson and Bailey

Maggie and Madi can't wait till next year, they love pink deep down.

8th Graders at Field Day!

Justin, JT and Dean with their root beer floats, they love sugar, and pink.

Jackie and Naveena are having so much fun, they don't even notice who is photo-bombing their picture.

Nicole with the heavy hammer. 

Joel and Jason show their pink spirit.

Julia and Elise at the morning rally.

Mikayla, Mack, Elle and Mikayla love pink!

Zach is so excited for the day, he can't stand it.  He stayed up all night with excitement.  His excitement is overflowing.  Even his tie is excited!

Annika has no idea who her father is?

Jake attacked a pink leopard for his pants.

Chris and George are so ready to beat the yellow and blue.

Immigrant Bazaar

Today, Thursday, the students (immigrants) put on an international bazaar.  Each group had a booth to represent the culture of the country they had just emigrated from.

 Two Italians playing chess.

 Egypt group

Nick and his borscht.

Origami at the Japanese table.

Elise and Jordan with baklava

Ellis Island

On Tuesday, our 8th grade students did a simulation of what it was like to be an immigrant going through Ellis Island.  Most students played the role of immigrants from various nations with hopes of entering America.  Other students played the role of processors, determined to only let the worth immigrants enter.

Groups of immigrants waiting to enter Ellis Island:

These doctors are making sure that the immigrants are healthy enough to enter America.

An angry Italian guy getting deported.

Civil War

Last week we were delighted to invite Dr. Wells back to Stone Valley.  He presented many interesting facts, uniforms, supplies, weapons and stories from the Civil War.

Ethan all dressed up as a Union Cavalry Soldier!

Spring Break!

Don't shut off your brain for the week!  Here are some fun (fun-ish) activities to do over Spring Break.

For the 8th graders going to Washington DC:

          Really take in the history and sights you are visiting.  There is so much to see while you are there. My favorite places on this trip are Williamsburg, the Lincoln Memorial and the Mall (no, not a shopping mall!).  Take lots of pictures, be goofy and have fun!  Feel free to send me pics while you are gone that I can update on here to share with the other students.

Going somewhere else?

          It is always awesome to travel to new places (or places you have been).  What can you learn about that place?  What sort of geography are you seeing?

If you happen to be going to Disneyland (my favorite!) don't forget to check out Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln.  It is near the front gate and is pretty interesting, plus a nice place to relax inside and get away from the crowds.  

Going out of the country?  Lucky!  Absorb all you can and try to learn a few new words each day of your trip.

The best part of traveling is seeing new sights, trying new activities, meeting new people and even sampling new foods.  Just don't forget to take pictures!

Relax and Read!

Vacations are also a great time to catch up on some reading.  Pick up a fun book for you to enjoy, no need to torture yourself with something dull or "educational."  Check out my previous post that links Miss Kono's sister's reading blog.  She can direct you to great books.  Sit by the pool, sit on the beach, grab a magazine or book and relax!

Games:

1.  Draw Something!  Seriously!  Unless your opponent isn't a challenge at all, playing games like this actually make you think and be creative.

2. Words With Friends:  Obvious brain activity here... words, spelling, vocabulary...

3. Mine Sweeper:  This game may just seem like an addictive time sap, but it makes you look for patterns, and uses your math neurons.

4.  Trivial Pursuit and other trivia games, challenge your family for who has to do the dishes.

5. Apples to Apples: Nouns! Adjectives! Creativity!

Other ideas:

Go for a hike, how many trees can you identify?  See the wildlife...

Go out stargazing at night.  (There are good apps you can download that will help you locate all of the visible constellations in your area).

Amusement Park?  Try to figure out exactly how those rides work without crashing, that is Physics in action.

Hit the beach:  Check out tide pools, watch the waves, dig for sand crabs.  

Stuck at home?  Make Ms. Paulson proud and try a new recipe, watch some videos on Discovery.Com, or help out in your family garden.

Vacation time is for having fun and spending with friends and family.  Enjoy your time, just don't shut off your brain!

In the comments of this post, share what you learned over vacation, top answers will get a ticket.  Remember that this is a public blog, so if you leave a comment, just post your first name and last initial for your on-line privacy.

Ms. Lawver will be stuck at home, reading : )

Need help finding a book?

In case there are a few of you who have already read everything on Ms. Lawver's bookshelf... check out Miss Kono's sister's blog.  She is a librarian with an affinity for teen lit (especially dystopian).  Lots of great book reviews to check out!

Library Lady!

Civil War Projects from Core 2!

Here are some more awesome Civil War projects from my other 8th grade class:

If Abraham Lincoln had facebook, he should have un-friended John Wilks Booth.

The Battle of Gettysburg.

Another scrapbook that explains the fashion of the Civil War.

Here is a link to a site that compares and contrasts the life of civilians:
http://www.wix.com/tophetalk/civil-war-project#!home|mainPage

Great Job, Core 2!

Civil War Projects from Core 1

For the Civil War project, the 8th graders have a lot of choices, they can also design there own projects.  Here are some fun examples from Core 1!

Here are some examples of slave quilts.  The girls also researched what each pattern meant to slaves escaping to the North.

A model of the battle between the Merrimack and the Monitor.

Some examples of clothing/fashion from the Civil War.

You can also check out this amazing stopmotion video on the First Battle of Bull Run:

Perspective Art

7th graders this week are studying the Renaissance so we are working on our own perspective art... take look!