I teach 5th and 6th grade STEM in the lovely Pacific Northwest in a small, rural town called Chimacum. My goal is to help students discover that all learning is life-long and that 21st century tools can be used for work as well as fun.
Nov 03
This week 6th graders will conduct their water quality tests on seven sites along both sides of the Hood Canal. My 1st period class will be going to the Dosewallips River, the Duckabush River and Triton Cove Beach on Wednesday, Nov 7. My 2nd period class will be going to the Dewatto River and Belfair …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2007/11/03/hood-canal-testing/
Oct 26
The 7th grade field trip was great! Thank goodness we got two beautiful Fridays in a row. My 7th grade Science classes are getting close to completing their field guide websites. Look here for when they go live! Also make sure your child shows you my blogging permission slip (see my homework page, week 9 …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2007/10/26/field-trips/
Oct 20
Monday, Oct 22, sixth grade classes will begin conducting their water quality testing on Chimacum Creek. We will go down to the creek early in the period, after some preparation, where the groups that use probes will do their testing. The groups that use kits will collect water samples and then wait to return to …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2007/10/20/chimacum-creek-testing-begins/
Oct 18
After deliberation Mr. DiPrete and Mr. Gonzalez voted in favor of cancelling our Oct 19, 8:40am field trip in light of the recent storm. Weather reports say that there is another storm due to hit us tomorrow and this morning was so wet that we thought instead of ruining our field trip we would just …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2007/10/18/7th-grade-field-trip-cancelled/
Oct 08
This is midterm week. Midterm is a chance for kids to see what they are missing so they can make it up. Although it is best to stay caught up, if your child has fallen behind he or she must catch up quickly. November 29 is the end of the 1st Trimester but we want …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2007/10/08/midterm-is-friday-oct-12/
Sep 30
Sixth graders have begun our Water Quality Project. They are starting to learn how to take notes from the textbook in outline format. While they use the book to study fresh water pollution I will start training teams to do their specific jobs so we can begin our testing of Chimacum Creek. So far I …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2007/09/30/projects-have-begun/
Sep 14
Homework seems to be a difficulty for parents and teachers. We always try to balance between the need for homework and the fact that many students just don’t do it. In Science I offer plenty of extra credit opportunities for those students who would do homework anyway but I do not give regular homework. Now …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2007/09/14/homework-explanation/
Sep 07
As the first week comes to an end I thought I’d post some reminders here. Sixth graders just need to make sure they get all their filled out and signed paperwork to their teachers. The Cispus Health Form and Permission slip is due Monday, Sept 10. Medication Authorization form is due all next week and …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2007/09/07/first-week-of-school-a-success/
Aug 19
Tuesday, Sept 4, is the first day of school! Here you will find links to some of my beginning of the year handouts. This year I’ll be teaching all three 6th grade Science classes again as well as two of the three 7th grade Science classes. I look forward to working with some of my …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2007/08/19/2007-08-school-year/
Aug 04
Avatars are pictures people can use online instead of their own photo. Students in school can create avatars like the following that they can use on an “About Us” page without having to post their photograph. I made this avatar with Portrait Illustration Maker (and it’s free!), the talking one below is from Voki and …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2007/08/04/avatars/
I'm a Curipod Ambassador! :)
I've presented at NCCE
2016, 2017, 2019, 2022,
2023 and 2024!
I presented at WSTA 2015!
