Geek Day

Friday was Geek Day at Beauclerc! Could one of these people be the next Carl Sagan, Steve Jobs, or George Lucas?






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Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Test?

It's rare that I ever have anything to post having ANYTHING to do with all the standardized testing your kids are put through, but I just had to share this. Last week, the kids took the Benchmark Math and Reading tests...for the third time this year. *sigh*

But today, I got the scores, and was elated at the MASSIVE improvements in just the past two months, and even more over the course of the year. Now as anyone who knows me is well aware, my class doesn't spend a single solitary moment on drilling FC@T practice questions or FC@T specific skills into their heads. In fact, the very word itself is a "cuss word" in my classroom (hence, my use of the @ - I don't even like to type the word!). My students don't ever waste their time on FC@T websites or worksheets. When we're on the computers, it's to learn how to use Power Point, Microsoft Word, to do some research on the Internet, or to use Gizmos science simulations or other highly engaging websites. In math, we spend our time learning to think and expanding our minds. In reading, we spend our time actually ENJOYING what we're reading and discussing the incredible stories of Bradley Chalkers, Bobby Ballenger, Helen Keller, and Judy Moody. We engage in real-life, hands-on science, rarely ever even touching a text book. And we never, ever let social studies sit on the back burner.

This is what I've focused on every year I've been a teacher, and your kids have once again demonstrated that authentic teaching and learning is not only far superior to the old-fashioned way of learning, but that it also just happens to result in very strong scores in standardized testing as well. And while I don't hold much stock in these tests anyway, it's nice to see that they back up what I've always said.

So, congratulations on some really terrific Benchmark scores, folks! Tomorrow, the kids will bring home a comparison of their scores from each of the three test sessions.

Water Cycle Rap Video

And now, presenting, the world premiere of "The Water Cycle" rap video, complete with extra footage of outtakes!

Enjoy!




If the video doesn't load for you, click here to view the video on a separate site. You can also download the video by right-clicking on the link, then choosing "Save Link As".

If you like the music you can hear more by the same artists and buy the albums at www.educationalrap.com.

Water Cycle Rap Music Video

This week our class made a music video based on the "Water Cycle Rap" song that I posted last week. I wasn't planning on making a video, until Elysha choreographed a dance for the chorus of the video during recess. She came up with a perfect dance routine in just a couple minutes, and that inspired the creation of a full-length video! We shot the scenes Thursday and Friday. I've been working on editing it this weekend. Here are some sample pictures from the video! Check back Monday for the WORLD PREMIERE of our Water Cycle Rap video!























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Water Cycle Rap Lyrics

I typed up the lyrics to the awesome Water Cycle Rap video that I posted Monday. I still haven't found the writer or performer of the song. :(

I rise to the sky from the sea below
Then down to the ground as rain and snow

Yeah
I represent the movement of water
That's my purpose
Whether on, below, or above
The Earth's surface

In a continuous cycle, my work's never done
Cause I'm driven by energy from the sun

I travel through the sea, through the air, through the ground
You could say that water really gets around

But in fact most water's just chillin' in the oceans
Only a small fraction is really in motion at any given time
But, yo, that's the way it goes
When we're studying the voyages of H2O

In the cycle water changes states at various places
The three states being ice, liquid, and water vapor

But this cycle strays from the norm
Cause through the process water still keeps the same structural form

While other cycles involve chemical change
Water may change states but its structure stays the same

Chorus:
I rise to the sky from the sea below
Then down to the ground as rain or snow

I keep it movin', movin'
Cause I'm the water cycle
Movin', movin'
Cause I'm the water cycle

Repeat Chorus
So when water transforms from liquid to gas
And rises up into the atmosphere; that's evaporation

A process made possible by energy from the sun
Also known as solar radiation

And when there's water vapor in the sky, it reforms
Into water droplets; that's condensation

And when this water falls back down to the Earth
As rain, snow, hail, or sleet; that's precipitation

Plants have their own type of evaporation
Through their stomata, which is called transpiration

So collectively, the term used for transpiration
Plus all other evaporation is evapotranspiration

Two more terms to add to your collection
The movement of water through the air is advection

And speaking of keeping it moving, understand
That run-off is water flowing across the land

Chorus:
I rise to the sky from the sea below
Then down to the ground as rain or snow

I keep it movin', movin'
Cause I'm the water cycle
Movin', movin'
Cause I'm the water cycle

Repeat Chorus

The Water Cycle Rap

Crazy Hair Day

These pictures are a bit late, but I've been having trouble getting the pics to load to Blogger. Anyway, here are some great pictures from last week's Crazy Hair Day!