MSM 229: SuperSize this Half Baked Idea…

Presented in collaboration with the Association for Middle Level Education.

Jokes You Can Use:

After trying a new shampoo for the first time, Morris mailed
off an enthusiastic letter of approval to the manufacturer.

Several weeks later he came home from work to a large carton
in the middle of the floor. Inside were free samples of the
many products the same company produced: soaps, detergents,
tooth paste, and paper items… with a “thank you” note from
the manufacturer.
“Well, What do you think?” asked his smiling wife, Ruth.

“I think that next time,” Morris replied. “I’m writing to
General Motors.”

*********************************************

1. Another flight attendant’s comment on a less than perfect
landing: “We ask you to please remain seated as Captain Kangaroo
bounces us to the terminal.”

2. After a real crusher of a landing in Phoenix, the Flight Attendant came
on with, “Ladies and Gentlemen, please remain in your seats until Capt. Crash
and the Crew have brought the aircraft to a screeching halt against the gate.
And, once the tire smoke has cleared and the warning bells are silenced, we’ll open
the door and you can pick your way through the wreckage to the terminal.”

3. Part of a flight attendant’s arrival announcement: “We’d like
to thank you folks for flying with us today. And, the next time you
get the insane urge to go blasting through the skies in a pressurized
metal tube, we hope you’ll think of US Airways.”

********************************************************

Three strings walk into a bar and sit down at a table. The first string walks up to the bartender and says, “Bartender, three beers please.” The bartender looks at the string and says, “I’m sorry, but we don’t serve strings here.” Disappointed, the string walks back to his buddies and explains. The second string says “No problem, I’ll go get our beers.” The second string walks up to the bartender, “Bartender, three beers please.” The bartender says, “Listen man, I told your buddy that we don’t serve strings here.” Empty handed, the second string walks back to his buddies. The third string says, “No problem. Tie me in a knot at one end and fray my ends at the other.” He struts up to the bartender, “Bartender, three beers please.” The bartender proceeds to get him the beer when he suspiciously turns to look at the string and says, “Excuse me, but are you a string?” The string replies, “I’m a frayed knot!”

http://www.middleweb.com/5053/humor-in-the-classroom/

Eileen Award:

 

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Advisory:

Art Wolfe Photography

Great wildlife photos. Have the kids make stories for each picture. (For fun, search for camoflage).
http://artwolfe.photoshelter.com/

How to Write Letters

Above all, it reminds us that sentiment lives not only in what is being communicated but also in how it is being communicated — an osmosis all the more important today, when cold screens and electronic text have left the written word homogenized and devoid of expressive form.
http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2012/12/21/how-to-write-letters-1876/

How Fast Can You Name…

Come up with a common list. Have the students name them as quickly as possible.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=xly_lNW_2o4#!

How to Make A Puppet by Jim Henson

Ask the kids if they’ve ever seen the Muppets. This is a 15 minute video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=AC440k6iByA

Middle School Science Minute

by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or davidbydlowski@mac.com)

I was recently reading the December, 2012 issue of Science Scope, a publication of the National Science Teachers Association for middle school teachers.  There was a very interesting article on clouds written by Tina Cartwright, Rommel Miranda, Ronald Hermann, and Deb Hemler entitled, “Clear Skies Ahead: Clearing Up Confusion About Clouds.”

They provided a very helpful semi-dichotomous cloud key that seems very helpful in helping students in the cloud identification process.  A version of the cloud key containing color photos of each cloud type can be found at:

http://wvscience.org/clouds/Cloud_Key.pdf

 

From the Twitterverse:

* ESSDACK ‏@ESSDACK
One of the best Middle Schools Apps! iTooch #mschat
* Eric Hanson ‏@HansonEP
Great livebinder – iPad Apps http://www.livebinders.com/play/play/119771 … for U.S. History
* Erin Klein ‏@KleinErin
3 Popular Video Creation Tools Being Used By Teachers http://zite.to/12UyDYB
* Wesley Fryer, Ph.D. ‏@wfryer
MT @DMaxMJ: Share & sign this “end testing obsession” petition.Free students 2B learners,teachers 2 teach https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/cease-harmful-public-education-policies-relying-standardized-testing/w8ZrZwVT … #fb
* Scott McLeod ‏@mcleod
New bookmark: A Simple Guide To 4 Complex Learning Theories | @edudemic
* David Britten ‏@colonelb
RT @OaklandSchools: What Learning Will Look Like in 2013 http://ow.ly/gpunT  via @anniemurphypaul #EdChat
* Monte Tatom ‏@drmmtatom
The 20 Best Education Apps & Web Tools Of The Year http://flip.it/ddclh  #fhucid #fhuedu320 #fhuedu642
* Monte Tatom ‏@drmmtatom
25 Tablet Idea to Enhance Learning Experiences http://flip.it/1fUtr  #fhucid #fhuedu320 #fhuedu642
* Monte Tatom ‏@drmmtatom
5 Components to a Quality Education http://flip.it/cstvP  #fhuedu610 #fhuedu508 #fhucid ~ for @MSMatters followers
#mschat every Thursday at 8:00 pm Eastern Standard Time.

Resources:

Books to Read

http://transformed.teachingquality.org/blogs/tempered-radical/12-2012/three-professional-reads-are-worth-your-time

All Cats Have Asperger Syndrome

Kathy Hoopman

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1843104814/

Explania

Welcome to Explania! Watch hundreds of animated explanations, interactive tutorials and instructional videos, and feel free to embed them on your own web pages.

http://www.explania.com/en

Free NASA e-Book

This book is available for download on your iPad with iBooks or on your computer with iTunes.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/hubble-space-telescope-discoveries/id588428410?mt=11

BadgeMaker

Make your own ID card, press pass, name tag, unofficial Flickr badge, or any other kind of identification. Print it out, laminate it, wear it with pride! Make any kind of identification* easily in just a few seconds.
http://bighugelabs.com/badge.php

Web Spotlight:

When Creative Musical Genius Meets YouTube

By Wesley Fryer On December 26, 2012
There are some people in this world who have creative, musical genius that absolutely knocks your socks off when you hear and see it. Jon Cozart (Paint on YouTube) is one of those people.
His 104 second video with himself, “Lord of the Rings in 99 Seconds,” has 1.3 million YouTube views to date. It makes the video I created with my kids in the summer of 2011, “The Hobbit In Five Minutes,” look like a far more coarse and amateurish attempt at a 3 novel / movie plot summary.
http://www.speedofcreativity.org/2012/12/26/when-creative-musical-genius-meets-youtube/

What’s the difference between Holland and The Netherlands?

Posted on Sunday, December 23rd, 2012 at 12:11 pm. PT
Written by Shawn King
Have you ever wondered what the difference between “Holland” and “The Netherlands” is? Of course you haven’t – not many have.
But just in case you have even a mild interest, this video by C. G. P. Grey does an amazing job of explaining this odd little quirk of geography. And, for even more explanation of geographic and historical anomalies, check out his“The Difference between the United Kingdom, Great Britain and England Explained”.
http://www.loopinsight.com/2012/12/23/whats-the-difference-between-holland-and-the-netherlands/

TregoED SCAN

So I gave it a go this last marking period and . . . .

 

Half-Baked Idea . . .

So I got these “electronic resource devices” for my classroom and I tried this idea on the day before Christmas break . . .