Week of 5/21 to 5/25
Mood:  happy
This week students finished their Africa projects. They turned them in, and continued to study Africa in the classroom. They worked on political and agricultural maps to add to their school portfolios. They were able to color the maps while they were in class. The students also had a substitute teacher, and were able to watch 2 very intriguing movies on Africa and African wildlife. It seems as if the students really enjoyed learning about Africa!

Week of 5/14 to 5/18
Mood:  happy
This week Mrs. Hasseler was at 6th Grade Camp, so the students had Mrs. Stevens as their teacher, along with Mr. Vander Velden, a student teacher. They worked on the studies of Africa. Students were allowed to pick 2 contrasting countries (1 North and 1 South). The students were given 3 to 4 days to work on research for these countries. They were then asked to find contrasting terrain photos, as well as chart their information, and work on a short write-up comparing and contrasting their countries. The students seemed to stay on task the days I was in the classroom, and I am very proud of them for that!

Week of 5/7 to 5/11
Mood:  happy
Unfortunately I was only in the classroom 1 day this week as well. Because the end of the year is coming, it seems as if there is some sort of event everyday of the week. The one day I was in class, the students were beginning the studies of Asia. They were just starting the Unit, and had not worked on any worksheets while I was there. Hopefully I will be able to be there more next week!

Week of 4/30 to 5/4
Mood:  happy
I was only in the classroom 1 day this week due to Senior events. The one day I was able to attend, students were interacting in a school-wide assembly, where they learned about being kind to one another. Because it is the end of the year, I will not be able to spend as much time in the classroom as I would like to.

Week of 4/23 to 4/27
Mood:  happy
This week, students focused their studies out of the text book. They read about Greece and worked on classroom worksheets. Unfortunately I was not able to be in the classroom everyday, so I missed out on a few activities.

Week of 4/16 to 4/20
Mood:  happy
Students finished presenting their posters at the beginning of this week. We focused on The Wilderness Classroom for a couple of days, because we haven't had much time the past couple of weeks. I presented the class with the interactive website that I created for my Independent Study final project. Many of the students seemed interested and have been using the tools that I have placed on the site for them. I also created a BLOG so they can interact with myself as well as fellow students. I was sick at the end of the week, so I missed out on some of the activities.

Week of 4/9 to 4/13
Mood:  happy
Students were assigned countries for projects. They were able to work on these projects for the past couple of weeks and began to present them at the beginning of the week. Students are continuing with The Wilderness Classroom, and seem to be enjoying it at the same time! Many of the facts that are on the website are extremely interesting!

Week of 4/2 to 4/6
Mood:  happy
Mrs. Hasseler was gone a few days this week as well. We had substitutes and the students took the Eastern Europe Map Test 2 times. Many complained because they had to take it more than once, even if they scored high enough on the first. We tried to convince them that it would be good for future reference but they didn't seem to care. I also created a worksheet for students this week, because of Mrs. Hasseler's absence. They performed well, and eventually received extra credit! I bet they were excited to find that out!

Week of 3/26 to 3/30
Mood:  happy
This week we began studying Eastern Europe. Mrs. Hasseler was missing a couple times this week because of family issues, so we had substitute teachers. The students acted mature the majority of the time, but some had their moments. We also wanted to begin The Wilderness Classroom Project this week, but because of Mrs. Hasseler's absence it will have to wait until next week!

Week of 3/19 to 3/23
Mood:  happy
This week is Spring Break so we didn't have class! I must say that having Spring Break was nice. I was able to relax from my stressful life, but I am looking forward to going back to the classroom next week.