Gatlin's Globewatchers

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Hello again,

I linked the 6^th grade study guide to the wrong document. The correct one can be down loaded by clicking Download 6th_grade_final_exam_review.doc .

Sorry about thatL!

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Good evening everyone,

I thought I’d let all of our parents know what is going on in room 321 this week. For starters, the students were given the task of developing activities that would serve as a review for the material learned throughout the whole school year! Each class was placed in charge of creating their own groups and activities which will be presented and/or conducted tomorrow during class. The 8^th grade began working on them yesterday and the 6^th grade should have begun today (I was absent but I left instructions for the substitute). Incidentally, the sub I normally request was out of town so there was a different one. . . I hope it didn’t throw the kids off too much!

The final exam study guide should have been given to the students today as well. In case anyone was absent, the links for them are given below. We will begin going over the answers tomorrow if there is time after the class review activities are complete. I know finals will be given Thursday and Friday but I’m not 100% sure which periods will have their finals on each day. I will enquire about it tomorrow and let you know.

6^th grade study guide – Download study_guide_2nd_nine_weeks_final.doc 

8^th grade study guide – Download 8th_grade_final_exam_review.doc 

The students were shown their grades last week and yesterday. After viewing their grades last week, the students were given slips of paper to write the missing assignment on. A lot of missing papers were handed in by Friday but some were still missing. The cut-off for turning in late assignments was yesterday (Monday) and quite a lot of papers were handed in. Everything should be entered by tomorrow evening. I know you don’t have the ability to view I-Parent anymore so if you want to know what your child’s final grade is, email me and I will get back to you as soon as I can. I began receiving emails asking about grades yesterday – probably because you could no longer view them yourselves – so please be patient! I am only one person and there are well over 100 students for me to keep track of and report on to parents J!

Have a good evening and I’ll see all of my wonderful students tomorrow!

Ms. Gatlin

Wednesday, 05-16-07

Good afternoon everyone,

Just a couple of quick notes. . .

First of all, please accept my sincerest thanks for all of the wonderful letters of appreciation and gifts you have given to me during the past week. It means the world to me to know that you are willing to say and do such fantastic things to show me how much you care! I’m a very sentimental person so believe me when I say that I will treasure your gifts for the rest of my life!

Everyone has homework tonight:

8^th Grade – complete workbook pages 237-52 and hand in tomorrow.

6^th Grade – complete workbook pages 227-30 and 236. Hand in tomorrow.

To access the online textbook follow this link: http://books.pearsonsuccessnet.com/ph/cd/0-13-064280-0/SciExp/index.html

I am still entering grades in I-Parent. Students, if you notice that an assignment is missing, as always, you can bring it in and put it in your class tray the next day. I will accept all homework and other assignments until Monday, May 21. That will give me time to get the papers graded and grades entered before the final cutoff date!

Also, at the beginning of the week I let all of my classes know that they are more than welcome to stay after school for the rest of this week if they need to complete homework and/or other assignments. They may also stay late Monday.

Have a great evening everyone,

Ms. Gatlin

Sunday, 05-06-07

Good evening,

I hope it works this time . . . my apologies for the lateness of the entry. The 8^th grade test originally planned for tomorrow has been postponed until Tuesday due to this delay. Hopefully, you have used the time between Friday and today wisely anyway! The following is a copy of the original Friday Blog posting:

 

Just a quick note . . .

Here are some more power-points that you may want to use to study for the test:

1.                Winds: Download chapter_16.3 Winds.ppt

2.                Atmosphere: Download atmosphere.ppt

3.                Fronts, Storms, and Air Masses – posted on Thursday, April 12, 2007

4.                Weather – Download weather.ppt 

5.                Weather Unit Study Guide – posted on Wednesday, April 25 Blog entry

8^th Grade – your unit test will be Monday morning

6^th Grade – due to the assembly Wednesday we are behind one day. Therefore, your test won’t be held until Tuesday. Use the extra day to study what you have already learned!

I think that’s all for now. If I think of anything else I will add it between tomorrow and Sunday afternoon.

Have a great weekend,

Ms. Gatlin

Friday, 05-04-07

Good evening,

For some reason type pad is not uploading the power points that I need to place here. I will try again later tonight and tomorrow morning if it still doesn’t work.

I'm so sorry about any inconvenience this may cause any of you or your parents!

Ms. Gatlin

Thursday, 05-03-07

Hello,

All students should complete the chapter 17 skills lab tonight as homework. It is due at the beginning of class tomorrow. After these sheets are handed in, you should begin the notebook check. The 8^th grade students will have 20 minutes and the 6^th grade will have 15 minutes to complete the check. A timer will be set to begin countdown as soon as the tardy bell rings.

8^th Grade – Your meteorology table of contents is linked here: Download meteorology_table_of_contents.doc

As I have mentioned in class, the completion of the section key terms and essential questions is meant to help you study for the test Monday. Use them and the rest of your notes to help you get ready for your test! I will collect the key terms, E.Q.’s, notes, and graphic organizers before the test begins on Monday.

6^th Grade – your table of contents is linked here: Download 6th_grade_meteorology_unit_table_of_contents.doc 

Have a good night and I’ll see you in the morning!

Ms. Gatlin

Tuesday, May 1, 2007

Hello everyone,

This is another reminder that you will all be having a notebook check this Friday. Last week I told you that it would be given within the week but I decided to wait and give it to you at the end of the week instead. You will also be given a unit test on Monday, May 7. This time, I hope you actually spend the weekend studying for it! Don’t forget the power-points you took notes from are linked on last Wednesday’s Blog entry. Some other power-points that may be useful for studying will be added to the Blog on Friday.

The chapter 17’s key terms are given below. Use the time between now and Monday to find their meanings within the chapter 17 text! Going to the back of the book and using the glossary is easy but it doesn’t help you understand what the terms mean in relation to what you are learning about! In addition, you should answer the essential questions for chapter 17 in sentence/paragraph form (at least one full sentence).  It is helpful if you do both of these tasks together by sections.

For example, find the meanings of the first nine (9) key terms from section 1 right before you answer the three (3) essential questions from that section. It makes it easier and quicker to do it that way and it helps you gain a better understanding of the concepts included in that section at the same time.

Section 1

Key Terms:

air mass                                 tropical (air mass)                             polar (air mass)

maritime (air mass)              continental (air mass)                       front                            

occluded                                cyclone                                               anticyclone

Essential Questions:

1.      What are the major types of air masses that affect the weather in North America?

2.       What are the main types of fronts?

3.       What are cyclones and anticyclones?

Section 2

Key Terms:

storm                                      lightning                                              tornado                                  

hurricane                                storm surge                                        evacuate

Essential Questions:

1.       What are the main kinds of storms? How do they form?

2.       What measures can you take to ensure safety in a storm?

Section 3

Key Term:                flash flood

Essential Questions:

1.       What causes flooding?

2.       How can the dangers of floods be reduced?

Section 4

Key Terms:

Meteorologist                                    El Niño                        isobars                                   isotherms

Essential Questions:

1.       How does technology help forecasters predict the weather?

2.       What types of information are shown on weather maps?

On Tuesday we will begin a new unit – our last one of the school year! Remember, these last assignments, quizzes, and tests will all be going on your final report card. Let’s all get ready to do our best and finish the school year with a positive bang!

Ms. Gatlin

Wednesday, 04-25-07

Good evening,

There are a few documents I told you I would post this evening. The links for them are given below:

1.                Thunderstorm power-point - Download Thunderstorms.ppt

2.                Thunderstorm graphic organizer - Download thunderstorms_g.O..doc

I also recommend you look through the following documents for future classes:

1.                Tornado power-point – Download Tornados.ppt . Use the information on it to make an outline or add notations to the handouts to help you remember important information

2.                Hurricane power-point – Download Hurricanes.ppt 

3.                Hurricane graphic organizer – Download hurricane_g.O..doc 

4.                Weather study guide – Download weather_study_guide.doc 

As you know, progress reports will be given out tomorrow for 8^th grade and Friday for 6^th grade students. I won’t be here Friday – I’ll be chaperoning part of our 8^th grade students during the fieldtripJ! I will leave them for the substitute teacher to pass out, however. Due to the fact that quite a few of the students have continued to hand in pass due assignments this week, grades are still being added to I-Parent. Therefore, if you visit the sight and don’t see a grade entered for something you believe you handed in, by all means let me know tomorrow but don’t panic about it tonight!

Try to have a good night and I’ll see you tomorrow,

Ms. Gatlin

Monday, April 23, 2007

Hello everyone,

Well, we made it through CRCT testing – talk about a relief! Let’s not forget, however, that the school year is not over! We still have things to do, lessons to learn, homework to complete, etc., etc.

For those of you who haven’t noticed, I updated grades Friday. There were some problems with some of the grades not showing up but I believe we managed to take care of everything today. While I do still have some papers beside my computer waiting for the grades to be verified and entered, I should be done before too much longer. However, if there are assignments that your son or daughter believes they handed in and the grade for it is not in I-Parent, please have them bring their paper in tomorrow and I will take care of it. Today I showed the students their grades and gave them time to write their missing assignments in their agendas. Everyone will have until Wednesday to hand in all missing work! They won’t receive full credit for it but something is better than a zero.

Everyone had a homework assignment for tonight as well: pages 556-57: 1-31 (not #18). This assignment is due at the beginning of class tomorrow! In addition, the 8^th grade students who neglected to hand in the chapter 15 assessment when it was due have until tomorrow to get it done and handed in.

I would also like to remind those of you who borrowed textbooks to turn them in during homeroom tomorrow morning! Some of you borrowed books a while ago and have yet to return them – please do so ASAP!

I am reposting the textbook link since some of you have such difficulty finding it J on earlier postings. It is:

http://books.pearsonsuccessnet.com/ph/cd/0-13-064280-0/SciExp/index.html

Please save it on your computer’s favorites list!

One other thing that I just realized – with a little help from my friends – is that the ADL questions are not up-to-date. I have updated the list so please check the following document if you have missing or low ADL scores: Download march_and_april_adl_questions.doc

Have a good night and I’ll see you tomorrow,

Ms. Gatlin

Monday, April 16, 2007

Good evening,

This is just a simple message reminding the students to complete their CRCT workbook pages! I ask you to do this for your benefit, not mine! In addition, I have included the questions from the “Fact Finding Mission” review we began last week. It might be a good idea if you found the answers and studied them in preparation for Thursday!

6^th Grade note card questions: 6th grade fact finding review questions.doc

8^th Grade note card questions: 8th grade fact finding reveiw questions.doc

Have a good evening, get plenty of rest tonight, eat a good breakfast, and I’ll see you all tomorrow morning!

Ms. Gatlin