Sometime in March, our class created a Google Group consisting of 6 members and it worked like a chat room, in that any comments went to everyone and would also appear in an email account. I appreciated the exposure to Google Groups but really didn’t see much need for it, especially in a classroom environment.
I believe a database type application with an associated bulletin board is more appropriate for a teaching forum. Google Groups was worthwhile for social purposes but I didn’t see where it added anything more to programs I’m already using such as Yahoo Groups, or instant messaging applications. The shared email functionality can be accomplished from any mail program. So in summation, I wouldn’t want to repeat this activity for later classes, if given the choice.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Short Story - "Snake in the Lake"
Snake in the Lake
Author – Glenda Mosby
Timmy and his dad are going to spend the weekend visiting with his Uncle Joe who lives 30 miles away on a ranch and raises horses for a living. Uncle Joe is his father’s oldest brother, and has twin sons named Dan (short for Daniel) and Don (short for Donald) that are Timmy’s age. Timmy is really looking forward to spending the weekend hanging out with his cousins, for his last two weeks have been so busy. He had always enjoyed being around water since his toddler years and had finally finished the last session of the Pint-Size Swimming lessons. He was so proud of the certificate he received that he had it framed and displayed in the family room and not his bedroom, because everybody wasn’t allowed in his bedroom. He and his dad also completed water rescue training, to be what his dad declared was a certified and “responsible” swimmer. Timmy wasn’t so certain about how responsible he was, but he knew for certain that he enjoyed the water a lot, and couldn’t wait to go boating and swimming on the lake at Uncle Joe’s.
His dad checked him out of school on Friday afternoon, so that they could get an early start on the trip to enjoy the scenic drive, and what remained of the sunshine when they arrived at his Uncle’s. Timmy was sure to pack his fishing pole because Uncle Joe has a lake at the end of trail, beyond his house. They packed some snack crackers and little juicers because Timmy has never made the entire trip without getting a little hungry during the drive. Timmy can always tell when they’re getting close to Uncle Joe’s ranch because they will pass a windmill, and a pasture filled with grazing cows. They will also drive across a small bridge, where Timmy is relaxed by the bumpy motion of the car as they ride across it. He takes a quick nap after crossing the bridge, and awakes with anticipation because now Uncle Joe’s ranch is within view.
Dan and Don leaped from the porch with excitement when seeing their Uncle’s jeep coming down the road. Timmy got out the car and the twin cousins immediately tackled him to the ground. A tickle fight began, while the fathers greeted each other, and shared a firm handshake. Uncle Joe broke up the wrestling match with a smile and firmly said, “Settle down you three”, and the fathers walked towards the house, chatting away. Timmy was nervous about entering the house because Aunt Rose always greeted him with the wettest kiss, but he really liked the smell of her perfume as she embraced him. They could always count on the best smelling and tastiest supper waiting when they arrived, and she reminded them to enjoy the meal before it got cold. The rest of the evening and night passed as everyone got reacquainted since the last visit.
The next day started early for the boys. They left the house before the fathers awoke for they had fished often with their fathers in the past, and were confident enough to go it alone this time. Each couldn’t wait to see the pride on their fathers’ faces when they revealed their prize catch of the day. So they raced toward the lake at the end of the trail. They ignored the breakfast table full of pancakes, bacon, eggs, and fresh orange juice. They ignored the over-sized horses in the stable. Off the ranch they went, each determined to be the first to reach the lake. Aunt Rose just shook her head in disbelief but took no thought for slowing their enthusiasm, for she knew they’d quickly return once stomachs began to grumble.
The boys knew the weekends together passed quickly so they weren’t going to waste a second, so they grabbed poles, buckets and everything they thought they’d need for the trip, and raced down the trail. The twins from the country moved quickly but could not keep up with city excitement, for Timmy was almost three full strides ahead of them. They didn't really mind because they had the fishing poles, and there would be no fishing without the poles. But eventually they all met up at the same time, on the pier at the end of the trail.
The sun was in the distance, beyond the trees so they expected the fish to search for food near the top of the cool surface of the lake. Dan grabbed a lantern and lit it by striking a match on his teeth. The twins brought plenty of worms, and a cricket for desert to feed the first bite. Of course, Tim was the first to get a bite but he wasn’t so thrilled when his catch actually tried to bite him back. It was an eerie snake! The boys screamed in unison and began to swipe at it with their poles, but neither saw the creature return calmly back to the water, and crawled over into distant grass on the shallow side of the lake. The boys were flinging around so wildly that they knocked over the lantern and lighting was still fairly dim in the early dawn. Poor Dan eventually fell backward, bumping his head against the wood pier, and over he went into the still lake. Don saw him fall, and yelled for Timmy to help because he was not a very good swimmer, and was frightened and too nervous to save his brother. Within seconds Timmy leaped into the water and swam over to his cousin. His heart was beating so loudly that he could hear it in his ears. He was scared and frantic but continued to reach through the dark water until he felt one of his cousin’s hands.
He dragged his cousin’s limp body over to the pier, and he and Don pulled him back to the surface. Timmy quickly remembered the rescue training he had received just a week earlier so he knew the next few minutes were going to be critical. Still a little exhausted, he turned Dan’s face downward to force water from his mouth, and then placed him on his back. He felt tears well into the corners of his eyes, but wanted to be tough for Don, who was breathing heavily while yelling and crying for his brother to wake up. Timmy tried to remain calm as he remembered the training from the class. He yelled for Don to run to the house for help, yet Don just stood there, again screaming for his brother to wake up. Timmy realized that Dan wasn’t breathing, and so he began to press on his chest repeatedly just like he learned to do in the water rescue training. One one-thousand, two-one thousand, three one-thousand, four one-thousand, and five one-thousand he counted, and he then pinched Dan’s nose and quickly blew a puff of air into his mouth. Timmy quietly said, “breathe Daniel” as his body still lay motionless. Timmy repeated these steps again and after taking one big gasp for air, Dan hurled a load of water into Timmy’s face and began to cough and breathe again. Overcome with relief, both boys cried and pounced on Daniel, and all three hugged with excitement as the sun rose.
Afterwards, they each agreed that fish was the last thing they desired, and they began to return to the house. The walk to the house seemed rather long, so they finally began to share their thoughts about what had just happened. They agreed that never again would they go fishing without their dads, and prayed anxiously that their punishments wouldn’t be too severe since the weekends are so short. By the time they reached the house, eyes were dry and each were smiling and tugging away at each other again. Timmy began to think again about how much he loved so many water sports and the fun of swimming, but was especially grateful for he now really understood what it meant to be that “responsible” swimmer that his father spoke of only days ago.
I am still working on uploading the video but unfortunately because the file is large,
and it takes an extremely long time to upload and I often run out of time before it finishes.
Characters: Timmy, Timmy’s Dad, Uncle Joe, Twins – Daniel and Donald
Author – Glenda Mosby
Timmy and his dad are going to spend the weekend visiting with his Uncle Joe who lives 30 miles away on a ranch and raises horses for a living. Uncle Joe is his father’s oldest brother, and has twin sons named Dan (short for Daniel) and Don (short for Donald) that are Timmy’s age. Timmy is really looking forward to spending the weekend hanging out with his cousins, for his last two weeks have been so busy. He had always enjoyed being around water since his toddler years and had finally finished the last session of the Pint-Size Swimming lessons. He was so proud of the certificate he received that he had it framed and displayed in the family room and not his bedroom, because everybody wasn’t allowed in his bedroom. He and his dad also completed water rescue training, to be what his dad declared was a certified and “responsible” swimmer. Timmy wasn’t so certain about how responsible he was, but he knew for certain that he enjoyed the water a lot, and couldn’t wait to go boating and swimming on the lake at Uncle Joe’s.
His dad checked him out of school on Friday afternoon, so that they could get an early start on the trip to enjoy the scenic drive, and what remained of the sunshine when they arrived at his Uncle’s. Timmy was sure to pack his fishing pole because Uncle Joe has a lake at the end of trail, beyond his house. They packed some snack crackers and little juicers because Timmy has never made the entire trip without getting a little hungry during the drive. Timmy can always tell when they’re getting close to Uncle Joe’s ranch because they will pass a windmill, and a pasture filled with grazing cows. They will also drive across a small bridge, where Timmy is relaxed by the bumpy motion of the car as they ride across it. He takes a quick nap after crossing the bridge, and awakes with anticipation because now Uncle Joe’s ranch is within view.
Dan and Don leaped from the porch with excitement when seeing their Uncle’s jeep coming down the road. Timmy got out the car and the twin cousins immediately tackled him to the ground. A tickle fight began, while the fathers greeted each other, and shared a firm handshake. Uncle Joe broke up the wrestling match with a smile and firmly said, “Settle down you three”, and the fathers walked towards the house, chatting away. Timmy was nervous about entering the house because Aunt Rose always greeted him with the wettest kiss, but he really liked the smell of her perfume as she embraced him. They could always count on the best smelling and tastiest supper waiting when they arrived, and she reminded them to enjoy the meal before it got cold. The rest of the evening and night passed as everyone got reacquainted since the last visit.
The next day started early for the boys. They left the house before the fathers awoke for they had fished often with their fathers in the past, and were confident enough to go it alone this time. Each couldn’t wait to see the pride on their fathers’ faces when they revealed their prize catch of the day. So they raced toward the lake at the end of the trail. They ignored the breakfast table full of pancakes, bacon, eggs, and fresh orange juice. They ignored the over-sized horses in the stable. Off the ranch they went, each determined to be the first to reach the lake. Aunt Rose just shook her head in disbelief but took no thought for slowing their enthusiasm, for she knew they’d quickly return once stomachs began to grumble.
The boys knew the weekends together passed quickly so they weren’t going to waste a second, so they grabbed poles, buckets and everything they thought they’d need for the trip, and raced down the trail. The twins from the country moved quickly but could not keep up with city excitement, for Timmy was almost three full strides ahead of them. They didn't really mind because they had the fishing poles, and there would be no fishing without the poles. But eventually they all met up at the same time, on the pier at the end of the trail.
The sun was in the distance, beyond the trees so they expected the fish to search for food near the top of the cool surface of the lake. Dan grabbed a lantern and lit it by striking a match on his teeth. The twins brought plenty of worms, and a cricket for desert to feed the first bite. Of course, Tim was the first to get a bite but he wasn’t so thrilled when his catch actually tried to bite him back. It was an eerie snake! The boys screamed in unison and began to swipe at it with their poles, but neither saw the creature return calmly back to the water, and crawled over into distant grass on the shallow side of the lake. The boys were flinging around so wildly that they knocked over the lantern and lighting was still fairly dim in the early dawn. Poor Dan eventually fell backward, bumping his head against the wood pier, and over he went into the still lake. Don saw him fall, and yelled for Timmy to help because he was not a very good swimmer, and was frightened and too nervous to save his brother. Within seconds Timmy leaped into the water and swam over to his cousin. His heart was beating so loudly that he could hear it in his ears. He was scared and frantic but continued to reach through the dark water until he felt one of his cousin’s hands.
He dragged his cousin’s limp body over to the pier, and he and Don pulled him back to the surface. Timmy quickly remembered the rescue training he had received just a week earlier so he knew the next few minutes were going to be critical. Still a little exhausted, he turned Dan’s face downward to force water from his mouth, and then placed him on his back. He felt tears well into the corners of his eyes, but wanted to be tough for Don, who was breathing heavily while yelling and crying for his brother to wake up. Timmy tried to remain calm as he remembered the training from the class. He yelled for Don to run to the house for help, yet Don just stood there, again screaming for his brother to wake up. Timmy realized that Dan wasn’t breathing, and so he began to press on his chest repeatedly just like he learned to do in the water rescue training. One one-thousand, two-one thousand, three one-thousand, four one-thousand, and five one-thousand he counted, and he then pinched Dan’s nose and quickly blew a puff of air into his mouth. Timmy quietly said, “breathe Daniel” as his body still lay motionless. Timmy repeated these steps again and after taking one big gasp for air, Dan hurled a load of water into Timmy’s face and began to cough and breathe again. Overcome with relief, both boys cried and pounced on Daniel, and all three hugged with excitement as the sun rose.
Afterwards, they each agreed that fish was the last thing they desired, and they began to return to the house. The walk to the house seemed rather long, so they finally began to share their thoughts about what had just happened. They agreed that never again would they go fishing without their dads, and prayed anxiously that their punishments wouldn’t be too severe since the weekends are so short. By the time they reached the house, eyes were dry and each were smiling and tugging away at each other again. Timmy began to think again about how much he loved so many water sports and the fun of swimming, but was especially grateful for he now really understood what it meant to be that “responsible” swimmer that his father spoke of only days ago.
I am still working on uploading the video but unfortunately because the file is large,
and it takes an extremely long time to upload and I often run out of time before it finishes.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Cramberry Flash Cards
I have to admit that I really liked the flash cards. I created 10 cards of different types of nouns, which would be either people, places or things. I was thinking about a Kindergarten or 1st grade class that I subbed for some time ago, and how the kids were so challenged with identifying the different types of nouns. I think the kids would have enjoyed having these on a website for they love being on the internet most of the time. So this site made creating flashcards real easy, and I wouldn't mind using them for some of my college studying. The only disadvantage to this site and its cards, is the lack of portability. I like to hang out on the beach and study at times, and would rather have little index cards handy, versus taking my laptop everywhere.
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