Last Posting

Well, this is the last posting. I will no longer teach at Fairless Middle School, and I have moved on to Nordonia High School, where I will teach U.S. History.

If you have any questions or comments, send me an email!

-Mr. Johansson

FMS Tug of War Championships

The Student Council at FMS hosted yet another tournament, this time Tug of War. All homerooms competed against each other in grade level brackets, then overall school championship. We even had a student vs. staff pull, which the students won 2-0. Overall winner was Mr. Fogle's Homeroom, Mr. Klein second, and Mr. McGrath's third. Here are some pictures, all taken by resident expert photographer, Mrs. Reusser (Art Teacher).

Students pull with all of their strength - good thing the rope didn't snap!

Mr. Klein coaching his team to a 7th grade level victory.

Fierce tugging produced a few injuries, but overall a huge success!

An 8th grade team pulling.

The crowd goes wild - in this case, the sixth grade cheering on their team in the final rounds.

Coments on the year...

Please leave a comment based on your experience in Multi-Cultural Studies this year. Feel free to rate the teacher as well...

Multi-Cultural Classes donates rice!

All of the multi-cultural classes competed today on the website FreeRice.com, where they answer word definitions for grains of rice. Each correct answer earns 20 grains of rice. Here are the following standings so far, and our total amount of rice grains donated through the United Nation's World Food Program:

6A - 680 grains of rice
8A - 800 grains
7A - 3080 grains
8B - 3840 grains
7B - 2920 grains
6B - an amazing 4440 grains of rice!

for a grand total of 15,760 grains of rice in one day! Now, the questions is - how many grains of rice per one cup? We will attempt to find out... check back later!

We cook trout!

One of our students, Derek, had caught a trout over the weekend, so he brought it in for us to cook and eat. I supplied the frying pan and know-how, and we had a great time. Kelsey took all the pictures, as well as excellent video (look for it soon). The recipe was basic rustic fried trout with salt, pepper, and of course some (read 3/4 stick) butter! It turned out great, and the students devoured the fish, leaving only some of the bones, and a few pieces of skin. Wow!

Mr. Johansson prepares the trout by inspecting it, clearing fins and some of the scales. He also cut it in half for easy access, added salt and pepper - all while students are watching and learning.

In the frying pan it goes - notice the blue nitrile gloves for safety and smell protection. They wash right off, and it's much easier than having to use soap for every hand wash event!

Almost all of the students tried the fish - and all that tried liked it!

How to save the environment?

Here's how, on cuppa Chai's blog:

Link to blog post...

Visit her blog, leave a comment, and learn something.

Recycling Poll 2008

Here are the results, in post format, from the sidebar poll we've been enetrtaining for the last few weeks. The question was: "Do you recycle?" 66% said yes, they do recycle. 11% do not recycle, and the remaining 22 % said they only recycle some of the time. Not too bad!

Car Crash, new friends...

On the way home from work yesterday, I was in a car crash. I was stopped at a light when another car approached me from behind, and failing to stop in time, they slammed in to my rear bumper. As it turns out, the driver had fallen asleep.

As I got out of the car, the passenger of the other car exited as well, and when we spoke briefly, I knew they must be of Eastern European decent, based on their looks and accent. As we assessed the damage, and called the police, we began to chat about how the two of them made it from Romania all the way to Navarre. I learned that they work on a local chicken farm, doing maintenance tasks, and their families live in North Canton. One thing led to another, and when the police arrived, we were discussing schooling and learning differences between Romania and the U.S. It was very interesting to hear their point of view, and I shared with them some of my ideas as well. Both of them had kids that either have already graduated, or will graduate from high school this year.

The police arrived, and we exchanged information, spoke to the police separately, and went on our separate ways. Before I left, however, I shook their hands, and thanked them for their time and help. I hope to see them again, if only to learn more of their story.

How to link snippets to longer text...

By Andreas Johansson

When you create a post, especially when you wish to post a newspaper article, make sure to use plenty of white space. White space is extra, actual white, space where no text is displayed. White space enhances a reader's experience by allowing them to rest, and to organize the text more easily.

Read the rest of this post by clicking here...

Announcment!

Fairless Middle School's newspaper, FMS Now, has formed its own blog. You may access it here, and read the latest headlines:

http://fmsnow.blogspot.com/

Recycling - 1 week later & 250 gallons saved!

We had a great run this week, with lots of stuff that got recycled. Lots of students volunteered to help sort the recyclables, and organize the lunch lines. We had one large 50 gallon trash bag full of plastic recyclable materials everyday. We reduced actual trash by 2/3! By the end of the week, most of the students had gotten used to what we were doing, and were sorting their garbage themselves, placing plastics and aluminum in the correct bins, and trash in another.

Students are helping others to sort their trash, and educating them on what is, and what is not recyclable. By the end of the week we saw many sorting their own before reaching our sorting station.

Student volunteers pose with one week's worth of recyclable materials. Wow! That's a lot of stuff that could have been thrown out!

Here's another view of all the 'trash' we saved, and that will be recycled this week. The steel cans in the front are from the kitchen personnel - that's what a lot of our food comes in (stuff like fruit, tomato ketchup, beans, etc.) 5 bags in all (50 gallon bags) = 250 gallons of recyclable stuff from lunch at FMS!

Scavenger Hunt at FMS

I made a scavenger hunt (orienteering) to keep the students motivated and refreshed during the OAT week. The 'hunt' includes ten controls, and have easy, but fun, questions on them for the students to answer. Each team receives a control punch / answer card that they carry with them. It includes a description of the location of each control should they need it. The entire event seems to average about 20 minutes for the student teams (2-4 per team seems to work well).

The loop goes around the high school, and I used orange paper when I printed the controls. They are laminated, and I found that if one tapes one corner with duct tape, then punches a hole, then attach the control using a zip tie, things work really well!

All the kids so far have enjoyed the orienteering event, and I plan on using the same format in the future, but with review questions, quiz questions, etc.

MW sounds off!

I think it is very important to recycle because it helps our environment. I also believe that the sixth graders do have a chance of winning the contest! I just have one question. Are you accurately measuring the liquid waste and are you really measuring the recycling? I myself recycle and promote others to do so as well. I believe that if everyone recycled we would be living in a better place and we could in the future.

MW, 6th grade

FMSSC Recycles!

FMS Student Council is sponsoring a recycling effort in order to promote Earth awareness in anticipation of Earth Day, April 22nd, 2008. As a first effort, they decided to recycle the various plastics used / thrown away during lunch at the Middle School. In just one day, where lunch is served to about 450 students, they were able to collect an entire garbage can full of recyclable materials - mostly plastic milk pint containers from Smith's Dairy.

Student Council is collecting recyclable stuff, including the liquid waste, for an entire week, in hopes that it will spur enough awareness to begin school district-wide recycling of plastics and aluminum. In addition, they are holding a competition between grade levels to see who can recycle the most, and produce the least liquid waste.

Students at FMS hold up one day's worth of recyclable materials from lunch. Just imagine how much we've already thrown out! Maybe we can do better in the future...

Blogging 101 - FREE Workshop

Do you want to connect with your students? Here's your chance:

Blogging 101 is for any educator or staff member interested in learning a new way to communicate with their students, parents, and community alike.

No prior skills are needed - everything you need to know will be taught during this 1 hour workshop! You will learn:

-How to set up your own blog
-How to manage posts, comments, links
-Online Safety / Passwords

All workshops are taught by Andreas Johansson (FMS Teacher), and are absolutely FREE! Sign up now to reserve your spot, or show up on a day listed below. Please be on time, as we have lots to cover.

SCHEDULE:

Blogging 101 - Tuesday, April 22, 3-4 PM - Room # 115 @ FMS
Blogging 101 - Wednesday, April 23, 3-4 PM - Room # 115 @ FMS
Blogging 101 - Thursday, April 24, 3-4 PM - Room # 115 @ FMS

Blogging 101 - Tuesday, April 29, 3-4 PM - Room # 115 @ FMS

Coming up: Blogging 102 - Blogging and the Curriculum

Any Questions? Email Andreas Johansson - falconblogger@gmail.com

Eastern Standard Time

Breakfast of Champions

Here's what Mr. Johansson eats for breakfast every morning:

Nature's Path Organic Instant Hot Oatmeal (variety pack) + handful of Craisins + tablespoonful of Jif Creamy Peanut Butter with Honey. Mix it all up, and you can go for a long time. Oatmeal like this really does stick to your ribs... He eats it, of course, using his Brunton Titanium Spork!

Google Maps Disaster...

Someone deleted the 7th grade map... that means that all the hard work the 7th graders made during this project is lost, possibly forever! We will try to contact Google in order to undo the delete action, but we can't promise anything yet. Check back later for news on this matter.

Google Map Project - Student Comments

Dear Student:

Please tell us how you liked the Google Maps Project!

Did it help you develop skills on the Internet? How about using Google MyMaps? What did you learn? What could you have done better / improved? What should we have done instead? How can we use this project in the future? Would you like to do more projects like this?

Please let us know by adding a comment or two (click the link below).

Check out the oil prices...

It's time to get a car with more mileage...

Google Search from the blog...

Try to search the blog and website here:

More Student generated maps...

6th Grade Map is here...

7th Grade Map is here...

8th Grade Map is here...

Check them out, and let us know what you think!

Stay safe online!

Google has done a great deal to educate its users, especially children and those who may be at risk from online use without filters. Check out their helpful hints and tips on how to stay safe while getting what you need from the net:

Google's Tips for Online Safety

Google Maps - The Fairless Mapping Project

Here is a link to the 6th grade map, as well as an embedded map. This is for testing purposes only, but please feel free to leave comments. The goal is to add about 300 points of interest around the Fairless area, as collected and mapped by 6th grade students.

Link to map...


View Larger Map

Dodgeball Tournament 2008

Fairless Middle School's Student Council held its first annual Dodgeball Tournament at the FMS Gym on Thursday, March 20th. With 150 players representing the students (that's 1/3 of the school population), playing against each other in grade brackets, with staff teams mixed in as well, the tournament was a huge success.

Sixth grade played during their activity period to produce grade level champions "The Monsters". During the Dodgeball Assembly in the afternoon, seventh grade champions "Team Fish" battled eighth grade's team "Cali Chronic", the sixth grade team, and a staff team in the final round. The staff team, comprised of multiple teachers representing all grades, pulled ahead for a narrow victory, followed closely by the sixth grade team.

The entire school was in attendance in the gym, and spirits were high, with lots of cheers, shouts, and screams of passion as teams won and lost. All teams played very well, and sportsmanship was high.

A special thanks go out to those who aided and assisted with the entire experience, especially Mr. Rimer for refereeing, Mrs. Barkan and Mr. Morris for keeping score, and to all other staff members who helped with crowd control, music, and general supervision. Thank you!

Here follows select photos... (Dodgeball is so fast, in fact, that not a single clear shot could be produced :-)

Interpreting rules through poetry

Write a haiku or cinquain interpreting any of the school rules at FMS.
Leave it as a comment for others to see (click on COMMENTS below).

Haiku Example (5, 7, 5)

Rules are glue of life
We must all live together
Investigate crime

Cinquain Example

Rule
Tangible, harsh
Telling, controlling, helping
A needed societal device
Guideline

Flood Movie Clip

Here's a short video of the flooding in Navarre.

Flooding of the Tuscarawas River in Navarre

This week, with all the rains, the Tuscarawas River flooded in Navarre. The road was closed, which meant I had to fin another road to school, but knowing four different routes - priceless!

During lunch, myself and another colleague went out to the scene of the flooding for some pictures and video capture. We came away with some nice materials, and here are some of the photos from the flood. We approached from the south side of the bridge, and walked across (which seemed fine as some cars apparently did not heed the closed signs and drove through anyways). The waters had ceded the next day, but were still very high at the end of the week.

This week, week of Feb 28th - MAP WORK

We are working on the intro section to each class' new area of study. For some, this begins in the USA, with a look at what the physical geography is all about. We spend today and will continue tomorrow on maps. 6th grade on their USA maps, 7th grade on their Europe maps, and 8th grade on their E. Med. maps.

I got some terrific maps from CIA's World Factbook, which is a must see for anyone who needs up-to-date maps, information, etc about any country. Google it for an easy find.

Here are some pictures from today's classroom work. I will shoot some more from the various classes tomorrow to make sure we represent all grades. Also, students - you should watch out for the extra-credit opportunity coming your way this weekend.

Students used both our pull-down map, as well as the SMART Board to maneuver the map to where they needed it. They shared and took turns moving countries and continents around in order to create their own maps for later reference use.

Coloring is a must if your map is to be worth any... Students used a minimum of four colors in order to never overlap when shading or coloring in the states of the United States. In addition, they labeled the states, the capitals, major rivers, etc.

Group work works very well with my students, and they often do a good of self-regulating work tasks, or controlling discipline issues. Of course, they are always eager to get on camera, and don't mind taking a quick break from learning...

Essays on Honesty & Sportsmanship

Task / Assignment:

Write an essay (or use the one you have already created on paper in class) on honesty and sportsmanship. Make sure to include the following:

1. How do you define honesty? How do you define sportsmanship?
2. What does honesty look like? Give several examples...
3. What does sportsmanship look like? Give examples from activity period... what does it NOT look like?
4. What can we expect from you in the future when it comes to honesty and sportsmanship?

Make sure to write as much as you can, and make a good essay that is worth reading. Be sure to identify yourself using your first name and initial of your last name. Here's an example: If your name was Joe Smith, you would use Joe S.

Click on the link below this post that says COMMENTS. The teacher will help you with your posting - just ask!

Week of January 21 (MLK Week)

Hello,

We have accomplished alot in the last couple of weeks, so much in fact that I have had little time to post information on the blog. But, not to fear, we have big plans in the future, and to pull them off, proper planning is key! So far, in the last two weeks, we backtracked a bit in basic geography, to make sure all students have a basic grasp on terms, concepts, and geographical models. I think it went fairly well, and we took a test on chapter 1 last week, and we'll take a test this week on chapter 3. All tests are of course open binder, so if you're a student and reading this - make sure you have your stuff up to date, and bring a pen!

Here's what's in store for the following weeks:

This week, since it has been shortened by one day (Martin Luther King, Jr.), we'll dive right into some notes and class discussion on Tuesday when we come back. Wednesday we'll take the test, and Thursday and Friday we end our basic intro unit with a look at the movie "Guns, Germs, and Steel". We will see the first part only, but it should have a deep impact on the students nonetheless. Jared Diamond shares his concept of why some people have stuff in the world, and others simply do not.

Next week we split up. 6th grade will begin their studies of North America, to include United States and Canada, and then down to Mexico and Latin America. They will study the physical makeup, its people, and general culture and beliefs in the region.

7th grade will venture into Southern Europe and study the landscapes of Italy, Greece, then France, Germany, the Benelux Countries, and finally up to Northern Europe and Scandinavia. They will end their studies with an individual research project on one of the countries in Europe, including the full profile on the country. We'll use CIA's World Factbook for our base.

In the 8th grade, we will begin our travels in the Middle East, starting with Israel and the occupied territories, then on to Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, and then further east to China and Mongolia. Depending on the speed at which they can handle the information, we will cover more or less materials. They too, will end their studies in a culminating research project that will include a presentation, and possible public display of their research.

For all of the above, I will try to keep everyone posted on their progress.

Also, I have moved the web provider for the website, so please update your bookmarks. There are now two addresses that will work:

www.eajohansson.net and www.eajohansson.org

Enjoy the rest of the extended weekend!

Mr. Johansson

Extra Credit Opportunity Spring 2008

All students have the opportunity to complete 40 pts. worth of extra credit. Just follow the link below, taking you to my website, and complete any four assignments. Make sure to follow the exact instructions for credit.

http://www.eajohansson.net/AASite/Student/Extra%20Credit.htm

Schedule, week of W 1.02.2008 (WK4)

Hey! We're back! I hope everyone's break was great, if somewhat too short...

This week, a short one, will begin easy and ramp up for the next couple of weeks' studies. Next week we'll split from everyone else, and we'll all be on a different schedule. But for now, here's what' up:

Wednesday - review and correct (grade) tests from before break. This took all period. Students did a great job grading other classes' test. They'll have their results back tomorrow.

Thursday - we'll finish our climate maps from before break. All students should end up with a world map containing the various zones, including tundra, temperate zone, desert, the tropics, etc.

Friday - preview for the weeks to come, as well as binder organization. Students are encouraged to bring binder tabs (binder divider) in order to better help organize their information as we are embarking on a quite notes, handouts, and scholastic voyage.

Feel free to leave comments!