Not much to say.....

IF you read or check out this blog on a regular basis, you will have noticed that I haven't posted much in recent weeks....... I just don't feel I have much to say......or that I can be safe in saying certain things. There are things I could rant or complain about, but who wants to hear (read) ranting or complaining ?

I believe I have made a few "friends" out there in the blog world. But this blog will soon be gone.

IF you saw anything on this blog that you liked or think you want, please copy it and save it because it will disappear in a week or two. I will still be around the blogosphere, but this blog will die.
Thanks for reading my blog in its dying days.

Paper.....how do you use "less" paper ?

I am feeling like I use too much paper in my classroom. It seems like I use up reem after reem of paper to run off quizzes, pre and post tests, map activities and assignments, pre-reading assignments, vocabulary cross word activities etc., for my students. How do you other teachers, especially those of you who teach secondary, single subject classes, reduce the amount of paper you use ? Thanks for reading my blog. I welcome your ideas for reducing the amount of paper I use.

Armistice Day, aka, Veteran's Day

At one time, back in the 20th Century, the day in November commemorating the end of the "war to end all wars," was referred to as "Armistice Day". In a small way, it was the "war to end all wars" or World War I, that helped create me.

It was during this time, that two children of Polish immigrants, met in southern Massachusetts. One of them, a young man wearing the uniform of Uncle Sam's fighting men, met a quiet, shy girl who worked in one of the many shoe factories in Webster, Massachusetts. He was from Chicago, she was from Webster, Mass. He left Chicago to join the US Army, in part to serve the country of his birth, in part to escape his tyrannical father and begin to make his own way in the world. His company, Company B of the 36th US Infantry Regiment, was in Massachusetts awaiting their turn to board a ship to take them to France. He had a special skill possessed by few men had at that time and he was kept busy typing reports for his company officers.

Exactly how they met, I don't know. But a few years later, in 1920, they wed there in Webster, Mass. He continued to use his typing skills, often working as a clerk for one railroad or another. He often was sick; apparently, one of the things he got from his military service was exposure to tuberculosis. Lung disease and an average of three packs a day of unfiltered cigarettes eventually did him in. But, he and his young bride produced six children, the last being my Dad.

My grandfather's doctors urged him to seek a dry climate to help his lungs. So they moved from Chicago to Phoenix. There, my Dad, while checking out the records at a music store owned by a man named Culver, met my Mom. And a few years later, along came Polski3. All because of the "war to end all wars" ? Maybe. What do you think ?

Thank you, Veteran's for your service to this nation.

Thanks for reading my blog ! I welcome your comments.

"Whats a 6 + 6" ?

A 6 + 6 is an opportunity for students to demonstrate their knowledge on a topic by drawing and writing about it. On a sheet of blank paper, the paper is divided into six parts (squares). In each square, students draw something about their topic, and write about it (usually a sentence or two). For example, another upcoming 6 + 6 activity that I plan to assign my students is about the "Five Pillars of Islam". They will put into each square, a picture showing something about faith, prayer, charity, fasting and pilgrimage, including the proper names for each of these pillars of Islam (such as Zakah for Charity, Hajj for pilgrimage, Shahada for Faith, etc.) [ pardon me if these terms are misspelled....I am working from my fading memory here....]. The sixth square can contain the title and name of each of the Pillar of Islam.

I hope this answers the question, "What is a 6 + 6".

Thanks for reading my blog. I welcome your comments.