Bill's Learning

OK guys.  You know how this works.  I want to spotlight examples of FANTASTIC digital portfolio posts.  YOU want to see what greatness looks like in action -- AND earn 10 points for you and 10 points for your house.   There weren't a ton of new posts this week.  Remember that you can't be recognized if  you aren't adding to your portfolio!   Here are this week's winners: --------------------- Jamie's Post on Root Words :  Jamie's on a roll, y'all.  Last week, she was recognized after writing a post sharing a video resource that she thought was really helpful.  This week, she shared an example of using her knowledge of root words -- something that she learned in Language Arts class -- to help her understand a new word that she encountered in a Read Theory passage.  That's SUPER cool because it shows that Jamie is applying what she is learning -- and applying what you are learning is a sign of a great learner.   Can you steal Jamie's idea?  

Hey Guys, One of the things that I want to do is start spotlighting examples of FANTASTIC digital portfolio posts that are being written by your peers.  Doing so will give you ideas about the kinds of things that go into great digital portfolios -- and it should help you to write better posts yourself. I'll share examples every week.  If  your post is highlighted, you get 10 points for yourself and ten points for your house.  Also, you can use your highlighted post to raise any grade in Science class. --------------------- Casey's Reflection and Abby's Reflection on a Video that they Learned From :  A few weeks back, I challenged you to share a video that you learned something from in your digital portfolio.  Both Casey and Abby shared videos about swimming strokes -- a personal interest of theirs.  What makes their entries terrific, though, is that they were REALLY detailed -- both about what they saw in the video AND how they would improve their own swimming as

Digital Portfolio Challenge:   Create a ranked list of three different study strategies.      There are TONS of different steps that students take to study new content.  We use flash cards, online games (think Quizlet or Kahoot), review with study partners, and study guides. List three study strategies that you have used in order from MOST effective to LEAST effective -- and defend your rankings. ---------------------- When I think about the most effective ways to study for tests, three things pop to mind: Using Quizlet, reviewing my classroom assignments and watching Brainpop videos. Here's how I would rank order those strategies: (1). Watching Brainpop Videos : I think watching Brainpop videos is the best way to study because there are videos about everything in our Science curriculum. Those videos are short -- so I don't feel like I am being slammed by too much information all at once. But they are also entertaining and they tend to cover the important ideas t

Last week, we took a benchmark test in Science class.  I scored an 88 on the benchmark. Here's my item analysis: What I noticed about the questions that I got wrong is that two out of the three of them are about the layers of the earth .  I'm not totally surprised that I missed those:  We studied the layers of the earth a long time ago.  But it does mean that I need to go back and check that content out again.  That's worth reviewing for sure.   I think I'm most disappointed in myself for missing question 25.  It asked why the inner core of the earth is a solid ball of iron.  I answered that it was because of extreme temperature.  I should have realized that when I want something -- think snow or sand -- to be "more solid," I don't add heat to it.  Instead, I add pressure to it.  I think that's a question that I could have gotten right if I had thought a little more carefully. What I'm proud of, though, is that I made mastery on almos

One of the things that I've gotten interested in is the role that American pilots played during World War II.  That was really the first war where pilots played a major role in fighting against enemies.  I learned a lot of what I know by reading Flyboys this year. What was interesting to me was that the Japanese HATED American pilots. The reason was that up until that point, Japan thought that they COULDN'T be attacked because they were an island nation that remained isolated for centuries.  They also believed that spirits would protect them by sending huge storms to eliminate any enemies who dared to attack. That changed when the US --  who had invested millions of dollars in developing an Air Force during World War II -- started bombing the Japanese from the air.  People's confidence was shaken in their government and in the protection they thought they'd always had. That hatred also came because American bombing missions at the time weren't designed to t

One of the things that I’m currently proud of is the 95 that I earned on my Calculating Percentages test.   This is a pretty important accomplishment for me mostly because I wasn’t all that sure that calculating percentages mattered, so I wasn’t putting a whole lot of effort into learning how to do it.  But when I was out at dinner with my dad, I saw him calculating percentages so he could figure out how much of a tip to leave for our waiter.   That made me interested and I started practicing with calculating percentages everywhere that I go.   What I’m proudest of is that I actually know why multiplying by a decimal makes sense when calculating percentages.  That means that not only can I answer questions about the process of calculating percentages, I know WHY that process works.