While most caves take many years to form, Hoggatt Cave is a recurring event that forms in just a few weeks.  The entrance directs speleologists to crawl into the darkness.  Most spelunkers find a flashlight to be useful, and much more exciting, while exploring the cave.  Our studies include glimpses into the ecosystem of the cave.

Cave formations, speleothems, are scattered among the ceiling and floor of the cave.  Crystals have formed on the wall.  Animals live in the cave, eating from the organisms that wash into the cave via the waterfall.  There is even evidence of human activity in the cave.  Below are pictures with the electric light system turned on.

When we break apart the skills involved in reading comprehension, we are constantly amazed at how many skills there really are.  We use the same skills when we watch TV shows, listen to music, and view advertisements.

They are everywhere:  in magazines, in newspapers, on the radio, at the movie theater, and on television.  It is important that we protect ourselves from marketing "tricks", which are intended to "hook" the viewers/readers/
listeners.  Perhaps the product is cheaply made.  Maybe it isn't as it appears.  Is it worth the price?  Is it something you need?  Let's dive right in to a commercial and hone our reading skills along the way.

This was a huge commercial that got people's attention with its idealistic message.

There is an interesting (and sometimes disturbing) article at the mental_floss website.  When the article about vampire bats came up, I figured I needed to share it.  Vampire bats are not indigenous to the United States, but through folklore and fantasy, the vampire bat, along with the fictitious vampire, has become a hot commodity for American consumers.  I'm really not interested in the fictional side of this creature, so the article linked here satisfies my curiosity pretty well.

The article, titled 11 Bloody Facts About Vampires, begins thusly:

In our class, we know that Chiroptera refers to the bat's "hand wing".  Last week, we studied the structure of the bat's wing to see the elongated finger bones that make up the actual skeletal structure of the bat's wing.  It truly fascinated us to find that the bat flaps not its "arm", but its hand.  The membrane stretched over the finger bones is what gives the bat the lift it needs to fly through the air.

Of course, that's not what the article in mental_floss is about.  Instead of repeating the article's information here, I encourage you to click on the link and read the 11 Bloody Facts for yourself.  Then ask yourself, "What if Batman actually shared a bat's properties the way Spider-Man does a spider's?"  The Batman story might be far darker and creepier with a vampire element.

The community safe room being built outside our classroom continues to change as work progresses.  The photos in these columns were all taken over the course of one day, as holes were punched in the poured concrete and wall sections were craned into place.  A cross beam was also added to connect the two corners once in place.

Just a couple of days later, the entire back wall has been assembled.  I am told the outer walls could be completely installed as soon as next week.  Students are intrigued when viewing the large equipment in action while they are on recess.

In a bold conclusion to our Missouri Indians unit, students learned some general information about Indian communication.  They translated a simple pictograph narrative, then wrote their own.  From these, six were chosen, by their teams, to paint the best ones for display in the classroom.  Don't tell anyone, but these will serve as the cave paintings in the upcoming Hoggatt Cave project.

Sometimes it looks like chaos.  Sometimes is sounds like chaos.  Sometimes it feels like chaos.  But it could just be a different way of learning.  I like to get the class up and about, interacting with one another, and learning from each other.

In this case, we use cards, like the ones pictured below, to find missing values on one side of the fulcrum.  Music plays while students walk about the room.  When the music stops, each finds a partner nearby.  Each student then solves their partner's card, they trade cards, and they sit down to wait for the music to play again.  We repeat the process a few times before stopping to do something else.

When we break apart the skills involved in reading comprehension, we are constantly amazed at how many skills there really are.  We use the same skills when we watch TV shows, listen to music, and view advertisements.

They are everywhere:  in magazines, in newspapers, on the radio, at the movie theater, and on television.  It is important that we protect ourselves from marketing "tricks", which are intended to "hook" the viewers/readers/
listeners.  Perhaps the product is cheaply made.  Maybe it isn't as it appears.  Is it worth the price?  Is it something you need?  Let's dive right in to a commercial and hone our reading skills along the way.

The product advertised below - Space Food Sticks - took advantage of the U.S.A.'s fascination with visiting outer space.

This year, I have the opportunity to assist in the coaching of two of the new teachers at our school.  Officially, my title is mentor, and I suppose with 24 years of experience, there may be some truth to the title - but that's not what I'm really writing about here.

Recently, I was needed to help with a technology issue in one of their classrooms.  While I was out of the classroom, Mrs. Stagner, in her new position as Teaching and Learning Coach for Cecil Floyd Elementary, stepped into our classroom.  I explained to her that when the music ended, she could go over the material on the SMART Board with the class.  One look at the rigorous work, and she said to me, "You'd better hurry back."  The work looks much more difficult than it really is, but it is definitely impressive to outsiders.

Upon returning to the class, I found them to be about halfway through the material.  Back at the SMART Board, I immediately stepped into my teacher role and taught the class as usual.  Mrs. Stagner stayed and observed as students applauded one another for successes, helped each other through struggles, and gave looks of pleasure after they overcame difficulties.

Later in the day, I checked my email and the "drop" shown here at right was there waiting for me.  Parents, please acknowledge with your child the success we are having as a classroom family.  I never used the word family with Mrs. Stagner, but she was able to pick up on it in just the short time she spent with us.  That is truly impressive!  I hope we can keep developing such a healthy atmosphere.

Take four and a half minutes to watch this video: