Geneva Room 12

tumblebooks

2011-02-09T19:28:00.000-08:00

Your Face In Space

2010-06-10T02:56:00.000-07:00

What are you doing this summer? Would you like to fly in the Space Shuttle? Fly in outer space? At the very least, you can send your face into space.

With only two remaining space shuttle missions, NASA wants to send a picture of your face to space. In order to participate, you’ll need to go to NASA’s website, here. From there, you’ll get to choose which mission you want your face to be sent along with – the STS-133 mission or STS 134 mission. After the mission is complete, you’ll receive a snazzy commemorative Flight Certificate signed by the Mission Commander.

7th-Graders Discover Mysterious Cave on Mars

2010-06-09T18:44:00.000-07:00

A group of seventh-graders in California has discovered a mysterious cave on Mars as part of a research project to study images taken by a NASA spacecraft orbiting the red planet.

The 16 students from a 7th-grade science class at Evergreen Middle School, found what looks to be a Martian skylight — a hole in the roof of a cave on Mars.

The intrepid students were participating in the Mars Student Imaging Program at the Mars Space Flight Facility at Arizona State University. The program allows students to frame a research question and then commission a Mars-orbiting camera to take an image to answer their question.

The newfound hole on Mars resembled features seen on other parts of Mars in a 2007 study by Glen Cushing, a U.S. Geological Survey scientist.

Cushing suggested that these anomalous pit craters are like skylights — places where a small part of the roof of a cave or a lava tube had collapsed, opening the area below the surface to the sky.

The caves are thought to result from volcanic activity on the red planet. At some point lava channels likely carved out caverns in the rock, and then left behind tunnel, or "lava tubes," when the eruptions were over. They would have been covered when a solid ceiling of cooled material settled on top, and then sections of the ceiling likely collapsed at some point to form the skylight entrances.

Scientists aren't sure what type of materials or deposits could be stored inside.

"This pit is certainly new to us," Cushing told the students. "And it is only the second one known to be associated with Pavonis Mons."

He estimated the pit to be approximately 620 by 520 feet (190 by 160 meters) wide and 380 feet (115 meters) deep at least.

The young researchers had initially set out to hunt for lava tubes, a common volcanic feature on Earth and Mars.

"The students developed a research project focused on finding the most common locations of lava tubes on Mars," Mitchell said. "Do they occur most often near the summit of a volcano, on its flanks, or the plains surrounding it?"

The class commissioned a main photo and a backup image of Mars' Pavonis Monsvolcano, targeted on a region that hadn't been imaged up close.

The pictures were taken by NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter using its Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) instrument. Both images showed lava tubes, as the students had hoped.

But the backup photo provided another surprise: a small, round black spot. It was a hole on Mars leading into the buried cave, researchers said.

The students have submitted their site to be further imaged by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, which could reveal enough detail to see inside the hole in the ground.

"The Mars Student Imaging Program is certainly one of the greatest educational programs ever developed," Mitchell said. "It gives the students a good understanding of the way research is conducted and how that research can be important for the scientific community. This has been a wonderful experience."

Clara Moskowitz
Senior Writer
SPACE.com clara Moskowitz
senior Writer
space.com – June 2010

Doodle for Google

2010-03-02T21:08:00.000-08:00

Calling all artists!

Every year, Google sponsors a contest where anyone, anywhere, in the world (even in Mongolia!) can design a Google logo for the top of the Google page.

If you win...everytime someone in the world uses Google, they will see your winning entry!

Below is last year's winning entry, from a 6th grader. Think you can do better? Click on it and enter the contest!

Homework

2009-10-11T18:34:00.000-07:00

A new study on the effect of homework in the US, shows that homework in elementary school builds good organization skills and study habits. In middle school and high school, students who complete homework get better grades. The study seems to support our district homework policy. Take a look at this summary of the study published at Duke University...

http://www.dukenews.duke.edu/2006/03/homework.html

Thank You, Leave of Absence and Teaching Abroad

2009-06-18T16:12:00.000-07:00

Parents, thank you for the end-of-year gift. The hanging basket seems to like its location on our porch, because it has literally exploded with new growth and color! It is now gigantic and the envy of the entire neighborhood.

As you know, the school board has approved my request for a leave of absence next year. Both, Kelly and I, will be receiving training for the International Baccalaureate (IB) program, overseas, and then we'll be teaching in an overseas IB school!

It's a great opportunity since the district is expanding the IB program here in Bellingham and the training, travel and all other expenses are paid for! I'll be back in the Fall of 2010 (or maybe 2011?), a little bit more worldly wise and very proficient in IB! See you in 2010!

Oxford, our IB training location(?)

Our IB school(?)

End of the Year

2009-06-07T15:51:00.000-07:00

The field trip aboard the Adventuress benefited from very cooperative weather! Thanks to the sun and fair winds, we were able to comfortably learn more about the environment of Bellingham Bay and our watershed, marine biology, navigation, and seamanship. Thank you to all the parents who helped make this field trip a memorable one.

We also wrapped up our live, online video presentations of Where in Washington. Our students got to present clues about our school's location using knowledge of our local history, geography, civics, and popular activities. They presented live, online, to over one hundred and eighty students from six other Washington schools. They also took notes while the other schools presented and then dove into library and online resources to try and solve the mysteries of their locations, as well. They correctly located five out of six mystery schools. Not bad!

We are staying focused on the learning these last few days. Please help your student be prepared for our last set of learning presentations, next week. The students will share their learning about Washington State history in a series of team presentations to the whole class, using technology for their visual aids. They will also present their book recommendations to small groups, with visual aids.

Our last class activities will be organizing student portfolios, Field Day, sharing our Yearbooks and sharing at our last Class Meeting.

Literature Circles

2009-05-07T15:26:00.000-07:00

The students have selected their next literature circle books and we have started on our last set of literature circles. For the first time this year, we had to form two literature circles for the same book. Katherine Hannigan was the popular author and her lucky title was Ida B. Our books for this round of literature circles are:

Where in Washington

2009-04-30T06:06:00.000-07:00

The WASL is over an we can start learning, again! One of the things we will be learning about in the next few weeks is our own state of Washington. We will participate in an online mystery where we use live videoconferencing to obtain clues about the location of other schools, research the clues, and then declare a location. Here are some of the sites we can use to help us with our clues:

1. Direction from the Capital
Washington State Maps
Map Collection

2. Historical Events
Washington State History Encyclopedia
Washington History
Washington State Historical Society
Timeline
Pacific Northwest History

3. Nearest body of water (see Terrain)
Washington State Maps
Map Collection

4. When did people first settle? (see Historical Events)
Washington State History Encyclopedia
Leaders & elected officials

5. Terrain (see Direction from the Capital)
Relief Map
Washington State Maps
Geography of Washington
Map Collection

6. Nearest state park (see Direction from the Capital/Terrain/Nearest Body of Water)
Washington State Parks
Washington State Map Browser
Washington State Outdoors

7. Native American culture (see Historical Events)
History of Bellingham
Washington State Native Americans
Tribal Dreams (scroll down to find an extensive list of WA state tribes)

8. Recreational activities to do in the summer (See Terrain & State Parks)
Washington State Tourism
Visiting & Recreation in Washington
Landmarks
Go Northwest-->Popular Destinations

9. Main industry
Washington State City/Town websites

10. Hottest Tourist Attraction
Washington State Tourism
Visiting & Recreation in Washington
Landmarks
Go Northwest-->Popular Destinations

11. Population of your town/city
Washington State City/Town websites
Population information
US Census
City Density

12. Famous/infamous person (see Historical Events)
Washington State History Encyclopedia
Leaders & elected officials

Basic Information
Department of Transportation
Counties
State Symbols
Climate data
Washington on Fact Monster
Interactive Gallery
Go Northwest-->Washington
City Search

and more

Experience Washington - the official site of Washington State tourism.

Symbols of Washington State - information about official state symbols & elected officials. Includes a "find your legislator" link.

Wikipedia - a free online encyclopedia. Can be edited by anyone, so information needs to be verified. Lots of information!

"Find-It!" - Washington State - look up state and local government information by subject, keyword, title or type of government (city, county, state)

Washington State Maps - 5 different maps with specific information on each - physical map, elevation, rivers, highways & counties of the state of Washington

Washington State Parks

History Link - online encyclopedia of Washington State History

WASL Testing Begins this Week

2009-04-13T22:16:00.000-07:00

Thank you for helping your student be successful with the Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL) by:

Making sure your student is rested.
Making sure your student is properly nourished and starts the day with a good breakfast.
Making sure your student gets to school on time.
Making sure your student is in attendance during the next two weeks.

The WASL will be completed in two more weeks. Until then, thank you, again, for your extra efforts to help your student do their best to "show what they know" on the WASL.

Family Science & Book Fair - Thursday!!

2009-03-20T16:49:00.000-07:00

Come one, come all! The Geneva Family Science and Book Fair is being held this year, on March 26th, from 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm. Families are encouraged to visit classroom displays of Science Fair projects and celebrate the hard work by our future scientists! As this is planned as a family event, parents are encouraged to attend the fair with their students. Please do not plan to just drop students off at school.

Families will have a chance to see their own student's Science Fair display setup and see their student present the results of their project to interested visitors. They will also get to visit other classrooms and see other Science Fair displays.

In addition, families will get to visit the Book Fair, setup in the library, for some great deals on some great books! It will quite the family night at Geneva.

Students will bring their Science Fair displays to school on Thursday morning and take them home that night. If a student is not expecting to be there Thursday night, they should take their display home Thursday afternoon.

Fractions

2009-03-19T17:16:00.000-07:00

Fractions on Lines

We've been studying fractions on grids, but we can apply what we've learned to circles, as well. Here's a game that can help with understanding fractions. When you play the Pizza Game, you have to put the right amount of toppings on the right-sized pizza, based on the customer's order (See the 1, 2, 3 below!). When you get it right, the customer buys your pizza and your pizza "store" earns money! Some orders are simple. For other orders you will need to rename some of the topping fractions to know how much to put on.

What we are working on...

2009-03-09T17:02:00.000-07:00

Math-
We have been naming and locating points using Cartesian coordinates. While this is something students will work with now through high school (especially in analytical geometry), it is also the the beginnings of understanding how maps, computer screens, and GPS devices work.Your student may bring home a connect-the-dot-picture, laid out on a grid or ask you to play a game of Sunken Ships on a grid. Have fun with it.

Literature Workshop-
We have finished with our fun non-fiction books and are now working on creating our own non-fiction literature, by sharing what we have learned from research on the topic of our choice. Students have used a research grid to record the answers to questions they have and the source of those answers. They are trying out a new pre-writing tool, a flow chart, that will help them organize their learning into a five (or more) paragraph essay draft. We will revise and edit that draft and complete a final. Then we will share that writing in class with visual aids.

Science-
We are moving from a study of rocks into a study of minerals. We will explore minerals using some of the same tools field geologists use to help them record the properties of mineral samples and correctly identify them.

Social Studies-
Our class is known for making good choices around the school and on the playground. We talked about why students are able to make good choices without the rewards that are used in some schools and what it means to feel triumphant instead of rewarded. The character, Phoebe, from Walk Two Moons has also helped to dialogue about what being rude is and what it does to the people around us and to our relationships. Another character, Salamanca, on the other hand, helps us see the power of empathy, of being able to see things from another persons point of view before making judgements.

Musical Performance

2009-03-03T17:37:00.000-08:00

Our students will perform after school on Thursday, March 5, at 6:30 pm. I hope you are planning on attending as they have worked hard and have an entertaining show planned for you!

Please bring your student to Room 12 at 6:15 and their coat with you. The room will be locked after the 6:30, so we won't be able to retrieve anything that is left in the room. Please keep their coats with you at your seat. Your student will join you in the gym, after the show!

What we are working on...

2009-02-20T13:24:00.000-08:00

Arts & Social Studies-
We will have a chance to practice appropriate behavior as community members attending a performance in a special public setting and expand our quality world in the performing arts. On the morning of March 4th, we will attend a performance of CIRCO COMEDIA in the beautiful Mt. Baker theater. Circo Comedia is a side-splitting comedy and daredevil stunts act starring the fantastic duo of Jean Saucier & Patrick Côté from Montreal. You can read more about it at the Mt. Baker website. This is part of the theater's education series and made more affordable through the generosity of the Wade King family. Each student will need a signed permission form to attend.

Math -
We have been solving problems of area and perimeter. As the shapes we analyze grow more complex, our dialogue will lead naturally into more geometry. For example, we have been exploring angles in geometry. Ask you student about right angles, obtuse angles, acute angles. We have been exploring symmetry and the names of geometric shapes, such as rhombus', parallelograms, squares, triangles, etc.

Literature Workshop -
We continue working with non-fiction texts and the students are writing weekly reports that share their learning in expository pieces, using the terms and features of non-fiction texts. We are starting our research work in non-fiction texts, as well. Each student will use organized research tools to answer essential questions on the topics of their choice. They will find information, organize and present that information in a draft report, revise and edit that report, and complete a final to present to the class. To help that presentation be memorable, they will plan and prepare a visual aid, emphasizing specific points in their writing.

Science -
We continue practicing observation skills and identifying properties of rocks. Careful observation and recording of observed properties is one of the most basic scientific skills. Children have a natural curiosity about rocks, rocks are everywhere, and our study will lead us on a small foray into one of the most important ideas of modern science, plate tectonics. As we develop our skill to observe properties, we will use it to sort specimens, just like real scientists, and use our study and observations to identify igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks.

Social Studies -
We continue to dialogue about the power of choices people make in their every day lives, why people make the choices they do, and how problem-solve when poor choices affects their lives. As we follow Salamanca Tree Hiddle, across the northern U.S. in Sharon Creech's, Walk Two Moons, it gives us a perfect opportunity to make sure we all know what states comprise these United States that we live in.

Celebration

2009-02-12T16:42:00.000-08:00

The students wanted to celebrate our human need for love, belonging and friendship. On their own, they planned a celebration and proposed a date, time, and schedule of activities to me. After making a couple of changes to accomodate our learning needs, they shared their plan with the class. The class approved it and more students volunteered to help.

Today, the students executed that plan, all on their own, and what a success it was! Decorations temporarily transformed the classroom, music filled the air, and tables were laden with "food." Students shared fellowship, "danced," ate, and played a couple of games.. Then, after a little less than an hour, the classroom was magically cleaned and quiet and we were off to music.

Hats off to Malachi, Davis, Kaitlynn, and Serena for all their organizing and their ability to work with the many other students, like Elijah, Holly and others who helped. And thank you parents who helped at home. I hope your efforts were as voluntary as they should have been! Many cards were homemade, a trend that is exciting to see. Thank you for your support of your students' continued learning at home.

Have a great weekend!

Portfolios Going Home

2009-02-10T17:53:00.000-08:00

Be on the lookout for your student's portfolio, being sent home with report cards, today. The "Books I Have Read" lists were surprising to most students. One student said that they had, "...read more books this year than all the rest of the years of their life, put together!"

Our portfolios have already begun collecting new work. As always, you are always welcome to stop by and go through your student's portfolio. We will be including the goals identified during our conference in the portfolios. How are your students doing on those goals?

What we are working on...

2009-02-05T17:04:00.000-08:00

Math -
We have been working with division, which is the last part of our Arrays and Shares curriculum. We will be applying what we have learned to solving problems of area and perimeter. As the shapes we analyze grow more complex, our dialogue will lead naturally into more geometry, our next math segment.

Literature Workshop -
We have been working with non-fiction texts and the students are writing weekly reports that share their learning in expository pieces, using the terms and features of non-fiction texts. We are starting our research work in non-fiction texts, as well. Each student will use organized research tools to answer essential questions on the topics of their choice. They will find information, organize and present that information in a draft report, revise and edit that report, and complete a final to present to the class. To help that presentation be memorable, they will plan and prepare a visual aid, emphasizing specific points in their writing.

Science -
We have been practicing observation skills and identifying properties of rocks. Careful observation and recording of observed properties is one of the most basic scientific skills. Children have a natural curiosity about rocks, rocks are everywhere, and our study will lead us on a small foray into one of the most important ideas of modern science, plate tectonics. As we develop our skill to observe properties, we will use it to sort specimens, just like real scientists, and use our study and observations to identify igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks.

Social Studies -
We continue to dialogue about the power of choices people make in their every day lives, why people make the choices they do, and how problem-solve when poor choices affects their lives. As we follow Salamanca Tree Hiddle, across the northern U.S. in Sharon Creech's, Walk Two Moons, it gives us a perfect opportunity to make sure we all know what states comprise these United States that we live in.

As the end of the semester arrives, look for your student's work to be coming home in a rather LARGE envelope, next week.

History in the Making!

2009-01-20T13:08:00.000-08:00

However you voted in the last election, I think we can agree that this inauguration makes history for our nation. I hope every student will get to watch this historic inauguration at home. Please watch with your student and dialogue about the messages! Here's a link to President Obama's speech:

School Calendar Update

2009-01-10T18:07:00.000-08:00

Confused about what is happening when? You are not alone!! Here is the district's latest school calendar. Click on the calendar for a bigger image:

Important Dates in 2009:

January
5 School Resumes
Weather-related Closures on Jan. 7 and 8
19 No School — Martin Luther King Jr. Day
30 No School — Teacher Workday (Grading –End of first semester)

February
2 Second Semester Begins
13, 16 No School — Mid-Winter Break and Presidents Day

March
2 Early Release All Schools
23 Early Release All Schools

April
3 Early Release All Schools
6-10 No School — Spring Break
13-30 WASL - Washington Assessment of Student Learning
27 Early Release All Schools

May
18 Early Release All Schools
19 Early Release High school only (for culminating projects)
25 No School — Memorial Day

June
18 Last Day for Students Early Release All Schools
(Emergency closure of schools on Dec. 18, 19, Jan. 7, 8 delayed the last day of school originally scheduled on June 12. Subject to change if additional closures occur.)

More

Science Anyone?

2009-01-09T20:05:00.000-08:00

Try a little physics...

Use the magic pen to draw shapes that will move the ball to the flag. It's a challenge!!

Sign-up for Science Sailing

2008-12-12T22:08:00.000-08:00

Sign-up slips for the Adventuress Science Sail went home on Friday (today). Please fill these out and return them with the necessary funds, ASAP. If any family would like confidential financial assistance, please feel free to contact me by note, phone, or email. We must collect for this now in order to reserve our classroom's spot on the Adveturess' schedule, in June!

More on the Adventuress can be found here.

Hooray! Days Will Soon Be Getting Longer!

2008-12-05T18:26:00.000-08:00

Today we:
1. Asked why the days will soon be growing longer (rather than shorter, as they have been since school started)!

2. Explored adding "ed" to verbs to make them past tense.

3. Relearned that an equation is a number sentence that uses an equals sign (=) to show that related numbers have equal value. Example: 94 + 70 + ? = 203

4. Practiced writing introductory paragraphs and revising and editing good-sized pieces of writing.

5. Shared our reactions to the last few chapters of our literature books.

6. Reviewed the power of encouraging words in all of our relationships.

7. Learned from literature that eye contact is more than what helps communication and learning in class, but helps people in every day life situations.

8. Shared clear and specific compliments with each other about things we see or hear others doing that move themselves, or others, forward in a positive way.

Conferences

2008-11-17T08:25:00.000-08:00

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Thank you for your help in scheduling this important meeting with your student, yourself, and me. We are preparing for this important conference and I look forward to meeting with both you and your student to discuss progress and goals.

Just a reminder: Because of these conferences early releases (dismissal at 12:30) are scheduled for November 20, 21, 22, 24, 25, and 26.

Color, Line, Shape and Texture

2008-11-07T18:13:00.000-08:00

All of these design elements were ours to explore today, inside the beautiful Whatcom Art Museum. Many thanks to Diane and Ken, who accompanied our students on our explorations through this magnificent facility!

Field Trip

2008-11-06T18:10:00.000-08:00

All of our permission slips are in and the class is looking forward to our time at the Whatcom Art Museum. Ken and Diane, Jack and Davis' parents are looking forward to the visit, too! We'll be leaving at 12:15 sharp, after an early lunch and expect to be back in the classroom at 2:15.

Whatcom Art Museum

2008-11-03T17:55:00.000-08:00

The Whatcom Art Museum has sponsored our exploration into the elements of design, namely; line, shape, color and texture. We will be visiting the museum this Friday, to apply what we have learned to some of the exhibits they have on display. Based on the behavior we are seeing in class, it looks like everyone who has a permission slip turned will be going!

Poetry Time

2008-10-28T22:16:00.000-07:00

Come share some poetry, beatnik style! In the spirit of the coffeehouses of the 1960's, we will be sharing some poems. Room 12 students have worked on poems that focus on nouns, verbs, and adjectives we are more aware of this time of year. Thanks to Amanda, hot chocolate will be provided for a student-friendly coffehouse ambiance. Students and adults will be dressed in the too-cool, all black style of the era.

The fun begins at 2:45, this Friday. Daddy-o, these will be serious presentations. So be cool, man. Don't be from Squaresville, baby!

PS. The next round of Scholastic book orders is in play with orders due to our classroom turn-in box, now and through, Friday. After that, Rebecca will be ordering the books for us. Don't forget that you can order online, now.

Thank you Rebecca and Amanda for helping to make our room a special place to be!

Measuring Weight & Volume

2008-10-13T23:19:00.000-07:00

Is it Math or is it Science?

We have been using the metric system to measure mass (weight) with a balance beam. And we have learned that the basic unit used to measure weight is the gram, that 1,000 grams make a kilogram and that we use the kilogram to measure the weight of larger objects. The students have gotten pretty good at estimating the weight of familiar classroom objects, in grams.

Now we are turning our attention to measuring volume. If you have some clean, dry containers that that your student can bring in, it will help us continue our investigations into this "spacey" thing called volume. Your student just might be able to tell you what those other (metric) numbers are on the stuff you buy at the store!

Subtraction

2008-10-06T23:07:00.000-07:00

Some of our students are trying to use the typical algorithm to subtract numbers, but don't really understand what is happening when they borrow from a higher place value. The Subtraction Blocks site in our Math Places list to the left (and below) is a good place to practice these skills with a good visual representation of what is really happening when you must borrow.

This Week

2008-09-23T20:11:00.000-07:00

This is the week for Jog-a-Thon, hearing and vision checks, Mathematics Measure of Academic Progress (MAP) and our school-wide, multi-day writing prompt. In between, we will try to squeeze in some learning, too!

Meanwhile, check out some science with the Bitesize Science link on the left. Can you modify a simple electrical circuit? Try, below:

Scholastic Book Club - Online

2008-09-22T20:28:00.000-07:00

You can now place your Scholastic Book Club orders online!
Here’s how it works:
1. Use the information below to access the Scholastic Book Clubs Web site.
2. Browse the titles with your child, and place your order with your credit card.
3. All orders will be delivered to our classroom for your child to take home.
4. Go to:

www.scholastic.com/parentordering
Class User Name: genevaroom12

Password: books

The Scholastic Book Club says that placing your online credit card order is completely safe and secure. And ordering online is the most convenient way to use Scholastic Book Clubs—and it is the only way to take advantage of exclusive online-only offers and an expanded selection of books. The best part is, you can order anytime, right up until the online order due date.

The book offerings are great! I would NOT recommend any of the cheap toys, however! Stick to the books. The Scholastic Book Club offers students a chance to get real literature in real books at a price that is far below anything available at bookstores.

Research shows that, at this age, the best way to develop reading skills and a love of reading is with real literature.

Big Numbers

2008-09-12T20:04:00.000-07:00

Have fun saying big numbers by clicking on the sign below. Type in a big number and then practice saying your number. You can compare how you would say it with the correct way of saying your number. Did you get it right? Try some more big numbers. If you want, ask me how you can get right every time!

Puzzle for the Week

2008-09-11T20:00:00.000-07:00

Have fun with this thinking puzzle...

September Dates

2008-09-09T19:10:00.001-07:00

September 12 - PTA Welcome Back BBQ

September 18 - Individual Student Pictures

September 18 - Curriculum Night Intermediate Level at 6:45 PM

September 22-23 - Geneva Jog-a-thon

September 24-25 - Hearing and Vision Testing

And we even throw in a few hours of learning, too!

School Calendar

2008-09-05T14:32:00.000-07:00

Click on the calendar for a bigger image:

Important Dates in 2009:

January
5 School Resumes
Weather-related Closures on Jan. 7 and 8
19 No School — Martin Luther King Jr. Day
30 No School — Teacher Workday (Grading –End of first semester)

February
2 Second Semester Begins
13, 16 No School — Mid-Winter Break and Presidents Day

March
2 Early Release All Schools
23 Early Release All Schools

April
3 Early Release All Schools
6-10 No School — Spring Break
13-30 WASL - Washington Assessment of Student Learning
27 Early Release All Schools

May
18 Early Release All Schools
19 Early Release High school only (for culminating projects)
25 No School — Memorial Day

June
18 Last Day for Students Early Release All Schools
(Emergency closure of schools on Dec. 18, 19, Jan. 7, 8 delayed the last day of school originally scheduled on June 12. Subject to change if additional closures occur.)

More

Welcome to the 2008-09 School Year!

2008-08-28T23:23:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the 2008-09 school year! I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself and highlight events of the upcoming year. With your support and involvement at home, I am confident that your student will have a very successful year.

All of my students will have the opportunity to learn skills, tools, and facts they need to be successful here in Geneva, in middle school, and in life. Our classroom work is based on a safe and caring learning environment where students and teachers respect themselves and each other. I have high expectations for all my students. They are expected to learn to the best of their ability and to work in a quality manner. I also expect each student to be accountable for their actions and to practice a level of social skills and decision making skills that sets the standard for the rest of the school. This results not only in a community of learners, but in a community of learners with high self-esteem.

I look forward to working as a team with you and your student to help them be successful with this learning opportunity. I also look forward to meeting with you at our upcoming Curriculum Night on September 18th. That evening, we will go over the plans and procedures for your student’s year.

2008-06-18T23:27:00.000-07:00

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Science & Summer

2008-06-13T04:03:00.000-07:00

It doesn't get any better than this. Recapping our science learning aboard the good ship Adventuress! Who knew plankton could taste so good?

Whether on the surface of Bellingham Bay, or the surface of Mars, we now know that systems, water, and cycles play important roles in environments and in sustaining life. We'll take these lessons with us, into the future.

Have a great summer!

Celebrations, Play Day & Adventuress

2008-06-09T20:31:00.000-07:00

While the students are preparing to be the teacher and share their lessons about Washington state and finishing their literature circle books, we are also looking forward to our last science lessons of the year aboard the 105 foot schooner, Adventuress.

Parents who are driving...thank you! Please meet in the upper parking lot, at 12:15 and come down to Room 12. Please also fill out an insurance form, if you have not done so.

We will be in an assembly in the gym from 9:30 to 10:30, attending play day from 10:30 to 11:50 and eating lunch from 12:00 to 12:20. Then we will grab backpacks and coats and head out to the parking lot. Wheels will roll out of the parking lot, here, at 12:30 and we will arrive at the marina at 12:40. The ship departs the dock at 1:00. We will return to the school parking lot, in front, at 4:30.

Drivers, here is a map of the marina area:

Visual Aids

2008-05-30T01:54:00.000-07:00

The students have worked hard on their book reviews and the visual aids to go with them. Each of the students used their visual aids to present their reviews. Many parents came to see their student's presentation. All were impressed with the mature and professional demeanor of each presenter, the quality visual aids, and the respectful and sophisticated listening and feedback skills of our class.

Your students have created that respectful and supportive environment. Their choices stir my heart and the heart of every visitor.

Here is but one of our many quality, creative visual aids:

Stop by the Library and Room 12 to see more!

Phoenix Lands on Mars!

2008-05-25T05:14:00.000-07:00

After our visit to the WWU Planetarium, it would seem timely to have some space science in the news. After a nine-month journey, Phoenix (named after the same mythological bird as Harry Potter's Order of the Phoenix) will begin digging through the cold dirt of the north polar region. After digging down a few inches, the scientists hope to uncover ice that observations indicate is there. If they find it, that means water (the source of life here on Earth) will have been found on another planet!

How about a 3d picture of the lander's foot pad? You do have those 3d glasses, don't you? This was one of the first pictures sent back to earth on Sunday. This single picture told us a lot about the status of the lander and the environment of the landing site.

Science & Health

2008-05-19T06:57:00.000-07:00

We are studying basic hygiene, including the value of keeping clean and attending to personal appearance and personal responsibilities. We are also providing a gentle introduction to the idea of growing up, the role of hormones, and genes.

Our program also encourages your child to turn to you for further information on these topics. It is important that you let your child know you are willing to discuss this material.

Field Trips to Kulshan, WWU and Planetarium

2008-05-13T03:07:00.000-07:00

Today we will visit Kulshan Middle School, to give our students a chance to see what, for many, will be their next public school. Kulshan students will take small groups of elementary visitors around their school and show them the classrooms and expanded facilities for art, music, and sports.

Next week, May 22nd, we will take a public bus to visit the Western Washington University campus. Our guided tour of the sculptures on campus will be the conclusion of our sculpture art studies, sponsored by the Whatcom Art Museum. While we are at Western, we will also visit the Planetarium, and take a guided tour of outer space!
PS. The last episode of Carl Sagan's incredible Cosmos program is being shown in the planetarium several times this month...free to the public! For the schedule, click here.

Book Reviews

2008-05-12T02:59:00.000-07:00

We have some great book reviews that have been published. Please come by and read a few. You are also invited to watch your student present their book review with a visual aid. Check with your student for their scheduled presentation. Visual aids have taken a step up this Spring with a high level of quality and a variety of media being used, including: Portfolios, calendars, books, posters, dioramas, mobiles and even an original clay animation movie!

In the end, we will all get to hear some pretty strong recommendations for several books. Dialogue with your student about their favorites for reading over the summer.

Fractions, Decimals, and Percents

2008-05-05T02:40:00.000-07:00

We are continuing our work with rational numbers. The major focus is on understanding relationships among fractions, decimals, and percents. Students are making comparisons and identifying equivalent fractions, decimals and percents. They are ordering fractions and decimals, and developing strategies for adding fractions and decimals to the thousandths.

For example, students should be able to accurately and efficiently:

• Compare 5/8 and 3/5 by using percents, representations, or reasoning about their relationship to the landmark fraction ½.

• Compare 0.25 and 0.3 using a 10 x 10 grid and a number line.

Science, Software, and Art?

2008-04-28T18:36:00.000-07:00

We've been extending our science work in writing procedures to writing software (procedures for computers to follow). What can software do for you? Well, it's software that makes computers work. For example, artists, musicians, and software programmers work in teams to make video games. Every time you use a computer, the computer is following procedures written by a team of programmers. Try these fun programs at the National Gallery of Art for Kids. Just click below and then scroll through lots of online art toys. Then click on one and have fun...with software!

Do you think the teams who wrote these software programs (procedures) were having fun?

I think so!!!!!

Graphs

2008-04-21T02:08:00.000-07:00

We have learned how to use Excel to make graphs for our work in math and science. Garrett did this graph that reveals a troubling trend...

Our Learning Continues

2008-04-18T16:36:00.000-07:00

Even at this difficult time, our learning continues.

We are learning one way to respectfully exercise our freedom of speech, with a debate. Our current debate topic is whether or not a student in our school district should be able to skip a grade if they can pass a knowledge test. We have developed our written arguments for and against the topic. After revising and editing, we will use our written arguments to have a respectful debate (just like in Congress). This is just a debate in our class. No one in the district would actually propose such an idea!!

We are finalizing the results of our science investigations into the performance of systems. We identified a specific system of interest and then, using controlled experiments, we predicted how certain variables might affect the system, used a written procedure to gather data related to our hypotheses, analyzed data and then compared our data with our hypotheses. We will share the results of our experiments in displays.

In math, we are using our knowledge of graphs and Excel to summarize the data from our controlled experiments.

We are also in the middle of a new read aloud, Esperanza Rising, a rich book by Pam Munoz Ryan. So far, the story has allowed us to explore the meaning of privilege, hard work, and prejudice, as well as the fortunes and challenges of living in the USA as citizens and as immigrants with freedom of speech and the freedom to debate.

Would you believe, we've been able to squeeze this learning in between an average of 14 hours of state mandated testing per week? Thank you for helping your student be successful with the Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL) by:

Making sure your student is rested.
Making sure your student is properly nourished and starts the day with a good breakfast.
Making sure your student gets to school on time.
Making sure your student is in attendance during the next two weeks.

The WASL will be completed in two more weeks, after many more lost learning opportunities. May 2nd is the last day of testing. Until then, thank you, again, for your extra efforts to help your student do their best to "show what they know" on the WASL.

Multiplication

2008-04-01T19:48:00.000-07:00

If you are having problems with mulitplying a two digit number times another two digit number

you are having problems understanding two digit times three digit numbers, try the Grid Method, (#3) at the link below!

Measure Weight and Length

2008-03-26T23:26:00.000-07:00

Practice measuring length and weight at this great site! Since we are working with fractions right now, the measurements that require reading between labeled values are particularly good practice.

Mt. School

2008-03-23T09:34:00.000-07:00

Many of us have been on an extended field trip to the North Cascade Institute's, Mt School. For three school days, students enjoyed sharing rooms in comfortable lodges, being outside and learning camp songs! Scouting-types of organizations should look at this option for their members, outside of school.

Meanwhile, other students got to visit the Pacific Science Center. Demi shared some of what she learned with the class in a nice piece of writing. The Willard Smith Planetarium, there, is currently featuring a program on Auroras. Our class will visit Western's planetarium on May 22nd!

Fractions

2008-03-07T16:55:00.000-08:00

We've been studying fractions and here's a game that can help. When you play the Pizza Game, you have to put the right amount of toppings on the right-sized pizza, based on the customer's order (See the 1, 2, 3 below!). When you get it right, the customer buys your pizza and your pizza "store" earns money! Some orders are simple. For other orders you will need to rename some of the topping fractions to know how much to put on.

Lunar Eclipse

2008-02-21T12:07:00.000-08:00

I hope that your family got to see this one. If not, the next one is only two years away...and we can tell you why!

Google Doodle Art

2008-02-13T16:24:00.000-08:00

The Doodle 4 Google competition (www.google.com/doodle4google), offers young artists the chance to play around with the Google logo and perhaps have their artwork seen by people all over the world.

The theme for the U.S. doodling competition is "What if...?"

What if...I could live underwater, or in outer space, or in Colonial America?
What if...I could see into the future?
What if...I could build any kind of invention I wanted?

Registration closes on March 28th.

Field Trips

2008-02-08T13:38:00.000-08:00

We have some field trips coming up this half of the year that include:

April-Mountain School, 3 days and 2 nights at the North Cascades Instute's Learning Ceneter, near Diablo Lake, in the North Cascades National Park

May-WWU Art & Science, half day on campus at Western

June-Environmental & Marine Science, half day aboard 101' sailboat, Adventuress, in Bellingham Bay

Permission slips for Mt School and the Adventuress Sail went home on Friday. Please fill these out and return them with the necessary funds, ASAP. If any family would like confidential financial assistance, please feel free to contact me by note, phone, or email.

More on the Adventuress can be found here.
More on Mountain School can be found here.

Science: Careful Observation

2008-01-23T18:35:00.001-08:00

Science depends on reliable observation. One reason why science took a long time to develop as a human endeavor, was because our senses are so easily tricked while observing. What do you see while observing the blue lines below?

Without reliable observations, many scientific laws were difficult to discover. Good science requires careful observation. A big part of our science discoveries, this year, will come from careful observations and from following reliable procedures.

Here's an observation (the moon and its phases) that took humans many thousands of years to get right:

Pinewood Derby

2008-01-22T13:17:00.000-08:00

Jaydens' entry in the last week's Pinewood Derby, The Shiny Thing, won the prize for fastest car at the Derby. Congratulations, Jayden.

There were over 100 entries, but The Shiny Thing beat them all!

Reading Naomi Leon

2008-01-15T20:15:00.000-08:00

We're reading, Becoming Naomi Leon, by Pam Munoz Ryan. In honor of Naomi, Owen, and especially Gram and Fabiola, we present the following:

And thanks to the Drake family, for making this link work a little better!

Lions, and Tigers, and Lizards?

2008-01-11T06:43:00.000-08:00

...Oh, my!

We are working on our non-fiction writing. Students have selected a research topic of their choice, have found several books on their topic and are taking the notes that will help them successfully write on their topic.

Please help your student by showing them how you would take notes on just the facts from the non-fiction books they have researched, group those notes into related paragraphs, and then help them to use their descriptive writing to write powerful, original pieces.

Celebrate: The Days are Getting Longer!

2007-12-21T14:16:00.000-08:00

Today we:
1. Investigated why the days will be growing longer during vacation rather than shorter, as they have been since school started (and why we have seasons)!

2. Found the difference in temperature between a cold day in Vostok, Antartica (-129°F) and a cold day in Bellingham (28°F). We discovered that number lines do help us to think about negative numbers!

3. Finished the last of our non-fiction Literature Circles.

4. Investigated non-fiction materials to use for our research writing.

5. Practiced descriptive writing.

6. Shared compliments for powerful student choices.

7. Played a game and sang songs.

6. Shared holiday wishes and presents.

Thank you, everyone, for the thoughtful gifts! May your holidays and vacation be filled with many happy memories (that we will write about, next year!)

Happy New Year,
Mr Larrison

Fairhaven Festival

2007-12-19T20:38:00.000-08:00

Cinderella’s Carriage (above), created by Whitney Wynn, won the People’s Choice Award at this year’s Holiday Port Festival’s gingerbread contest. The tasty artwork was donated to the Bellingham Library and is on display there.

The Merry Ferry, created by the Woods Family, was another gingerbread favorite at the Festival. The students of Room 12 agreed to donate our ferry to the library. Ms. Graves, library assistant, discovered that the culinary culprit cooking up this craft was a former teacher at Geneva. Little did she know that her cooking creations would wind up back in her old school. Ms Graves also pointed out that when Ms Woods taught here, the school secretary's name was Mary Ferry. Coincidence? We think not!

Whale Tale Survey

2007-12-14T12:52:00.000-08:00

Students are bringing home a survey that measures some typical human household activities. Please help your student with the survey and dialogue about your own family's ecological footprint and priorities. The folks at Killer Whale Tales will anonymously combine your survey data with other households from around Puget Sound. The results of these student dialogues are presented on their webpage:

Last Book Orders of 2007

2007-12-13T13:23:00.000-08:00

Just a reminder that you can place your Scholastic Book Club orders online!

Here’s how it works:

1. Use the information below to access the Scholastic Book Clubs Web site.
2. Browse the titles with your child, and place your order with your credit card.
3. All orders will be delivered to our classroom for your child to take home.
4. Go to:

www.scholastic.com/parentordering

Class User Name: genevaroom12
Password: books

Two Dimensional (2D) Shapes

2007-12-07T11:27:00.000-08:00

We have been exploring the special properties of some 2D shapes, in particular, triangles and quadrilaterals. Try the activity, revision, and quiz below:

Killer Whale Tales

2007-12-04T11:48:00.000-08:00

The Killer Whale Tales organization will visit our school next week, on Tuesday. We will practice making clear and specific scientific observations and connect with the work we did earlier in the year on watersheds and our environment.

Polygons, Places on Grids, & Protractors

2007-11-29T17:10:00.000-08:00

We've been studying polygons and have been drawing some by locating corners (vertices) on coordinate grids using (x, y) pairs. We have also just started talking about triangles and measuring angles with a protractor. Here's some help with understanding coordinate pairs to find locations on a grid and and some help with using a protractor:

Happy Thanksgiving!

2007-11-21T18:29:00.000-08:00

At your conference, your student set some goals for themselves...many of them are achievable before the new year. We can help them experience the personal satisfaction that comes from setting and making progress toward a goal by sharing strategies for staying focused and working smart while finding the balance with important play time, too! Have a Happy Thanksgiving.

Polygons & Coordinate Geometry

2007-11-15T16:39:00.000-08:00

For the next few weeks, our class will extend our work in shapes and lines from, Art: Elements of Design, into important mathematical ideas using polygons and coordinate geometry. As the unit unfolds, your child will work with:

polygons with different numbers of sides, from 3 up to 10.
polygons whose angles and sides follow certain rules.
regular polygons.
similar polygons.

Look for opportunities to talk about shapes and angles with your child. Most of the angles in our rooms and on our furniture are right angles (90°) Why is this? When you and your child try to draw angles of a certain of degrees - without any tools, just estimating - how close can both of you come? Is a square a rectangle? Is a rectangle a square? Equilateral triangles have 60° angles. Diagonals across a square make 45° angles. Do you see any of these angles on game boards or game spinners. What other angles do you see?

Above all, see how much fun geometry can be!

Conferences are in Full Swing!

2007-11-15T16:32:00.000-08:00

Thank you for acknowledging your scheduled conference time. We are looking foward to this meeting with your student to set student goals and identify support, both at home and in the classroom, to help achieve those goals.

Conference Schedules -- Schedule Yours Now

2007-11-05T17:48:00.000-08:00

Your student is preparing for our upcoming conference. A form has gone home for you to fill out, requesting a conference time. Please indicate a first second and third choice for a conference date and time.

Return the form immediately to help schedule your conference at one of your preferred times! These signed forms need to come back to me the next day, if possible...and no later than the morning of Novemeber 9, Friday. Thanks!

Mid-semester...we're busy!

2007-11-02T16:32:00.000-07:00

This week, our class is moving onto bigger and better multiples in math, using equations and complete sentences to solve problems, wrapping up our first round of Literature Circle books, writing scripts for classroom presentations, and preparing for parent/teacher conferences.

Your student will lead our conference, this year. This is a highlight of the year for many students and parents, and is a big step for each student as they begin to take more responsibility for their learning. Your student will share with you their strengths as a student, so far this year, and identify goals for what they need to work on. As they share their goals, we will identify specific activities in the classroom and at home that can help the student reach their goals.

Thank you for your support at home as we move into a very busy time of the academic year. Good nutritution, limits on distractions, plenty of rest every night, and dialogue with your student about homework is essential for their success.

Sincerely,
Mr Larrison

Art: Elements of Design

2007-10-26T16:11:00.000-07:00

Richard Vanderway visited our class today. He is from the Whatcom Art Museum. He taught the first of three lessons exploring the elements of design: line, shape, texture, and color.

We just happen to be working on some visual aids to support our writing, so Richard's timing was perfect, allowing the students to apply what we learned. We'll also apply our learning during a visit to the Art Museum in a couple of weeks.

Field Trip to the Wastewater Treatment Plant

2007-10-19T13:36:00.000-07:00

Today, Kim & Kelly took our class on a tour of the Wastewater Treatment Plant at Post Point. It was very educational. We learned that when we borrow water from the natural water cycle for use in our homes and businesses, the City of Bellingham must collect and clean that water before it is returned to the natural environment. After the water is collected and cleaned at the Post Point treatment plant, it is returned to Bellingham Bay and the water cycle begins, again.

We discovered that even though we are relatively large creatures with large machines helping us, when we clean up the water we have borrowed, we also need the help of some of the tiniest creatures on earth.

We used a microsope and observed those creatures at work, cleaning up some of our city's water in a clarifier at Post Point. Here's a picture:

Parents, watch out for Hexaflexagons coming home next week!

Field Trip to the Water Treatment Plant

2007-10-12T16:12:00.000-07:00

Today we extended our classroom work on watersheds with a visit to the Water Treatment Plant.

Kim & Kelly were our hosts and our teachers at the plant. Thank you, both! The students learned that after the screenhouse removes large objects from our drinking water, the next step is the addition of alum and a polymer to raw, screened water to help the filter tanks remove small particulates.

We saw the filter tanks up close, made models of the filter process and even used our own filters to clean up real water. We then tested for the proper pH using controlled quantities and color from the RCI (Red Cabbage Indicator). Just last week we learned to multiply any number by ten and when it comes to pH, multiplying by factors of ten allowed us to discover that lemon juice, with a pH of 2, is a million times more acidic than our drinking water! And that ammonia, with a pH of 13, is almost one hundred thousand times more base (alkaline).

Thank you for your support of our class and this learning opportunity. A really special thanks to parents (and extended parent) Colleen, Veronica, and Lili for being able to join us on such short notice. Next week... the Wastewater Treatment Plant!

Sincerely,
Mr Larrison

Watershed Work

2007-09-19T16:44:00.000-07:00

Today, we built some watersheds that included Lake Whatcom (our drinking water source) and its surrounding terrain, the water treatment plant, a supply pipe to take cleaned drinking water from the water treatment plant to a storage tank, and pipes to take cleaned drinking water from the storage tank to houses, houses and streets, sewer pipes to take wastewater from houses to the wastewater treatment plant, a pipe to take treated wastewater from the wastewater treatment plant to Bellingham Bay, and of course, Bellingham Bay (where all the water we use ends up)!

Jog-a-Thon T-Shirt Designs

2007-09-18T11:12:00.000-07:00

These T-Shirt designs were submitted to the PTA by:

Emma

Anonymous 2

Anonymous 1

Danielle

Demi

Avery

Haley

Welcome to the 2007-08 School Year!

2007-09-04T11:16:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the 2007-08 school year! I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself and highlight events of the upcoming year. With your support and involvement at home, I am confident that your student will have a very successful year.

All of my students will have the opportunity to learn skills, tools, and facts they need to be successful here in Geneva, in middle school, and in life. Our classroom work is based on a safe and caring learning environment where students and teachers respect themselves and each other. I have high expectations for all my students. They are expected to learn to the best of their ability and to work in a quality manner. I also expect each student to be accountable for their actions and to practice a level of social skills and decision making skills that sets the standard for the rest of the school. This results not only in a community of learners, but in a community of learners with high self-esteem.

I look forward to working as a team with you and your student to help them be successful with this learning opportunity. I also look forward to meeting with you at our upcoming Curriculum Night on September 20th. That evening, we will go over the plans and procedures for your student’s year. The PTA’s Back-to-School Barbecue will also be coming up on the 14th...yum!

Scholastic Book Club - Online

2006-10-20T12:36:00.000-07:00

You can now place your Scholastic Book Club orders online!

Here’s how it works:

www.scholastic.com/parentordering

Class User Name: genevaroom12
Password: books

Research shows that, at this age, the best way to develop reading skills and a love of reading is with real literature.

Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL)

2004-11-04T23:46:00.000-08:00

The WASL testing window opens in April and closes in May. The specific dates will be posted later this year (actually, this year, the WASL testing will be conducted between April 13 and April 30).

We will be testing many mornings between these dates. Please do not plan to take your student out of school on any of those days! If you must do so, plan for later in the day.

Math Worksheets

2004-09-26T12:10:00.000-07:00

These worksheets require Adobe's free pdf reader, which is usually pre-installed on home or office computers. Just click on a letter below and the worksheet should open. If not, Adobe's pdf reader is available for free, here.

Subtraction:

Subtraction Facts to 9 (100 per page)	A	B	C	D	E	F	G	H	I	J	K	L	M	N	O	P	Q	R	S	T
Subtraction Facts to 9 (64 per page)	A	B	C	D	E	F	G	H	I	J	K	L	M	N	O	P	Q	R	S	T
Subtraction Facts to 18 (100 per page)	A	B	C	D	E	F	G	H	I	J	K	L	M	N	O	P	Q	R	S	T
Subtraction Facts to 18 (64 per page)	A	B	C	D	E	F	G	H	I	J	K	L	M	N	O	P	Q	R	S	T
Subtraction Facts to 18 (12 per page)	A	B	C	D	E	F	G	H	I	J	K	L	M	N	O	P	Q	R	S	T

Multiplication:

Facts to 49 No Zeros	A	B	C	D	E	F	G	H	I	J	K	L	M	N	O	P	Q	R	S	T
Facts to 49 With Zeros	A	B	C	D	E	F	G	H	I	J	K	L	M	N	O	P	Q	R	S	T
Facts to 81 No Zeros	A	B	C	D	E	F	G	H	I	J	K	L	M	N	O	P	Q	R	S	T
Facts to 81 With Zeros	A	B	C	D	E	F	G	H	I	J	K	L	M	N	O	P	Q	R	S	T
Facts to 144 No Zeros	A	B	C	D	E	F	G	H	I	J	K	L	M	N	O	P	Q	R	S	T
Facts to 144 With Zeros	A	B	C	D	E	F	G	H	I	J	K	L	M	N	O	P	Q	R	S	T

Division:

Division Facts to 49	A	B	C	D	E	F	G	H	I	J	K	L	M	N	O	P	Q	R	S	T
Division Facts to 81	A	B	C	D	E	F	G	H	I	J	K	L	M	N	O	P	Q	R	S	T
Division Facts to 144	A	B	C	D	E	F	G	H	I	J	K	L	M	N	O	P	Q	R	S	T
Division Facts to 144 Zeros Included	A	B	C	D	E	F	G	H	I	J	K	L	M	N	O	P	Q	R	S	T

Basic Writing Styles (Modes)

2002-11-12T11:52:00.000-08:00

Narrative Writing tells a personal or fictional experience or tells a story based on a real or imagined event.

Expository writing is writing that is designed to convey information or explain what is difficult to understand.

Persuasive writing attempts to convince the reader to accept a point of view or to take a specific action.

Topic Sentence
or
Paragraph

I
feelings
focus

Detail Sentences
or
Paragraphs in Sequence

Ending Sentence
or
Paragraph
restates the topic

Topic Sentence
or
Paragraph

no "I"
no feelings
focus

Detail Sentences
or
Paragraphs
facts

Ending Sentence
or
Paragraph
restates the topic

Topic Sentence
or
Paragraph

states an opinion
focus

Detail Sentences
or
Paragraphs
facts to support
strongest statement first

Ending Sentence
or
Paragraph
restates the topic