Weekly Blog Requirements

By now, you can comment, post, and include links and images in your posts. You're ready. Starting this week, you will have a regular assignment for your blog. Each week you are required to:

• post two entries to your blog, one will be an assigned entry from class and the second will be a free entry on any subject you choose.
• make three comments on blogs from students from 7A and 7B.

You may make more than two posts and extra points will be given for posts of quality. You are encouraged leave comments on other people's blogs, but cannot receive credit for them since I cannot go out and find them all. I will look at all the 7A and 7B blogs and will see all the comments made there.

Social Studies Test Review

Try to complete these paragraphs.

At the June Solstice: The date is June 21 or 22. The part of the Earth closest to the sun is latitude ___________ . This latitude is called the Tropic of ____________ . The length of day is ______ hours at the North Pole, and _______ hours at the South Pole. On this day, every location south of the ________ Circle is in darkness for 24 hours. Every location north of the ______ Circle gets 24 hours of daylight.

At the December Solstice: The date is December 21 or 22. The part of the Earth closest to the sun is latitude ___________ . This latitude is called the Tropic of ____________ . Length of daylight is ______ hours at the equator, ______ hours at the North Pole, and _______ hours at the South Pole. On this day, every location north of the ________ Circle is in darkness for 24 hours. Every location south of the ______ Circle gets 24 hours of daylight.

At the March Equinox: The date is March 20 or 21. The part of the Earth closest to the sun is latitude ________ . This latitude is called the ____________ . Length of day is ______ hours at the Equator. Every place on Earth has ________ hours of daylight. This is the beginning of ________ for the Northern Hemisphere and ________ for the Southern Hemisphere.

At the September Equinox: The date is September 22 or 23. The part of the Earth closest to the sun is latitude ________ . This latitude is called the ____________ . Length of day is ______ hours at the Equator. Every place on Earth has ________ hours of daylight. This is the beginning of ________ for the Northern Hemisphere and ________ for the Southern Hemisphere.

Click here to check your answers

Sevens Are Doing It for Themselves

Today is the big day... The day when you create your very own blog and post your first ideas for the world to see.

Before we get started, I have one important thing to say... I try to post clear directions in this blog so that you can do most of what you need to do by yourself by reading carefully and following the steps one by one. But, I am getting lots of people asking questions that whose answers in the directions, or handing in work that doesn't follow the directions. Please check the directions carefully when you are doing your work. Links in this blog will now leave this window and open a new window to do your work. That way you can flip back and forth when you need to check the directions.

With that said, we can get started.

1. Go to blogger.com.
2. Click in the orange arrow that says "CREATE YOUR BLOG NOW".
3. Create a username and password for yourself. Write your username down in your English notebook.
4. Your display name will be what people see when they look at your blog and when you comment on other blogs. Your display name should be your first name(s) and the inital of your last name only. (remember the bathroom at McDonalds). You'll need a working email address to do this, so if you don't have one, open a new window and create one now.
5. Click the box to agreee to the Terms of Service. Now click the orange arrow that says "Continue".
6. Think of a title for your blog. Our class blog is called "Mr. Hide's Class", which is a little boring, but it is clear what the blog is about. Pick a title for your blog.
7. The next box is where you pick the web address for your blog. It will be "what-you-choose.blogspot.com". It would make sense to pick a web address that is similar to your blog's name. A short blog address is preferable because it is easier to type in.
8. Type in the letters in the word verification box and click the orange arrow that says "Continue".
9. Now you get to choose a template. This is what your blog will look like, except it will have all the information that you put in in instead of "Sample Blog". Click the orange arrow that says "Continue".
10. Yeah! You're done. Now click the orange arrow that says "START POSTING".
11. Type your reflection on education and technology into the post window.
12. Click on the spell check button to check your spelling. (One thing I think is really funny is that the Blogger spell check tells you that the word "blog" is wrong - lol)
13. Give your post a title that tells what the main idea of your post is.
14. Take a deep breath and click "Publish Post"
15. Click on "view your blog" to see what you have created.
16. Send an email to me with your blog address so I can add your blog to this blog.

Going Blog Hunting

Alright! Now that you have begun to blog, you are ready for your first blog hunting trip. You're on the lookout for great blog posts. There are three things that bloggers do to make their posts more readable:

1st - Depth - They really have got something to say about their topic. Bloggers who explain their ideas and opinions in depth give the readers something interesting to read and respond to. Find a blog post that gets deep into its subject.

2nd - Connections - The internet is full of information and ideas that good bloggers use. Your posts don't need to say it all when they can link to the other sites that inspired them. Find a blog post that has at least one link to another great website inside the post.

3rd - Interaction - Posting your blog is the start of the game, but having people read and comment on it is a victory. Find a blog post with a set of comments that is a conversation between the readers and the writer. To qualify, the person whose blog you are reading has to have commented on their own post by reacting to another comment.


Here's what to do:
1. Put the title "Blog Hunting" in your notebook. Make three sections: In depth, Connections, and Interaction where you will write down the results of your blog hunting.

2. Go to this class blog from Australia or this class blog from Brazil or this class blog from Canada or this other class blog in Australia. Look down either the left or right side of the blog for a list of the names of the students. Click on a name to go to that student's own blog.

3. Do your best to find one example of a blog post that goes in depth. When you find one, write down the web address of the blog (ex. mrhide7.blogsopt.com or beatriz1.eslblogs.org) and the date of the post (ex. August 14th, 2006 or November 27th, 2005) in the In Depth section in your notebook.

4. Repeat step 3, but looking for a post with Connections.

5. Repeat step 3, but looking for a post with Interaction.

6. If you finish early, go back and look for a second, even better post for each of the three sections.

The First Blog Experience

Congratulations! You made it. This will be the website where our class meets and works this year. We will be using the computers and the web as a tool for publishing, reading and responding to each other's ideas. Since this is day one, your goal is to post a comment to the question at the end of this entry.

Here's what to do: (read this whole post before starting)
1. Click on the "comments" link at the bottom of this post.
2. Click on "Show original post" so you can see this again.
3. Write your comment in the box on the right. Pay careful attention to grammar, capitals, spelling and punctuation as you will be graded on these. (This is your schoolwork, not MSN!)
4. Where is says "Identity" under the box where you typed your comment, click on the button for "other".
5. Type your first name and only the initial of your last name (ex. "George W."). Leave the "your web page" box empty, even if you do have a webpage.
6. Type the letters and/or numbers that you see into the word verification box.
7. Click "Publish Your Comment."

Tips (I hope you are reading this before you make your comment)
1. You can use Word to type your comment, then spell check it and cut and paste it into the box - that way Word can help you find some of your mistakes.
2. What you write can and will be read by many people - all of the grade 7's plus your teachers, some parents and maybe even by people around the world. Think about what you are going to say, because once it's posted, you can't change it.

Now, here's the question:
If you could wish to be either smarter than you are now or happier than you are now, which would you wish for? Why?

I look forward to reading your answers. If you finish early, go back to the main page and you can read the comments other people have left. Or check out this blog entry from another teacher about students from different places in the world and their blogs. Take a look at some of their entries.

Review Answers

At the June Solstice: The date is June 21 or 22. The part of the Earth closest to the sun is latitude 23.5 degrees north. This latitude is called the Tropic of Cancer. The length of day is 24 hours at the North Pole, and 0 hours at the South Pole. On this day, every location south of the Antarctic Circle is in darkness for 24 hours. Every location north of the Arctic Circle gets 24 hours of daylight.

At the December Solstice: The date is December 21 or 22. The part of the Earth closest to the sun is latitude 23.5 degrees south. This latitude is called the Tropic of Capricorn. The length of daylight 0 hours at the North Pole, and 24 hours at the South Pole. On this day, every location north of the Arctic Circle is in darkness for 24 hours. Every location south of the Antarctic Circle gets 24 hours of daylight.

At the March Equinox: The date is March 20 or 21. The part of the Earth closest to the sun is latitude 0. This latitude is called the Equator. The length of day is 12 hours at the Equator. Every place on Earth has 12 hours of daylight. This is the beginning of spring for the Northern Hemisphere and fall for the Southern Hemisphere.

At the September Equinox: The date is September 22 or 23. The part of the Earth closest to the sun is latitude 0. This latitude is called the Equator. Length of day is 12 hours at the Equator. Every place on Earth has 12 hours of daylight. This is the beginning of fall for the Northern Hemisphere and spring for the Southern Hemisphere.