"Are you smarter than a chimp?"

Here is the link to try to the "Are you smarter than a chimp" test from CNN.

MySpace Bullying

What is your opinion on the recent news of a MySpace hoax leading to a 13 year old girl's suicide? What do you think should happen to the people who made up the fake MySpace identity and pretended to be a teenage boy who was interested in this young girl, but then told her "the world would be a better place without you." How big of a problem to you think online bullying is? Please respond to this topic in a thoughtful blog entry. 10 points.

Teddy Bear Teacher

What is your opinion about the recent incident involving the British teacher who allowed her class of 7 year olds in Sudan to name a teddy bear Mohammed? Do you think she should have been put in jail for this? Why or why not? What do you think about her punishment? She was pardoned and now has been deported back to England. Do you think this is the right thing to do? How would you feel if someone insulted your religion? Please respond to these questions in a thoughtful blog entry. 10 points

Current Events: Child Labor (10 points)

Where are your clothes made? Do you pay attention to this when you buy something? Look at the label on your shirt or jacket. Where was it made? Could child labor have been involved in its manufacture? Does this change your attitude about what you wear? Reflect on the use of child labor to make less expensive goods for people to buy. 10 points

Current Events: California Wildfires (10 points)

If you had to leave your house in a hurry to escape a fire, what things would you grab to take with you and why? Explain your answer in detail and remember the blog grading criteria. 10 points

Setting up a Pageflake Account (5 points)

Now that you've set up a Pageflake account, reflect on the experience. Think about the following questions.

1. What was easy and/or hard about setting up a Pageflake account?
2. How can you use Pageflakes for school related things?
3. How can you use Pageflakes in your personal life?
4. Would you recommend Pageflakes to a friend or your parents? Why or why not?

Post your comments about Pageflakes. Your comments must be longer than the minimum of 3 lines for full credit on this assignment. 5 points.

Wikispaces (10 points)

Now that you have a little experience with wikispaces, please post your comments about the experience so far. How do you think we could use wikispaces in our classroom? Please review the blog grading criteria listed on the upper right corner of the main page before posting your comment. 10 points

Current Events: Music File Sharing (10 points)

Here is a partial transcript of yesterday's current events story on music file sharing. Reread it, and then make a blog entry expressing your opinion on this issue. Is this a real problem? What should be done? This blog entry is worth 10 points, so please treat it like a regular classroom assignment and write in complete sentences, proofreading what you say before posting.

CNN TRANSCRIPT: When you hear a new song you like, you might hop online to get it. But how you download is important. Almost 8 million homes use file-sharing programs, but the American recording industry says those programs are illegal, and last week, a federal jury agreed. It ordered a Minnesota woman to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for sharing copyrighted music online.

File-sharing has been in the news for years, partly because it's so widespread. We know where the people who do it stand, and we know where the record industry stands. But what about you?

Current Events: Overpopulation (10 points)

Here is the transcript of yesterday's current events story on overpopulation. Reread it, and then make a blog entry expressing your opinion on this issue. Is this a real problem? What should be done? This blog entry is worth 10 points, so please treat it like a regular classroom assignment and write in complete sentences, proofreading what you say before posting.

CNN TRANSCRIPT: The number is staggering: 6.6 billion people. The entire population of the United States times 22! And all of them are dependent on the Earth's resources. So, it's easy to see the problems that overpopulation can cause. More than a billion people -- roughly one-sixth of the world's population -- don't have their basic needs. Many go without clean drinking water; many don't have access to modern health care.

Let's look at Africa. This is the world's fastest growing continent, with about 900 million people today. By the year 2050, it's estimated there'll be almost two billion, possibly three times as many Africans as Europeans! But is population increase all bad? Won't there be more people to work, more to provide the services others need? Yes. And when you add up more workers and more consumers, you get a growing economy. The problem is, population growth is expected to be most significant in developing countries, places that already have trouble providing the basic needs of their people. So, having more people could likely worsen the situation, straining these countries' already limited resources. And there are societal factors too: One expert pointed out that with higher population density, you'll see higher crime rates and an increased chance of spreading disease. So, the policies that countries make to deal with these problems today can determine how well we'll handle them tomorrow.

Current Events: Myanmar Protests & Technology

ASSIGNMENT: Read the following piece of a news story from www.cnn.com. Then, make a blog entry to give your opinion on this topic. Be sure that both the content and your style of writing is appropriate for school, and that you include only your first name and last initial.

Myanmar: The World is Watching

LONDON, England (CNN) -- Close the borders, shut down the media, expel dissidents and restrict visitors: The world's most oppressive regimes have developed watertight ways of shielding themselves from the eyes of the world.

Myanmar is no exception. Democracy has been repeatedly quashed; an uprising in 1988 left thousands of citizen protesters dead, while a democratically elected leader has not been allowed to govern and remains under house arrest.

The military junta rules and the press is government-controlled and heavily censored. Yet as images of the monks' protests are splashed around the world's media, it is apparent technology in the form of blogs, digital photos, and text messaging has become the chink in the regime's armor.

"The technology is making a huge difference. Now everyone in the world can know what is happening in Burma (Myanmar) via the Internet," said Sein Win, managing editor of Mizzima News, an India-based news group run by exiled dissidents, "It is a reality of globalization. Whether the junta likes it or not, the government cannot isolate itself from the international community," Sein Win said.

While the Myanmar government has reportedly moved to shut down the Internet, the events in the country in the last week show technology can transform the geo-political landscape and empower dissidents and activists. It has transformed the world into a witness; and that, activists hope, will be enough to subdue the military.

The rest of the article can be found at the address below if you want to read the whole thing.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/09/28/ww.burma/index.html

"What's hot/What's not" (Yearbook)

We are considering having a "what's in/what's out" or a "what's hot/what's not" section in the yearbook this year. This blog is a place for students to share ideas on the topic of "what's in/what's out" or "what's hot/what's not". Remember to keep your comments appropriate for school!

Extras Yearbook Section

This is a place for students to post ideas about how the extras section of the yearbook should be designed and organized.

Girls' Sports Yearbook Section

This is a place for students to post ideas about how the girls' sports section of the yearbook should be designed and organized.

Boys' Sports Yearbook Section

This is a place for students to post ideas about how the boys' sports section of the yearbook should be designed and organized.

8th Grade Yearbook Section

This is a place for students to post ideas about how the 8th grade section of the yearbook should be designed and organized.

7th Grade Yearbook Section

This is a place for students to post ideas about how the 7th grade section of the yearbook should be designed and organized.

6th Grade Yearbook Section

This is a place for students to post ideas about how the 6th grade section of the yearbook should be designed and organized.

What are you reading?

This is a blog for students to discuss the books they are currently reading. Tell us the author, title, and what you like about the book so far. You can then comment on what others are reading, ask questions, make connections, and so on. Remember to keep your comments on the subject and appropriate for school.

Yearbook Theme Ideas

Post your ideas for a yearbook theme here.

Used this way, theme means an idea that is used throughout a book and helps to tie the book together in terms of content and style. For example, a theme can be a phrase like "Reach for the stars" or "Live your dreams", or it can be broad topics like "travel" or "outer space" that you incorporate throughout the book.

Social Studies Current Events

We have been studying many things in current events lately. Pick a topic from the last two weeks and write your thoughts and comments on it. Osama bin Laden, the crisis in Darfur, the war in Iraq, or anything else you are interested in. Keep your comments appropriate for a school discussion and know that I will read what you write. Have a great discussion! Mrs. Keith

Read this first!

This blog is a place for student discussion and comment related to Mrs. Keith's classes.

Since this is a student driven forum, misspellings and grammatical errors will most likely occur from time to time. Please understand that I cannot correct such errors in student posts. However, one of the goals of this blog is to encourage students to improve their writing and take increased responsibility for both its content and conventions, since their audience is public.


RULES OF USE:

1. You must include your first name in all posts. For privacy, do not include your last name...only a last initial is acceptable.
2. Keep your discussion on the topic of the blog.
3. Proofread what you write before posting it!
4. While students can have differences of opinion, personal attacks are not allowed.
5. This is a school related blog; what you write is being read by your teacher, other students, parents and anyone else who accesses this website address. Keep your comments appropriate for a school setting.

If there are posts or comments of an offensive nature, please alert me immediately and they will be deleted.

Please respond to this blog first to let me know that you have read and agree to the above rules.

Happy blogging!
Mrs. Keith