The Smartboard Has Arrived

On Friday afternoon a Smartboard was installed in my classroom complete with a projector that is mounted on the ceiling.  I was not in the room for the majority of the installation, but I was curious enough to go visit once.  When I walked in, I saw tools all over my room, two men on ladders working in the ceiling, and a Smartboard hanging on the wall.  My heart skipped a beat.  I am truly looking forward to using the new technology for the first time.  I know that my students will love it as well, but they will have to wait a week or two until I am better acquainted.  Hopefully I will remember everything quickly and be able to get it up and running sooner than I expect.  I truly believe that this will be an amazing tool to add to my already growing repertoire of technology.

Persuasive Writing

     Over the past couple of weeks my students have been writing about newspaper articles and literature in their blog posts, but this week I decided to give them a chance to write about something else.  We have been discussing the various techniques of persuasive speeches by looking at famous orators like Jonathan Edwards, Patrick Henry, and Benjamin Franklin.  To change up the blogs I had each student write about their favorite ice cream flavor while emulating several of the rhetorical devices that we have seen in action this week.
     So far, I have seen students compare their ice cream flavors to God, Heaven, and a Leonardo da Vinci painting.  Popular flavors for discussion include the generic flavors of chocolate and vanilla, but on a more interesting level there is coffee, rocky road, gelato, cookie dough, and avocado ice cream.  After reading the blogs, looking at the pictures, watching the videos, and day dreaming a little bit, I feel the need to go to the freezer and look for some ice cream...too bad I do not have any at home and am too lazy to drive to the store at this late hour.