MrGoerend.com

Metal and Teeth

2010-03-11T13:57:00.000-08:00

What are they doing? I thought. I was just getting my braces on. I was panicked the orthodontist was putting a lot of stuff in my mouth all at once. Like a huge white circular thing to hold my lips back so I wouldn’t get the glue for my braces on my lips!

I was feeling a little weird because I didn’t know half the things they were putting in my mouth. Its wasn’t as bad as other people said, and that was a good thing.

After 60 minutes they were done. I chose pink as my color because I love the color pink and my mom said, “you should get pink.”

“Okay I will,” I said.

After that I was ready to go to school, but I didn’t want to show anyone because I didn’t like them. I got to school and I was in English/Language Arts that period. I was trying not to smile, but my friend made me smile, so she saw my braces. I didn’t talk as much that day as I usually because I didn't want anyone to notice my braces.

I finally got home. “Oh my gosh, they look good!” my family said, but it was my family and they will always say that. That night I had soccer and basketball, so my friends on my team saw my braces and liked them. I was glad because I didn’t get hit in the mouth that day.

After a few days, I got used to my braces and was able to eat normal. They actually aren’t that bad. I can’t wait to get them off in two years to see my straight teeth!

Macy M

The Worst Present Ever

2010-03-11T13:51:00.000-08:00

Today was fun but miserable. I woke up, went downstairs, and waited for my parents to get up. When they got up we ate breakfast.

Later my mom, dad, sister, and I went into the living room. It was Christmas morning. We opened our presents and looked to see what was inside. My sister and I opened a big present.We were shocked. Inside was a Nintendo Wii! We played it and played it.

We were happy until we got a phone call. It was grandpa. We were glad to hear from him. Then he said something that made my heart stop.

He sobbed "grandma is dead." He described "She collapsed in the hallway."

The instant I heard that I burst into tears. I was only 9 so I didn't handle it well. From that day on I learned something. I learned that death is far worse if you have experienced it.

The fall

2010-03-11T11:26:00.001-08:00

Ugh, I thought to my self! Another snow day for Waukee schools! I looked out at the piles, and piles of snow that coverd the grass.
My parents, and my 9 month old brother were home to, due to the bad road conditions. I wonderd if the snow would ever melt!
"This stinks being stuck at home! I am so bored!" I called to my mom.
My mom gave me options of what I could do but none of them sounded fun. So I went to sit with my brother on the floor, as he played with his toys. But then he started crying, because it was his lunch time. So I got up and got on the computer.
My step dad picked him up and set him in his chair, on the table. He feed him his baby food, and then went over the sink to rinse the jars out to put the jar in the recycling. And suddenly I heard a loud noise, but thought nothing of it until, my step dad said "Oh my god!"
I had immedideatly knew what happend. I was really nervouse as I went into the kitchen. As I walked over to him I saw him face first, on the floor. He had fallen off the table. My step dad picked him up quickly of the floor. And as he held Beckett up I saw it.
Coming out of his mouth, was blood. I quickly looked away. EW I thought to myself. I wanted to faint. I started screaming and crying. I hated blood.
I ran upstairs quickly to get my mom. I informed her that, " Beckett fell of the table."
She asked, "is he okay?
"No," I said, "He is bleeding."
She flew down the stairs, as fast as she could, snatching Beckett from my step dads arms. He started to cry, this whole time he was in shock from falling that far so he was silent.
I felt so bad, like it was my fault. But I had to go into another room, and sit down and try not to think about the blood.
But once Beckett calmed down we found out that he was okay, just having a scratch on his chin!
I will never forget this time, because it was really scary!

chandler, w

The Accident

2010-03-11T11:26:00.000-08:00

On a Friday evening I was having football practice. Everyone was pumped up for the game tomorrow. We were going to play one of the most brutal teams in the league.

''You guys ready for the game tomorrow''! our coach screamed while we were in a huddle.

Everyone screamed ''Yeah''! I was ready for sure. I wanted to score a touchdown so bad.

The next morning I had to get up at 6 a.m. I wasn't happy about that. The game was on our home field. We did some warm ups , just to get ourselves going. Then it was time to play. My team was on defense so I wasn't on the field. On the third play they scored a 70 yard touchdown. Now it was our turn. I am a running back so I like to score touchdowns and get all of the glory. I could feel the adrenaline going as we walked onto the field. We all huddled up and called the play.

The quarterback hiked the ball and handed it to me. I felt so nervous as I ran the ball through the line. I had only gotten about 3 yards. We huddled up again to call the second play. The quarterback hiked the ball and threw a bullet to the receiver. He caught it and we had gotten a first down. Everyone cheered. Now it was my turn to get a first down and possibly get a touchdown. The quarterback hiked the ball and gave it to me. I plowed through the linemen and found a hole to go through. I was flying by defenders. Then I saw a defender out of the corner of my eye. then everything went black.

I woke up in the hostpital. There my mom told me to lay back down and go to sleep. I didn't want to.

''Whats going on''? I asked.

'' The doctor has told us that you have gotten a minor concusion''. I was so scared after she told me this.

'' What am I going to do now''? I thought to myself.

The next few practices I had to sit out. I hated it. Atleast I didn't have to do the sprints.

1 year later

'' I cant believe you have the courage to run the ball after what happend last year''. said Jacob( a

kid on my team).

''It feels great to step back onto this field. Lets go kick some butt''!

By: Tanner G.

The Toilet Slide!

2010-03-11T11:21:00.000-08:00

As I strolled off the bus that took my camp to a public pool for a field trip, the sun beat down on my head. This was my second year of camp. I was only going to be in 2nd grade. My friend Kaelyn and I walked with the rest of the camp to the pool doors. We walked in. At the pool there was a huge slide called the Toilet Bowl. Or the toilet slide. Kaelyn and I were petrified of that slide.

Our camp counsalor, Bryan came up to us and said,
"You guys should go on that slide! It looks really fun!"
Kaelyn and I just looked at each other and then back at Bryan. All we did was shake our heads no. After our camp got settled in at the pool everyone took off into the water. But Bryan took Kaelyn and I to the Toilet Bowl.
Our other friends, Cassie and Sheridan, were all ready halfway up the steps to the slide. There were a lot of steps. Thats when Kaelyn and I got a real look at the slide. It was blue, green, and white. There was a long, dark, blue and skinney tube you went down first. Then you got lead out into a big round circle tube. There was no top on it. You would spin around in the large circle leading to the hole at the bottom of the slide. When you reached the bottom, you dropped into 10ft. deep water. It looked really fun. But Kaelyn and I did not want to go down it.

Bryan went up the steps. We just watched him. When he reached the top of the steps he looked down at us and waved. We waved back. We waitd untill he came out of the slide and into the water. He came out oof the water and walked to Kaelyn and I. His back was a red as a Crayola red marker.

Bryan said,"I had a blast! You guys need to try to go down that slide!"
I looked at him and said,
" I dont know if I even want to go down that slide!"
Sheridan and Cassie were already going down their 7th time!

Bryan told us he would wait at the bottom of the slide for us if we went down. Kaelyn and I decided that it was now or never. So we walked up the concrete steps up to the white steps. As I was at the top of the white staircase I could hear the water rushing into the slide. It sounded like a waterfall. I could also hear everyone screaming, talking, and laughing. Then before I knew it, it was my turn. I took a deep breath and went down the slide. I went around and around and around untill I heard nothing. Thats when I realized I was in the water. I swan to the surface of the water. I saw Bryan waiting for me. I was so proud of myself for going down that slide. I got out of the water and walked to Bryan.

Then it was time to go. Kaelyn and I love that slide now. We have to convince our siblings to go down that slide. They need to fight there fears and get it over with. Because like I said, it's now or never! -Alyssa R.

Alaska The Wild

2010-03-09T16:02:00.000-08:00

During the summer I went to Minnesota to go all the way to Alaska. I went on a plane. It was a very long and boring flight. The beginning of my trip was extremely dull. After a few days it was enjoyable.
We went to this diner. They had burgers, sea food, pancakes, Pepsi and Coca Cola products. I really enjoyed the delectable food. I said "this food is so great"! My Mom said it was only OK.
My Dad said we should go to a park. We all agreed to that. So we got done with breakfast, payed, and got in the car. I saw a moose trying to eat a mail box but instead it stole it. Then I saw an eagle, my Mom said it was very very pretty and graceful.
Then my sister said she needed to stretch her legs. So we stopped near a field. There was other people there. We walked around for a little while then someone said they saw something move out in the field.
I saw what it was. It was a big grizzly bear. My Dad told us to quickly get in the car. We did as he said. So we quickly drove away. I said "that was weird". We did get some great pictures of the bears from the car.
Then we went back to our cabin and watched T.V. for a very short time. There was only two channels so we decided to go out and build a fire to roast marshmallos. That was a lot of fun! We even had fun pouring water on it and watching the steam when we were done. It was funny the next day when it began to rain and the fire warning sign still showed Very High.

Greece Chapter Questions

2010-03-04T11:30:00.001-08:00

You can find an updated list of the Greece chapter questions here.

Mr. G

Story Writing - Conflict

2010-02-24T15:57:00.000-08:00

We started our story writing unit by deciding on a theme. Then we figured out 3-5 stories we could tell that illustrate that theme.

Now, you need to decide on which one story you're going to tell to illustrate your theme, and figure out an example of each of the three types of conflict we studied today:

person to person
person to nature
person to self

See you tomorrow!

Mr. G

Story Writing - Theme

2010-02-22T11:22:00.000-08:00

What is a theme? An explanation from Cliffs Notes.

More info on theme.

Some examples of themes:

•   jealousy
•   making friends
•   fear
•   sibling relationships
•   success/accomplishment
•   failure
•   change
•   romance
•   power
•   arrogance
•   overcoming hardships
•   love
•   courage
•   death
•   being ordinary
•   acceptance
•   relationships
•   moving on
•   trickery
•   family
•   injustice
•   wealth
•    sacrifice

• growing up

Your homework is to bring in our theme and 3-5 stories from your life that go with that theme.

Work Day Chat

2010-02-12T08:55:00.001-08:00

A couple of ideas to make the chat work more smoothly:

Use @ to direct a reply to someone. For instance, if you want to reply to something I said, you could type "@Mr G. I agree because...." This is a public reply, meaning everyone can see them, but it helps us know who you're talking to.
It's vital that you use full thoughts. I'm not going to be an enormous stickler on complete sentences, but you need to fully explain what you're talking about. Very short chat messages such as "Yup" or "I agree" will just clog up the chat. Ask yourself "why?" when chatting. Why do I agree? Why don't I agree?

If this box isn't big enough to follow the chat, you can click here to open the chat in a full window.

Topic ideas for tomorrow's chat? [Open Thread]

2010-02-11T14:23:00.000-08:00

What are some of your ideas for tomorrow's chat?

Here are some of my ideas:

"Education is a system. Learning is life." What does that mean to you? How does it affect your outlook on school?
We all enjoy having our summer vacations, but what can do to help kids continue learning during the summer?
What could we use to show learning progress besides grades?
How can you document what you're learning outside of school?

China [Social Studies]

2010-02-09T19:04:00.000-08:00

I'm going to stay on top of keeping our classroom blog updated with what we're currently learning about.

This week, we're starting a unit studying China. Students did an activity today in class to build background knowledge. I'll take a picture of the timeline they created and post it tomorrow.

We'll be studying different dynasties and the religions in China.

-Mr. G

Poetry Party

2010-02-09T15:36:00.001-08:00

Here is a link to the Poetry Party assignment.

We've been studying the different literary aspects of poetry the last few weeks. The Poetry Party gives students a chance to apply the skills they've learned on a poem that means something to them.

Post any questions you have in the comments.

Text Organization Re-assessment

2010-01-29T09:03:00.000-08:00

For students who would like a reassessment on Text Organization, this is an alternate assignment:

We studied three types of text organization:

Main idea and details
Sequence
Cause and effect

Students need to bring in an example of each type of organization along with a explanation showing understanding of why the examples fit each type.

An example: students could bring in a section of their Social Studies book showing a certain type of organization and explain how they know that's the organization.

This assignment is due Monday, February 1.

January 29, 2010

2010-01-29T07:30:00.000-08:00

Check in with me after each item on the list:

Find a poem and save it do your Diigo account
Leave five constructive comments on other blogs

Use the comments4kids box on the right

Leave five constructive comments on our blog for other students
Respond to comments on your posts

Remember to check in with me after you finish each item.

Poetry Links

2010-01-29T06:47:00.000-08:00

You can use the poetry books in our classroom to find a poem for our Poetry Party. If you find one you like, you may type up a copy.

Here are some poetry links to explore. Find your poem and save it to your Diigo account.

http://www.poets.org/

http://www.gigglepoetry.com/

http://www.poetryfoundation.org/

http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/index.html

http://www.poetry4kids.com/

http://poetry.eserver.org/

http://www.kidzone.ws/poetry/haiku.htm

http://www.apples4theteacher.com/holidays/spring/kids-poems-rhymes/

http://www.apples4theteacher.com/holidays/christmas/poems-rhymes/

http://www.apples4theteacher.com/poetry.html

http://www.poetryteachers.com/poetryfun/poetfun.html

Along with these, you can use a search engine to find poems.

What did you learn about poetry today?

2010-01-15T10:57:00.000-08:00

We looked at shape poems, free verse poems, and acrostic poems today.

What did you learn?

Comments4Kids Updates

2010-01-13T14:29:00.000-08:00

Mrs. Goerend's class was busy publishing some poetry today. We're starting poetry tomorrow! How about reading through their writing and leaving some comments?

I've also added links to the blogs of other 6th grade students in our building who are publishing their writing on blogs. The links are in the #Comments4Kids box in the far-right sidebar.

Please spend some time giving back with meaningful comments.

Mr. G

Tis The Season

2010-01-12T18:51:00.000-08:00

Have you ever caught yourself wanting sun instead of snow but then when it snows you want sun? I certainly have, but I've now come up with my opinion. Come join me in which season is better!

I think summer is cool because, well think of all the stuff you can see
and do that you cant do in the winter like going outside everyday after
home work or going swimming outside a lot as in the winter you go
swimming once or twice a month or you go outside ,yes, but you don't
get all day out there for as for summer you could spend all day out
there and not have one single problem( except for maybe getting over dehydrated ,but that doesn't happen often).

On the other hand winter can be cool at points too, for instance going sledding or drinking hot chocolate after playing outside. You also don't
have to get your fan out when it's summer and you are burning hot
cause under your covers you want to stay warm. Plus when you go
outside you don't get burnt skin like you do in the summer, and plus
you have all this protective gear on as for summer you don't but you
can get a disease if you don't put sun screen on!!!

Now for the moment of truth...... I think summer is better than winter because you can wear regular clothes without putting protective gear on!!!

Thanks for participating in my opinion essay. I hope you get to thinking about this too!!!

pcs vs laptops

2010-01-12T11:21:00.000-08:00

Are you tired of you PC being too slow? Are tired of waiting?

Well wait no more because there's a new solution, called Laptops!!!

These are fast i mean you don't wait for a picture to be downloaded

and these are portable because they are not covered with wires that

are a pain. They are easier to carry so make the right choise

Weekend Open Thread #7-Christmas Day Bomber

2010-01-11T14:27:00.000-08:00

At your leisure please find some articles of The Christmas Day Bomber and hyperlink them in your comment. Thanks!!

Discussion Starter:
What do you think would ever make someone kill hundreds of people and himself?
Who would ever do such a thing?

Worldview Survey

2010-01-08T13:15:00.000-08:00

The Grade 8 Students at Calgary Science School have a survey about the concept of Worldview. Please take it at your leisure. It will only take a few minutes.

Have a great break!

Game system showdown

2010-01-06T08:01:00.000-08:00

Imagine its winter. A little boy is inside all alone bored to tears. Well not anymore for you have video games. But which one to choose. Should you pick the state of the art Play Station 3 or the classic Wii system? Which one to pick?

Here are some facts about both the systems to help you decide. The classic PS3 is a high tech system with amazing graphics,then again the Wii does give you an impressive workout. Back to the PS3,the PS3 makes much more exciting games to play in high definition. But also the Wii allows you to connect to the Internet.

All right enough talk lets vote,and the winning system is Play Station 3. So it turns out the Play Station 3 is the better gaming system. Well that's all see ya next time folks.

Cell Phone Or No Cell Phone

2010-01-04T15:09:00.000-08:00

In this essay it will examine whether kids should have cell phones or not.

A few reasons why we should have cell phones are we could use them for internet research on a project, blogging our school essays ,typing something up for a school project , and keeping in touch with our parents for emergency purposes. For internet research we could turn assignments in faster.Blogging our school essays if we for got to turn it in we could use our cell phones. If we need more information we could type what we need and print it. Keeping in touch with our parents we would be able to reach them for emergencies.

Some reasons why kids should not have cell phones. Are we could get distracted from school work while texting other kids. Or we can get in trouble for texting inappropriate stuff about other kids. We could get distracted with our phones. We could tell secrets about other people if we use them in a wrong way.

I believe kids should be allowed to use cell phones to keep in contact with our parents for emergency purposes. So we know there safe and they know were safe.

By Nick V

Go Jacob!

2010-01-03T18:38:00.000-08:00

Have you seen Twilight or New Moon? Well, if you haven't then you need to, it is amazing, fantastic and awesome! I personally like New Moon better then the first one!

If you have seen them, then you are with the Vampires or Werewolves, You either like Jacob or Edward better. I had to think about it for awhile, but I finally decided that I am on Team Jacob! I would say Edward is 49% and Jacob is 51%.

So here are some reasons I choose Jacob. First thing, Edward left Bella unprotected from Victoria and Larauntee and also just left her alone when they were deeply in love. Another reason is that Jacob and Bella have been friends for a long time and it's also very dangerous being around all those Vampires because alot of them want to suck her blood.

Another point of view that alot of people have is being on Team Edward. Some reasons that people are on Team Edward's side are, that she is deeply in love with him. Another reason is that Alice has seen her as a Vampire, so she would want to be turned into a Vampire by Edward, not by a bad Vampire. And also Vampires can live forever. So which side are you on?

Chandler W