Rotations and Refractions

The days seem to just be flying by.  I think there is little over a month left before Spring Break.  I've been looking at the different benchmarks and trying to figure out when I'm going to teach each one.  In the beginning of the new year, I was trying to be good and correct my papers the night I get them, but that lasted for about a week or so.  I found myself procrastinating as usual.  I'm happy to say though that my piles are not as huge as they were before, so I guess that's a plus.

Today I tried doing definition maps with my students with some Science terms.  They were excited to do something different.  I had written various terms on scraps of paper and thrown them into a shoebox.  Then I had each student pick a term and find its definition in their Science books.  Then they had to write the definition in their own words and create an illustration for their definition.  They were supposed to share their work as well, but they all got done at different times, so I decided to let them share later tomorrow.  It's been a while since I've seen them so into their work.  They were so animated about the definitions and their drawings.  

On another Science note, I told them that we would be doing a research paper on something within the solar system.  I'm debating how to do this.  I'm thinking of having begin with doing an article review or something like that before going into a full-blown paper.  I figure they could take a small step first.  I need to go and reread that section in "Strategies That Work."  

I cannot wait for the weekend and am counting down the days.  I've been looking forward to seeing BFC for a long time and am really looking forward to spending time with him again.