AEIOUY and sometimes W?

Have you ever thought about the plural form of bus? Is it buses, or busses? Did you know that the word buss (yes with a double s, it is in dialect form) means a big sloppy kiss? The plural form of buss is busses. So next time you are writing the word bus plural...make sure you get the correct form!
Now for the real content of the grammar lesson...Vowels we have heard them and learned about them since we were little kids. We sang song about AEIOU and sometime Y, but what about W? Can/is W a vowel?
The letter W came late to the Roman alphabet. The emperor Claudius tried to give W a start during the alphabet reform, but was dropped after his death. There were rumors that the W only served as a Whim for the emperor not the common good. Bottom line here is the rule...W is only a vowel when it is part of a diphthong. Look for it in the middle of the syllable. So to end here is an example how W is used as a vowel. The word is Cwm and is pronounced coom.

Stuff you missed in history class!

The Black Death happened in 1347-1351. The Black Death killed 25 million or 1/3 of the population in Europe. It is said to have started in Asia, and it has been traced that the cases were intercepted through the trade posts.
The Black Death caused purple splotches on the individuals body. These purple splotches are said to be "God's Token," and cause a quick death. The tumors, ranged in size, and developed along with the Black Death. Due to these tumors their heads were sometimes pushed to the side because of the size of the tumor.
This is one topic is one thing I definitely missed in history class!!

Weekly Post

This week I chose to report on my 60 Second Science podcast. I learned, as well as found it interesting, that the agony of envy causes aches, because envy activates a part of the brain which causes physical pain. On the opposite side, when the person we envy has a bad day we register pleasure. So next time you have an ache...think abotu if you are envying someone.

Reflections on Wikis in Education

I liked all of the different ideas and ways it talked about how a Wiki can be used for pretty much every subject, including the younger grades. teaching this way is both fun and educational for the students.
One concern and challenge I have with using Wiki's is the students thinking that they don't have to cite their sources because they are creating it. This might be hard to explain to them. As teachers we have to make sure we are watching the students moves closely.
I found it interesting that you can protect the Wiki's protection settings like making it private, or allowing specific people to make changes or add to it.

Blogs and teaching

I will use a blog in my classroom by making weekly posts to allow students parent's to access it. This way the parents will be able to access information about upcoming events, what we will be learning that week, and see pictures of our classroom. They will also have access to assignments they can print off if their student is absent.