Bloggin' Around the World with Mr. Piper

Spend a Week in Japan- Virtual Postcard Assignment

2012-01-24T14:26:00.001-06:00

Imagine that you could take a week-long trip to Japan. What sorts of things would you like to see or do? For this assignment, you will be asked to research at least four different things you would want to see or do if you visited Japan and write a postcard to Mr. Piper describing your experience.

You could choose to write about cultural attractions we've talked about in class or saw in the Japan Revealed DVD, or else explore a topic about Japan that you are interested in.

Below are postcard templates Mr. Mussoline made to assist us. They are made with a program called Pages, a word proceesor for the iPad. If you have an iPad with Pages, the template will open right up in Pages for you.

If you do not, open the template and save it as your name postcard (for example, Piper-postcard) in the Group Folder on the Macintosh under your advisor's name.

Template #1
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1398381/Pages%20Templates/Postcard%20Template%20Option%2001.pages

Template #2

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1398381/Pages%20Templates/Postcard%20Template%20Option%2002.pages

Template #3

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1398381/Pages%20Templates/Postcard%20Template%20Option%2003.pages

Template #4

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1398381/Pages%20Templates/Postcard%20Template%20Option%2004.pages

Here is the rubric for the assignment. Please feel free to access it any time, but please do not print it at school.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1398381/Japan%20Post%20Card%20Assignment.pdf

Videos About Japan

2012-01-19T09:25:00.001-06:00

Check out the videos below about topics we've covered dealing with Japan:

National Geographic Video About Sumo:

Population density affects transportation in Japan!

Many people ride the ultra-fast Shinkansen bullet trains! These go 180+ miles per hour!

People cannot own a car in Japan unless they have an off-street place to park it. Here is a video of a Japanese parking garage.

Population Density Affects Land Use: Scenes from an underground mall in Tokyo:

Population Density affects where people live/stay. Check out this video of the capsule hotel!

What I learned from Japan Revealed- Judge's Class

2012-01-17T13:38:00.000-06:00

Please write at least one sentence about something new you learned about Japan from watching the Japan Revealed DVD in class. Try to come up with something different than your classmates wrote.

Remember to put your first name and last initial for your name on your comment.

Mr. Piper will check the blog comments for completion on Thursday, January 19th.

What I learned from Japan Revealed- VanderVelde's Class

2012-01-17T13:37:00.002-06:00

What I learned from Japan Revealed- DeTorre's Class

2012-01-17T13:36:00.003-06:00

Please write at least one sentence about something new you learned about Japan from watching the Japan Revealed DVD in class. Try to come up with something different than your classmates wrote.
Remember to put your first name and last initial for your name on your comment.
Mr. Piper will check the blog comments for completion on Thursday, January 19th.

What I learned from Japan Revealed?- Piper's Class

2012-01-17T13:36:00.000-06:00

What I learned about Chinese schools- Judge's Class

2012-01-09T09:01:00.001-06:00

For this week's blog comment, please write at least one complete sentence about something new you learned about Chinese schools from Mr. Keiley and Mr. Piper's lesson on Monday, January 9th. Try to post something different than what your classmates' posted.

Check out the video that we showed on Monday about different types of Chinese schools.

What I learned about Chinese schools- VanderVelde's Class

2012-01-09T09:00:00.009-06:00

For this week's blog comment, please write at least one complete sentence about something new you learned about Chinese schools from Mr. Keiley and Mr. Piper's lesson on Monday, January 9th. Try to post something different than what your classmates posted.

Check out this video below about different Chinese schools:

What I learned about Chinese schools- DeTorre's Class

2012-01-09T09:00:00.008-06:00

For this week's blog comment, please write at least one complete sentence about something new you learned about Chinese schools from Mr. Keiley and Mr. Piper's lesson on Monday, January 9th. Try to post something different than what your classmates posted.

Check out this video below about differnt types of Chinese schools.

What I learned about Chinese schools- Piper's Class

2012-01-09T09:00:00.006-06:00

How is China a Blend of Tradtional and Modern Culture?

2011-12-04T22:35:00.000-06:00

Last summer a group of USM Upper School teachers, parents and students had the opportunity to travel to China with their teacher, Mrs. Lu. During this trip, they reflected on the essential question for our class, "How is China in 2011 a blend of traditional and modern culture?" Please watch the video they created for us by clicking here. The password, if asked, is Chinatrip.

Then, under your advisor's name, please write at least one new thing you learned from the video as your blog comment for this week. Since the video is 20 minutes in length, you will have all week to complete the assignmnet. The comments will be due on Friday, December 9th. Moreover, you may use any of the information from the video as questions/facts for your China Unit Board game project.

Have fun and enjoy the video.

Reminder, here is the video and the password is Chinatrip.

Mrs. Judge's Class: How is China in 2011 a Blend of Traditional and Modern Culture

2011-12-04T22:34:00.000-06:00

Please click on this link and watch the video that Mrs. Lu and her Upper School students, teachers and parents made from their trip to China in the summer of 2011 about how China is a blend of tradtional and modern culture.

The password for this link is: Chinatrip

Please write at least one sentence in your comment about something new that you learned. This blog comment is due on Friday, December 9th.

Have fun, and learn something new.

Ms. VanderVelde's Class: How is China in 2011 a Blend of Traditional and Modern Culture

2011-12-04T22:33:00.003-06:00

Mrs. DeTorre's Class: How is China in 2011 a Blend of Traditional and Modern Culture

2011-12-04T22:33:00.000-06:00

Mr. Piper's Class: How is China in 2011 a Blend of Traditional and Modern Culture

2011-12-04T22:29:00.000-06:00

Virtual Climb of Mount Everest 2011!

2011-11-17T16:15:00.002-06:00

Here are some videos dealing with climbing Mount Everest. Check them out... they will help you understand what people go through while making the ascent up Mount Everest.

Trekking from Lukla to Base Camp:

Life at Base Camp:

Everest ER- Medical care at Base Camp:

Surviving the Khumbu Icefall:

From Base Camp to Camp IV:

Summiting Mount Everest:

Want to learn more about Everest, check out some of these cool links:
Mount Everest Fun Facts
Mount Everest Brianteaser Game from National Geographic

Bells From Everest

Songify Tunes About South Asian Nations

2011-11-16T10:28:00.025-06:00

This week in class, students worked in collaborative groups to read about India's neighbors and take notes about the geography and culture of Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh. Students then took their notes and marde them into Songify files. For this week's blog comment, please listen to the Songify tunes (at least a couple of them) and then post a comment below about at least one new thing you learned about a country in South Asia.
MatthewEvan
DagnyJennaWilliamBrodie
MariamTrevorAshleyAlex
SloaneEmmaLauren
EllieMeganVanessa
AbsAva
IshanCaedenJack
TrippLouisAvaVeda
SheillaEthanAmySam
MatiasMJBetsyAmal
MargoMegKathleen
AvaVElsa
LauraGraceAnne
HollyCailieghKelly
ZachAyorkorBellaGraceMax
Nepal_Victor_and_Brandon.mp3
LexieGraceSpenceJoey.mp3
AbbyDavidJonah.mp3

Exploring More With India

2011-11-14T14:08:00.001-06:00

Check out this video of Mr. Piper eating a naga jolokia pepper. This is a hot pepper, similar to a jalapeno or habanero pepper, that is native to India.

Here is a band I recently checked out called Dehli 2 Dublin. Listen to their music and think about why they might have named themselves "Dehli 2 Dublin?" Intersting fact, they are not from India or Ireland, but rather from Vancouver, Canada!

Lagaan Movie Review Assignment:

2011-11-03T09:12:00.002-05:00

This week in class we watched portions of the Bollywood movie, Lagaan. For this week's blog comment, please write a movie review of Lagaan addressing some of the following points:

-musical numbers in the movie
-the characters in the movie
-the plot of the movie
-how the movie shows a blend of traditional and modern culture in India
-how the movie shows how people can work together to accomplish goals
Rate the movie on a scale of 1-5 Ganeshas.
1 Ganesha- didn't care for it much and 5 Ganeshas- you really liked it.

Below are some YouTube clips of the musical numbers and some photos of the main characters.

Lagaan Movie Trailer:

Musical Number: "Ghanan Ghanan"

Musical Number: "Radha Kaise Na Jale" (Krishna's Birthday)

Musical Number: "Chale Chalo" (the team prepares for the game)

Musical Number: "Mitwa"

Bhuvan- the lead villager

Captain Russell- the leader of the British

Guran- the fortune teller

Elizabeth the British woman (Captain Russell's sister) who helps the villagers

Gauri- the village girl who has a crush on Bhuvan

Kachra, the untouchable

Lagaan Movie Reviews: Judge's Class

2011-11-03T08:58:00.001-05:00

Students in Mrs. Judge's class- please write your movie reviews in the comments section below.

Lagaan Movie Reviews: VanderVelde's Class

2011-11-03T08:57:00.000-05:00

Students in Ms. VanderVelde's class- please write your movie reviews in the comments section below.

Lagaan Movie Reviews: DeTorre's Class

2011-11-03T08:53:00.002-05:00

Students in Mrs. DeTorre's class- please write your movie reviews in the comments section below.

Lagaan Movie Reviews: Piper's Class

2011-11-03T08:52:00.002-05:00

Students in Mr. Piper's class- please write your movie reviews in the comments section below.

Happy Diwali!

2011-10-27T14:37:00.001-05:00

Check out some of the videos I have posted below about the Hindu festival of the lights, Diwali!

National Geographic Video Explaining Diwali:

Diwali Play "Ram Leela" Part 1

Diwali Play "Ram Leela" Part 2

Burning Ravana:

This is a picture of India during Diwali from space.

Videos of Indian Streets

2011-10-20T08:41:00.000-05:00

Check out these videos about Indian streets. They will help you write your blog comment for this week.

The Streets of Mumbai (short documentary about life in Mumbai,one of India's largest cities)

A blend of traditional and modern India... cows crossing the street in Dehli.

How does having a large population effect how people live in India?- Judge's Class

2011-10-20T08:34:00.002-05:00

For this week's blog comment reflection, write 1-2 sentences about how you think having a large population would affect how people would live in India. Check out the videos of Indian streets that I posted above. This blog comment is due on Tuesday, October 25th.

How does having a large population effect how people live in India?- DeTorre's Class

2011-10-20T08:33:00.007-05:00

How does having a large population effect how people live in India?- VanderVelde's Class

2011-10-20T08:33:00.006-05:00

How does having a large population effect how people live in India?- Piper's Class

2011-10-20T08:32:00.003-05:00

Make Your Body into the Map of India

2011-10-14T10:56:00.000-05:00

Check out this video of Mr. Piper making his body look like the map of India, highlighting some of the mountain ranges, rivers and plateus.

Cool Videos About Didgeridoos

2011-10-05T09:33:00.000-05:00

Mr. Piper Explains How To Play the Didgeridoo:

Larry Winwini,dideridoo player showing off his awesome skills

Raymond Marpin, master didgeridoo player shows off his skills

What I've Learned About Aborigines and Didgeridoos-- Judge's Class

2011-10-05T09:28:00.002-05:00

This week in class we've spent a lot of time talking about aborigines, their culture and didgeridoos. For this week's blog comment, please compose 1-2 sentences about something new you've learned about aborigines or something new you've learned about didgeridoos.

Check out the videos on the top of the blog of some professional didgeridoo players and Mr. Piper teaching how to play the didgeridoo.

Have fun!

What I've Learned About Aborigines and Didgeridoos-- VanderVelde's Class

2011-10-05T09:25:00.004-05:00

What I've Learned About Aborigines and Didgeridoos-- DeTorre's Class

2011-10-05T09:25:00.001-05:00

What I've Learned About Aborigines and Didgeridoos-- Piper's Class

2011-10-05T09:24:00.000-05:00

Videos to Check Out

2011-09-20T11:37:00.000-05:00

Fifth graders...
Check out the following videos to help you review material about Australia.

"Life Down Under." This brief film (which contains the "marsupial song" talks about how Australia broke away from Gondwonaland thousands of years ago and why many of its unique animals developed in the ways that they did.

"The Prawn Trawler's Lament." Mr. Piper explains how prawn trawling can damage the Great Barrier Reef in this music video.

Sports Down Under- Judge's Class

2011-09-13T16:45:00.003-05:00

As we have learned in class, there are many sports that are popular in Australia that are not as popular in the United States. Below are three YouTube's I showed you in class to refresh your memory on some of the sports.

For this week's blog comment, please respond in 1-2 sentences to the following question, "If you could play one Aussie sport, which one would you play and why?" You may use any of the sports we've talked about in class, watched videos of, or seen in the Australia Revealed DVD.

Remember to comment with the name/url option and putting in your first name and last initial.

How to Play Cricket:

How to Play Netball:

What is Aussie Rules Football?:

Sports Down Under- VanderVelde's Class

2011-09-13T16:45:00.001-05:00

Sports Down Under- DeTorre's Class

2011-09-13T16:44:00.003-05:00

Sports Down Under- Piper's Advisees

2011-09-13T16:44:00.000-05:00

Reactions to Vegemite- Judge's Class

2011-09-09T09:01:00.002-05:00

In class you had a chance to smell and perhaps taste Vegemite. Vegemite is a very popular yeast spread in Australia, although we really don't have anything that tastes quite like it here in the US.

How would you describe Vegemite (either the smell, taste, or appearance). Write 1 sentence or more about how you would describe Vegemite in your own words.
Please be descriptive, but not rude. Comments like, "It was gross," or "It smelled nasty," don't really describe it. We also have students and teachers from Australia who will be reading these comments as well.
When signing your blog comment, remember to include your first name and last initial.

Reactions to Vegemite- VanderVelde's Class

2011-09-09T08:59:00.000-05:00

In class you had a chance to smell and perhaps taste Vegemite. Vegemite is a very popular yeast spread in Australia, although we really don't have anything that tastes quite like it here in the US.
How would you describe Vegemite (either the smell, taste, or appearance). Write 1 sentence or more about how you would describe Vegemite in your own words.

Please be descriptive, but not rude. Comments like, "It was gross," or "It smelled nasty," don't really describe it. We also have students and teachers from Australia who will be reading these comments as well.

When signing your blog comment, remember to include your first name and last initial.

Reactions to Vegemite- DeTorre's Class

2011-09-09T08:55:00.003-05:00

In class you had a chance to smell and perhaps taste Vegemite. Vegemite is a very popular yeast spread in Australia, although we really don't have anything that tastes quite like it here in the US.

How would you describe Vegemite (either the smell, taste, or appearance). Write 1 sentence or more about how you would describe Vegemite in your own words.
Please be descriptive, but not rude. Comments like, "It was gross," or "It smelled nasty," don't really describe it. We also have students and teachers from Australia who will be reading these comments as well.
When signing your blog comment, remember to include your first name and last initial.

Reactions to Vegemite- Piper's Advisees

2011-09-09T08:53:00.000-05:00

In class you had a chance to smell and perhaps taste Vegemite. Vegemite is a very popular yeast spread in Australia, although we really don't have anything that tastes quite like it here in the US.

How would you describe Vegemite (either the smell, taste, or appearance). Write 1 sentence or more about how you would describe Vegemite in your own words.

Please be descriptive, but not rude. Comments like, "It was gross," or "It smelled nasty," don't really describe it. We also have students and teachers from Australia who will be reading these comments as well.

When signing your blog comment, remember to include your first name and last initial.

How to Make A Burger Look Like the Map of Australia

2011-09-02T13:36:00.002-05:00

Check out this video of Mr. Piper as he tries to make a burger look like the map of Australia

A Life Like Mine Reflection- Judge's Advisees

2011-08-26T10:58:00.000-05:00

One of the goals with having students read A Life Like Mine was to have you learn about how people around the world are similar and uniquely different. For this week's blog comment, please answer the following question with at least 1-2 sentences: If you could hang out with one of the kids from A Life Like Mine who would you hang out with and why?

Please post your response as a blog comment. Please sign your comment with your first name and last initial.

A Life Like Mine Reflection- VanderVelde's Advisees

2011-08-26T10:57:00.000-05:00

Please post your response as a blog comment. Please sign your comment with your first name and last initial.

A Life Like Mine Reflection- DeTorre's Advisees

2011-08-26T10:56:00.000-05:00

A Life Like Mine Reflection- Piper's Advisees

2011-08-26T10:54:00.000-05:00

One of the goals with having students read A Life Like Mine was to have you learn about how people around the world are similar and uniquely different. For this week's blog comment, please answer the following question with at least 1-2 sentences: If you could hang out with one of the kids from A Life Like Mine who would you hang out with and why?

Please post your response as a blog comment. Please sign your comment with your first name and last initial.

Welcome Back To School

2011-08-23T10:31:00.000-05:00

Fifth grade "World Investigators," welcome back to school and welcome to an exciting year together in fifth grade social studies. This year we will be studying "World Cultural Geography" and will be exploring regions in all corners of the globe in hope of understanding how people are all similar yet uniquely different, how the land of a place (phyiscal geography) influences what people do for a living in that place and how understanding cultural diversity is an imporant part of being a global citizen.

To get us ready for the school year, I've posted a video below to help students opening their lockers.
I look forward to meeting you all.

Mr. Piper's End of the Year Survey

2011-05-27T11:44:00.000-05:00

5th Grade "World Investigators," please take the following survey about our social studies class.

Your input will help make this class better for future years of fifth graders.

Thanks for your input!
~Mr. Piper

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/pipesendoftheyear

Where to go in Europe?

2011-05-23T09:13:00.000-05:00

If you could travel to any country in Europe, where would you go and why?

Recently in class, we created travel guides for various countries in Europe. Select one country that either you or a classmate reseached and write at least 1-2 sentences about why you would want to travel to this country.

Please sign your blog comment with your first name and last initial or your initials and your teacher's name.

Brazil Revealed Reflections

2011-04-28T16:23:00.003-05:00

After viewing portions of the Brazil Revealed DVD in class, compose at least one sentence describing something new or intereting you leaned about Brazilian culture through the film.

Remember to sign your comment with your first name and last initial or your iniials and your teacher's last name. Please do your best to come up with different ideas than what your classmates post.

Check out this video below on how large the Chirst the Redeemer statue is in Brazil.

What We Learned from Mary Frances Wines- Peace Corps Volunteer in Guatemala

2011-04-25T09:59:00.001-05:00

On Monday, April 25th, we had the opportunity to speak with Peace Corps Volunteer, May Frances Wines about her experiences in Guatemala.

Please compose a 1-2 sentence blog comment about somethin new you learned about Guatemala from our Skype conference, OR how Guatemala is different than other Central American countries.

Remember to sign your comment with your first name and last initial or your intitials and your teacher's name. Do your best to come up with original comments.

What We Learned From Mexico Revealed

2011-04-13T08:59:00.002-05:00

During class this week we watched portions of the Mexico Revealed DVD. Please write at least one sentence about something new you learned about Mexico from the DVD.

Please sign your blog comment with your first name and last initial or your initials and your teacher's name.

Try to come up with different thoughts than your classmates.

What We Learned From Ms. Altman

2011-02-21T22:56:00.004-06:00

This week in class we will have the opportunity to learn from Ms. Altman about her trip to Ghana this past summer and also have the opportunity to do some Ghanaian drumming, dancing and games. Please write at least one sentence sharing something you learned from this activity. As always, sign your blog comment with your first name and last initial or your initials and your teacher's name.

To get you in the mood for drumming, check out this cool video of Baba Olantunji performing "Akiwowo"

Haikus About Japan 2011

2011-01-16T21:46:00.004-06:00

For this week's blog comment, you will be asked to compose a haiku about something new or interesting you learned about Japan.

Your haiku needs to be in proper haiku form:

Line 1: 5 syllables
Line 2: 7 syllables
Line 3: 5 syllables

Here is an example of a Haiku.

"Sushi" by Mr. Piper
Sushi, good to eat
Spicy tuna roll tasty
Wasabi tastes hot

Your haiku can be about anything we've learned so far from our reading in Our World Today, our virtual ride on the bullet train that we will be doing this week, or the Japan Revealed DVD. Have fun and enjoy composing a haiku about Japan.

Expedition Everest 2011!

2011-01-06T22:28:00.002-06:00

Below are some videos chronicling the trip from Lukla all the way to the summit of Everest. For this week's blog comment, please write at least one sentence about something new you learned about Mount Everest or something you really enjoyed about our virtual climb. Please remember to sign your post with your initials and your teacher's name or your first name and last initial and your teacher's name.

Check out these videos that real climbers put together, showing the different stages of their actual journey to the top of Mount Everest.

Getting to Base Camp:

Life at Base Camp:

From Base Camp to Camp IV:

Summiting Mount Everest:

Want to learn more about Everest, check out some of these cool links:
Mount Everest Fun Facts

Mount Everest Brianteaser Game from National Geographic

Bells From Everest

China- a blend of traditional and modern culture: Judge's Class

2010-12-02T11:33:00.001-06:00

Please write at least one sentence about the following essential question:

How is modern China a blend of traditional and modern culture?

Be sure to sign your first name and last initial.

China- a blend of traditional and modern culture: VanderVelde's Class

2010-12-02T11:32:00.002-06:00

Please write at least one sentence about the following essential question:

How is modern China a blend of traditional and modern culture?

Be sure to sign your first name and last initial.

China- a blend of traditional and modern culture: Schwebel''s Class

2010-12-02T11:32:00.001-06:00

Please write at least one sentence about the following essential question:

How is modern China a blend of traditional and modern culture?

Be sure to sign your first name and last initial.

China- a blend of traditional and modern culture: Piper's Class

2010-12-02T11:28:00.003-06:00

Please write at least one sentence about the following essential question:

How is modern China a blend of traditional and modern culture?

Be sure to sign your first name and last initial.

Blogger's Cafe Challenge

2010-11-29T13:31:00.003-06:00

A colleague of mine, Mrs. Miller, teachs in Australia and has put together a neat blog for classrooms, like ours, who enjoy collaborating with other schools around the world. That site is called "The Blogger's Cafe."

For this week's blog comment, please visit "The Blogger's Cafe" and respond to Mrs. Miller's post about what are some things that you look forward to doing during the winter holidays.

"The Blogger's Cafe" is run through a site called "edublogs" so it is slightly different than my blog through Blogger. It will ask you to enter an email. If you do not have an email account or would rather not enter your email address for whatever reason, please use my email, wpiper@usmk12.org.

Have fun! Do you know that students in Australia and New Zealand are getting ready for summer vacation right around now?

India & South Asia Reflection

2010-11-17T21:36:00.004-06:00

As we wrap up our unit on India and South Asia, please take a moment to reflect about one thing that you learned in this unit that you thought was particularly interesting or fun for you to learn about. Below are some videos on the burning of Ravanna, the 10-headed evil demon king, as well as the music video from the Bollywood film, Lagaan. Please remember to sign your blog comment with your first name and last initial and your teacher's name.

I hope you learned something new about India and South Asia.

Burning Ravana

"Ghanan Ghanan" from the Bollywood movie Lagaan

Cottage Industry Reflection- Judge's Class

2010-11-02T15:23:00.004-05:00

This week in class, students had a chance to learn more about cottage industries, home or village-based industries where people make crafts and other handmade items to sell.

For this week's blog comment, think about whether or not it would be easy to work with family and neighbors to make goods to sell. Please write 1-2 sentences (or more if you choose) about your thoughts on this topic. You can think about our "cottage industry simulation" in class, or think about cottage industries in general.

Please remember to sign your comment with your first name and last initial.

Cottage Industry Reflection- VanderVelde's Class

2010-11-02T15:23:00.003-05:00

Cottage Industry Reflection- Schwebel's Class

2010-11-02T15:23:00.001-05:00

Cottage Industry Reflection- Piper's Class

2010-11-02T15:20:00.002-05:00

How does climate influence human activity (what people do) in India?- Judge's Class

2010-10-26T13:44:00.002-05:00

For this week's blog comment, please think about our essential question, "How does climate influence human activity (what people do) in India?" You may answer this question using any information you have learned so far (from Our World Today, the India Revealed DVD, or any other information we talked about in class. Does India's geography influence what people do there? Check out this video of Mr. Piper turning his body into the map of India and think about ways climate influences human activity.

How does climate influence human activity (what people do) in India?- VanderVelde's Class

2010-10-26T13:44:00.001-05:00

How does climate influence human activity (what people do) in India?- Schwebel's class

2010-10-26T13:43:00.002-05:00

How does climate influence human activity (what people do) in India?- Piper's Class

2010-10-26T13:21:00.002-05:00

What Was Your Favorite Thing About the Australia Unit?

2010-10-18T21:56:00.003-05:00

As we wrap up the Australia unit, take a moment to reflect on something that we did that you particularly enjoyed. What was your favorite part of the unit? It could be a lesson, activity, story, video, etc.

Please make sure to sign your comment with your first name and last initial and your teacher's name.

Hope you learned something new about Australia during this unit. Now we're off to India!

Do you do a didgeridoo

2010-10-14T22:31:00.001-05:00

Watch Mr. Piper teach you how to play the didgeridoo!

Now, check out Larry Winwinni, a professional didgerdioo player who is considered one of the best in the world.

Here is a video of Grahm Wiggins (aka Dr. Didge) and his former band "Outback." Notice Dr. Didge playing two didgeridoos in the song. Do you think you know why the colors in the music video are all orangey? Think about what we learned about the outback and saw on Google Earth.

How does Australia's unique geography affect the people who live there? Judge's Class

2010-09-23T11:41:00.001-05:00

How does Australia's unique geography affect the people who live there?

This past week in class, we have reflected on this essential question. Please write at least one sentence about how Australia's unique geography affects the people who live there. As always, write your name and your last initial.

Think about our readings in Our World Today and the Australia Revealed DVD and all of the different characters that we met in the video. Try to come up with a different example of how Australia's unique geography affects the people who live there than your classmates. Have fun!

How does Australia's unique geography affect the people who live there? VanderVelde's Class

2010-09-23T11:40:00.002-05:00

How does Australia's unique geography affect the people who live there? Schwebel's Class

2010-09-23T11:40:00.001-05:00

How does Australia's unique geography affect the people who live there? Piper's Class

2010-09-23T09:44:00.002-05:00

What's so great about the Great Barrier Reef?- Judge's Class

2010-09-17T14:10:00.001-05:00

This past week in class we learned a lot about the Great Barrier Reef, why it's an important natural resource in Australia, why it is facing danger and what is being done to protect it. Please write at least one sentence about something new you learned about the Great Barrier Reef.

As always, please sign your blog comment with your first name and your last initial or your initials and your teacher's name.

Check out the video below of Mr. Piper performing "The Prawn Trawler's Lament."

What's so great about the Great Barrier Reef?- VanderVelde's Class

2010-09-17T14:09:00.002-05:00

What's so great about the Great Barrier Reef?- Schwebel's Class

2010-09-17T14:09:00.001-05:00

What's so great about the Great Barrier Reef?- Piper's Class

2010-09-17T14:06:00.001-05:00

What did you think of Vegemite?

2010-09-17T14:04:00.001-05:00

If you were a brave soul who tried Vegemite in class, please share your thoughts. How would you describe the taste of Vegemite?

Check out the Happy Little Vegemites commercial below, and remember to sign your comment with your first name and last initial or your initials and your teacher's name.

Australia's Unique Animals- Judge's Class

2010-09-10T16:17:00.004-05:00

Why is Australia's physical geography so unique?

As we explore this essential question, let's think about some of Australia's many interesting animals. For this week's blog comment assignment, come up with one sentence about something new you learned about an Australian animal.

Here is a link to wikipedia to help you find some information about animals that we may not have explored in class.

When signing your name, please include your first name and last initial or your initials and teacher's name. Don't forget to do this.

To get you in the mood to learn about Australian animals, check out this video for "We Are Marsupials"

Australia's Unique Animals- VanderVelde's Class

2010-09-10T16:17:00.003-05:00

Australia's Unique Animals- Schwebel's Class

2010-09-10T16:17:00.001-05:00

Australia's Unique Animals- Piper's Class

2010-09-10T16:09:00.005-05:00

Exploring the Land Down Under

2010-09-02T13:08:00.003-05:00

What are you most interested in learning about during our unit on Australia? Post your response in the form of a blog comment. Please sign the blog comment with your first name and last initial or your initials and your teacher's name.

Enjoy this video of Mr. Piper making a hamburger look like the map of Australia.

Welcome to 5th Grade

2010-08-25T15:58:00.009-05:00

Welcome to Middle School, fifth graders!

Having trouble orgnizing our materials or opening your locker? Check out the following YouTube videos Mr. Piper made to assist you

Organizing Your Trapper Keeper or Case It Binder:

How to Open A Locker:

Fifth graders, what are some of the things you liked best about the fist day of school? Please share these in the comments section. Comment as "anonymous" and then include your first name and last initials or just your initials and your teacher's name with your post.

Happy Summer

2010-07-06T23:36:00.002-05:00

Greetings World Investigators (both past and future), as well as students and teachers from others places around the world that follow this blog. Let me know if you've done anything fun, interesting, or exciting this summer. Please, as always, sign your blog comment with your first name and last initial. I look forward to reading about the fun things you've done over your summer break.

Take care,
Mr. Piper

Blog Reflection: What was your favorite thing about fifth grade world geography?

2010-06-04T09:20:00.002-05:00

Please write a comment (at least one sentence, but longer if you wish) about what your favorite thing was about the fifth grade world geography class.

Please sign your blog comment with your first name and last initial or your initials and your homeroom teacher's name.

Something New I Learned From the Virtual Backpacking Trip- Judge's Class

2010-06-01T15:25:00.004-05:00

Write at least one sentence about something new you learned either from doing your own research or from others' presentations. Be sure to put your first name and last initial or your initials and your teacher's name to sign your post.

Something New I Learned From the Virtual Backpacking Trip- VanderVelde's Class

2010-06-01T15:25:00.002-05:00

Something I Learned From the Virtual Backpacking Trip- Schwebel's Class

2010-06-01T15:23:00.001-05:00

Something I Learned From the Virtual Backpacking Trip- Piper's Class

2010-06-01T15:21:00.001-05:00

What I learned from Italy Revealed- Mrs. Schwebel's Class

2010-05-13T09:03:00.005-05:00

Please write at least one complete sentence about something that you learned from the Italy Revealed DVD. Sign your comment with your first name and last initial or your initials and your teacher's name. Please write something that your classmates have NOT written already. This blog comment is due on Monday, May 17th.

What I learned from Italy Revealed- Mrs. Judge's Class

2010-05-13T09:03:00.004-05:00

What I learned from Italy Revealed- VanderVelde's Class

2010-05-13T09:03:00.003-05:00

What I learned from Italy Revealed- Mr. Piper's Class

2010-05-13T08:59:00.002-05:00

Alpine Music Videos

2010-05-07T14:40:00.002-05:00

This week in class, the "World Investigators" had the opportunity to create music videos about interesting facts dealing with the geography and culture of Germany, Switzerland and Austria. Enjoy watching the different class videos below. Feel free to leave a comment with something new that you learned.

Mrs. Judge's Advisees' Alpine Music Video:

Ms. VanderVelde's Advisees' Alpine Music Video:

Mrs. Schwebel's Advisees' Alpine Music Video:

Mr. Piper's Advisees' Alpine Music Video: