January 11 "Discovery consists of seeing what everybody has seen and thinking what nobody has thought."

Vikings used an ancient Germanic alphabet called runes for writing, seeking advice, and magic. (the word "rune" actually means mystery, secret, or whisper) Runes could be read from left to right or from right to left, even in the same artifact. That makes translating them very difficult, especially since rune masters sometimes wrote cryptic messages. Write Your Name using this ancient Viking alphabet.

The problem with modern names is that, no matter how many you have, they don't really tell people much about you. Viking names really described the person. Want to know your Viking name?

Assignments for today:

I just added three new links--two about Vikings, and one really good one about Explorers. Check 'em out!

Spelling, Vocabulary, and Grammar--Day 1

Social Studies--Complete the Viking Q & A Flip Book (In our class discussion, we went over all the questions/answers; the kids [should] have everything they need. (This will be tomorrow's assignment for Grade 5)

Writing--Because we had Art, this class was too short to continue with our B.E.E.--everyone should have drafts 1 and 2, and 2 should be typed, ready for further revisions. Each child also should have peer conferenced and filled out a simple form for their partner with a copy to me.

Time to go home. Have a restful evening, everyone. Like I tell my students, don't forget to eat your vegetables and get to bed early.

Teri