How NFL Conference Brackets are Formed

Only 1 team will represent a conference in the Super Bowl. This article explains why it is WAY TOO EARLY TO KNOW who will be in it.

First, the 4 division winners from the conference are "seeded" 1 through 4 (North, South, East, and West). The 2 teams with the best records of each division are "seeded" as 1 and 2 - they get home field advantage, and they don't play on "wild card weekend."

Then, the 2 "wild card" teams are identified - based on the best overall record in the whole conference, excluding the division winners. These teams are "seeded" 5 and 6. 

On "Wild Card Weekend" Team 3 plays Team 6 (the 2nd best record in the conference, excluding division winners), and Team 4 plays Team 5 (the 1st best record in the conference, excluding division winners). These "wild card" teams could be stronger than the division leaders and could be considered as the leftover conference leaders (5 and 6, that is). Note: This is how the Giants came up to beat the Patriots, back in the day.

Finally, the two winning teams from "Wild Card Weekend" plays 1 or 2 at THEIR home field.

For example:
As of this moment before Monday Night Football here is the NFC situation in the divisions...

North is Packers

South is Falcons and Panthers

East is Giants (but is up for grabs)

West is Cardinals

Notes:

1.  If we selected today the Panthers or the Falcons would be a wild card in the NFC (because they are tied with the same number of wins). Stats break the tie.

2.  There is NO clear winner to be team 6.
3.  The winner of the AFC and NFC meet in the Super Bowl, so it follows that no conference (AFC or NFC) has to worry about the other until the Super Bowl - other than to improve the W/L record.
4. When you are seeded at 1 or 2 you have a great record, like this year's Packers, Falcons, or Panthers.

Finally, if your team has a lousy record right now, they need to start WINNING (Thursday would be good).

Reading and Writing with Ms. K.

Two important aspects of literacy are reading and writing because great readers become skilled writers and excellent writers know how to analyze literature.  

Reading

Our program promotes reading comprehension by focusing on specific reading strategies that have been shown to improve understanding and recall. The following the five strategies are the foundation of our reading comprehension program: making personal and meaningful connections, developing question and answer relationships, using mental imagery, recognizing when inference is needed for better understanding, and summarizing or retelling what has been read. These strategies are reviewed during our daily reading routine. Specific lessons are also presented, which are aligned with what is being taught in our students classes. 

Writing 

Our writing program fosuses specifically on what is expected at each individual grade level based on the common core requirements for grade levels K-8. Because each grade level has benchmarks and requirements that expand over time, our teachers design lessons and writing assignments that focus on promoting writing skills that meet these requirements. These lessons and assignments are directly related not only to what is being instructed inside the student's classroom, but also to meet the required common core curriculum benchmarks.

Enrichment with Ms. K - Week 4

Monday's focus was homework. Many students were prepping for exams. We went over a math, "check for understanding" page. The students were told to write their own definition for the commutative property.  Most of them paraphrased the glossary definition. I made a mental note to revisit this. We then reviewed vocab terms and major topics from the ancient civilizations segment in the Social Studies text. This part was a review of the first 3 chapters of the text to prep for exams.

Tuesday's focus was math.  I gave a mini lesson about the commutative property.  It is an easy concept to understand, when using the root word "commute".  Think about the analogy of commuting to school or work, and then commuting back home.  In math, the property applies to addition and multiplication in an equation where  a + b = b + a  or  xy = yx. Basically when adding or multiplying, the answer will remain the same even if the variables are reversed.  Try it out!  The property does NOT work with subtraction and division.  If asked to show an example of how it would not work, subtraction and/or division should be used. 

On this day I left the quote, "Be a voice, not an echo." on the whiteboard.

Wednesday's focus was engineering and design. We used TP rolls to design objects. Some of the objects that were designed were: a couple of cars, several minions, a mermaid, and a hula dancer. 

Thursday's focus was watercolor painting.  I gave a mini lesson about Vincent Van Gogh's interesting life.  The students learned about how he did not become a painter until late in his life.  They also learned about his letters to his brother Theo, and how the letters are one of the ways we know about his life. They learned about his work with dark colors, and his beginning to use brighter colors when studying Japaneese Art.  They learned about his use of thick application of paint, a little about his time in Arles with Paul Gauguin, and how his paintings were not well received until long after his passing.