Here we are in the middle - the middle week of our 3 between breaks - To Kill a Mockingbird is humming (no pun intended) along :) We are doing a mix of in-class reading/listening and at home reading. We have answered the questions in the packet for ch. 2 - 4 (5 - 7 are due tomorrow) and we will continue along these lines up until Winter break. We took a small quiz yesterday on ch. 6 WSH covering Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce - and we may look at chapter 7 next week as well. Block 1 finished up our look at Lewis and Clark and we will be working with some related short stories in the literature book and will move forward with another WSH ch. as well. In addition this week - we are working on the National Geographic Geography Bee - all students participate in 7 rounds in class and our top performing students will advance to another all school round at a later date. Block one finished all 7 rounds today, and blocks 2 and 3 will finish up tomorrow. Enjoy the rest of your week --- look for that TKM book to be read at home!!!

Welcome to the 3 weeks between breaks....lots to do, lots of energy, and waning desire to "do school"...please help your student keep up with this hectic season by gently reminding them to stay organized (use their agenda!), get enough sleep and avoid procrastination etc.... In English this week we will be starting To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee -we will watch a video on the Scottsboro Boys (the case on which the book is based) and then you should be seeing the book and a packet with questions on a regular basis. This book will likely take us into January so there will be a few chapters assigned for Winter Break just to keep connected with the book. In History we are forging ahead into the Western Frontier and statehood. Ch. 6 questions are due on Thursday. Today we started a fun activity on Chinook Jargon - the kids like this - ask them to share a bit with you just for fun :) Final "blurbs" are due tomorrow. Hope the weather cooperates this week, but the beautiful clear sky and calm air at bus duty screamed of, "calm before the storm"! INTERIMS are turned in on WEDNESDAY...please help your student check their grade before then - if it's later on Tuesday - a quick email with any questions would be helpful :)

In class this week we will be continuing our look at Native Americans in the Pacific Northwest (and a few others in other locations) ---Today we discussed the history of government schools and reservations and moved on to more recent efforts to improve education and cultural pride. I show a few videos to address these issues - and we will culminate with Smoke Signals on Wed. and Th. --- in addition - to piggy back on the theme of passing on family tradition and culture - we will be writing a short essay on this idea. Students need to brainstorm 5 ideas for a paper that address a tradition, a ceremony, or a routine that started with a previous generation of their family. Some students will choose religious or cultural events while others may choose to focus on something their family does routinely or annually - like a trip to a family cabin etc.... We will work on the outline in class - and the rough draft - but the final should be typed up at home and turned in on Friday.

Cause and effect paragraphs on significant events in Native American history and the 10 event timeline will be finished in class on Friday --- I hope many students also took the time on Thursday to look at some of the Veteran's Day topics on www.va.gov/opa/vetsday --- our assembly on Wednesday was so moving and I'm sure many students would love to have conversations about their family history with the military - please engage them in those converstaions if you have the opportunity to do so. We will start To Kill a Mockingbird on Monday - this is a challenging and rewarding book for most of the students - more details on this to follow! Enjoy your weekend! kw

This week has flown by! We had a good time with Poe last week - I collected their Raven worksheet on Tuesday -- they should all be very ready for further in-depth at the high school next year :) On Monday of this week, Jerry Harms covered the balance of power in the House and the Senate - discussed some of the close races - etc... they also had time in class to finish up their WSH ch. 4 questions --- On Tuesday - we reviewed the answers to the questions - added details --- the students keep their questions until the quiz on Friday so they can study! We have done a bit more coverage on Lewis and Clark (and York, Sacajawea, and others too!) and today we started a group activity where they are mapping, giving instructions, describing, and then summarizing. Each student has individual as well as group responsibilities - this activity should wrap up tomorrow and they will need to finish a bit of drawing and/or writing over the weekend.

Conference week! :) If you are not scheduled for a group conference I truly hope to see you during one of the arena sessions! Most students are doing quite well with Washington State History (we had a quiz on Friday) - and the Literature Circle on the novel Shakespeare's Secret --- this book combined nicely with our speaker Dr. Delahoyd from WSU - and has been very well received! Hopefully your student has shared some bits of the book with you and the DeVere conspiracy theory -- fun stuff! ---- Most students have been able to finish up their required reading and work on their lit. packet during class - a few have been checking out a book and doing some work at home --- this is our last week with the book for blocks 2 and 3 and block 1 should finish up next week. Our big focus for this week is POE --- otherwise known as "Poe Fest" --- The Tell Tale Heart is in our Lit. book - so we read that in it's entirety and then we do an overview of a variety of other works such as The Raven, The Pit and the Pendulum, Annabell Lee --- etc.... Should be a good time! Hope to see you this week!

Sorry it's been awhile without a post - filter issues with my district computer :( OK- to get you up to date....in the last couple of weeks we have finished our group maps and the scoring of these will wrap up tomorrow (would have been today, but the ch. 3 kids were gone to Q6). We also completed our PNW map test. There were quite a few perfect scores, and quite a few not so perfect scores. For those that struggled - lack of preparation was probably the issue - but good news, the group map project carries enough points to offset moderately poor test scores. We also watched a couple of short videos - Sculpted by Floods and Mud Slide - both dealing with the geology and climate of Washington. If you have an Mt. St. Helens memories, consider sharing them with your student :)

Today we started a new novel - Shakespeare's Secret - it is an intriguing mystery that also delves into bullying and other issues of "fitting in" -- I decided to go with this novel at this stage of the year largely because we will have a guest speaker, Dr. Michael Delahoyd of WSU's English department on Thursday - and he will be talking about some conspiracy theories related to Shakespeare - this same mystery is followed in our novel --- should be fun!!!

Also....in a quick apology - I hope to get the Music and Me papers returned by Monday and the book projects by late next week. This is an unusually slow turn around time for me. The death of my father near the end of the summer - followed by another family death - had me a bit off my game at the beginning of the school year in regards to energy for grading. I'm getting back up to speed, so please accept my apology and look for faster turn arounds in the future :)

Thank you to everyone who helped your student with supplies for the map projects - they really do produce some creative (and accurate) replicas of our state :) Hope you're all enjoying this lingering lovely weather!!!

Let the week of chaos begin :)In HISTORY: My tidy side says, "Noooo....don't do it!!!" - but my teacher side says, "You must, you must, they love and they learn so much!!!" ---- so here we go....the ever popular group maps of Washington state :) The students received information on the pre-map work (this will be info for a map test following this week), a packet that details the expectations for the map project, and tomorrow (Monday) they will be placed into their groups, decide what materials they need to bring, complete their templates, and begin construction on Wednesday (probably finished by Friday). This is a group project, and a small portion of their grade is based on how well they work on a group, but I try very hard to assess each individual student in terms of their contribution and do not give a blanket group score. In ENGLISH: Blocks 2 and 3 received directions and were shown multiple examples for their first book project. This is to be completed a week from tomorrow and will be done outside of class. I allow for a variety of formats to allow students to capitalize on their strengths....creativity, tidiness, technology, etc.... Finally....THE MAGAZINE DRIVE: Block 2 will be my group this year --- I of course love the energy and competitive nature of this event, but I also feel strongly about helping the students understand that this an opportunity for them to be active, contributing citizens of their school community. I encourage them to think of all the ways they benefit from ASB funding (sports, clubs, dances, spirit assemblies, filters on the water fountains, etc....) and that by selling at least one subscription, they give back to those programs. This should be a fun event, and I hope all will contribute. Ownership of the programs that make Lincoln special is a really important step towards becoming a contributing member of society on a larger scale :) Please support them in their efforts!

End of week three! MAPS testing in English is today and the math MAPS will take place 9/16 - students who miss either test will be scheduled for a retake. In class we turned in our Music and Me essays on Wednesday. Today is the last day for 1/2 credit. Some students shared bits of their essay along with their chosen songs via the new icube that Mr. Riley and I purchased for our classrooms with booster grant money last year - adding that technology has been wonderful :)! (we also combined money and purchased a flip-video recorder so we can video presentations etc....also a great addition to our classrooms). We had our first quiz yesterday in Washington State History. Most of the quizes for WSH are pretty straight forward with the questions for the quiz coming directly from the assigned chapter questions - so students who complete their assignments and review their answers should do quite well on these assessments. Next week we will continue with Ch. 2 WSH, introduce the group map project (blocks 2 and 3 will need supplies for this - your student should know what they need by the end of next week) --- We will be finishing our choice books and they will begin a book project in class on Friday. Enjoy the weekend and what might possibly be our last breath of summer :( kw
PS - a few students have yet to turn in their video/field trip permission slips - please check to see if your student falls into that category :)

WELCOME TO 8TH GRADE!!!

Hello all :) Welcome to 8th grade and the blog - I will do my best to post weekly updates for the class that include due dates for large assignments and summaries of what we are covering that week. I hope this is a useful tool :) Happy first week of school! kw

Beatnik Day is scheduled for a week from Friday - 4/23 - all students will recite a poem from memory with passion, oomph and gusto in front of the class - we are covering a variety of poets this way and delivering poetry in one of the prefered ways it is intended to be delivered - out loud - with an audience :) kids are expected to wear black on that day - they can talk to me if this is an issue - also, there will be xtra credit for extra effort with the Beatnik look - goatees, berets, turtle necks, glasses, bongos.....(yes i know this is the stereotyped version - but we are doing a rather Hollywood version of the Beatniks - no government bashing or drugs allowed!) - kids are welcome to bring pillow, bean bags, etc... as they will be sitting on the floor. i will be providing hot h2o and cups - they need to bring their own hotchocolate, cider, or tea.

In the realm of Civics - we completed our Wa. St. govt. ?s last week and there will be a quiz covering those questions as well as the bill of rights. (blocks 2 and 3 will quiz on tuesday - block 1 on wed. ) - the cycle of power is our next quiz - we are using this with Animal Farm - they will get Russian Rev. notes with Mr. Thornton today when we swap classes. All students (blocks 2 and 3) should be through ch. 6 my tomorrow with 2 questions written for each chapter - and we will finish the book by Friday.

I will be out of the classroom on Thursday (all day) and Friday PM for track meets - Mr. Harms will be here to carry on with Dictatorships vs. Democracies - current events - etc....

welcome back! i would say happy spring, but since the weather was nicer in edmonton than it was in pullman i think i'll wait on that salutation. ok - so in the coming weeks look for conversations about the "cycle of power" - a visual graphic i use to compare democracy with dictatorships - look for discussions regarding the book, animal farm - and continued study on the constitution and the branches of government. we will also be selecting poems for beatnik day - the poems must be apx. 20 lines from a published poet - of a more classic nature - or at least not suess or silverstein :) - and memorized so the student can own the poem when they recite :) final date for beatnik day will be announced by next week. happy 4th quarter - look for 3rd quarter grades by tues. (essays will be next quarter's grade)

In a perfect world teachers would not get sick, teacher's kids would not get sick....apparently i do not live in a perfect world:( As of 8pm tonight (Sun.) my daughter's temp hit 101.6 and my own 99.9 --- i wouldn't normally burden you with the germy details of our life, but with night of the notables less that 24 hours away, this is not ideal!!! fear not though, i have Jerry Harms in to sub - he is the best - he has detailed instructions for the day and Michael Riley will be working with the kids as well (his kid is sick too, but he is blessed with nearby inlaws) --- i will be making every effort to attend the evening event and if i am able and if i am able to leave payton briefly, i will try to check in at school as well. if i can not attend, mike riley, rex thornton, and bill holman will be in charge of the evening and i trust all will go just fine - oh, and linda tippett too will be there to take charge of the refreshments! i truly hope i am able to attend and will try my best to be there. if not, i will watch the video with the kids and get the play by play when i return. please accept my apologies. my grades will also be udated as i recover - i apologize for this as well. i have been fighting this bug for quite some time and it finally won :( hope you are all a bit more germ free! happy spring?

PRESENTATIONS STARTED TODAY!!!! Most student were ready to present - although many did not have complete posters or any posters at all. PAPERS(essays) were collected yesterday with points given for on-time turn in and late papers were accepted today for full credit (minus the ontime turn in points) - tomorrow only 1/2 credit is available - after that.....zero :( THE EVENT is Monday 3/22!!!! Parents need to be there at 6:00 to hear a brief presentation about PHS from Mr. Thornton (PHS principal) --- Notables need to be in the multipurpose room in their costumes by 6:15 at the latest!!! EVENT STARTS at 6:30 and runs no later than 8:30!!! All family members are welcome for this fun event! HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!!! GRADES should be updated by this Friday - the only grade that you will not see on this quarter grade is the essay final score due to time constraints.

aauuggghhhh!!! where does the time go? we have finish TKM --- long gone, too late for any late work :( students should be well into their Night of the Notables research!!! I checked off their "fill in the blank" sheet today and the Q and A sheet is due next Friday. We are studying Japanese American Internment in class - not much out of class work for this. There will be a sub tomorrow and Friday so I can attend a MSP writing conference in Seattle with Mr. Riley so I hope and trust that the students will behave beautifully in my absence. Hope you've been enjoying our early spring-like weather! kw P.S. a reminder that PHS track has started, so if you need to contact me, e-mail is the way to go or call during my 3rd per. prep.

Tuesday's already behind us - here is the scoop on the week:
block one: working on night of the notables essay - this is in class for now, but ongoing out of class research would be great and finding a costume should be underway as well. look for ch. 8 wsh questions by tomorrow.

blocks 2 and 3: questions through ch. 25 were checked in class today - and we started work on our plot trees - for those students not going to the ch. 3 Q6 field trip, tomorrow will be a work day - trees, reading, night of the notables research, newspapers, etc... - for those that are going, they will need to finish their trees by monday. everyone has ch. 26 questions, reading of ch. 27, and a paragraph for ch.. 28 due on thursday. we will finish the reading of the book in class on thursday as well! discussion, an in-class writing, and the movie will follow next week. whew! and while we're at it....THINK SUN - THIS TEACHER HAS GROWN VERY TIRED ON THE GRAY DREARIES.

P.S. remind your students to keep up with the night of the notable research - the first due dates will come the end of this month and then things will move fairly quickly!

sorry for the late post - for blocks one, we are continuing with mrs. cartwright and mrs. johnson as they take the class through the "why try" program (a program to educate students regarding making good choices, goal setting, and understanding consequences) --- we are also working through the remainder of the WSH book.

blocks 2 and 3 - we are continuing to work through To Kill a Mockingbird - all students should be through ch. 15 by tomorrow 2/3 - and through ch. 23 by monday 3/8 --- they should have questions answered for each chapter. We are also learning more about race relations in the america and the civil rights movement as part of our study TKM, but these topics also apply to our study of WSH and Civics.

ALL STUDENTS: Should be working on research for Night of the Notables --- each student has a packet with expectations and due dates.

endings and beginnings

Almost 1/2 way!!! This week is full of new novels (To Kill a Mockingbird - aka. TKM), old tests (MAPS reading), and the ending of chapters (WSH ch. 9) --- students should have a TKM question packet - they need to be through ch. 3 by Friday --- MAPS is on Thursday, this week and next --- and there is a chapter 9 WSH quiz on Friday as well as the due date for 5 paragraphs on possible notable choices (they will make their requests for their notable on Friday too) --- I'm fully aware this seems like a lot of fires going at the same time, but I am trying my best to weave it all together. WSH and English, while taking place on opposite ends of the country, are both dealing with racism and the constitution (this will be a nice transition over to Civics) - and Night of the Notables requires an early start in order for students to use time outside of class. In regards to N of N - they will be getting their packet that outlines all the requirements next week after everyone has their notable approved. From then on, much of the research will need to take place outside of class - at least for blocks 2 and 3. Happy short work week - enjoy our brief hint of Spring :) kw

P.S. grades are mostly finished - only a few small things left to add - for most, WSH will be an obviously passing grade (A, B, or C) at semester, so the small bit of work we have left 2nd semester won't impact their ability to pass - for a few students with a D or an F, I will be communicating the importance of trying to raise that grade as we work on WSH into 2nd semester. Remember that all students must pass this course in order to graduate from high school in Washington.

Happy New Year

Happiest of New Years to you all!!!! Today we went over the graded and returned Native American Diaries - they were generally quite spectacular this year! This is a very creative bunch :) I also returned book projects that had been on display and reminded them all to check their grades on-line --- as we near the end of Washington State History (there will be overlap into 2nd semester though) - they need to make sure they are not in danger of failing since the course is a requirement for graduation and an F would mean retaking the course in high school (and that really isn't ideal) --- tomorrow we will capping our disablitites lit. circle with the movie I am Sam - they are being asked to think about the challenges a developmentally disabled adult would face trying to negotiate the social welfare and legal system -- and also to pay attention to how different people treat the characters in the book. It is a thought provoking film that they should also enjoy. By the end of the week we will be covering ch. 9 in the Wa. St. History book and discussing options for a final project - I will have more on that later. In English, we will be reading To Kill a Mockingbird next - probably starting early next week if not sooner. Have a great week! kw