Hello all :) Night of the Notables research should be in full swing at home! We have some classtime for research - but due to the variety of resources being used and variations in pace - much of it will need to be done on the student's own time.

Today: We are writing timed/in-class essays to a common prompt being used in all English classrooms 6 - 12. This essay is part of our collaboration with the high school. We are hoping to increase our knowledge and understanding of skills and weaknesses along the 6 - 12 continuum. We will then be adding that knowledge to our conversations about Common Core Standards. These essays will be read by myself and other district teachers, but they will not be scored (meaning they will not be a part of their grade for English). I did however ask that they take the activity seriously and attempt to do their very best writing. It was an interesting prompt - I encourage you to ask your student what they had to say!

Tomorrow - a check of the Night of the Notables "fill in the blank" worksheet

In Civics - We are continuuing work on understanding the timeline of significant events in American history - there will be a quiz on this next Wed. This in leading us into the Bill of Rights and our next lit. circle (all books will include characters with exceptional needs/talents) We will look at the American Disabilities Act in conjunction with this study.

February is upon us and so is our preparation for Night of the Notables. I know it seems like a lot of time is being allowed for this project - but it's sort of like a wedding....a lot of thought should go into selecting a Notable - initial plans for the future event are put in place - some work takes place along the way - and then the last few weeks are crazy and hectic right up to the big day. Night of the Notables is very much this way. Please look for updates on due dates --- each student has a packet with an check list of sorts. Our first due date is this Friday - I will simply be checking with each student to make sure they have found a variety of resources and that they are documenting their sources and taking notes as they go.

We are in the mix between WSH and Civics right now. The Bill of Rights will be covered as we finish up Japanese American Internment. Ch. 10 and 11 will be fairly quick - and the state govt. info will be covered later on in Civics.

Ch. 10 questions are due this Th. and the quiz will follow on Friday.