No bells and cow bells

OK....if you ring a bell and your student says, "Moooooo...." - I swear I had nothing to do with it! (PS - thank you for sharing such funny and witty kids with me this year - I am thoroughly enjoying them all!). In English: Shakespeare is under way. I have previously taught this unit at the end of the year - but it made sense to me to teach about the time period in England to help students understand the motivation for the Colonists to set sail for America. Most of our work on the play is in class. Very interactive - and very entertaining. So far we have dabbled in insults (more to come) and tried on a bit of improve. So far, so good --- your students are great at buying in - and I believe this will be a lot of fun! In Social Studies: We are continuing with the Pilgrims and the Puritans and how they interacted with the native people of America. Ask to see your student's worksheet or notes. There is a lot to think about and discuss! They have a quiz coming up next week that will cover the characters in Midsummer Night's Dream and the bio/time period info. They will also have a small quiz over the video series for Social Studies. Happy Weekend! kw

The last year of middle school begins

Hope to see many of you at open house tonight - if not, I'm happy to send a packet home with your student if you are interested. This week - we turned in our first essay and our first history assignment. We are beginning our study of early Americans. The PBS American Experience is our primary source as well as a borrowed book from PHS. Please ask to see your student's packet -- you may find the questions interesting for discussion. Students also have an ongoing quarterly choice book assignment. Look for them to be working on a dialectical journal throughout the year.