Friday, September 28, 2012
Welcome to October! This week we will be continuing our literature circle books - in connection to these, we will be looking at the r-word.org campaign (Spread the Word to End the Word) which is sponsored by Special Olympics. I encourage you and your students to consider taking the pledge online that asks you to make a promise to work towards eliminating the "R" word from your vocabulary. - In Civics, we will be delving into chapter 3 in the Civics book (mostly section 2 - critical thinking questions of pg. 104) - the branches of government (we looked at the Senate on Friday) - and hopefully generating some interest in the first presidential debate which will be televised on Wednesday evening.
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Sorry for the late post ---
This week we:
had a test in Civics - it covered the questions and terms from ch. 2
(many students need to make flashcards or use another study method in order to perform better on exams)
finished the first section of our literature circle books.
checked of section 1's journal and job.
*** if your students shows zero points for section 1 in English - please encourage them to take advantage of an offer ---- if they complete all the sections without any late items they will receive credit for their section 1 missing items (provided those are completed as well). For the students who completed the work on time, if they complete the rest of the packet in a timely fashion as well, they will receive extra credit. I'm hoping these inscentives will be enough to encourage them to complete work on-time!
Section 2 of the literature circle (the job and journal) is due Tuesday.
DUE DATE NOTICE!!!! the choice book journal for 1st quarter is due on OCTOBER 12th!!!!!
This week we:
had a test in Civics - it covered the questions and terms from ch. 2
(many students need to make flashcards or use another study method in order to perform better on exams)
finished the first section of our literature circle books.
checked of section 1's journal and job.
*** if your students shows zero points for section 1 in English - please encourage them to take advantage of an offer ---- if they complete all the sections without any late items they will receive credit for their section 1 missing items (provided those are completed as well). For the students who completed the work on time, if they complete the rest of the packet in a timely fashion as well, they will receive extra credit. I'm hoping these inscentives will be enough to encourage them to complete work on-time!
Section 2 of the literature circle (the job and journal) is due Tuesday.
DUE DATE NOTICE!!!! the choice book journal for 1st quarter is due on OCTOBER 12th!!!!!
Monday, September 17, 2012
Things are starting to settle into a routine (sort of) --- I say this, but then realize I have students out for the Channel 3 field trip tomorrow (P.S. very few of them let me know they would be gone and needed to check out a Civics book so they could work on ch. 2 Civics reading checks.) We also have all 8th graders doing MAPS reading on Wednesday --- so maybe "routine" is a bit optimistic.
Anyways....
In English -
They should be at least 1/2 way finished with their choice book and journal. This will be due the week before the end of the quarter.
We did a "read-around" for our literature circle. Final selection of their books will be tomorrow and Thursday.
In Civics -
We had our first quiz today. They took notes last week and were asked to study them. Some did.....some didn't. Fortunately they will have many opportunitites to improve their overall grade.
Tomorrow, for the students that are not on the Channel 3 field trip, we will be working on Chapter 2 in the Civics book --- answering the "reading check" questions throughout the chapter.
Hope the air stays clear and my room stays cool --- neither are likely, but it can't hurt to stay optimistic! :)
Anyways....
In English -
They should be at least 1/2 way finished with their choice book and journal. This will be due the week before the end of the quarter.
We did a "read-around" for our literature circle. Final selection of their books will be tomorrow and Thursday.
In Civics -
We had our first quiz today. They took notes last week and were asked to study them. Some did.....some didn't. Fortunately they will have many opportunitites to improve their overall grade.
Tomorrow, for the students that are not on the Channel 3 field trip, we will be working on Chapter 2 in the Civics book --- answering the "reading check" questions throughout the chapter.
Hope the air stays clear and my room stays cool --- neither are likely, but it can't hurt to stay optimistic! :)
Monday, September 10, 2012
My first thought this morning was, "Wow! We have a full week ahead of us!" --- then I remembered the students have early release on Wednesday. None the less, we will still be very busy!
1. In English we are reading a story called "Hamadi" about immigration and conflict resolution.
2. In Civics we are finishing up ch. 1 and learning about immigration policy and citizenship in the U.S.
3. We will start our first literature circle this week (reading will be done primarily in class due to the # of books we have)
4. 1st quarter choice reading should be well under way --- ask to see their dialectical journal if you would like to make note of their progress :)
5. Finally, we will take a bit of time tomorrow to learn about 9/11 -- the history, the resulting wars and the memorial services and monuments that are currently underway.
We are still waiting for the delivery of the Spokesman Review to start --- hopefully this week!!!
1. In English we are reading a story called "Hamadi" about immigration and conflict resolution.
2. In Civics we are finishing up ch. 1 and learning about immigration policy and citizenship in the U.S.
3. We will start our first literature circle this week (reading will be done primarily in class due to the # of books we have)
4. 1st quarter choice reading should be well under way --- ask to see their dialectical journal if you would like to make note of their progress :)
5. Finally, we will take a bit of time tomorrow to learn about 9/11 -- the history, the resulting wars and the memorial services and monuments that are currently underway.
We are still waiting for the delivery of the Spokesman Review to start --- hopefully this week!!!
Monday, August 27, 2012
Woo Hoo Week 2!!!
This week we are starting our study of Civics --- the beginning focus is on citizenship. The students will be using our text books in class (right now I am not checking out individual books for use at home - this may change).
We are also working on getting down classroom routines such as having journals at our desks every day and remembering due dates in a consistent fashion. I am trying a new routine for our journals --- each week Mr. Riley and I will select a story from our Literature book that (usually) correlates with other topics we are studying in class. There will be vocabulary, questions and grammer assigned for each selection. As students finish the story - they are to move on to choice reading or other assigned reading/writing. My goal is to keep students who finish quickly from getting bored while at the same time allowing students who are more methodical to finish without feeling rushed. I will "tweek" this process as I see fit throughout the year.
Also --- we will be watching a Teaching Tolerance video on Thursday called, A Place at the Table. Teaching Tolerance is a source approved by OSPI and we will use articles and video resources throughout the year. A Place at the Table addresses citizenship and family history. It does have discussions about racism as well as religious and gender bias. If you have questions regarding the video, please contact me via e-mail.
Enjoy week 2 :)
This week we are starting our study of Civics --- the beginning focus is on citizenship. The students will be using our text books in class (right now I am not checking out individual books for use at home - this may change).
We are also working on getting down classroom routines such as having journals at our desks every day and remembering due dates in a consistent fashion. I am trying a new routine for our journals --- each week Mr. Riley and I will select a story from our Literature book that (usually) correlates with other topics we are studying in class. There will be vocabulary, questions and grammer assigned for each selection. As students finish the story - they are to move on to choice reading or other assigned reading/writing. My goal is to keep students who finish quickly from getting bored while at the same time allowing students who are more methodical to finish without feeling rushed. I will "tweek" this process as I see fit throughout the year.
Also --- we will be watching a Teaching Tolerance video on Thursday called, A Place at the Table. Teaching Tolerance is a source approved by OSPI and we will use articles and video resources throughout the year. A Place at the Table addresses citizenship and family history. It does have discussions about racism as well as religious and gender bias. If you have questions regarding the video, please contact me via e-mail.
Enjoy week 2 :)
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
And so we begin. :)
Hello all --- I am hoping many of you will find these brief posts helpful. I will post a general summary of what we are doing in class each week as well as give notice on major due dates/ test/ etc....
This 1st week we will be getting to know each other --- learning the rules and expectations of the school and my classroom. Our first assignments will start up next week. LOOK FOR: A field trip permission form, a notice of how to access this blog, and notes on daily journal requirement, outside reading logs, portfolios, and quarterly reflection papers.
Just an FYI - for those of you who have had other students in my classroom, this year will feel a bit different in that I am teaching Civics 1st semester and WSH 2nd semester. Mr. Riley and I are working to align our curriculums, so the sequence and assignments may vary a bit from years past.
Happy first week of school to all --- I am truly looking foward to the year ---- Welcome!
This 1st week we will be getting to know each other --- learning the rules and expectations of the school and my classroom. Our first assignments will start up next week. LOOK FOR: A field trip permission form, a notice of how to access this blog, and notes on daily journal requirement, outside reading logs, portfolios, and quarterly reflection papers.
Just an FYI - for those of you who have had other students in my classroom, this year will feel a bit different in that I am teaching Civics 1st semester and WSH 2nd semester. Mr. Riley and I are working to align our curriculums, so the sequence and assignments may vary a bit from years past.
Happy first week of school to all --- I am truly looking foward to the year ---- Welcome!
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
NIGHT OF THE NOTABLES!!! ARRIVE BETWEEN 6:10 AND 6:15 --- IN COSTUME --- PARENTS/ADULTS REPORT TO THE COMMONS - STUDENTS (NOTABLES) REPORT TO THE MULTI-PURPOSE ROOM. THERE WILL BE COOKIES AND ORANGE DRINK - EATING DINNER FIRST IS BEST! I LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING EVERYONE! WE SHOULD BE FINISHED BY 8:00 (8:15 AT THE LATEST)
Presentations and procession practice and work on stage presence/voice are finishing up this week.
Literature Circles were completed - this week is additional study of the r-word.org campaign --- Spread the word to end the word. We are looking at the history of the Special Olypmics and the American Disabilities Act.
Presentations and procession practice and work on stage presence/voice are finishing up this week.
Literature Circles were completed - this week is additional study of the r-word.org campaign --- Spread the word to end the word. We are looking at the history of the Special Olypmics and the American Disabilities Act.
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