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!!!

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 :)

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! 

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.

Whew! Finally! I've had password issues :(

1. This week in class we will be busy!

*Quiz on ch. 2 sec.1 ?1a --- definitions of govt.
*Presentations for Night of the Notables start today (all students need to have their visual aid ready - they had the option of a traditional poster, a flyer for under the doc. camera or a power point/prezi) - numbers were drawn for order of presenting.
*Reminder - Night of the Notables is March 29th - students need to arrive no later than 6:15 in their costumes (eating dinner first is preferable). We should be done by 8:00 or so :)
Finally...they are working through a literature circle book that deals with exceptional gifts/disabilities. We will be looking at the American Disability Act along with the Bill of Rights in Civics.
All is busy...All is well (for the moment)...Spring break is on the horizon!!! Email me with any questions ---- oh, and P.S. the slip sent home for N of N should be returned by Friday - along with their PHS registration forms - they will be going to PHS tomorrow and registering here during the block on Friday.

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.