See You Next Year! December 22 and 23, 2014

While all of you are desperately trying to remember if you were more naughty or nice, we still did a *little* history on Monday.  If you missed class, you have a worksheet to do and some work to do on your chart.  Get that info from me when you get back next year.  Otherwise, have a GREAT vacation and a GREAT new year!  For those of you celebrating Christmas, please ask for some PENCILS in your stocking, as everyone seems to be out….If you are celebrating Festivus, feel free to include me in your Airing of Grievances!

See you on Tuesday for pizza and relaxation, and then again in 2015!!!

Articles of Confederation: December 19, 2014

Hi everyone!!  Sorry, I forgot to do this earlier - I got all off-schedule with our per 8 assembly!

If you and your group didn't finish your work today trying to figure out how the Articles of Confederation did (or didn't) fulfill certain government functions, please use your handouts from class today and finish those up.

If you have not paid for the team pizza party on Tuesday, please bring that money in on MONDAY.

Here is the link for the worksheet.

Here is the link to the Articles of Confederation.

Have a great weekend!  See (most of) you on Monday!!!

Be Careful What You Wish For: December 17, 2014

Hey everyone,
I will do a recap of what we did in class tomorrow, if you missed today.  I gave out grade updates and collected overdue work, so make sure to get that from me!

HOMEWORK:
Complete the following reflection sheet.  Here is the link.

The Roots of Our Government: December 16, 2014

Today in class, I worked on catching up with the HUGE piles of papers that have gathered on my desk, while you cherubs worked on a reading assignment that introduced some concepts about government.  Remember, as soon as the colonies declared their independence, the individual colonies became states, and those states needed a way to run themselves.  Without a mother country to run them, they needed to make their own rules and set up their own governing systems.  Each state drew up a blueprint we call a "constitution".  Our national constitution eventually would take many ideas from these state constitutions and include them.  In class, you read from the We The People textbook and answered questions about the ideas included in the state constitutions.

HOMEWORK/IF YOU WERE NOT HERE:

Advanced readers should read and answer the REVIEW questions at the end using this link.
Grade-level readers should read and answer the REVIEW questions at the end using this link.

• If you are asked to list information, you may use bullet points.
• Please capitalize information correctly!

POWERSCHOOL HAS BEEN UPDATED.  If you think you did something and it's a zero, please check the ABUNDANT number of nameless wonders magneted to my board.  If you have a question about an assignment, ask me tomorrow in class.

Bringing It to a Close, For Now: December 15, 2014

Today in class, we are wrapping up our study of current events by completing a solo or partner task.  The focus of these tasks is to get you to see the issues through the eyes of the people involved.  Civil rights and social justice are critical to our society, and recent events in our country are very complicated.  I hope what you have learned above anything else is that our identities do have an impact on how we experience events, and that issues like this do not have easy answers.

HOMEWORK:  IF YOU WERE HERE DURING CLASS, Either you can finish the task you began in class if it is not done, or you can answer the following sentence starters:

One thing I learned over the past four classes was….

One question I (still) have is….

My hope for our society is….

One thing that should change in the future is….

IF YOU WERE NOT HERE TODAY, please choose ONE of the following tasks LISTED BELOW to complete.  See me to get any handouts or other information you need to finish the assignment.

Read the other article if necessary.  Make a Venn Diagram comparing the two authors.  Write a response, are they more alike, or more different?  Explain your answer.

Write a letter to the author of one of the articles.  Ask at least THREE questions and make THREE observations.

With a partner, write a dialogue between the two men that shares each man’s point of view, and attempts to find common ground between them.  Be ready to share it!

Review the Declaration of Independence, particularly the inalienable rights.  Do these events prove we respect these rights as a society or not?  Explain your answer.

Read the laws around the use of deadly force in NH.  Summarize the conditions under which officers may use deadly force.  Does this help you understand these situations more clearly, or does it make the issue more complicated?

Two Sides to Every Story: December 12, 2014

Today, you had a chance to do retakes of your Revolutionary War test.  Most of the tests I've scored so far show improvement!  Great job!

We did some reading on the perspectives different people have on some of the situations we've discussed in class.  On Monday, we will use our reading to discuss how we can understand ourselves and our society.  Be ready to come in Monday ready to think, talk, and share.

HOMEWORK:

• If you need to do the reflection writing (p 7 and anyone who hasn't turned it in yet), please get that done for Monday.
• If you are in per 5, finish the reading I gave you in class.
• If you are in per 1 or 2, write down your five points about your article and bring it to class on Monday.

If you need the prompts again, they are posted under yesterday's heading.

Liberty and Justice for All: December 11, 2014

Today in class, we continued our discussion of identity and society.  We looked at how one man's identity played into how he interacted with other people, and the decisions he had to make.  Then some classes watched a few news clips about recent events that concern identity and society, while others will begin that process tomorrow.

IF YOU WERE NOT HERE TODAY:

Watch this video.

Write a one-paragraph response to this question:

After watching this video, were you surprised by the decision Jesus Colon made when he was on the subway?  Why do you think he made this decision?  What issues did he have to consider while he was making his choice?  At the very end of the video, what does he decide he's going to do differently next time?  Why do you think he changes his mind?      

HOMEWORK:  For homework, per 1, 2, 5, and 6 students need to complete ONE of the prompts in a response writing paragraph.  The prompts are at the end of this post.

• Write a strong topic sentence
• Do not use "I think" or "I believe" statements
• CAPITALIZE WORDS CORRECTLY, PLEASE AND THANK YOU!!

Per 7 will do this over the weekend.

ALL CLASSES:  If you must take or are choosing to take the Rev War test again, remember, this grade WILL REPLACE your original grade, whether it is higher or lower!!!

• With teacher permission, you only need to retake sections on which you scored poorly
• Use your current test to study for tomorrow's test - same content, different setup
• Review the info on the Quizlet links 

Quizlet - People

Quizlet - Key Terms

Quizlet - Turning Points

HOMEWORK PROMPTS - CHOOSE ONE

Questions for further reflection:

Is it right for people in the public eye, like entertainers and athletes, to use their status to promote a point of view?  Is it acceptable for them to do so in the context of their jobs? 

I’ve told you before that life is not fair, and I will continue to tell you this:  Life is not always fair.  At what point, however, does unfairness become injustice?  What is the difference between these two terms?  If a situation is unjust, whose job is it to fix that – the government’s, the affected group’s, or the individual’s?

After listening, reading, and watching the information presented in class today, what has changed in our society over time, and what has not? 

Have you ever experienced a time when you were judged based on your identity in society (as a child/teenager, male, female, athletic/nonathletic, etc.)?  Did you benefit from this judgment, or were you hurt by it?  How did it make you feel?  Would you want this treatment to continue or not? 

Are we close to or far from creating a country where “all men are created equal” and we have “liberty and justice for all”?  If you think we are close, how have we gotten closer to those ideals over time?  If we are far from that ideal, what do we need to do to close this gap?

Pursuit of Happiness: December 10, 2014

Today in class, we started discussing what identity means, and how our perceptions can color our views of events.  You also got your Rev War tests back - retake on Friday!

PLEASE NOTE:  You must retake the test if you earned lower than a 70.  Above a 70, it is your choice.  HOWEVER, if you choose to retake the test, you are choosing to take that new grade.  You don't get to go "shop" for a grade based on which grade is better.

HOMEWORK:  Study for your retake.  You probably will have a short homework assignment tomorrow night, so be ready!

By the way, it will not be the same test - same content, but different format.

Today, We Read: December 8, 2014

In class today, we took a day off from our march through time to experience another way of learning history:  Through children's literature.  Some of the best historical writing, in my experience, occurs when an author's interest is sparked by something he or she didn't know before.  Who was this person? Why did this event occur?  So today, we had a snack and read in the library.  I shared a book I found interesting, and offered you a chance to spend time with our library's collection of history trade books to see what you could learn.  Also, we had snacks - and who doesn't like snacks??

HOMEWORK:  If you did not finish your map and questions, please bring them tomorrow.  Our test retake will be on Thursday or Friday of this week - start reviewing if you think you want to retake the test!  You will get your original tests back tomorrow.

Here are some action shots of per 5 getting their read on:

Here's Wyatt looking up a word on his device, right???

I really enjoyed today's class, guys.  I got to share some stories, you got to eat snacks, we all got some time in a different setting - it was a win-win!

Where Are We??? December 5, 2014

Congratulations on your test performance, everyone!!!  Most of you acquitted yourselves very well on the Revolution test.  If you need to take it, or if you want to do a retake, you will have a chance to retake next week.

I hope you learned some different ways to approach reviewing and learning information.  I know I saw some good work!  Here are some samples of people hard at work:

Yeah, I don't know why he thinks this is comfortable, either. 

Now THIS is what studying looks like!!!

Today, we worked on refreshing our geography skills.  If you didn't get this done in class, please make sure you finish the assignment - AND THE QUESTIONS - for Monday!

HOMEWORK:  Finish the map assignment!

If you lost the directions, here they are.

If you lost the map, here it is.

Enjoy!!!

Waiting to Exhale: December 4, 2014

Hi everyone,
I am sure you are all relieved to have today's test over and done with!  You have no new homework tonight.  If you need to retake the test, we will talk later about how you will accomplish that.