Destined For Greatness? March 30, 2017

Hi everyone,
Today in class, most of my classes finished the overview of the 1800's summarizing assignment.

HOMEWORK:  Please complete the reflection question. It is listed on the worksheet you completed in class today.  Be thoughtful, use full sentences, and DON'T RUSH.

EXTENSION REVISION:  If you did not earn an A/E on the Opportunity/Crisis assessment, you may take another shot at it.  Here is what you must do:

Please write a well-reasoned paragraph with a topic sentence, several supporting ideas, and a strong conclusion. Give historical examples from your notes that support your main points.

Prompt: Discuss what the War of 1812 and the Louisiana Purchase/Lewis and Clark expedition share in common in terms of opportunity and crisis for the young United States. Please look for major ideas and thematic understanding, not just facts the two share in common (for example, both events involving rivers).

When you are done, LINK YOUR GOOGLE DOC THROUGH THIS FORM.

Calling All Future Health Care Workers!

If you are interested in visiting a health care careers fair, please stop by room 260 and pick up an application for this very informative and interesting presentation.  Past students say it is great!

Health care open house

Marching On: March 29, 2017

Sorry about that title. Hey, we can't win them all!

I was out today, but I expect to be back tomorrow.  I hope you all were your most wonderful selves for the substitute!

HOMEWORK:  Your homework for tonight is to write the script or make a print ad for the concept of "Manifest Destiny".  This is a Habits of Learning assignment, but you can revise it and it will be a formative assessment after we review the concept of Manifest Destiny in class!

Manifest Destiny presentation

Manifest Destiny Homework Assignment

Last Call for Issues Letters! March 27, 2017

Hi everyone,
Today in class, most of you finished up your tests (Per 7 started their tests today) about opportunity and crisis in early America.  From a first look-through, it seems like most of you met the standard for this. I will grade the "exceeds" portion after I go through all the tests to check who meets the standard.

HOMEWORK:  LAST CALL for Issues Letters and Works Cited!  If you have not completed either one or both of these, tomorrow is your LAST chance to turn those in.  Letters need to be printed (preferably) or shared via email. Works Cited need to be uploaded through Google Classroom.  Thanks!

How to address an envelope:

Please PRINT NEATLY and use PEN.  Thanks!

Opportunity and Crisis: March 22, 2017

Hi everyone,
Today, all classes worked on their War of 1812 web-based worksheets.  I hope you found the information easily and were able to share complete, factually detailed answers with your group!!!

HOMEWORK:  If you are NOT done with your questions, you must finish them tonight.  If you ARE done, go through the review questions posted on Google Classroom and check to make sure you have thorough notes and can use them to answer questions about these two major events in our history!

For Further Exploration: March 16, 2017

Hi everyone,
With the snow and the upcoming teacher workshop day, we are a little behind.  Per 1 and 2 will finish the documentary we started on Wednesday.  Per 5 and 6 will see the documentary on Thursday.  Per 7 will be going to the musical, you will finish the documentary on Monday.

HOMEWORK: To finish up with Lewis and Clark, please use the links to help you complete the organizer.  The handout with links is available in Google Classroom, or you can use the one posted here.  You can bring this with notes to the summative assessment for the unit.

Lewis and Clark organizer with links included

There's "Snow" Knowing: March 13, 2017

Hi everyone,
Today in class, we discussed the major theme of our next unit, Opportunity and Crisis.  If you were not in class today, I will share an example of the work we did in class with you.

HOMEWORK:

• Your Issues Letter is due TOMORROW (or the next time we meet) in hard copy (paper) format.  You may share it with me ONLY if you have printer issues!
• Your Works Cited is due WEDNESDAY uploaded in Google Classroom regardless of weather tomorrow.
• If anything comes up that prevents you from getting this done, you need to get a signed note from a parent or have your parent send me an email explaining your situation.

End of the Week Class Plans: March 8 - 10, 2017

Hi everyone,
Today in class, you worked on collecting information about George Washington's Presidency in your notes packets.  You will use this information in a formative assessment.

If you did not finish the packet and want to work on it outside class, here is a copy of the worksheets and readings.

Here is the rundown about what we are doing for the rest of this week:

Weds  - Finish note-taking on GW handouts in class
HWK - Find/print out articles on your Issues Letter topic

• Honors - 4 articles
• CP - 3 articles
• Acad - 2 articles

Thurs/Fri - Work time with Chromebooks in class.  Make sure you complete the following:

• Write and upload your GW paragraph
• Draft your Issues Letter
• Set up Works Cited for your Issues Letter/get help with WC format if needed

Thurs HWK - complete summary sheets on some of your articles: 

• Honors - notes on 2 of 4 articles
• CP - notes on 2 of 3 articles
• Acad - notes on 1 of 2 articles

Let me know if you have questions!

Sample Letter and Works Cited Format

Hi everyone,
If you need to know how to set up your letter, here are some things to help you:

How to format a formal letter

Sample formal letter

This is what a properly formatted Works Cited should look like:

Works Cited

Got Issues? Get Facts! March 7, 2017

Hi everyone,
Today in class, we reviewed the rubric for the Issues Letter assessment we have started preparing to write. Your major focus right now needs to be on researching your topic and gathering articles to help you with your letter.  The number of articles you need is based on the course level you have chosen for freshman year.

Honors - 4 articles
College Prep - 3 articles
Academic - 2 articles

Also, you turned in your homework practicing your paraphrasing and summarizing skills.  You will use the same note sheet and process to summarize some (not all) of the articles you chose.  We will talk more about that later this week.

For classwork today, we began reviewing the events of George Washington's presidency, and how they shaped what that office is today.  We will continue with that work tomorrow.

HOMEWORK:  Please find, download, and print the appropriate number of articles you need to have IN CLASS on Thursday.  You will need to skim read the articles to make sure it addresses your topic and is useful.  If you need a pass to the library to do this, I can send you during a team time or a study hall.  You may want to work ahead and finish your article summaries before Thursday.

Honors - 4 articles and 2 summaries
CP - 3 articles and 2 summaries
Academic - 2 articles and 1 summary

SUMMARIES:  The summaries are due FRIDAY.  They are Habits of Learning grades (done/not done).

ASSESSMENT:  The letter is due next TUESDAY, in hard copy (meaning a printed, paper version), at the beginning of class.  Letters that meet expectations will be sent out!

The Works Cited is due next WEDNESDAY.  There is a link on Google Classroom for you to upload your document.

On Thursday and Friday of this week, you will have computers for two class periods to use as you need.  You will have plenty to do; it will be up to you to use your time well.

Here is a link to the rubric for this assessment.

And to close for the day, here's a little light Presidential humor:

Welcome Back: March 6, 2017

Hi everyone,
Hope the first day back in the building wasn't too hard for you!

Today in class, I returned the Issues Letter Prep assignment and the the Constitutional Superhero assignment.  If you have not turned in the Constitutional Superhero assignment, please do that as soon as possible.

We began preparing for the Issues Letter assignment today by practicing our reading and summarizing skills.  You got a handout that outlined the steps of summarizing and gave you a note-taking template, and an article to read and outline. You will need to find some articles on your topic, depending on the class you signed up for next year.  Honors students need four articles, CP students - 3 articles, Academic - 2 articles.  I will give you more information on this tomorrow.

HWK: Please finish the reading and summarizing exercise for homework tonight.