It's Too Late to Apologize: October 22, 2014

W're continuing our work examining the Declaration of Independence today.  First, we all owe an ENORMOUS debt of gratitude to Will G., Peter G., Becca H., and Colin J., because they kindly stapled all the copies of the Declaration I needed to hand out today.  (Note:  I had to copy that document THREE TIMES to get it to copy correctly!!!  I apologize to all trees, everywhere.)  Here is proof of their dedication and effort on behalf of their fellow students:

There was some grumbling about "sweatshops" and "child labor," but I'm sure they didn't mean it :).

Anyway, back to class…. so just about everyone finished the task of identifying the four major parts of the Declaration and matching modern language statements with the correct part of the Declaration.  Most of you are at the point where you are finding the original language quotes and matching it to the modern language versions.  When you are done with that, you'll use your new learning to discuss the content and impact of the Declaration in small groups.  But that is still to come!

To wrap up class, we watched a parody of "Too Late to Apologize".  If you want your parents to feel old, show them this and ask them which musicians are being parodied in the "rock concert" scene….I was the only one who knew them in class, and no, none of them are Kiss!

HOMEWORK:  Nothing new tonight…but you will have an assignment tomorrow. Be sure to stay current with your English essay!

Declaring Yourself: October 21, 2014

Today, we started looking at the Declaration of Independence.  We've been talking about the actions that the colonists took to show their displeasure with England.  We call those colonists Patriots, as opposed to the Loyalists who did not want to split from England, or the neutral colonists who had no preference.

We began by discussing the differences between freedom fighters and domestic terrorists.  We had a very insightful discussion of how violence and intent can make the difference between someone fighting for a cause, versus someone inflicting pain on others for negative ends.  Here are some pictures of period 2's discussion:

We followed this by listening to the Declaration read out loud.  It is worth listening to the Declaration once through before we start breaking it down, as it was meant to be heard in one sitting.  Here is a copy of the video.  It stars Morgan Freeman, and who doesn't love Morgan Freeman?

All the classes completed viewing the video, and most classes began identifying the four major categories of the Declaration and matching ideas to the categories.  Here is a picture of Brett, showing us his masterful work:

HOMEWORK:  You do not have new work assigned today.  However, you DO have an essay in English, and we are rapidly coming up to an essay in Social Studies as well.  You need to know what happened before the Revolution occurred, so if your outline is not finished, you should finish it.  See you tomorrow!

A Brief Update: October 20, 2104

This seems to sum up everyone's feelings about today:

….but we all survived!

Today, we finished the peer interviews we started in class on Thursday (for most groups) and today (for per 7).  We will be using this as a jumping-off point for discussing the Declaration of Independence as we continue through this week.

HOMEWORK:  If you did not have your outline done for today, you can finish it tonight for 8 out of 10 points (per 1, 2, 5, 6) and you should finish it for per 7 for full credit.  The links are available through last Friday's post.

Rebels With A Cause: October 16, 2014

Today in class, you continued to work on finishing your chapter outlines, and you started to use the outlines to answer questions, working with your classmates to draft responses.  I firmly believe that two (or three) heads are better than one, so I hope you are helping each other formulate thoughts and polish your ideas.

HOMEWORK:  Your Impressions of America assignment is DUE tomorrow - please check your High Quality Work checklists!!!  There are links to documents under yesterday's post.

Also, make sure your ropes course form is here for tomorrow - we are going to have an experiential class, and I'd hate for you to miss it! Wear appropriate footgear and bring your form if it's not here.

If you have not finished the pink outline, you need to do so for Monday.  This is a GREAT team time activity, because you can get it done and have nothing to do outside school for the weekend!!!  Period 7:  You need to finish through the bottom of the third side.

Below are some links to the textbook for those of you who still need to get your outlines done.

Ch 6 Section 1
Ch 6 Section 2
Ch 6 Section 3
Ch 6 Section 4

More Thinking About High-Quality Work: October 15, 2015

Happy Wednesday!  It's nice to have a short week, because when Tuesday is your Monday, then Wednesday is your Tuesday and the week is already half over!!!

Today in class, I gave out the grading rubric for the Impressions of America assignment, and the checklist of descriptors for high-quality work for each kind of product.  Please take some time to review your work AGAINST THE CHECKLIST.  It will remind you of the little bits and pieces you might not remember or forgot to include!

We also continued to work on our chapter outlines today in class.  Most students are done or nearly done with them, so we will use them tomorrow and then you can have some class time to finish up.

HOMEWORK:  Be sure to get your ropes course form filled out and returned if you have not done so this week!  Even if you did one at the beginning of the year, do it again.  Not many people turned in the forms, and many of them were the old version, so we do need all of you to turn in a new, recent version of the form.  We are going to do an experiential lesson on Friday, so you want to be ready!!!

Also, keep working on your Impressions of America assignment.  Revision works best if you do a little at a time and do your work thoughtfully and well!

Grading Rubric
Descriptions of High Quality Work
The original assignment, in case you forgot

The Road to Revolution: October 14, 2014

Today, some of you retook your Colonial Development quiz, and everyone worked on their Ch 6 outlines. The point of the outline is for you to have a summary of the key events so that you don't have to go back into the textbook every time we discuss an event or a reaction.

HOMEWORK:  You are taking your Impressions of America assignment to final draft status.  I have attached the rubric and the descriptors you made with me in class.

Here is the rubric.

Here are the description of high quality products.

Quality Over Quantity: October 10, 2014

It's Friday!  It's Friday!  And Monday is a long weekend, in honor of Cristoforo Colombus' "discovery" of the Americas and in recognition of the indigenous peoples who were affected deeply by his efforts and the subsequent colonization of the continent by Europeans.  (Whew….that was a lot to say!)

Today we spent some time testing, and we also spent some time thinking, observing, and collecting ideas about what makes a piece of work high quality vs. acceptable vs. lower-quality.  We are doing this because….drum rollllll…..you will be taking your Impressions of America assignment to FINAL DRAFT FORMAT for a FULL ASSESSMENT GRADE.  This is an opportunity for you to reflect upon, revise, and improve your first efforts at this assignment.

Some of my classes got a chance to analyze some artwork as part of our work around identifying the unique culture developing in the colonies.  Here is Wyatt attempting to strike a pose in the style of King George III:

Wyatt giving us the royal treatment!

HOMEWORK:  Like I said, you will be taking your Impressions of America assignment to FINAL DRAFT FORMAT.  It is due THURSDAY.  Your homework between now and then is going to be to work on revising and improving your assignment, so start thinking about what you need to do!  You will get a rubric on Tuesday.