5/29/14

Students had the entire class to finish typing and edit their essays. 

When students finished I had them separate into groups and peer edit.  They used the following form to check for errors.

Revising/Proofreading Checklist

Homework:  Essays are due on Monday.  Essays must be typed using MLA format and printed before the beginning of class.  Please staple the scoring rubric to the front of the essay.  If there are problems you must notify me before the beginning of class on Monday.

5/28/14

Students had the entire class period to begin typing the rough drafts of their essays into a Google Document.  Students who finished early began revising their papers.  We will have Thursday's class to finish typing and revise.


Homework: Finish typing your essay for Thursday. 

A printed final draft of your essay is due Monday morning in MLA format.

5/27/14

Periods1&2: Class was disrupted due to an assembly.  Period 1 had 20 minutes to draft their papers and Period 2 had no time.

Periods  5-7:  I introduced the conclusion paragraph.  Students had the rest of time to draft their conclusions and begin typing their rough drafts.  See Friday's blog for information about the conclusion.

Homework: All classes should have their organizers finished by Wednesday.  All students will begin writing their rough drafts Wednesday.

5/23/14

Periods 1&2:  To start class I reviewed the conclusion paragraph with students.  I gave a quick lecture with PowerPoint explaining the three parts of the conclusion along with examples.

Conclusion Paragraph PowerPoint

Periods 5-7: I introduced  the body paragraphs.  See posing from 5/22/14 for instructions on writing the body paragraphs.

Homework:

Periods 1&2: Finish the entire essay organizer (introduction, body paragraphs, conclusion) for class on Wednesday (no class on Tuesday due to elections in the gym).

Periods 5-7: Finish the body paragraphs for class on Tuesday.  Students who fail to comply will not be ready to draft their papers on Wednesday.

5/22/14- Civil War Essay Body Paragraphs

Period 1&2: Entering class, students should have finished their introduction paragraphs for homework on their essay organizers (see 5/21 blog for more information).

At the beginning of class I gave instruction on writing the body paragraphs in their essay.

Body Paragraph Essays

Students used the rest of class to write their body paragraphs.

In periods 5-7: I introduced the essay question to the class.  I then reviewed the introduction paragraph, and its three parts.  See the PowerPoint in 5/21 blog post for the essay outline, instructions, and information on the introduction paragraph.

Homework: Period 1&2- Finish your body paragraphs for Friday

Period 5-7- Finish your introduction paragraph for Friday

5/21/14- Civil War Essay Instructions

I only saw periods 1 and 2 today due to the event at the high school.  

In periods 1&2  I introduced the essay question to the class.  I then reviewed the introduction paragraph, and its three parts.  See the PowerPoint below for information on the introduction paragraph.

Introduction Paragraph PowerPoint

Below are the essay question, scoring rubric, graphic organizers, and essay intsuctions:

Essay Question and Rubric (CP&Honors)

Essay Instructions

Essay Graphic Organizer (CP&Honors)
 

Essay Question and Rubric (Academic)

Essay Instructions

Essay Graphic Organizer (Academic)

Students had the rest of class to write their hook, transition sentences, and thesis statement.

Homework:  Periods 1&2: Finish the introduction paragraph by Thursday.

Period 5-7: Finish the DBQ's by Thursday

5/20/14

We started class with a "say something" activity on Dred Scott.  Students read the article, stopping at * marks to make a comment related to the court case or the issue of slavery.  When they finished reading they answered four questions on a separate sheet of lined paper.  I collected this on the way out of class for a homework grade.

Dred Scott Reading and Questions

Next, students worked on their DBQ's.  DBQ's are due at the beginning of the next class.

Students need to complete the following number of SETS of questions:

	Economic	Social	Political
Academic	2	4	3
CP	4	6	5
Honors	6	8	7

Homework is:  Period 1&2:  DBQ's due Wednesday.

Periods 5-7: DBQ's due Thursday

Students who missed class need to read the Dred Scott article and answer the four questions.

See last week's blog postings for the DBQ's

5/19/14

We began class by watching a 60 Minutes special on a North Korean man who grew up on a prison camp.

I then put students into groups and we discussed the following questions:

1. Describe the way Shin Dong-hyuk saw the world at the prison camp.
2. What kept Shin from trying to escape from the camp earlier?  What finally motivated him to escape?
3. How do individuals gain power in the camp?
4. Why did the camp try to keep prisoners from learning about the outside world?
5. What parallels can we make between Shin’s story and the institution of slavery?  Mention: power, education, fear and punishment, view of the world.

They recorded their answers to question #5 and placed the paper in their binders as assignment #14.

At the end of class students worked on their DBQ's. 

Homework:  DBQ's are due at the beginning of class on Wednesday. 

See the attached chart for DBQ requirements:

DBQ Requirements

You can find the DBQ's on last weeks blog postings.

5/16/14

We began class with a short lesson on compact vs. contract theory.  Students followed along, taking notes and answering questions on paper.  They labeled this assignment #13 and placed this into their social studies binders.

Students then used the rest of class to continue to work on the DBQ's.  See prior blog postings for DBQ's.

Homework:  By Monday students should have at least two of the three DBQ packets finished. 

5/15/14

Science NECAP testing this AM.

In the afternoon we had shortened classes where students continued to work on their DBQ's. 

Homework: None

5/14/14

We began class by watching CNN student news. 

Next, we finished the video segment from Tuesday's class.  The video is the Ken Burn's Civil War documentary, and we finished the background to the Civil War.

Next, students continued to examine the events that led to the Civil War by completing DBQ's.  Refer to the grid below to determine the number of DBQ's to answer:

Homework: None as long as you used your class time effectively.

Economic DBQ

Social DBQ

Political DBQ

	Economic	Social	Political
Academic	2	4	3
CP	4	6	5
Honors	6	8	7

5/13/14

Period 1-We began class by watching the first part of the Ken Burn's documentary on the causes of the Civil War.  Following the video we took notes on the political causes of the war (slides 13-16).  We will finish the notes tomorrow.

Periods 2,5,6,7- We started these classes with the notes on the causes of the civil war (slides 13-end).  We finished class with the Ken Burn's documentary of the causes of the Civil War. 

Notes- Causes of the Civil War

Note Sheet- Causes of the Civil War

Homework: None

5/9/14

I began class today by asking students about their background knowledge of the Civil War.  Students responded to warm-up questions, then we discussed the information as a class.

Next, I gave a lecture on the social and economic factors that led to the start of the Civil War (slides 1-12)

Causes of the Civil War PowerPoint

Causes of the Civil War Note Sheet

At the end of class, students began working on a DBQ about the social and economic causes of the war.  We will continue working on the DBQ on either Tuesday or Wednesday (following testing).

Homework: none

5/8/14

Board games were due at the beginning of class today.  Students who did not have everything finished at the beginning of class were given an alternate assignment.

Students played the various games in class today as I graded the projects. 

Homework is:

If students were unable to play/complete their board games they must:

Read pages 393-397 and answer questions 1&3 on 397

Read pages 412-417 and answer questions 1&3 on 417

 

***See blog from 5/7 for all readings/questions

All other students should check PowerSchool and complete any missing assignments.

5/7/14

Today was the final day to work on the Trails West Board Game project.  Students had the entire class to do the following:

1. Finish construction of the project
2. Test game with your group
• Length of a typical game (+-30 mins?)
• Clarity of instructions?
• Educational effectiveness?
• Look at scoring rubric to determine needs

The Chromebooks are unable to print, so student must do so out of class and bring the instructions and work cited sheet to class tomorrow.



Homework is:

Homework→  1. print your instructions and work cited sheets and staple together.  Bring this to class tomorrow.

2. Finish the entire game board, cards, etc.  No additional class time will be provided for this assignment.

Students who missed school last week and did not work on a project must complete the following assignment:

• read pgs. 393-397, pg. 397 #1&3 using complete sentences
• read pgs. 412-417, pg. 417 #1&3 using complete sentences
  
  page 393-397
  
  page 412-417

5/5/14

Students had the entire class to finish planning their board games and begin putting them together. 

Students first completed the following tasks:

1. Finish planning (game board, 20 Q@A’s, instructions, work cited)
   
   

Once planning is complete they:

1. Created the project- work on the following tasks:
   

• final game board
• Q&A Cards
• Other necessary items?

Homework:  All game board planning should be complete and students should have part of the game put together.

5/2/14

Today was the final planning day for the Trails West Board Game project.  Student had the entire class to complete the following tasks:

1. Finish plan of game board
2. Finish Q&A’s (at least 20)
3. Finish Instructions
   4. Finalize work cited sheet

After finishing the first four steps they:

1. After planning is COMPLETE, check with a teacher
2. Finally, begin constructing your game board, question cards, etc...

Homework:  Students need to finish all their planning by Monday (plan game boards, finsh 20 Q&A's, finish the instructions, and finish the work cited sheet).  On Monday we will begin constructing the games.

5/1/14

Today, students worked on planning their game boards.  They completed the following tasks:

• Choose a real “model” board game.
• Create a Google Doc labeled “instructions”- share with your group members and create step-by-step instructions about how to play the game.
• Sketch a draft of the playing board.
• Begin writing questions- how will you incorporate them into your game?
• Plan the materials you will need to bring tomorrow to construct the game. 

Refer to the blog with project instructions for more information. 

Homework:  Students should have about half of their planning completed by Friday (instructions, questions, etc..)  Also, students need to bring in any materials they need to construct their games.  Students are not required to bring in any materials, but may do so if they want to use something that is not provided in class.