Week of Jan 17 to Jan 20

Social Studies:
TEST on CHAPTER 24 on FRIDAY 1/27
WARNING: THERE WILL BE SEVERAL BASIC QUESTIONS ON PROHIBITION.  I WILL ALSO INCLUDE EXTRA CREDIT QUESTIONS ON THE FAMOUS ENTERTAINERS WE DISCUSSED!
We are currently studying section 3 of chapter 24 on the Roaring 20's.  Students need to take notes on the focus questions and study their vocabulary. 
Grades for your chapter 23 (WWI) test are posted.  
Many students scored poorly and were told to 
"Restudy, Retest...REQUIRED!"  
I suggested that students who did not pass this test 
see me by Jan 18 for a retest.  The sooner the better!
Those students who did not see me yet for a retest by Jan 18 have committed themselves to a promised date for retest.  Please keep your promise. 
THURSDAY Jan 5, 2012 : Took test on Chapter 23: World War I.




Try: 
http://www.firstworldwar.com/

SECOND SS HONORS CHALLENGE:

See Honors Support on right hand side of this blog.

I distributed the new study guide for chapter 23 World War I, so students should be studying the vocabulary and answering the focus questions in class and for HW as we read the chapter together in class.
 We watched "ClassZone" animated history about new weapons used in WWI and saw a few BBC videos about World War I.


To Get to ClassZone on your own, try the following steps:
     A) go to www.classzone.com
     B) Choose  "Middle School Social Studies" and the state of "Maine" followed by "Find Your Book"
     C) Select American History: Reconstruction to the Present 
      D) Choose "Animations"
     E) Select Chapter 5: Trench Warfare... Or any other item you'd like to explore
      Good Luck.  Tell me if you got this far and what you saw!

We also saw an animated explanation of World War I movie at WWW.BRAINPOP.COM
The username is: biddms  and the password is: brainpop    (This tends to work best before 5:30 p.m.!)

Heads Up!  I'd like to highlight three new links on the right hand column of this blog:
      A) The Citation link to help student to cite work in any class
      B) The Newspaper link to explore entire historical newspapers from around the world for free online.  
           I suggest using New York City newspapers labeled "FREE"

            For instance, find the New York Tribune (FREE) and type in a famous date like 
            June 28/29, 1914 to see how the news looked when the Arch Duke of 
            Austria-Hungary was assassinated.

           Or try August 1/2, 1914 to see how the 1st World War started with 
           Germany's declaration of war.

           (Note, I typed in both the day the event happened, 
              and the day the newspapers probably learned about it!)

      C) The Date link to find out precisely how long ago certain things happened.


ENGLISH: We are now working on the eight parts of speech:
NOUNS, ADJECTIVES, PRONOUNS, VERBS, ADVERBS, CONJUNCTIONS, PREPOSITIONS AND INTERJECTIONS.
EASY WAY TO REMEMBER IS NAPVACPI
I AM ALMOST DONE GRADING THE DESCRIPTIVE WRITING ASSIGNMENT.  WILL POST IT BY FRIDAY.

Task : (40 Points) See Rubric Below for FULL DETAILS: Rubric

____ of 20  SHOWING not just TELLING. 

            Use descriptive sentences to show the action rather than just “tell”             the action to the reader. 

            Example: Not “He was angry.”  Rather: “The veins in his forehead             bulged blue as he clenched his fists and gritted his teeth.”

____  of 2  Paragraph Changes after:

            Speaker Change, Scene/Setting/Time Change OR IDEA CHANGE.

____  of 2 Avoid Run on sentences

            (The sentence ran on for a long, confusing time)

____ of 2 Avoid Sentence Fragments

            (Sentence was missing a subject or verb)

____ of 2 Capitalization  (Names, Places, Sentence starts, “I”)

____ of 2 Spelling  (Right word, right spelling)

____ of 2 Verb Tense Error  (Supposed to be all in past tense)

____ of 1 Punctuation of Dialogue (, “” .) & General Punctuation  . , ? !

____ of 1 Required Font (Helvetica), Type size (14 font) Spacing (1.5)

                        SAVE AS: “Your last name”, “Your First name” “RED”

____ of 1 Use two (1 or 2) spaces after each period.

____ of 5 HIGHLIGHT the best section of your descriptive scene.

            (10 - 15 consecutive lines ONLY.  Blocked.  About 1 paragraph.)

Social Studies and English as of Friday December 2, 2011

In brief, Social Studies class took their last SS test for the first trimester on Thursday and got the results on Friday.  Feel free to check on Infinite Campus to see how things are going grade-wise.  Overall, the results were very positive.  We wrapped up America as a World Power and are moving into Chapter 23 World War I to see what conflict could possibly drag in so many countries!  Today (Friday Dec 2) we also did an in-class Geography Bee to help determine who will represent Sugarloaf in the school-wide Geography Bee.  Results not in yet.  NO HW, no tests to study for over the weekend.  

In English we wrapped up a group unit on Paragraphing and will be moving into a unit to teach students how to write with specific/precise attention to details.  No HW for the weekend.

Social Studies and English for week of 11/21 through 11/22

Social Studies: 
  When we return from Thanksgiving, we'll finish section 3 of chapter 22 by Wednesday, so I anticipate having the official Chapter 22 TEST (Vocabulary and Focus Questions) by Thursday December 1st after Thanksgiving.


Summary: We've been working on  Chapter 22: AMERICA AS A WORLD POWER 
We wrapped up reading section 1 and 2 of chapter 22.  Learning about America as an imperialistic nation expanding our powers to Asia Pacific.  We are now up to page 701 in the text. We're learning about how Imperialistic America spread its influence overseas.  Did you know America actually sent marines to the Forbidden City, attacked Spain in Cuba after the USS Maine exploded and we forced Hawaii to sign a constitution at 'gunpoint?'  Thats Imperialism.  When we return from vacation we will learn about the Panama Canal and Latin America.
On Tuesday November 22 most classes began a PBS video about the Panama Canal!


By the way  Chapter 22 TEST on the map we are using was administered on Monday 11/21.

Students wishing to have HONORS classes in High School do need to create a portfolio with Mrs. Roller.  IF you think you are interested in HONORS SOCIAL STUDIES in High School, please let me know, but also let Mrs Roller know as well.
Honors Challenge:  Write a five paragraph essay that compares and contrasts imperialism and isolationism with regard to American policies.
(For example, America had both imperialistic and isolationist tendencies in her long history.  George Washington encouraged America to follow a basic isolationist policy, especially with regard to Europe.  What might have been considered good/bad about that? Then during the Spanish American War we tended more towards the imperialistic role.  How did America benefit from that?  What might be some downsides to such land grabs etc.  Cite specific examples and cite your sources.  I advise using the BRITANNICA ENCYCLOPEDIA found in your laptop dock (or hard-drive) as Ultimate Reference Suite. It helps you with writing your sources.
English:
Museum of I is basically finished.  Any student who did not turn in the assignment must get it to me.  Anyone not pleased with their results may improve their project, but please do so soon.

On Tuesday 11/15 we got our Museum of I scores, filled out a student questionnaire, and did a spelling bee to help determine who will represent Team Sugarloaf in the school-wide spelling bee.  All classes have not yet graded the Spelling Bee, so we do not yet have two winners to announce.

For the remainder of the week we will be figuring out how to decide when to make a new paragraph.  I will use a story I wrote called FEAR to aid discussions in paragraphing as well as identifying parts of a story.  (Title, Setting, Character, Protagonist, Antagonist, Conflict, Main Event, Resolution, Theme etc)

On Thursday we read "Fear" and we'll discuss the story elements on Friday.

Students hoping to have HONORS ENGLISH in High School should let me know as well as informing Mrs Roller soon.  Please keep a digital copy of your finest work to help you with your portfolio.


The purpose of the Museum of I project is to create a poem that effectively communicates the essence of a student's personality, ideas and life experiences.  As a poem, it will be concise but packed with images and ideas.

Social Studies Test Monday October 17. English HW Due Friday 10/14

Social Studies:  Homework.  There will be a test on Monday October 17 on the material we covered in Chapter 20 about Immigration and Urbanization.  Students should review the vocabulary terms in order to be able to match the vocabulary word to its meaning.  Students should also feel that they can provide detailed answers (with facts) for any of the chapter 20 focus questions.  Extra copies of the handouts can be found on the right hand side of this blog.  Chapter 20 information will start with a #20 in the name.

In related news.  Mrs Potvin will sign students up for the Washington DC trip until October 31st.  If you want to go on the trip scheduled for May 5 to May 7, please see her before October 31st for information and fund raiser help!

English Homework for Thursday(Oct 13) night.  Students were given a handout asking them to jot down descriptive words/phrases they plan to use in a passage describing a beautiful place.  These brainstormed words and phrases should include many senses like the sense of sight, sound, smell and possibly even touch.  Starting on Friday (Oct 14) students will be organizing their ideas and planning an outline for a passage that will accurately describe their beautiful place.  See attached handout called Beauty Description in the English Handouts section to the right.

Technology News: Mr. Jackson informed everyone that there will be a laptop take-home meeting on Wednesday October 19 in the PAC at either 7:30 a.m. or 5:30 p.m.  (Whichever meeting you can make.)  He anticipates a 45 minute meeting each time.

NECAP WEEK AND IMPORTANT DATES

We are Done with NECAP EXAM week.  I appreciate all the hard work and extra time students put into their testing:

Mr Jackson gave us a heads-up about laptop take-home policy.  He said:
Our first "take-home" meeting will be on OCTOBER 19.  There will be two sessions offered.  One at 7:30 a.m. and one at 5:30 p.m.  Forms will be distributed the day after and with any luck, laptops may begin going home by the last week in October to those students who fulfilled the requirements.

The Washington DC trip has a deadline for signing up with Mrs. Potvin.  You should see Mrs. Potvin before October 31st to sign up.  The trip itself is from May 5 through May 7.  (Saturday through Monday)  It is a great trip and the expense can be discussed in detail with Mrs. Potvin.  Fundraisers are available, so get in early!

Social Studies: Homework is to review notes.  The first test will be on Monday October 17.  We have wrapped up sections 1 and 2 of chapter 20: Immigration and Urbanization.  Once we are done with section 3 by FRIDAY 10/14 students will be tested on the material for the chapter.  Students have vocabulary lists to study as well as a list of the questions that will appear on the test.  (see SS handouts in the right hand margin of this blog for extras) Students should make sure that they are comfortable answering those questions with attention to specific details.

English: NO HW: I was pleased to see the third draft of the students' essay on something they care about.  The first draft was handwritten and in most cases, more closely resembled a paragraph.  In their defense, I asked them to write about something they cared about deeply, but did not instruct them as to what form their writing should take.  Then we discussed how an essay is a perfect format for developing their ideas on this topic.  We figured out what constituted a good essay and tried the same writing prompt again.  The second time I gave detailed feedback about their progress.  Then the students reviewed my feedback and adjusted their essay accordingly.  I am impressed with the improvements over their first attempt to write about the topic.  Good Job!
We just completed the Writing NECAP test this Wednesday.  Thursday and Friday will be devoted to organizing passages for creative writing in class.  At this point, there is no HW.

NECAP TESTING THIS WEEK!

NECAP TESTING THIS WEEK
Please get plenty of rest, eat a good breakfast and bring a book to read in case you are done.

Week ending September 30

SS: HW Read over your notes and study (practice with) the 12 vocabulary words.
This week we finished going over section 1 of chapter 20 answering the following questions:
1: What was it like to be an immigrant coming to US (in early 1900s)
2: Describe a typical tenement.
Now we are reading section 2 about the growth of cities due to immigration.

English HW: I returned their rough draft of their CARE essay and students began improving it in class today.  Students will be expected to have it done by Monday.  Since they cannot really work on it easily at home, they should at least brainstorm ideas and/or plot out things that they expect to write when they return.  

Tuesday September 27, 2011

WASHINGTON DC TRIP MEETING TONIGHT (TUES 9/27)  AT BMS AT 7 P.M.  PLEASE BRING A PARENT OR GUARDIAN IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN TRYING TO GO ON THE DC TRIP.    IT MAY BE THE ONLY SENIOR TRIP THIS YEAR!

SOCIAL STUDIES HW: As usual, review your notes.  Today we nearly wrapped up section 1 of chapter 20 entitled Immigration and Urbanization.  You should be reviewing the 12 vocabulary words and making sure that you have answered questions one and two in your FOCUS QUESTIONS STUDY-GUIDE.  There is a digital copy available in the right hand column of this blog under SS Handouts.  We filled out a worksheet detailing at least 10 difficulties to living in a turn-of-the-century tenement building in NYC.  We specifically looked at the Tenement Museum at 97 Orchard Street in NY.  The links to review that video or other online resources is also in the SS handouts page on the right hand side off this blog.

ENGLISH HW: Although there is no HW tonight, IF you felt that your CARE ESSAY could be improved, feel free to work on it and develop it in Advisory or at home.  I will be happy to pick up newer versions tomorrow (WEDS)  We've been analyzing our own writing and thinking of ways to make essays stronger.  I do have one ESSAY HELP document in the right hand column of this blog to help students or parents to see what is expected in a five-paragraph essay.  We are looking into ways to improve our essays to make them more memorable and to make them stand out from the crowd.  Including transition words to smoothly change from one paragraph to another and feeling free to use our creativity in essays will make them flow better and be remembered.

Review of 9/19 - 9/23 in SS and English

Mr. Ezzard Social Studies:

We are currently studying about our 18th & 19th century immigration including famous stuff like Ellis Island, Angel Island, the horrible conditions of steerage (like 3rd class in the Titanic) and such.  Next week we will be discussing living in crowded cities like NYC and all the social problems associated with that.  There is no homework except to review your vocabulary terms for chapter 20 and be sure that you have taken some notes on question one from Section one of the focus questions.  (These vocab and focus questions are in the study guide I gave to each student.  Extra copies can be obtained from the links in the right hand margin of my blog (mrezzardblog.blogspot.com)

Mr. Ezzard English:

We finished our essay about something we care deeply about. Students used a special 'outline method' I taught in order to guide them through their five paragraphs.  Next week I hope to continue essay work.  I consider this especially important at the begining of the school year because essays may be required in other subjects and may show up on NECAP testing.  There is no HW, but if a student turned in an incomplete essay, he/she should come in prepared (and armed with ideas) for the quick completion in class.  I will ask some students to project their essays on the LCD projector to show the rest of the class.  We will point out certain things they did well and we may even give some constructive feedback for everyoe to learn from.

SPECIAL MEETING TUES SEPT 27 @ 7 p.m. for DC Trip!

SOCIAL STUDIES HW THURSDAY 9/22: If you neglected to turn in your "Family Origins" HW on Thursday, please use your pink "late form" (signed by a parent) to bring it in Friday or Monday at the latest for credit.  (See "Family Origins Form in SS Handouts in this blog and information below for more details.)  ALSO, REVIEW NOTES DAILY!  I would review your 12 vocabulary words starting yesterday!


ENGLISH HOMEWORK THURSDAY 9/22: Students have been developing their "What I Care About" essay in class based on their outline.  I expect to collect the finished work Friday 9/23, so make sure it is done!  (See information below for more details)

DC TRIP UPDATE! There is a SPECIAL MEETING TUES SEPT 27 @ 7 p.m. for DC Trip!  If you are interested in going to Washington DC or just want to know more about the trip, please see Mrs Potvin ASAP and consider attending the Tuesday Night meeting.

SOCIAL STUDIES HOMEWORK: See yesterday's blog below for details about the FAMILY MIGRATION form Due Thursday 9/22.  Also, you were issued the Chapter 20 study guide today, and so you can begin with daily reviews for HW on a regular basis.  I'd start with reading through the CHAPTER SUMMARY and getting to know the 12 vocabulary words.  IF YOU LOSE YOUR PACKET, YOU CAN REPRINT THE PAGES FROM MY BLOG HANDOUTS!
Also, you can check out this website about the crowded living conditions in NYC tenement Buildings:

http://www.tenement.org/Virtual_Tour/index_virtual.html

ENGLISH HOMEWORK:  We finished the outline for our CARE ESSAY on our laptops and began actually using that outline (printed in red) to guide our actual essay (Written in black.)  There is NO HW regarding this because laptops cannot go home yet, but you can THINK about what details you'll use when you write the actual paragraphs.

September 20, 2011

English: Students are currently preparing an outline for their "Care Essay."  They chose to write about something they care about deeply.  Today in class we hand wrote an outline for a five paragraph outline which they are to type into their laptops.  For HOMEWORK they should complete copying their outline into their laptop.  Since this cannot be done at home, they should use class time (Today) and Advisory time tomorrow (Wednesday.)

Social Studies: We discussed many aspects of history in general.  On Wednesday students will be starting Chapter 20 from http://my.hrw.com.  It deals with Immigration and Urbanization in America.  For HOMEWORK on Wednesday (9/21) I will ask students to bring home a form about how their family migrated to Maine.  You can find an extra copy of this in this blog off to the right called 20 chapter introduction.  If a family does not know how they ended up in Maine, please have a parent or guardian sign the back of the form explaining that nobody actually knows how they ended up in Maine.

Friday Night HW

Social Studies HW is ALWAYS to review what we studied the last day.  Since we devoted time in class to defining history and wondering why we study history, students should still think about that this weekend.  Students already wrote their answers on a form I collected, but they may adjust/improve their answers on Monday.  I gave every student a username and password for the http://my.hrw.com (History Text Online) website and we reviewed how to access and use my blog, the online text, and Parent Portal (to check grades.)  I have entered the first Social Studies grades.

English: Today (Friday) we had a fire-drill in English class, and so we were seriously limited in our time together.  We reviewed the parts of a good, well-written, powerful, organized essay.  On Monday, we will create outlines of our "CARE" essays.  Students who turned in the first rough draft got full credit even if there were shortcomings in their writing style.  IF students did not have three reasons to support/explain the thing they cared about, they should brainstorm a few more to be ready for Monday.
SAMPLE:  I really care about field hockey because:
                           A) It helps to keep me fit
                           B) It gives me fun social time with my friends
                           C) It helps me with my future goals to be on professional teams, (Hopes/Dreams)

DON'T FORGET, THIS SATURDAY IS OPEN LIGHTHOUSE DAY!  If you go to participating lighthouses in Maine between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. this Saturday, you should be able o get a tour of the inside.  For more information, try googling Open Lighthouse Day Maine.

English and Social Studies for week ending 9/16

English: On Wednesday students quickly 'threw together' an essay about something they cared about deeply.  I took them home and tried to 'deconstruct' their essays into their main ideas.  It is like reverse engineering.  Based on what they wrote, I came up with a list of their main ideas.  Then on Thursday we took a step back to discuss what makes a good, powerful, well-organized essay.  After that, I returned their essays and asked them to determine if it was indeed as strong as it could be.  On Friday we will 'reverse engineer' the students' essays.  Students will be required to create a usable outline for their rewrite, and then use their laptops (Issued on 9/15) to type up a great new draft of their essay about something (or someone) they care about deeply.  HOMEWORK: THURSDAY: Consider ways to improve your essay.


Social Studies: This week we spent a great deal of time looking at examples of history in the world around us.  Students were able to recognize different 'turning points' in American history and even learn about some great historical sites nearby like Battery Steele on Peaks Island off of Portland and Fort Gorges in Casco Bay.  I encouraged students to look into raising money to go on the WASHINGTON D.C. trip later in the year.  (See Mrs Potvin for more details.)  Then we looked at some questions that I hope students will be able to share their thoughts on this Friday such as "What is history," and "Why study history?"  HOMEWORK: THURSDAY: Organize your thoughts about these two questions so you will be able to express your answers in your own words.  Finally, I expect to give students their USERNAMES AND PASSWORDS for the online textbook found at http://my.hrw.com this Friday.  Students should keep this information handy (stored in 3 places) so that they can access the online text any time. 


NOTE: This Saturday 9/17, is Open Lighthouse day and many lighthouses throughout Maine will be open to the public.  I intend to go to Fort Williams in Cape Elizabeth to see if I can get to the top of Portland Head Light.  (Open from 9-3, but come early to improve your chances of getting in!)  Look online for more details at:
 http://www.visitmaine.com/attractions/sightseeing_tours/lighthouse/lighthouse-day/
Or just 'Google" Open Lighthouse Day

Wednesday September 14 2011

HOMEROOM: Students were given a form to have signed by parents regarding permission to use a laptop.  It should be back in the hands of the homeroom teacher by Thursday September 15 in order for the student to obtain a laptop for use in school.  ALSO: remember to turn in any and all forms we sent home the first week.

ENGLISH: On Wednesday Sept 14 we will be creating our first writing sample based on something that the student cares about deeply, be it a human, an animal, an idea, or an object/material thing.  Whatever the student chooses, it should be understood that an entire passage will be dedicated to explaining why they care so deeply about the person/thing.

SOCIAL STUDIES:  we had a "Quiz" on Tuesday about 911 after 2 days of in-class discussion/videos on that topic.  Students graded their own papers, but the 'real grade' will be given next week when I ask students to prove their responsibility and organization by showing me that same test safely filed in their Social Studies section of their binders (or folders).  Credit will be issued when they are able to produce that quiz after holding onto it a week!

Monday September 12, 2011
Social Studies: Please remember to return your signed stub from the classroom expectations form.
So far we have had round table discussions regarding 9-11 and we have discussed some of the many historical photos posted in the back of my classroom.  Turning Points in history are the focus of these conversations/discussions.  All students should have turned in their "Big History/Little History" form in which you explained what you thought one of the 86 historical photos was about.

English: Please remember to return your signed stub from the classroom expectations form.  So far we have used open-ended questions (like a reporter) to get Mr. Ezzard to report out about his life.  Every student has had the opportunity to ask a polite question about Mr. E's life.  I was pleased to see that all students were brave enough to ask a question.  Next we will be writing a passage in class.  Mr. Ezzard will use this as a 'base-line' writing sample.  Give it your best shot so I can see what you are capable of writing.

Block 5 Social Studies: Please remember to bring back your LAPTOP PERMISSION FORMS signed please

Social Studies

Welcome to Mr. Ezzard's social studies class.
I am still new to the blog-o-shere, so please bear with me.
Students will be issued a username and password for an online textbook the second week of school.
They will be able to access this textbook anytime at home or in school.
The Social Studies Help Page (below) in this blog may help you to check it out ahead of time.

Please remember to bring the following to class daily:
AGENDA book
Plastic SS folder or binder
Notes (as I issue the packets for each unit, please save them in your folder)
Blue or black pen (no gel pens please
Laptop
pendrive (optional)

English

Welcome to Mr. Ezzard's English Blog.
I am still learning how to create a blog, so please bear with me.

Students should come to my English class with the following:
Positive attitude
Plastic folder (or binder) to hold notes
Laptop (when issued)
Blue or black pen (no gel pens please)
Your AGENDA Book
Pendrive (optional)

Social Studies Help Page

Under Development

Under Development