Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Friday March 22, 2013 Social Studies and English

Social Studies:Friday March 22, 2013
World War I quiz graded.  
It is reported in Infinite Campus.
We launched into the Roaring 20s with a project.
Project Due Thursday March 28
Students were assigned a personality from the 1920s to create a "Quickshare" Project about.  Students will have Thursday March 21, Friday March 22 and some time in the library on Tuesday March 26 to work on various aspects of the project.
Material below is expected in the Quickshare Project.

***Birth date: 
*** Death Date:
***Age at Death:
*** Where he lived:
*** Famous for:
***Achievements/Interesting Facts:
***Quotes/Samples of Work/Artwork:
***List of Website Address/Website Names used below: 

English: Tuesday March 26, 2013
HOMEWORK 3/26: Page 1: Brainstorm Setting
Students were issued their STORY-KIT.
This is a project that should last over a month and will have to be worked on daily beginning next week.  A notice went home for parents to sign making parents aware of the project and it's expectations.  
Notice is due signed by Tuesday March 26.


Note: Grades for 2nd Trimester close March 15.
All grades as of 3/18 are for the 3rd trimester!

Social Studies: Monday March 18, 2013 
WARNING: TEST BELOW
  


A) I hope to give a World War I Focus Question Test ON MONDAY MARCH 18.  1st grade of new trimester. 
Students should be prepared to answer any focus question we reviewed in class. 
So far we have read Sections I, II, III & IV.  All Done.


B) Propaganda Poster Project was worked on in class Monday March 11. Returned to students with graded Wednesday March 13 
Students may work alone or in pairs.  
All work, done or not, will be submitted/turned in Friday March 8 at the end of class.  
Any students wishing to improve their products may do so before Weds March 13, however if the student worked in a "pair," the improvement is a SOLO responsibility.



Self Practice: EXPLORE THE NEW YORK TRIBUNE FROM THE WAR YEARS 1914-1918.  PRACTICE NAVIGATING PAGES AND COPYING ARTICLES USING THE "CLIP IMAGE" FEATURE.  THIS WILL BETTER PREPARE YOU FOR AN IN-CLASS PROJECT TO BE DONE ON LAPTOPS AFTER VACATION.
SEE LINK BELOW TO ACCESS NEWSPAPER FREE.
Historical Newspaper Search Aid
INTERESTING LINKS BELOW:
World War I Primary Sources (Cool)
Flanders Poetry
Letters etc Primary Source
World War I Letters: Primary Source
Audio, Video and Photos of World War 1
first world war .COM
Class Zone Animations


ENGLISH:Test Prep Monday 3/18, 
Adjective Test Tues 3/19
Beginning a quick unit on UNDERSTANDING ADJECTIVES.  Read a section of John Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath and determined:
A) where the 3rd person omniscient narrator was used
B) What ADJECTIVES he used in the same excerpt.  
See STEINBECK NARRATOR AND ADJECT on Right.
See Adjective Handouts on right as well.  
Covered in Class Thurs 3/14 and Fri 3/15.

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

January 31, 2013 Social Studies and English Blog

Thursday January 31, 2013
Social Studies:  
CHAPTER 21 TEST on 
MONDAY JANUARY 28!
COLLECTED AND GRADED TRIANGLE SHIRTWAIST FIRE PROJECT.  Grade is in Infinite Campus.  
NOTE Progress Report Grades Close This Friday 1/25
TRIANGLE SHIRTWAIST FIRE PROJECT STARTED 1/15
THE TWO PARAGRAPH LETTER WAS DUE FRIDAY 1/18
WE HAD THURSDAY IN CLASS TO WRAP UP!
SEE LINKS BELOW FOR ADDITIONAL FACTS ETC.
GAVE STUDENTS THE THREE DAY WEEKEND TO IMPROVE WEAK WORK.  COLLECTED UPGRADED TRIANGLE PROJECTS ON TUESDAY 1/22

WEDNESDAY: JAN 23: FINISHED reading section 3 of chapter 21on TEMPERANCE and WOMEN'S SUFFRAGE.  
Learned about CARRY NATION and her AX!

Started Chapter 21 on1/2/2013.  The Progressive Spirit of Reform.
Read Both Sections 1 &2 of Chapter 21 by Jan/9.
Wednesday 1/9: All focus Questions for section 1 covered in class by now.
Discussed the TRIANGLE SHIRTWAIST FIRE in NYC 1911 to prepare for a small upcoming project.  See links below and Project Guidelines off to the right.
Also Discussed what REFORM means and talked about ongoing reform in our government.
Read a handout about Upton Sinclair's book, The Jungle, about the meatpacking industry.
Learned that Upton Sinclair wrote this historical fiction about the meatpackers because he wanted his readers to sympathize with the plight (trouble) of the typical meatpacker and the horrid conditions he worked under.  However, readers often focused on the nasty ingredients he described in the meat and therefore overlooked the workers themselves.  In other words, Upton Sinclair "aimed at the reader's heart, but hit him in  the stomach."

See video clip we watched in class:
Video Clip on Upton Sinclair's The Jungle

Upton Sinclair's The Jungle: Full Text from Project Guttenberg:  FREE
The Jungle Free Full Text

Watch the History Channel Triangle Shirtwaist Fire Video on Youtube Below:
38:50 Triangle Shirtwaist Video

Triangle Shirtwaist Oral History told years later below:
Triangle Shirtwaist Oral History

Triangle Shirtwaist Newspaper: Click Below

Triangle Shirtwaist Testimony (Primary Source): Click Below

Triangle Shirtwaist Building Today

Newspapers write up some REFORM ideas.
Newspaper with Reform Ideas


ENGLISH: NOUNS TEST MONDAY JAN 28!
WEDNESDAY: JANUARY 23:
 WE ARE NOW 
DISCUSSING NOUNS IN CLASS:  
FAMILY ESSAY GRADES ARE IN INFINITE CAMPUS. 

SINGULAR VS PLURAL
COMMON VS PROPER
CONCRETE VS ABSTRACT
COLLECTIVE VS COMPOUND
POSSESSIVES
APPOSITIVE PHRASES WORKING WITH NOUNS.


Tuesday 1/15: Collected all FAMILY ESSAYS.  Most students turned in complete work, others handed in rough draft that could improve with immediate revision.
Thursday 1/17: Reading some of the completed family essays in class, then moving onto parts of speech: NOUNS.


We are writing a professional essay on FAMILY.  Very specific requirements have been given to students.  750+ words in a five-paragraph essay detailing how your family is UNIQUE, IMPORTANT and how it GUIDES YOU!  We will have most of this week to work on it in class (1/7 - 1/11) and I will collect the finished copy on MONDAY January 14: finished or not.  I expect the five paragraphs turned in on time given the amount of class time we will devote to it.  Students wishing to work outside the classroom may:
A) print a copy daily and take it home to improve by hand.
B) bring home laptop if allowed by school to do so.
C) bring home project daily on pen-drive to work on home comp.
D) work in Advisory, in my room at lunch, or after school so long as the student has a way home.