6/4 through 6/8

Social Studies: 6/4 through 6/8

Social Studies FINAL EXAM 

is on Thursday June 7 

It will cover all material from this last trimester (From WORLD WAR II to Vietnam) All subjects will be giving final exams.

VIETNAM VOCAB TEST FRIDAY JUNE 8

Any Retests should be done before June 5.  
I will not be doing any form of retest/extra credit AFTER June 5 unless it is built-in to an exam.
All students were issued special SS PROGRESS REPORTS on Tuesday 5/22.  Any student with a D or an F was requested to have it signed and returned to me by Wednesday 5/23.
Monday June 4, 2012:  Continuing Chapter 29 as possible.  Due to scheduling abnormalities like Step-up Day on Monday and an afternoon concert on Tuesday, some classes will move ahead.

English:  

English ELA Finals next week June 6th.  Review proper Essay writing format.

Working in class on 'deliberate writing' which includes using specific details to reveal information to the reader about setting, action and character traits!

On Friday students were asked to do the following:  ASSIGNMENT DUE BELOW
Collected this on Monday.  If you were absent, please work on it on your own and get it to me the next time we meet.
1: Go on the internet and find a sample of GREAT WRITING:
         SAMPLES: a novel, story, poem, speech, newspaper/magazine article, news report, song
2: Select a well-written paragraph or section and copy it into a document
3: Cite your source: Feel free to use Son of Citation Machine found in right margin under useful links
4: Explain, in your own words, WHY YOU consider it to be an example of Great Writing!


Because students were a little uncertain about how to proceed, we all got started in class and I told the students it would be due 15 minutes into English class on Monday, April 30, so they should complete it for HW, even if they need to handwrite it.  

April Vacation Week

Hope all of you are enjoying a well deserved vacation.  Our trip to see Paige in Full went well and our journey to the High School to see the Center of Technology was the BEST it has ever been.
Social Studies:  
Well, many students came to me for the required retest on the World War II material, but there are still a good many who have not done so.  My advice to those students who have not retested yet is to look over your World War II SS test and research the material in the questions you did not get correct.  You can read about the subjects you missed in the online textbook, but you may also go on line to google it any way you like.  For example, if you missed the question on 'blitzkrieg' then look it up in a dictionary, find out the origins of the word (German) and what it means (Lightning War.)  Then find out who was famous for using Blitzkrieg in WWII and perhaps be ready to tell me how it was different from 'regular' fighting.  Then when you see me for the verbal retest, I'll just ask, "So tell me about Blitzkrieg," and you'll do most of the talking!

ESSAY OUTLINE UPDATE:
At this time I am grading the "Should We Drop the Bombs on Japan (in WWII)" Essay Outline.  That project was very difficult for many who have little experience seeking out quality website for facts.  Some of the problems I've seen so far are:
1: Students had a difficult time coming up with a defendable thesis.
2: Students who created a defendable thesis still had difficulty finding quality websites (authoritative) in which to find supporting facts.  Many students went with "Yahoo Answers" or "Opinions of modern students in online Blogs."  Neither are very convincing.
3: Many students who found facts (or paraphrased them in their own words) failed to cite the sources.
4: Most students struggled with the concept of the third body paragraph where they were supposed to address the opposing viewpoint.  I did not mean that they should take the opposing viewpoint, but rather that they were supposed to acknowledge it, and refute it.

In light of all these difficulties, I have determined that the students can use more practice and that I need to do more to prepare the students for this sort of project, so it was both a learning experience for me and for the students.  Every student who turned in a project that demonstrates an effort on any level will receive credit.  Seeing their difficulties helps me to adjust the lesson, so I was grateful that 99% of the students did turn in whatever they had.

When we return from vacation we will begin The Cold War.


ENGLISH: 
When we left English Class, we were trying to write a quick essay (following a class-designed outline) on "Why We Hate To Go To The Movies."  I purposefully chose an absurd topic to demonstrate how we can write essays for subjects we don't necessarily agree with.  I did this because students often say, "But I don't know what to write."  We agreed in class that most of us LIKE going to movies (there were one or two that didn't like it) and then we brainstormed reasons normal people might not like going to the movies.  We then sorted the reasons into groups (Disturbances, Unsanitary Conditions and the like) and crafted an outline.  Then, students contributed sentences to the essay itself based on the brainstormed facts and the outline.  We will wrap this up when we return and try our hand at one more individual 5 paragraph essay on a topic yet to be developed.

Week of April 2 to April 6

Handed out a permission slip for a trip to USM to see 'Paige in Full.'  Need it signed and a $7 fee paid by Friday 4/6 so we can finalize our plans. 

 See permission slip for additional details.

SS OUTLINE (PRO CON ATOMIC BOMB) WILL BE DUE MONDAY 4/9!
VERY IMPORTANT: On Thursday 4/5 I explained how to prepare their outlines and I provided students with a template to put in their laptops.  IF you want a second copy of the template, see the 26 Japan Atomic Bombs Outline Pages in the right hand margin.  More Help Below.


SEE SAMPLE CLIP FROM THE HIROSHIMA VIDEO WE ARE WATCHING.  ALL FIVE CLIPS CAN BE FOUND ONLINE:  BBC HIROSHIMA:  Many links below worth investigating:
Also, use your Encyclopedia in your toolbar to find facts:
.gov  .net   .edu   .org usually more reliable than random .com sites
search using keywords: Atomic bomb Hiroshima Nagasaki
CLICK ON WEBSITES BELOW!
BBC Documentary: Hiroshima
Hiroshima Museum Website
Full Text of John Hersey's "Hiroshima" book
Survived Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Video of Survivor or both Atomic Attacks!
Hiroshima Survivor Speaks
Voices of Survivors
Time Magazine editorial: Why Did US Drop The Bomb?
Educational Website With Atomic Bomb Links
President Truman's "Website" with useful links  See hint below
Suggest you search DOCUMENTS and DECISION TO DROP THE ATOMIC BOMB
Sample of what you can find in Truman's website
Letter From Truman AFTER first bomb dropped
Personal Opinions of People
National Security Archive Primary Sources


SS TEST was on TUESDAY 3/27 ON 
WORLD WAR II
This test has been graded and entered in infinite campus as of March 29.  Many students had a difficult time with this multiple choice exam. I also entered two other grades as well, one of which was an extra credit question worth up to 4 free points.  IF a student feels he or she did poorly when the tests are returned on Friday March 30th, that student should RETAIN THE TEST and study-up on the questions that were not answered correctly.  He/she should research the topics they missed in the online textbook and in the Internet so that he/she may come to me and tell me a lot about the subject they were not clear on during the test.  Verbal retests often require MORE expertise on the subject than the original test, but that is because the student already KNOWS what I will be asking about.
 In this new third trimester, some test questions will come from 'beyond' the focus questions, so students can take notes on anything they consider to be relevant or noteworthy. 


WE SPENT Three Days TAKING NOTES ON THE DOCUMENTARY CALLED 'HIROSHIMA' IN ORDER TO HELP STUDENTS SOLIDIFY THIER OPINION REGARDING THE USE OF ATOMIC WEAPONS IN WWII.  I HAVE GIVEN EACH STUDENT SOME FEEDBACK ON THEIR GENERAL IDEAS AS OF FRIDAY MARCH 30.
MAKE SURE YOU ARE THINKING ABOUT YOUR OPINION REGARDING THE DROPPING OF THE ATOMIC BOMBS ON HIROSHIMA AN NAGASAKI.  COLLECT FACTS IN YOUR FREE TIME TO SUPPORT YOUR OPINION.  PRETEND YOU ARE GOING TO TRAVEL BACK IN TIME TO ADVISE PRESIDENT TRUMAN ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT HE SHOULD USE THE ATOMIC BOMBS ON JAPANESE CITIES.  YOU WILL NEED TO CITE ANY SOURCES YOU USE, SO AT THIS POINT, START SAVING WEB PAGE NAMES AND ADDRESSES YOU FIND YOUR KEY FACTS IN!



 There is an ongoing project with this chapter.  Students will prepare an outline for a PRO CON essay dealing with the use of atomic bomb use in WWII.  The material for this project is in the SS packet I handed out Wednesday Feb 29.

English: 
Thursday April 4 we took an in class "QUIZ" checking to see if students could read an essay I wrote and find the main ideas as well as the ongoing theme!  If absent, must take it in Advisory on Friday.
CURRENTLY PRACTICING OUTLINE USE FOR ESSAY WRITING.
WROTE an essay entitled:
What Family Means To Me. 
GRADES ON ALL THREE PARTS OF THE ESSAY ARE BEING COMPUTED THIS WEEKEND.
SEE HANDOUT ON RIGHT HAND SIDE OF THIS BLOG FOR THE PROMPT & HELP.
Also Studying from the PRONOUN PACKET.
Grades for the first Pronoun Test have been posted.  Students will receive a 'progress report' FYI just so they do not have to suffer any anxiety about their upcoming report card.  
 Quiz for 12 points on Friday March 9 already returned. Pronouns!!!

Last chance to retest is Friday March 9.  Trimester closes Friday March 16.
I just tried to put some Adjective/Pronoun study-guide sheets in this blog.  The format of the 'pdf' files was a bit off for the blog, but the gist of the material makes sense.  There are some nonsense parts of the document that the website could not convert correctly.  Just use the parts that are clear. 

Week of February Vacation

Hoping everyone had a safe and relaxing vacation.
I graded the Great Depression Test and entered the scores in infinite campus for you to check out.
If you're an honors Social Studies student (or honors English), you might want to try the following creative writing activity: 
(anyone can try it, really) 
Pretend that you were a teenager living with a farming family in the Dustbowl in the 1930's.  Write a series of short diary/journal entries that would show what it was like to be getting ready to leave your home to head out west. Include realistic details wherever possible.  Things you could mention are the following:
A) Losing the farm like the Joad family in Grapes of Wrath
B) What you eat for meals on a regular basis. Think poor.
C) What you hear on the radio (research FDR Fireside Chats)
D) What you pack up in an old Ford as you prepare to leave & what you leave behind.
E) Who is coming along with you.
F) What your hopes are for the future.
G) What route you take from your state to California.  Describe it.
H) What you see as you depart.  How family reacts.
I) Hazards you meet along the way.  
J) Describe the duststorm experiences! 
OR just write what you think will best show what the experience of migrating away from the Dustbowl was like.
When we return from vacation we'll spend one more day in the great depression and then begin World War II (in a manner of speaking).

GREAT (DEPRESSION) VIDEOS LINK:

http://www.investing-for-beginner.org/1929-Crash.html

See/Hear many of Roosevelt's Fireside Chats

http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/medialist.php?presid=32

Social Studies:
WARNING: SS TEST ON GREAT DEPRESSION ON THURSDAY FEB 16.  If you missed it, be prepared for it when we return after vacation.

ENGLISH:  
Adjective test soon after we return from vacation.  Review your notes to stay sharp.
Already tested out of Nouns and began Adjectives.
Adjective packet will be handed out on Tuesday, February 14. 
Study Parts of Speech Notes.
TEST ON NOUNS BY WEDNESDAY 2/8
Last NAPVACPI test based on poem this week.  
Both tests have been graded and entered in the online grade-book families have access to.  
We are studying the eight basic parts of speech:
Nouns
Adjectives
Pronouns
Verbs
Adverbs
Conjunctions
Prepositions
Interjections
Students who performed poorly on the NAPVACPI tests are encouraged to memorize this poem to earn back the lost credit.  
See poem below:

Guide to Good English

NAPVACPI

Nouns are names of everything,

Like width or wisdom, child or swing.

Adjectives tell about a noun,

Like great, small, lovely, rich or brown.

Instead of nouns the pronouns stand,

He for John, she for Anne, it for hand.

Verbs express action such as run,

Will read, is building or has done.

How things are done the adverbs tell,

Like slowly, quickly, badly, well.

Conjunctions join the words together,

Like boys and girls, wool or leather.

The preposition stands before

The noun as at or through the door.

The interjection you exclaim,

Like Ugh! It smells, or Oh! He’s vain.

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.