February+2011+Archive

=February 2011 Archive=

Week of February 21, 2011
Students started class by working in small groups. Each group brainstormed the differences between culture and society. We set up t-charts on notebook paper, with one column for "Jewish Culture" and one column for "American Society." We discussed after how society is more about rules and institutions governing lots of groups living collectively and that culture is more a way of life within a specific group.
 * Wednesday, 2/23/11**

Then, we connected this society/culture discussion to science fiction. Many science fiction stories deal with societal issues, such as the beauty industry or overpopulation. We used this discussion as a springboard for our beginnings with the social studies topic 7 Billion and Growing.

By the end of the year 2011, our Earth will have a population of 7 billion people. In the year 1800, we only had 1 billion people on Earth. Students watched an intriguing short video clip from National Geographic about the overpopulation issue and what 7 billion on Earth really means. After, we discussed what students are concerned about, based on watching this film. Take a look at the film for yourself: media type="youtube" key="sc4HxPxNrZ0" height="390" width="640"

Finally, we use the remained of class to continue composing our character essays. Mrs. Blattner met with the "snow group" to focus on how to gracefully introduce, state, and discuss text quotes within a body paragraph. We also looked at how to use parenthetical documentation, identifying the page number a quote was taken.

Students started class by turning in their study packets and all unit papers for the Stone Age unit. Then, students took their unit test on the Stone Age. After, students used remaining time to read their science fiction book selections.
 * Tuesday, 2/22/11**

If you are absent today, you will need to make an appointment to make up your test, as you cannot make up the work during class time.

No School--President's Day holiday
 * Monday, 2/21/11**

Week of February 14, 2011
We started class by completing a self-evaluation of our parallel timeline posters. Students reflected on their own contributions to the group activity, how well their group worked together, as well as the quality of the finished product.
 * Thursday, 2/17/11**

Then, students participated in a "gallery walk" around the classroom of their evolution political cartoons. Students really had some very clever cartoons. Cartoons will be posted on the class wiki soon! Check back for an announcement about this! Mrs. Blattner collected political cartoons.

After, students participated in a brief discussion about the issue of human rights and access to the Internet. Students were asked to read an editorial about the World Wide Web as a human right. Students shared their own opinions on this matter. Mrs. Blattner collected the homework paragraphs for this assignment.

The remainder of class was spent in the computer lab. Students are working on revising and completing their character analysis essays, including concluding paragraphs. Mrs. Blattner worked with a small group of students, focusing on the essay organization. These students used notecards to map out visually the organization of their essays. We will continue to shape this piece of writing until it is in final draft form.

We started class with a visit to the library. Students are checking out science fiction books today! Mrs. Slater did book talks on an exciting selection of science fiction books. Students must select a science fiction book and bring it to class by NEXT WEDNESDAY, 2/23. Students are encouraged to use the class science fiction book list to help select a book that is "just right for them." Book list:
 * Wednesday, 2/16/11**

Mrs. Blattner spot checked all students' study guide preparations for our unit test on the Stone Age.

Then, we organized ourselves into essay writing groups. Students were given an activity sheet that helps students compose a concluding paragraph for their essay. Students also received edits and feedback for essay revisions. One of the groups met with Mrs. Blattner today to examine examples of introductory paragraphs. Mrs. Blattner will meet with a different group each day, based on writing needs (organization, paragraph wrap up sentences, introducing and using quote well as supporting details, introductory paragraphs, and more).

Students started class by watching the remainder of the Scopes Monkey Trial film. We took notes and discussed key elements of the film as it relates to our studies in school. After, groups met to complete their parallel timelines. For students who finished their timeline, they started to created their political cartoons, which are due on Thursday. Check the homework page for the cartoon directions!
 * Tuesday, 2/14/11**

We started class by spending time updating our planners and reviewing assignments for the week. Students received an article on Egypt with questions, as well as directions for creating a political cartoon. These links and handouts can be accessed on the "homework" section of this wiki.
 * Monday, 2/14/11**

Students then worked in groups to finish up their parallel timelines of the stone age. After, we viewed the second part of the PBS film //The Scopes Monkey Trial//. Students are expected to take notes on our "movie guide" as we view the film.

Week of February 7, 2011
We started class by adding to our Quizlet flashcards, as we begin to prepare for our Stone Age unit test. Then, we shared our collective notes on key people and events related to the Scopes Monkey Trial. You can access these class notes on the wiki--students typed in their key ideas during the class discussion. Then, we watched the first part of the PBS Monkey Trial film. While watching the film, students are asked to jot down notes on our "movie guide," which was distributed in class.
 * Friday, 2/11/11**

Students received their scored West Africa map quiz. Our new reigning Geography Mavens are Moriah, Hannah G, and Jonah. Congrats! We started class by meeting in small groups to share answers to the evolution article questions. Mrs. Blattner collected this homework assignment. Then, we continued our test review of key terms using Quizlet. Check the homework page of this wiki for a live link to the class Quizlet list. You should be studying a little bit each day for next week's test. After, groups met to continue their parallel timeline work (migration, early farming, and hominid development). At the end of class, we worked in the lab on a Scopes Monkey Trial scavenger hunt, accessing background information about this historical event. We will share our notes from the scavenger hunt tomorrow in class.
 * Thursday, 2/10/11**

We started class by identifying some of our review terms for the Stone Age/Early Hominids upcoming test. We will be adding to our Quizlet flashcards each day this week in class. You can access the class set of flashcards on our class Quizlet. Click here:)
 * Wednesday, 2/9/11**

Then, we worked in our parallel timeline groups, starting the final posters representing the development of early hominids, migration, and early farming.This activity also helps us review for the upcoming test.

After, we visited the PJA book sale. Each student was invited to select a free book to take home.

Finally, we spent time in the lab working on an online scavenger hunt of the Scopes Monkey Trial. We will use the scavenger hunt to learn about the historical places, events, and people surrounding the Scopes Monkey Trial. We will begin to watch the film tomorrow. Here is a copy of our scavenger hunt:

We started class by reviewing our maps of Africa for today's quiz. Students took a quiz on the countries of Western Africa. Some students chose to identify all the countries and capitals we have studied so far. Mrs. Blattner also passed out the article questions that support the evolution articles distributed in class yesterday (homework due on Thursday). Article questions:
 * Tuesday, 2/8/11**

After, students received a review sheet for our upcoming unit test on Early Hominids/The Stone Age. We put together packets of papers from our binders for future study. Mrs. Blattner will speak more about the review tomorrow in class. Here is the review sheet:

Then, we continued to work on our character analysis essays in the lab. Students printed out their writing so far, so that Mrs. Blattner can give each student feedback.

We started class by updating our planners with homework assignments for the week. Then, we took time to review the countries and capitals of the countries on tomorrow's map quiz (West Africa). After, we worked in our parallel timeline groups, mapping out the time increments for early farming, development of early hominids, and the migration of early hominids. This activity it a good way to review for our upcoming unit test, as students must gather and synthesize all the information. Students noticed that we have stickers on our textbooks--the stickers are a clue for our upcoming film on the Scopes Monkey trial towards the end of the week. The sticker states, "This textbook contains material on evolution. Evolution is a theory, not a fact, regarding the origin of living things. This material should be approached with an open mind, studied carefully, and critically considered." We briefly discussed that this same sticker appeared on textbooks in schools in Atlanta, GA. We will take up the controversy of learning about evolution in a school setting. Stay tuned!
 * Monday, 2/7/11**

We also returned to the lab today to continue working on our character analysis essays. Students developed sentences of organization for their introductory paragraphs. The purpose of an organization sentence is to let the reader know the key areas that will be examined in the body of the essay.

Week of January 31, 2011
We started class by meeting in small groups to share what we learned about Egypt. Students shared their understandings of the current events unfolding in Egypt today. After, we shared our ideas about what the future holds for Egypt and why this may concern neighboring Israel. Mrs. Blattner collected the articles and paragraph descriptions.
 * Friday, 2/4/11**

After, we worked in the project room to discover first-hand what domesticated seeds look like and how we can use them to plant our own herb gardens. Students shared that "domesticating" seeds and animals is a process where we tame them for our human uses. Early hominids understood that if they collected the very best seeds from a crop and replanted those seeds for the next season, each time the plants would be stronger and yield more food. Today we planted thyme, dill, parsley, and chives in small clay pots. We will watch these plants sprout over the next few months, and hopefully we will have some fresh herbs for our Passover seder tables. (Hunter, we planted a pot for you! )

We started class by collecting the homework due today, the article on early farming and the 2 questions. Then, we formed cooperative learning groups for a parallel timeline activity. Students worked in groups to create a poster-size parallel timeline showing the development of early hominids, migration of hominids, and the development of farming. We will be working on our posters for several days. This activity requires students to return to their textbooks and class notes to synthesize information already learned. This will serve as part of our unit review for next week's test.
 * Thursday, 2/3/11**

After, we returned to the computer lab to work on our character analysis essays. Today Mrs. Blattner modeled how to write an introductory paragraph, starting with a "blurb" or summary statement about their realistic fiction novels, as well as how the character plays a role in the story. Next in the paragraph is the thesis statement, followed by the statement of organization. An organization statement introduces the key topics of the body paragraphs.

We started class by reviewing our learning about Tunisia from yesterday. Students reviewed their notes and composed answers to the following question: What do the people of Tunisia want? Why is there political unrest in Tunisia? Mrs. Blattner invited students to share their ideas, and then she collected the articles, notes from yesterday, and today's written answer for a classwork grade.
 * Wednesday, 2/2/11**

After, students took out their "review" answers from the early farming section of our textbooks. Students met in small groups to share their ideas. We discussed as a whole class why early farmers had to be concerned with the condition of the land, unlike the earlier hunters and gatherers. We discussed that the land was their subsistence--they needed proper amount of rain, sun, and knowledge in farming and storing crops to feed their people. They were at the mercy of nature (drought, floods, hail, frost, sun, etc.). Mrs. Blattner collected the writing to check students' ability to compose complete answers that state the question in the answer and fully explain their ideas.

Next, we worked on our character analysis essays in the computer lab. Mrs. Blattner conferenced with individual students throughout the period. Students were asked to focus on completing their body paragraphs, so that we can begin to work on writing introductory paragraphs.

Happy February! We started class by reviewing the additional homework assignment on prehistoric farming. Then, we reviewed how to pronounce the countries and capitals of West Africa. Mrs. Blattner also explained why Western Sahara does not currently have a capital city. Currently, there is a peace accord in place with Morocco and Western Sahara. The UN recognizes Western Sahara, but Morocco still claims Western Sahara as their land. Did you know that Western Sahara is the LEAST populated territory in the entire world? We also learned that Nigeria is the most heavily populated country in Africa.
 * Tuesday, 2/1/11**

Next, we divided into groups of 4. Each student selected a different article on Tunisia. Students with the same article met in groups and read their articles. Student then identified 3-4 key facts and one question that occurred to them from the article reading. Students then reported back to their original groups (just like our Sudan current event activity). While students reported back to their groups, group members took notes on a 4-square piece of notebook paper. Students are expected to hold on to this piece of paper for a follow up writing tomorrow in class. If you are absent today, choose ONE article on Tunisia (from the links below). Print the article, read the article, list 5 key facts you learned and one question you have about what is happening in Tunisia. Turn the article and writing in to Mrs. Blattner in class tomorrow. CNN International USA Today MSNBC
 * //Tunisia Articles://**

After, we returned to the computer lab to work on our character analysis essays. Mrs. Blattner conferenced with students as they composed their essays. We are working on developing our body paragraphs.

Today we started class by updating our planners for the week and reviewing assignments on the homework board. If you are absent today, check the homework link on this humanities wiki.
 * Monday, 1/31/11**

Next, we learned the names of the countries and capitals of West Africa and added Western Sahara (a country we missed on our North Africa map studies). If you are absent today, please create a double-column paper with the titles "country" and "capital" and list the names of the countries and capitals, based on your own numbering of the map below. You can use the geography Africa game to help you.

Afterwards, we read aloud an article on Tunisia. We discussed that the people of Tunisia pushed their autocratic leader out, as they want more civil liberties and better economics. The people's protests started with a man setting himself on fire. Copycat acts like this man were seen throughout many of countries. The incident in Tunisia sparked the unrest in Egypt. This week's homework will help students uncover what is happening in Egypt.

Then, students worked in the computer lab on their character essays. All students should be finished with their Jewish book reviews, including the formatting in MS Publisher.