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Hi Everybody!

2nd Year Research Paper

Due Date: Thursday, November 8th 2007

You are to write, in your own words, a research paper on one of the following civilizations:

• Byzantium
• Ancient Egypt
• Ancient India
• Ancient China

Your paper should cover the following aspects (if applicable) of the civilizations: Social stratification and ranking, trade or exchange networks, the presence of luxury and exotic goods (such as the Baltic amber trade), metallurgy, craft specialization, control of food as in agriculture or pastoralism, high population density, monumental architecture, writing system, calendar, centralized rule, military conquests, and armed military force. You must also select one leader from this civilization and include a mini-biography.

Your paper should be 5 pages long with two pictures that do not take up more than ¼ of the page it’s on. The paper must be typed in Times New Roman font, 12 pt. font size, double spaced, with standard margins, and justified alignment.

You will also be required to make a Power Point that is 10 slides long. Each slide must have a picture. You will be judged on creativity. All of the information should come from your research paper.

Under student links you will find a number of resources that will be beneficial.

Weekly Schedule October 29th – November 2nd

This is our schedule for the week ending November 2nd, 2007. It is important to remember that these schedules are not etched in stone. Our firm belief in adjusting our curriculum to meet the needs of students sometimes causes slight changes. It is important to note that ample time is given in class to complete most assignments. There are occasional projects, spanning a week or more, that will require students to work outside of class. There will be no more than one of these per month. If you have any questions, please contact me at extension 38.

1st Year Social Studies (Period 1 & 3) – Presently we are covering Native American Cultures. We will begin our study of the Age of Exploration on Thursday.

Monday, October 29th: We will be studying Native American Tribes of the Desert Southwest. Our primary focus will be on the Anasazi. We will have a worksheet, due Tuesday, and a short quiz.

Tuesday, October 30th: We will be studying Native American Tribes of the Pacific Northwest. Our primary focus will be on clans and their importance. We will have a worksheet, due Wednesday, and a short quiz.

Wednesday, October 31st: We will be taking a test on Native American cultures. Time permitting; students will be listening to Orson Welles and the Mercury Theaters presentation of War of the Worlds. Interestingly, several local radio stations, KNTR - KRZY - KZUL - KRRK, will be broadcasting a local version of the program Wednesday night and there is a Grand Canyon Reader book available (The Aliens are Coming!) that Mrs. Silvey and Mrs. Mills both have in their libraries.

Thursday, October 18th: The Age of Exploration begins with our exploring how maps were not as reliable for Christopher Columbus and friends as they are now. Students will create a map of the school from memory. I will select a few, make copies for the class, and we will determine how accurate they are by searching for a hidden treasure.

2nd Year Social Studies (Period 2 & 4) – Presently we are covering how civilizations begin, peak, and fade. This brief survey is preparing students for more in-depth study of several prominent civilizations and will also provide assistance for their research paper (see blog entry) that is due November 8th.

Monday and Tuesday, October 29th & 30th: We will be studying how the human race began to develop civilization. Our study will include the study of primitive hominids like Neanderthals. Work is due on Wednesday; this work will include several short essays.

Wednesday and Thursday, October 31st & November 1st: We will study what makes up a civilization and how some rise to power and become empires. Rome will be prominently featured. We will also be creating a “recipe” for our own “civilization pie.” Our “pie” should be finished no later than Monday.

Health –

Friday, November 2nd: We will begin working on a project concerning the effect that electronic accessories (e-cessories) have had on our culture as a whole and each of us individually. Students will select the device they think has been the most important. Six to eight students will be asked to participate in a pilot program that is being sponsored by Microsoft. This project will include some after school work building their own website. Students will be given extra credit for their participation beyond the essay.

Intermediate Worklist

The intermediate worklist is a tool used to help the students know what and when daily assigmnents are due. It is a tracking system they use every day. The teachers will initial the assignments once they are done and corrected, if necessary. If a teacher's initial is not on the assignment, the student either needs to do the assignment or correct the assignment. The students are expected to write their assignments on the worklist every day. At the end of the week, parents are expected to sign the back of the worklist and then return it Monday so the students can receive their pay checks. If the worklist is NOT signed, they do NOT receive their work money.

PARENTS, PLEASE SIGN THE WORKLIST EVERY WEEKEND!

We, the staff, are really trying to help the students become responsible working students.

You, at home, may need to remind your child to show you his/her worklist to be signed. We hope this will help you understand the importance of your signature on their worklists.

Weekly Schedule October 22nd - 26th

This is our schedule for the week ending October 26th, 2007. It is important to remember that these schedules are not etched in stone. Our firm belief in adjusting our curriculum to meet the needs of students sometimes causes slight changes. If you have any questions, please contact me at extension 38.

1st Year Social Studies (Period 1 & 3) – We have completed our study of U.S. Geography, though we still have a test on Tuesday for state capitals. Students can practice for the test on the Sheppard Software website (http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/). We are now beginning our study of indigenous peoples of North America.

Monday, October 22nd: Students will view Ancient Americans: Mayas and Aztecs and begin a worksheet.

Tuesday, October 23rd: Students will complete worksheet, discuss the importance of these cultures and their influence, and then take a short quiz.

Wednesday, October 24th: Students will view People of the Forest, discuss way in which knowledge was passed orally, read Native American stories and write a "review", and take a short quiz.

Thursday, October 25th: Students will view People of the Plains, discuss the tribes of the American northeast, and complete a worksheet.

2nd Year Social Studies (Period 2 & 4) – Presently we are covering World Geography.

Monday, October 22nd: Students will turn in their worksheet on Africa. We will begin working on Asia.

Tuesday, October 23rd: We will continue working on Asia. Worksheet is due Wednesday.

Wednesday, October 24th: We will view World History: Pre-History and begin a research paper on one of the following civilizations: Byzantium, Ancient Egypt, Ancient India, or Ancient China. Students will select the civilization that most interests them. They will also be required to make a Power Point that uses the information they gathered in their research. The research paper must be 5 typed (Times New Roman, 12pt., double spaced) pages and must be typed in class. They will be given several full class periods in which to complete their project. The paper is due Thursday November 8th.

Thursday, October 25th: Work on research paper.

Health –

Friday, October 26th: We will be discussing peer pressure and how to deal with it.

Additional Resources:

Dealing with Peer Pressure
Native Americans

Discovery Education Streaming

Discovery Education streaming integrates seamlessly into any curriculum with 4,000 full-length videos segmented into 40,000 content-specific clips. Today, 1 million educators and 30 million students in more than half of U.S. schools learn with Discovery Education streaming.

Discovery Education streaming Empowers Educators to expand students' horizons using new multimedia content for all subjects from leading educational publishers.

Discovery Education streaming is the only digital video-based learning resource scientifically proven to increase student achievement.

In my classroom we use Discovery Streaming and its many valuable resources every day. One really great thing about this program is that you can access some of the resources that we are using from your own home. If a student misses a day, there is a good chance that some of the material will be available for viewing online. Just look to the links on the left side of my blog and find the title that meets what your student needs. If you don’t know how to use it, just ask your student!

If you're not sure what we are doing; just look at the weekly schedule that I post right here each week.

Weekly Schedule October 15th – October 19th

This is our schedule for the week ending October 19th, 2007. It is important to remember that these schedules are not etched in stone. Our firm belief in adjusting our curriculum to meet the needs of students sometimes causes slight changes. If you have any questions, please contact me at extension 38.

1st Year Social Studies (Period 1 & 3) – Presently we are covering U.S. Geography.

Monday, October 15th: Worksheet covering the Pacific West region of the United States. Worksheet covers state capitals, climates, environments, economic activities, and location on a map. Students will have about 30 minutes in class to complete worksheet. The worksheet is due Tuesday. The Geography Project for 1st Period is due.

Tuesday, October 16th: Worksheet covering the capitals for all 50 states. Required information includes the capital, region, and population of each state. We will be having a test on Thursday on the capitals. Worksheet is due Thursday prior to test.

Wednesday, October 17th: Worksheet covering the capitals for all 50 states. Required information includes the capital, region, and population of each state. We will be having a test next Monday on the capitals. Worksheet is due Monday prior to test. The Geography Project for 3rd period is due.

Thursday, October 18th: Test on state capitals.

2nd Year Social Studies (Period 2 & 4) – Presently we are covering World Geography.

Monday, October 15th: Finish worksheets covering Europe. Worksheet is due Tuesday.

Tuesday, October 16th: Worksheet covering central and southern Africa. The Geography Project for 2nd period is due. The worksheet is due Monday.

Wednesday, October 17th: Worksheet covering eastern and northern Africa. The worksheet is due Monday.

Thursday, October 18th: Worksheet covering western Africa. The worksheet is due Monday. The Geography Project for 4th period is due.

Health –

Friday, October 19th: We will be addressing anger and its relationship with good health practices.

Additional Resources:

World Geography: http://cyberschoolbus.un.org/

Interactive geography activities (GREAT SITE): http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/

Tiger Time!

The Intermediate team has started a new program designed to assist students that are struggling in certain subjects and reward those that are succeeding. Students will have an extra hour to work on the subject that is proving the most challenging to them each Friday with the teacher of that subject. There are also activities for those students that have completed all of their work. We are doing this in this way in order to make available embedded time within the school week to provide students greater opportunity to fulfill their requirements. It is important to embed this time within the school day because we send the message to the student that this is important, not an afterthought (like AFTER school). In today’s high stakes world of education it is important to provide students every opportunity to succeed; especially in light of the ever increasing load students are expected to become proficient with.

Reminder

Don't forget about your projects!

1st Period - Monday

2nd Period - Tuesday

3rd Period - Wednesday

4th Period - Thursday

Extra Points Anyone?

Here is the extra-credit assignment for Intermediate Students:

Imagine that you are the pilot of an airplane. You will depart from Los Angeles, California and arrive in Boston, Massachusetts. Along the way you will need to change planes in St. Paul, Minnesota. So your flight plan is Los Angeles to St. Paul to Boston. In one page or more describe what it is you will see out of the windows. Include information about the landforms, cities, geographic characteristics, and famous landmarks. If you have been on an airplane you know that pilots will often point out interesting things along the route; what would you point out. You need to be specific, not that you saw mountains and rivers, which rivers, which mountains, which cities.

This assignment will be worth 50 extra credit points.

Thank You, Mr. Gates

Intermediate students, along with some Academy students, are going to be taking part in a pilot program sponsored by Microsoft Corporation. Parents may not know that Microsoft has a great number of resources and programs available for students. Our participation in this program will be providing Microsoft with information about how to make it better, we will be earning our school Microsoft’s web designing software Expression Web, and students will gain valuable experience in web page designing.

Essential Question:

"What electronic device (e-cessory) has had the greatest impact upon your life or the life of your friends, family, or community?”

Learning Tasks:

Students will identify an e-cessory to research and create a Website to communicate their learning. The content of the research will include identifying four inventions or events in history that have led to the need for and development of their chosen e-cessory.

Feedback

I’m looking for feedback on whether anyone is visiting this blog. Please leave me a comment and let me know what you think.

Special note: Students check back Monday and find a special blog extra credit assignment.

Monument Project

Due Dates:

1st Period: October 15th, 2007

2nd Period: October 16th, 2007

3rd Period: October 17th, 2007

4th Period: October 18th, 2007

Requirements:

1. 1st year Intermediate students must select an American Monument; 2nd year must select a World Monument (not in the United States).

2. Product must be 3 dimensional

3. Base must be 12” x 12”; height must not exceed 18”

4. Project must include a 2 page (typed, double-spaced, Times New Roman font) report that includes the following information:
a. Location
b. History
c. Construction Materials
d. Method of Construction

5. Some examples of monuments (students may select from this list, but their choices are only limited by geography: 1st years – American; 2nd year - NOT American)

a. American:

i. Arlington National Cemetery
ii. Independence Hall
iii. Korean War Memorial
iv. Jefferson Memorial
v. Lincoln Memorial
vi. Mount Rushmore
vii. Vietnam Veterans Memorial

b. World:

i. Machu Picchu
ii. Pyramid of Giza
iii. Taj Mahal
iv. St. Peter’s Basilica
v. Great Wall of China
vi. Coliseum
vii. Easter Island Statues