Monday, October 27, 2014

Students, make sure to bring your copy of Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson with you to class on Thursday, October 30. As we begin our study of the events leading up to the American Revolution, we will be doing several activities involving this book. Make sure to refresh your memory of the story and be prepared for written work related to Chains.

Friday, October 24, 2014

Thanks to all of the families that attended our Student-led Conferences. I was very impressed with how these conferences went, and I hope you feel the same way. When students engage in their learning and take ownership of that learning, powerful things happen. I was able to see how well each student communicated their understanding of various subjects, as well as their ability to successfully navigate their portfolio of work to share. I saw that wonderful sense of accomplishment on each student's face as they left his or her conference. Congratulations on a job well done!!!

Please feel free to respond to this post with your own reflections about the student-led conference.

Have a great weekend!

Thursday, October 9, 2014

Today Marshall students listened to an amazing, educational, and important presentation by Michael Foster on the topic of climate change and global responsibility. For forty-five minutes students and staff listened with rapt attention to this powerful presentation. Marshall students were focused and respectful audience members. Way to go Marshall!

We continued this conversation in social studies and drama class. We discussed how climate change relates to social studies, and the 7/8th grade drama class talked about the presentation style and how Michael Foster was a calm, confident, and prepared speaker. The historical, political, and cultural issues attached to climate change are so important. Hopefully, we can continue this dialogue at school and at home and find more ways to integrate our exploration of science and social studies throughout the year, and particularly around this incredibly important issue. 

If you are interested in getting more involved, there is a free workshop called "Plant for the Planet" from 9am-5:30pm Saturday at Komachin Middle School for students ages 8-14. It is free, but space is limited. You can register for this workshop at www.thurstoncd.com/south-sound-green.html

(this is not a school-sponsored/OSD activity)

We also continued our exploration of colonial life in America. Make sure that you are staying on top of all assignments. Chapter 2 notes, and the preview assignment for Chapter 3 were turned in this week. I will be updating grades on skyward over the weekend. 

Information for student-led conferences went home this week. Make sure to get your spot ASAP!!!

Tuesday, October 7, 2014

SOCIAL STUDIES
Today Mr. Fulton gave a presentation on Harassment, Intimidation, and Bullying (HIB) to our class. Please reflect on this presentation and think about the importance of the information presented. You may access the slide show by clicking the HIB link under the "Presentation Links" on the right hand side of this page. Thank you to Mr. Fulton for this thoughtful and important presentation.

Tomorrow we will begin our exploration the English colonies in America and life in those colonies. You will turn in the "Age of Discovery/European Exploration and Settlement" notes from Ch. 2 at the beginning of class tomorrow.

We will not have a current event assignment this week.

DRAMA 7/8
You have homework!!! Please create two characters, the one that is looking for someone, and the one that is being looked for. Think about the physicality of these two characters, their expressions, and the important character traits that will help us to determine the differences in these two characters.

Good Luck!

Wednesday, October 1, 2014

Today you were asked to listen to the story Encounter by Jane Yolen that tells the story of Columbus’s first encounter with the Taino people told from the perspective of a Taino boy. You were then asked to read the short section about Columbus in our History Alive! textbook, and compare and contrast these two pieces of writing using specific textual evidence to support your analysis. Please make sure this writing is complete before class tomorrow. You can access the prompt on the Social Studies Starter link on the right side of this page. Be prepared to write a personal response to Encounter by Jane Yolen tomorrow.