Sunday, December 4, 2016

Articles for Monday

Hey there, I hope you all had a great weekend. The first thing you need to do is log on to the Timberland Regional Library (osd+ your username, PIN = your birth month and day). With your partner, you need to choose an article from one of the databases Mrs. White showed you on Friday and complete the RACE template that you've already made a copy of. 

Then, please check out the following links on the DAPL v Standing Rock Sioux. The first one was published by the Washington Post on Friday, December 2 and has an article along with 7 short videos (you will need headphones/ear buds) showing different perspectives of the pipeline and the protest. The second link is an article put out by The Army Corps of Engineers on Sunday, December 5.



Good luck, have a great day, and be awesome!

-Mr. H

Wednesday, November 16, 2016

It's Been a While

Sorry my posts have been few and far between in the last several weeks. Lots going on. Just wanted to remind social studies students to finish the reading and annotating of the four sources on slavery. The "Slavery Readings Chart" should be completed as well. We will write our conclusions about slavery tomorrow in class, and to do so you MUST have the reading, annotating, and chart completed!

Enjoy!
-Mr. H

Thursday, October 20, 2016

Social Studies Homework

Continue reading "Columbus and the Indians" by Howard Zinn. Take notes, highlight, and be prepared to discuss the similarities and differences between this account of Columbus and his expeditions and the account from the History Alive! textbook.

Happy Reading!
-Mr. H

Tuesday, October 11, 2016

Homework - Evaluating Sources

Remember that you need to complete the first three questions of the Evaluating Sources activity. Please remember to include which source is more trustworthy, why that source is more trustworthy, and also why the other source isn't as trustworthy as the one you chose.

Tomorrow we will finish #4 - #6 in class. We will then begin to look at motives for European exploration of the New World. You will learn the RACE acronym and how we will use it to answer historical questions.

Happy Tuesday!
-Mr. H

Tuesday, October 4, 2016

Snapshot Autobiography - Homework Reminder

Greetings!
I just wanted to send out a quick reminder about your homework for the Snapshot Autobiography project. You are to write about four important events that have shaped you as a person. One of those stories will be the story of your birth. You may get some help on this one from your parents or other friends or family members that have details about your birth. The other three events are your choice, however you will be interviewing another person about one of these events, so make sure to pick at least one event that someone else knows about.

Do not interview someone else until you have written your story about that event. The homework tonight is to complete a rough draft version of as many of the four stories as possible. The final product (a 6-panel pamphlet of your life) is due on Friday, October 7. You will be given time in class over the next several days to complete this project, but you should also spend at least 20 minutes each night on this project.

As always the quality of your final product is extremely important.

Good luck!
-Mr. H

Wednesday, September 28, 2016

States & Capitals Test Date Changed

The States and Capitals test will be given on Monday, October, 3. This will give students the opportunity to study over the weekend and perfect those important geography skills!

Happy studying!
-Mr. H

Monday, September 26, 2016

Curriculum Night!

Just a quick reminder that Marshall's Curriculum Night will take place tomorrow evening from 5:30 - 7:37 p.m. There is a spaghetti dinner from 5:30 - 6:00 for $4.00 per person. The dinner includes spaghetti, salad, breadstick, milk and dessert.

There will be a brief introduction by Mrs. Wood and Mrs. Hayes at 6:00 and then parents/guardians will follow your schedule and hear a 12-minute presentation in each class.

I will not be able to attend Curriculum Night because of a previous engagement.

Happy Monday,
-Mr. H

Friday, September 23, 2016

The Friday Report

Greetings,
We have completed another awesome week of learning, and I, for one, am really looking forward to the weekend! The majority of class time has been spent on Name Art presentations, personal artifact investigations, learning U.S. geography, and written responses to the CNN Student News.

Things to look forward to next week:

  • Thinking like a historian activities (The Lunchroom Fight, Snapshot Autobiography, Evaluating Sources)
  • More States and Capitals study
  • States and Capitals Test on Friday
  • CNN Student News
  • Reflections on the current Presidential race
  • Beginning preparation for our first Socratic Seminar on the Pledge of Allegiance, the National Anthem, and the controversy surrounding athletes kneeling during the National Anthem
Have a Great Weekend!
-Mr. H

Wednesday, September 21, 2016

States and Capitals

Congratulations to those who checked the blog last night and learned that there would be a pop quiz on the states and capitals today. Because of our Name Art presentations, we didn't have as much time to complete this pre-test, but we will tomorrow. Fourth period was able to take the states pre-test and will take the capitals pre-test tomorrow. Fifth period completely ran out of time and will take both pre-tests tomorrow.

The pre-test is a self-assessment. The scores for these first tests will not go into Skyward, but will be used for you to determine what you know and what you need to work on. We will continue to study the states and capitals in class and I will share with you a number of strategies for learning this geography. I encourage you to spend 10+ minutes of home study every day in order to be successful on the upcoming official test.

The first official test will take place next Friday, September 30. Those grades will be posted, but students may re-take the test at anytime before the end of the quarter during Core/Flex time.

Good luck!
-Mr. H

Tuesday, September 20, 2016

Artifacts!

Congratulations to the students who came prepared with their personal artifacts. It was awesome to see what all of you brought. This activity really helps us understand each other and the diverse interests that are represented through these artifacts.

This is one of those activities that relies on everyone doing their part and being prepared in order for it to be successful. In 4th period, 90% of the class brought their artifact on time. In 5th period, 74% were prepared. This is a decent start, but we want to get to 100% participation in everything we do. Let's keep working on this.

There will be a make-up session tomorrow during core/flex time for students who did not bring their artifacts to school today, but will tomorrow!

See you tomorrow!
-Mr. H

P.S. Pop quiz on States and Capitals tomorrow!

Monday, September 19, 2016

Personal Artifact Due Tomorrow!!!

If you haven't already, please bring your personal artifact to school tomorrow. We will be doing a partner investigation, and in order to participate, you need to have an artifact of your own. Your job is to bring in an artifact from your own personal history that tells a story about you, your interests, and your life experiences. Make sure that your artifact is no bigger than a shoe box.

Happy Monday!
-Mr. H

Friday, September 16, 2016

The Friday Report

Congratulations on making it through your first full week of school! It's always tough adjusting to getting back into the routine of school, but all of you have performed admirably. In social studies we learned about daily starters, wrote about our weekend, watched and completed written responses to three episodes of CNN Student News, completed an Artifact Analysis activity, completed the Name Art project, and began our Name Art presentations.

You learned a little bit about me through my crazy collection of Grateful Dead tapes. There was a lot of mystery within those tapes, and all of you worked collaboratively to piece together the historical puzzle of those artifacts. Your discussions were respectful and you did a great job of building on each other's ideas.  A great first attempt at thinking like a historian, well done! Also, a big shout out to our first round of Name Art presentations, it is tough to go first, and you did quite well. It helped that our audience was so respectful during the presentations. Round two of the presentations will begin Monday.

Remember that you have another homework assignment:

Your job is to bring in an artifact from your own personal history that tells a story about you, your interests, and your life experiences. We will be examining each other's artifacts on Tuesday, September 20, but you are welcome to bring your artifact to school on Monday, and I will keep it in a safe place until our investigation. Make sure that your artifact is no bigger than a shoe box.

Have a great weekend!
-Mr. H

P.S. Thanks so much for your focus and integrity during our lockdown, earthquake, and fire drills this week. It is by far the best I have seen Marshall students do with learning the procedures and following the instructions.

Thursday, September 15, 2016

Personal Artifact!

Than you for your participation in the Artifact Analysis activity that we completed today. Hopefully you learned something about investigating artifacts, thinking like a historian and collaborating with each other to develop an understanding of the artifacts and what they say about the past and the people who used them.

Your job is to bring in an artifact from your own personal history that tells a story about you, your interests, and your life experiences. We will be examining each other's artifacts on Tuesday, September 20, but you are welcome to bring your artifact to school before that date, and I will keep it in a safe place until our investigation. Make sure that your artifact is no bigger than a shoe box.

Also, many of you turned in your Name Art today! Congratulations, you completed the project on time! For those of you who did not get the project in on time, your effort grade will drop 1 point for each day it is late. Your performance grade will not be affected unless the project is not completed within four days of the original due date.

Name Art presentations will begin tomorrow!
-Mr. H

Wednesday, September 14, 2016

Extra Research?

Great work today on the Artifact Analysis activity. You have developed a lot of great ideas about what this crazy collection of cassette tapes might mean. You found similarities and differences and made some great inferences on your way to being able to piece together this historical puzzle. I now challenge you to do a little extra research. Use any resource available to you to gather more evidence about these artifacts; what they mean, what they were used for, who used them and why, what makes them special, and what they all have in common. Good luck, I'm excited to hear your discoveries tomorrow!

Also, your Name Art is due at the end of the period tomorrow. I will give you about 10-15 minutes of class time to add any final touches on this project.

Have a great evening!
-Mr. H

Tuesday, September 13, 2016

Name Art Due Date Changed

The due date for the Name Art project has been changed. These projects are now due this Thursday, September 15. Most students took their project home and should expect to spend at least 30 min on it tonight. We will have some time in class tomorrow to work on the project, but the majority of the day will be focused on the Artifact Analysis assignment. 

See you tomorrow!
-Mr. H

Monday, September 12, 2016

Happy Monday!

A quick reminder to all social studies students that the last page of the 8th grade U.S. History/Social Studies syllabus is due tomorrow. All that is required to receive credit for this is to have both students and parents sign and return. If parents can, it would be helpful if the section below the signature lines is filled out as well. Keep working on the Name Art assignment, which is due on Wednesday!

-Mr. H

Friday, September 9, 2016

It's the Weekend!

Way to go Hawesome students! We had a fabulous first week here at Marshall and I am looking forward to what this year will bring. Make sure to take some time this weekend to read, exercise, hang out with you friends and family, and prepare for next week. On Monday, we will watch a 10-minute student news segment, do a writing activity based on the news, complete an artifact investigation and spend a bit of time on our Name Art project. Here is more of what will happen next week:

  • Daily starters - quick writing tasks
  • Name Art - final product and class presentations
  • Artifact Investigations
  • "Thinking Like a Historian" activities
  • Snapshot Autobiographies
  • States and Capitals
  • And more...
Have a fabulous weekend!
-Mr. H

Thursday, September 8, 2016

Day 2 In the Books!

Wow, what a fabulous start. Our second day together was awesome, or as I like to say - it was Hawesome!!! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. Here is a quick reminder about homework.

DRAMA
Reflect on our name game activity today and try to remember as many people in class as possible. 7th and 8th grade drama students should prepare for a continuation of the carpet tile initiative.

SOCIAL STUDIES
Finish yellow planning sheet and then use the back of the sheet to create your rough draft of your Name Art. The art paper will be given to student who have the rough draft finished before class tomorrow!

Have a fabulous evening!
-Mr. H.

Wednesday, September 7, 2016

Greetings Hawesome Students!

Happy first day of school! What a wonderful start to what is going to be an incredible year of learning. We will spend a lot of time this week and next getting to know each other and creating an environment where everyone feels safe, and is free to learn. I am super excited to begin to develop a community of positive, productive and passionate learners that support each other and challenge each other to go above and beyond. If the first day is any indication of what's to come, then this is going to be an amazing year. Thanks for your attention, your smiles, and your participation today - let's keep it going! Below is a reminder of homework for both Drama and 8th grade Social Studies/U.S. History.

DRAMA (all classes)
Alliterative Name Game: Tomorrow you will bring to class a "metaphorical something" that shares the same letter sound as the first letter of your name. At the beginning of class we will share these. Here is an example of what you will need to be prepared to do: "Hi, my name is Jason and I am bringing a jar of jam." 

SOCIAL STUDIES
Begin planning your Name Art project by filling out all or part of the yellow planning sheet that outlines the project. All you have to do tonight is to jot down your various interests, hobbies and characteristics that will teach the class about who you are. The planning sheet does not need to be complete, but I do expect every student to have a few things written down. Be creative, think outside the box, and have fun.

See you tomorrow!
-Mr. H

Thursday, June 9, 2016

Human Rights Project - Open House

Greetings!
 
The parent night/open house for the Human Rights Projects has been moved to next Wednesday, June 15. Posters will be displayed in the hallways and you are invited to stop by anytime between 5:00 and 6:30pm to view the incredible work created by your 8th grade student and their peers.
 
I look forward to seeing you!
Jason Haws