Upcoming Due Dates

Tomorrow students will need to have the rough drafts of their "New" Magna Carta turned in for critiquing. Each student is responsible for a minimum of 2 requests for their victims.

On Monday all materials for each groups' art pieces will be due. We will b spending most of the time next week preparing these projects for the Fall Media Night.

In-Class Writing

Here is a "snapshot" of what it looks like when when are writing in our journals.

Book Reviews

Today we will be setting up blogs for the book review portion of the class. Each student will have a blogger.com (this website) account where they will post reviews of each of the books they read. They will have to follow a specific format, which will be given to them in class today, and will post at least once per month.

For an example of this format. You can see a model I made for them at: http://strongreviews.blogsot.com

Portfolios Due!

Tomorrow I will be collecting Magna Carta Project portfolios for the first time. Each student should have all dividers, notes, driving questions, articles, poems, and reflections hole-punched and inserted. Thanks.

Section/Dividers are:

Articles
Driving Questions
Notes/Poems
Graphic Organizers
New Magna Carta

Robin Hood Link

Here is a link to the Robin Hood Video we watched today. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_1eN90zUG4

Transitions

I want to thank all of you for a great Medieval Faire. Most of the students were well prepared and exhibited their work very effectively. I was also really excited to see the interest that all of you had in each other's exhibits.

I called this post "transitions" because we are currently moving into a new unit of study and I would like to clarify what is going in class. In Mr. Davis' class we are working through Project Survive! an intense study covering survival skills, first aid, and human body systems. Along with this study, my class is reading the New York Times Bestseller Life of Pi. The book follows a young Indian boys struggle to survive an ocean disaster. We will also be studying the aspects of "abstract survival" that lead people to various world views and religions.

Medieval Europe Kickoff!

We have started working toward our Medieval Faire and I have been really excited with the work so far. Students have completed a full draft and critique process for historical fiction pieces they have written and the final products seem excellent. We have also presented some short research presentations on the occupation that each student will be recreating. If you want keep up on any handouts or homework that will be assigned for the project they will be listed here or posted on my DP at Mr. Strong's DP.

Great Deal on Next Novel!

Hello Parents!

I wanted to send home a quick note to let you know about a money-saving opportunity for our next novel, Life of Pi. One of my great frustrations in teaching is having to ask students to spend money on materials for class. In an ideal world I don’t know if it would work this way.

I am saying all of this to let you know that our next book happens to be on sale at Amazon.com right now. I usually recommend the cheapest paperback versions of the books we read, but right now Amazon.com has a hardcover version of our next book on sale for $8.32. The regular price is $29.95 and the paperback is $11.20. This hardcover version is also filled with wonderful illustrations that will add a great dynamic to our experience of the novel.

Students will not “need” the book for more than a month, but this is a great deal.

Trying to help out,

Mike Strong




* Hardcover: 336 pages
* Publisher: Harcourt; Ill edition (October 1, 2007)
* ISBN-10: 0151013837
* ISBN-13: 978-0151013838

SLCs Are Here!

Yesterday we had our go at the new Student-Led Conference format. Overall we received a great response and look forward to modifying the experience to make it meaningful for students. Today we continue with the conferences and we (Mr. Davis and I) continue to be impressed with the abilities of our students when they are given moments of autonomy and freedom.

Chapter Four-The Moon Lady

This is a short video of Daniel and Julianne discussing the importance of "The Moon Lady" chapter in The Joy Luck Club.

SLC's

Today and this weekend student will be preparing for Student Led Conferences. The conferences will be Tuesday and Wednesday of next week. Each student has a "preparation packet" and a letter to give their parents. If you (parents) have not signed up for a time slot please contact Mr. Strong for available times.

Chapter Three-The Red Candle

This is a video of Jack and Natalie discussing the chapter, The Red Candle.

Great Running!

I wanted to say great job! to all of the students on our team. You guys rocked the jog-a-thon.

Chapter Two - Scar

Here are Ariel and Gideon discussing the chapter "Scar" the Joy Luck Club.

Do Your Homework!

Today we all felt a little bit of disappointment because many of you neglected to complete the homework that was due over the weekend. If you have not completed it I encourage you to do so and turn it in at a minor penalty. The assignment was to read the "Rules of the Game" chapter in the novel and complete a full Habits of Mind sheet (SPECS).

Chapter One - The Joy Luck Club

Over the next few weeks students will be uploading short videos about our progress through The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan. This video covers the basic ideas of the first chapter, "The Joy Luck Club."

Tuesday's In-Class Work

Today our class has the rare opportunity of having a computer available for each student. During this work time students should be completing as many of the following assignments as possible:

1. Add a Math/Science blog to your blogger account. (use the same account as your book reviews)

2. Link your Humanities blog to your Humanities digital portfolio.

3. Link your Math/Science blog to your Math/Science digital portfolio.

4. Complete your Joy Luck Club blogs.

Happy Friday!

I want to thank you guys for a great week. I will be grading quite a bit of your work this weekend and those of you who turned in late assignments (by Thursday) should see a "bump" in your overall grade in the next couple of days. I will be inputting scores from the reading quiz, the vocab test, and your journals. I hope you all have a great weekend and I will see you on Tuesday.

If you did not finish the the chapter "Rules of the Game" in class, you will need to finish reading it this weekend along with completing the Significance-Evidence work given to you in class.

Homework 1/28

For homework tonight you should all finish reading "The Red Candle" chapter in The Joy Luck Club. Tomorrow we will be having a short quiz to make sure you all read.

Vocabulary Test This Friday

A reminder about your homework for this week.

You have a vocab test on Friday and you need to complete the definitions for the list of words from the Joy Luck Club by then. I encourage you to finish the words early so you have a guide to study from .

Here is the list in case you forget or lose it:

immigration, cerebral, mah jong, porridge, gruel, sulk, compress, unanimous, chenille, banquet, smudge, concubine, peer, betroth, embroidery, lunar, doom, restless, scorpion, presumptuous, pavilion, squaw, apparition, consent

...Good Studying!

Grades and Deadlines

Today I am handing out a grade report to each of you. The sheet is not a final grade, but it does show you the scores you have earned on each assignment. I would like all of you to pay close attention to any scores that are blank or a zero, these are assignment that have not been turned in.

I have extended the deadline for all late work to January 31st. After this date I will not accept any late work. If you have a grade that you feel is unacceptable I encourage you to get missing assignments turned in.

Mr. Davis and I will also be starting a lunch club for students who need to catch-up. If you have below 75% please see one us...or we will find you.

My First Day Back

Hey guys! It is my first day back from break and I am excited to see you all. I look forward to getting back to work.