Mr. Brilla's Musings

Welcome:  Another week in the books! This week the students took their Linkit benchmarks for the first time of the year so Monday-Thursday was a bit different. The students also received information about the Pink Out Gear being sold to help the Unite For Her foundation and flyers about ordering yearbooks. A word of advice--order your yearbooks early-they are easy to forget about and sold out last year.  This week's video is kind of odd since only one class has actually watched it at the time I'm writing this (the rest will watch it when we return on Tuesday). This video is a great one--it's from a TED talk delivered by the somewhat less-famous Bezos brother, Mark. Mark is the head of a non-profit called Robin Hood in New York City, but this video is about a great lesson he learned as a volunteer fire fighter.  Social Studies (1, 5 and 6): This Past Week:  Monday: I was out today and the students worked on a few different activities. The students started the day with...

 Welcome:  Wow--what a week! This most likely goes without saying but I have never experienced anything like this in my 20 years of teaching. I'm extremely proud of the way this community came together and supported one another during the crazy events that unfolded this week. I realize that many of us are still trying to process what we endured as a community this week so if you feel there is anything I can do to help support your child please don't hesitate to reach out.  Now on to happier things--namely, the video I showed this week. The video that we watched in class is extra special for me because it was made by one of my former students. Juliana was a member of the graduating class of 2020 and she created this video as a project for one of her film classes in high school. I love showing this because it reminds the students to appreciate the time they have since it flies by-and this is much more meaningful coming from a 17-year-old instead of a 42-year-old teacher!...

Welcome:  Week two is in the books! The one thing I love about starting before Labor Day is that the students have truly come to appreciate the holiday weekend. I hope you all had a great weekend and a good second week back. This week we watched a video that was created by Jay Shetty all about the real meaning of success in life. I try my best to remember this as a teacher throughout the year.  This Past Week:  Tuesday: We'll be having quite a few discussions/debates in class this year and today the students experienced something called a Carousel Debate. This activity forces students to think of things from multiple perspectives to develop an argument. We discussed whether or not students should spend time studying history Wednesday: We continued learning about ways to develop an argument today when we investigated the Claim-Evidence-Reasoning method of argumentative writing. The students investigated whether or not they consider a hot dog to be a sandwich, compiled rese...

Welcome:  Welcome to my blog to keep you up to date with what's going on in my social studies classes! I will try my best to remain consistent and up to date with this so if you notice me slipping please call me on it. The whirlwind of the first week of school has come to an end and it was a busy one for the students! We were able to meet with administrators, get the new lunch procedures down, take a team photo, and figure out the new schedule with homeroom at the start of the day!  Each week I enjoy taking some class time on Friday to show a video that is about more than just social studies. Sometimes the videos will be serious, and sometimes they will be funny, but they are always meant to get the students thinking about their own lives and those around them. This week I showed an oldie but a goodie--a segment from ESPN called Outside the Lines about two wrestlers who encounter and overcome a variety of obstacles. I hope you enjoy the video!  This Past Week:  Both ...