Skip to main content

Week Two: Friday, September 6, 2024

Welcome: 

I simply cannot believe how quickly these past two weeks have gone! We are nine days into school and the students are doing great. They have been learning the new morning routines and bell schedules and it's starting to feel like we never left for summer break. 

This week I showed a quick little video about happiness by Jay Shetty. If you follow anything in the personal growth space you may know that Shetty has come under fire recently as claims that he may have embellished his background have surfaced. I feel that we can all believe whatever we like about him, but the message of this video still stands--it's all about how to be truly happy in life. 



This Past Week: 

  • Tuesday: The students came back from their long weekend today and were given time to finish the Week 1 Gameboard before we used MagicSchoolAI to practice using AI to research so we can formulate and defend opinions. The big question for today was "Should we study history or is it a waste of time?" 
  • Wednesday: Today was a blend of content and team building as the students played a Blooket to introduce the content we'll be discussing in the coming weeks, completed a team-building activity using notecards and building towers, and finally finished with a quick small-group discussion as to whether or not we should spend time studying history in school. 
  • Thursday: We did our first "Content Burst" of the school year today and discussed how the North American continent came to be colonized and the cause and effects of the French & Indian War. We try to keep our direct lecture teaching to quick, 5-6 minute bursts and only to the essential information the students need to know to make sense of the work they will be doing to uncover the history on their own. The students completed a notes sheet called "Somebody Wanted, But, So" in order to make sure they got the key points of the discussion. After playing a quick Blooket, the students were then given the directions for the first graded assignment of the year (✅#10-Unit One Timeline) and time to work on it. 
  • Friday: We did another content burst today about the first taxes placed upon the American Colonists by the British. The students then did a Thin Slide activity to help better understand why the American Colonists were upset at paying the taxes--check out this slide deck to see what the students did. Finally, the students had time to continue working on ✅ #10-Unit One Timeline. 

This Upcoming Week: 

  • Content Bursts: We'll continue our discussion of the causes of the American Revolution this week as we do some content bursts about the Committees Correspondence, the Sons and Daughters of Liberty, the Boston Massacre, and the colonial methods of protest against British rule. 
  • Wizer: The students will complete an assignment on wizer.me to help them understand the difference between primary and secondary sources. We'll constantly be discussing sources and the importance of how we know what we know throughout the year. 
  • Boston Massacre: The students will investigate a series of primary and secondary source documents in order to answer the question "who is to blame for the violence on the night of March 5, 1770?" This will be done in class and over a few class periods. 
  • Masery Check #1 Coming: We'll also have our first mastery check of the year later next week. The students will answer 10 questions from the content bursts. There are Quizlet flashcards available to the students on the Google Classroom to help them prepare for the check. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Week 16: Decemberr 9, 2024

Welcome:  This week we welcome the students back from Thanksgiving break and to the month of December! It was a busy week in homeroom as we had a second-step lesson on Wednesday and clubs on Thursday. We've also been busy collecting items for Operation Giving Tree--donations will be accepted through December 11, so please think about helping if you can.  Social Studies (Periods 2, 6, 7 and 8):  This Past Week: #22-Trails West Google Doc: Most of the week was centered on this Google Doc. The students completed four parts to help them gain a better understanding of the lengths to which Americans went in order to survive and thrive in the West in the 19th century.  Part One:  This was a simple chart about the trails that went west that the students completed using content burst videos recorded by Miss Boyd (the Orange Team social studies teacher).  Part Two:  The students then answered a series of questions to help serve as guided research about life on ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Week Eight: October 14-18, 2024

Welcome:  Just like that, we are into the middle of October and more than halfway done the first quarter! The students started the annual fundraiser this past week and went wild over rubber ducks and possible trips to Citizens Bank Park. Next week marks the beginning of the Make a Difference Day collection--the students will be collecting canned goods, paper products, and personal hygiene products to donate to the Coventry Food Pantry to support local families.  I've been listening to a lot of Ryan Holiday and his Daily Stoic podcast lately and he has been on a moment mori kick. Momento mori  is the idea that everything must die, it although it sounds morbid, is a great reminder for us to live our lives to the fullest. This reminded me of one of my favorite clips from the movie Dead Poets Society-- we didn't have time to watch it on Friday so we'll start the week with it on Monday.  This Past Week:  Three Branches Mastery Grid: The students spent most of the wee...
Post a Comment
Read more

Week Nine: October 21-25

Welcome This week we continued to collect for the North Coventry Food Pantry as a school for the annual Make A Difference Day drive. The students can continue to bring in canned goods, paper products, and personal hygiene products throughout the week. This is an outstanding drive since everything stays right here in this community.  This Past Week:  Social Studies (Periods 2, 6, 7 and 8)  #38-Three Branches Infographic:  This assignment is designed as a culminating project where students synthesize their understanding of the three branches of government. After thoroughly investigating the legislative, executive, and judicial branches, students created an infographic that serves as a quick reference for key information. This includes the primary responsibilities of each branch, additional roles they perform, and the specific requirements for serving in each branch. The infographic offers a visual summary that students can use for future reference in understanding the ...
Post a Comment
Read more