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 week working on a Mastery Grid about the Three Branches of Government. The end result of the grid is an infographic that explains the members, requirements, and jobs of each branch of government. Students in period 3 completed their infographic this week and those in periods 2, 6, 7, and 8 will submit their assignments early next week. Here is a list of what the students did in class: 
• Three Branches Notes: The students watched some recorded slide shows and took notes on each of the three branches. 
• Three Branches Mastery Check: The students then took an open-note "quiz" on Google Forms to ensure that the information they had was accurate. 
• Three Branches Thin Slides: The students then created thin slides (1 word, 1 image, and 1 sentence explaining their thoughts) to demonstrate their understanding of the jobs of each of the three branches. 
• The Jobs of the Three Branches: The students identified the jobs of the branches of government and then categorized them in to related groups for this assignment.
• Principles Content Bursts: We investigated the guiding beliefs behind the US Constitution throughout this week as well. 
• Electoral College Cyber Sandwich: The students in my third-period class did this quick activity on Friday. The students investigated the pros and cons to using the Electoral College to elect a president. They started their research alone, shared some information with a partner, and then formulated and defended their own opinion before class was over. 

Next Week: 

Social Studies:

• ✅ #38-Three Branches Infographic: The students will focus on completing the infographic on Monday and Tuesday of this upcoming week.
• The Bill of Rights Iron Chef: The students will work in collaborative groups to build a quick presentation about the Bill of Rights. The students will research, create and deliver a presentation all in one class period. 
• The Electoral College Cybersandwich: The students will di this quick activity  this upcoming week. .They will investigate the pros and cons to using the Electoral College to elect a president. They will do some initial research alone, come together to discuss and then work alone to formulate and defend their own onpion. 
• Content Check-in #3: The students will take the third and final content check in of the first quarter this week on Friday. There is a Blooket and other study materials available to them on the Google Classroom. 

Accelerated Social Studies (Period 3)

• Quarter 1 Research Project 3: The students will start their first big research project of the year. This quarter the students will select a topic pertaining to any of the topics we discussed this quarter (there will be a list). The students will work on researching and then creating presentations to deliver to their class at the end of the month. 
• Content Check-in #3: The students will take the third and final content check in of the first quarter this week on Friday. There is a Blooket and other study materials available to them on the Google Classroom.