TGIF

Hey! Happy Friday. Today we completed or worked toward completing the Reading Notes for chapter 3. You should have them completed for class on Monday as we have spent considerable time in class working on them. As was stated in yesterday's post the quiz will be Tuesday.

Quiz Tip: The terms (vocabulary) will be on the quiz. Content, such as the role of the church in the middle ages, will be a writing theme. You can use your reading notes to prepare for the content portion.

Gallery Walk of Vocab and Begin Reading Notes

Hello! Today we completed our Gallery Walk of the vocabulary words from chapter 3. Students list should be complete now and be able to use them to create study stack or whatever tool works for them. Again, quiz will be early next week, probably Tuesday. We also were able to start the reading for the chapter including the reading notes. Students are expected to create a study tool for the vocabulary words.

Free Technology for Teachers: 7 Ways to Avoid Inbox Overload When Collecting Assignments

Free Technology for Teachers: 7 Ways to Avoid Inbox Overload When Collecting Assignments

The vocabulary of the Religion in Middle Ages

Hello! Today we began the study of the religion of the people in the middle ages. We started with a prewrite that students completed on their own paper and kept in their folder. We discussed it creating a connection from our important buildings of our time to the church buildings of the middle ages. We then proceeded to front load the vocabulary words from chapter 3. Students worked in pairs on a fayer model of vocabulary. It is an in depth study of the 16 vocabulary words in the chapter. We will complete our work tomorrow and students will have their own words and definitions to study for the chapter. We are looking at an assessment early next week. Can never start too early to prepare for a quiz!

Monday

Good Monday to you all. Today we talked through the quiz we took last Tuesday. Mr. Hogue's class "walked" through a cloud web organizational tool that we will be using in the future. Organization seemed to be a major hurdle. You can view your score by looking at your grade book. The quiz was in two parts, part C and a B-A+ part. Once you pass the C level, your score on the essay takes over unless it goes below a 75%. The grades are not updated in HAC Tomorrow we will begin work on the vocabulary for chapter 3 on the role of the church in the middle ages.

Thanksgiving Break is HERE

Hey! Break has arrived. Today students, who were eligible, took the C level retake for the chapter 37 and or the geography quiz. We also viewed a History Channel video clip on knights and if time permitted, a CNN Student new clip. I will attempt to push out the knight video a little later. Have a great and safe Thanksgiving break and see you on Monday.

Edmodo Quiz on Feudalism

Hello! Can't believe turkey day is almost here! Today we were in the computer lab taking the quiz on Edmodo about European Feudalism. Students were given a little time to review then we hit the test on the computers. Students were given the assessment in 2 parts. The first part was multiple choice focusing on the basic ideas with vocabulary. Students who scored 11/15 or better moved on to the second part, an essay. Students pretended they were a knight from the middle ages and wrote about who lived on their manor and what their responsibilities are. When they were finished, they had a "chat" on Edmodo about the upcoming content. No homework for tonight unless you are preparing for the geography retake or the chapter 37 retake.

Monday

OK. Here we are at the start of a short week. Be sure to do your best as it is easy to let down a bit. We have places to go and things to do. Today students worked on the wrap up of chapter 2. We completed the processing page which tied the four classes of feudalism to a comparison of what we have in America. We also worked on vocabulary which will be an important part of the quiz tomorrow. And, we spent a little time building "vocabulary houses" where we grouped vocabulary terms in categories. The intention was to become more familiar with the vocab terms and use them in different ways.

 Quiz Tip: The quiz is tomorrow and will be taken on computer in a lab using Edmodo. There will be 15 questions on the C basic level. You will have to score over 70% on that section to be eligible to score on the B-A+ level. The higher level is one question and is a free response. There are four different parts to the question and you will have to answer all four completely in order to score well. There will be a minimum length requirement for a high score.

 Review: Vocabulary terms for chapter 2 (Focus Sheet Nov. 13th post); Video pushes on November 15th and 16th for review of feudalism.

European Feudalism Experience

Hello! Today we experienced what life was like in feudal Europe in a simulation. All students were assigned a role including serfs, knights, lords, and monarch. Students participated  in a 7 step activity where they were acting out what each group might have done in feudal Europe including surviving an "attack" from invaders! All in all, it was a fun day by all. Over the weekend students should be completing the reading notes for chapter 2 and studying from them the responsibilites and activities of each layer in the systerm. They can also be working on the vocabulary from the focus sheet. (This can be found on prior posts.) We will discuss reading notes and do an activity involving the vocabulary on Monday in preparation for the quiz on Tuesday. The quiz will have 15 multiple choice focusing mostly on the vocabulary and an essay.

This is a short clip on feudalism.

Thursday - Middle Ages

Thursday students worked on completing their Reading Notes for chapter 2 in the maroon textbook. These reading notes are due at the start of class on Monday. I have posted two video clips today. Please view the clips. You do not have to take any action on them as they are to help you understand feudal life in the middle ages. The first one is a Power Point produced by another teacher that outlines Feudal Society and the second a British clip explaining the manorial system which surrounded the manor house and what it may have been like to work the manor and be beholding to its lord. These clips are available on the "Middle Ages" page on this blog.

 Homework: Reading Notes pages 12-13 that go with chapter 2 in the maroon book pages 10-29.

Quiz Tip: The quiz will be on Tuesday and will have the vocabulary, a few additional questions, and one free response concerning life in feudal society.

Wednesday

Ok. It is Wednesday and we are more than half way through the week. Today students viewed the remainder of the video on the history of the middle ages and recorded notes. Mind you, it is just a quick overview. My apologies as I cannot post the video. It is a Safari video and does not give me the permissions to post. Also, students completed a short intro to the chapter by completing a "What does it mean to be loyal?" sheet. Tomorrow we will begin work in chapter 2 (The Development of Feudalism in Western Europe) of the maroon book and complete or work toward completing Reading Notes for it.

Today's Video Parody includes clips from the movie Knight's Tale. Pay attention to the lyrics as that is what connects this to our content. It is available on the "Middle Ages" page of this blog.

 Quiz Tip: Next Monday or Tuesday will the quiz over chapter 2 of the maroon textbook. I will update the tip Thursday or Friday with more vital information.

Tuesday

Hey all. It's Tuesday and today's activities included taking the geography of Europe quiz. It covered political and physical features. We also worked on the W of the KWL chart. It stands for "Want to Know." Lastly, we worked on finishing the video clip of the "History of the Middle Ages." Period one will take the quiz tomorrow as we had a presentation in the LGI during class time.

Monday Morning

Hey, it's Monday and a new week. Today students viewed the first part (per your notes sheet you created) of the video "The History of the Middle Ages." I cannot upload or link to this video as it is hosted on Safari. If you missed it you will have to get notes from another student. I may be able to post them for you at a later date. We also switched our text books out for a different one that has content we are studying at the moment. This book covers the middle ages and we will be giving you handouts connected to the content. Unfortunately, this text book is also not on line and you will have to transport it back and forth to school if necessary. We completed the first leg of a KWL as a preview of the middle ages. The first leg is the "know" leg and will be followed by the "want to know" leg.

 Quiz tips for tomorrow: The quiz will consist of three parts. C, B-A, and A+. The C is basic knowledge and consists of identifying the countries of Western Europe and matching the capital to its country. The B-A is the main idea level and you will have to locate the countries and physical features of Western Europe on a map. The A+ level is a high level question which requires analysis of a geography question. It will require an open-ended response and you will only qualify if you pass the B-A level satisfactorily. The emphasis of the three levels are: identification - locating - analysis. A copy of the maps, country selections, and capital cities is provided on posts from Wednesday of last week (November 7). The focus here is on Europe and not North and South America.

TGIF

Hey guys, it's Friday. Today we completed the geography video part two and completed the map that went with it. We also passed back the presidential economic plans assignment and discussed them briefly. I am including the video part two on the Edmodo post as well as some tips for Tuesday's geography quiz.

What the geography quiz will cover: Locate the listed countries of Europe on the map provided; Identify each country's capital city; Locate the listed physical features of Europe on the map provided.

You will be responsible for the map of Europe from Wednesday's class work and the map of Europe from Thursday and Friday's class work. Any parts of the maps that you did not get completed in class will have to be completed outside of class. There are practice maps on the November 7th and 9th posts. Be sure to look before asking questions about where they are located. The completed map of Europe may be required as a ticket to begin the quiz.

Google Earth around the World

Hello! Today we discussed the physical and political map of Europe that was due today and that the quiz will be over on Tuesday. Student were given another handout to follow along and mark as we traveled around the world virtually to learn more about the geography in North America, South America, and Europe. This screencast is also located on the blog under the tag for geography. We will continue to work with this tomorrow. Students should be preparing for the quiz on Tuesday.

Wednesday Geography

Ok, it's Wednesday. Today students worked on creating map study guides. It consisted of two outline maps of Europe. One map is for political and the other physical features. Tomorrow, students will continue working with geography as we go around the world with Google Earth. There will be an assessment next Tuesday the 13th over the material on these map study guides. The maps may be used as tickets to take the quiz so it is mandated that they be complete and in student possession for that day. In other words, it is homework between now and next Tuesday.

 Another note on homework items. We typically don't have any homework assigned other than to view and respond to video clips at home. But, any work began in class must be completed unless we specify that there will be more time given the next day or at a later date. Attached is a copy of the map handout from class today.

 Also, I have included some links to Internet games that you may use to practice your countries, capitals, and other important features of the world. Please click over to the Geography page of this blog.

Election Day!

Happy Election Day! I hope you were all able to get out and vote today. All the students went through a mock election in the IMC where they used their identification cards to allow them to vote for president on Edmodo Election Group. It was cool to see them all! We also discussed the summaries they wrote (and some finished today) from the election articles that they had textcoded. We also researched the economic plans of both candidates to write a paragraph about 2 parts. The goal was to show them how to be informed voters. All in all, it was a successful day and students were both engaged and challenged! We encouraged the students to check out the election results tonight!

Monday, November 5

Hey all, it's Monday afternoon. Students took the social studies acuity pre-test today and did their best, I trust. This score does not count as a grade and will be used to compare to the post-test at the end of the quarter. Also, students posted their sticky notes back on the large posters representing their main ideas and details from their articles. We will be moving into Europe geography study as we move toward the middle ages study. Today and tonight will be the last chance to "register" for the vote tomorrow.

Students need to read my daily blogs carefully every day as valuable information is contained therein. The sign up or registration process is very simple. You merely join the group DMS Election 2012. Voting is optional and must be completed at your earliest opportunity throughout the day. The IMC will be closed to all other foot traffic and regular use as it will be used for the voting process.

TGIF

Friday is here and we all can take a break for the weekend. Not so fast. You can log onto your DMS Election 2012 group and interact with the election tools made available to you. Remember, you have to pre join the group in order to be "registered" to vote on Tuesday. You will need to have a photo id or something with your name on it, as well. You can find the code on the October 31st daily post (Edmodo) and if you have not registered, signed up with the group code before school on Tuesday, you will not be eligible to vote. Today we continued working with the political articles in the student Upfront Magazine. We completed our pre write forms, transferred information to stickies, and teamed up to place main ideas and details onto the team posters. Students began writing their summaries of the articles and will complete them the next time we have a slot in our schedule. That will be later next week. Monday, we will be taking the equity pre-test for the second quarter. Have a great weekend.

Text Coding Articles about the Election

Hello! Today students worked in their small groups of 2 or 3 to complete the text coding (annotating) of the articles about the election. They were marking the articles up for the main idea, details, and questions. Groups also began work on their pre-write for a summary of the articles. Reminder....be sure to check Edmodo post from yesterday for the group code for DMS Election. There are some posts within the group to explore as well.