A little fun on the last day before Christmas break...

Risk

Battleship

Stratego

Checkers

Social Studies 12/15 - 12/19

Parents and Students - 

This week, we will be wrapping up our discussion of Pearl Harbor.  We will also begin Section 2 of Chapter 2.  The quiz will be on Thursday, December 18th.  It will be a multiple choice quiz.  Study resources for the quiz can be found here (LINK).  Thanks and have a great week!

Social Studies 12/8-12/12

Parents and Students - 

Yesterday (December 7th) was the anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.  This week, we will be taking a break from the textbook to spend a few days learning about the event.  Students will be writing an essay for me (due of Friday).  Resources for the week can be found here (LINK). 

Nick's Legos

Nick created some WWI and WWII vehicles out of Legos:  

Social Studies 12/1 - 12/5

Parents and Students - 

This week, 6th graders will be working with current events on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.  7th graders will be finishing up their outline for the research paper and begin work on the rough draft.  The outline for the 7th graders will be due on WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 3rd.  On Thursday, both 6th and 7th graders will begin working on Section 1 of Chapter 2.  Student resources for Section 1 of Chapter 2 can be found HERE (link).  We will take a quiz over Section 1 of Chapter 2 on MONDAY, DECEMBER 8th.  This will be a True/False quiz.  Thanks and have a great week! 

Social Studies 11/24 and 11/25

Parents and Students - 

6th graders will be watching a video about the Sun on Monday and will do some activities related to the film on Tuesday.  7th graders will be working on their research paper outlines through next Wednesday.

Thanks and have a great Thanksgiving!

Social Studies 11/17-11/21

Parents and Students - 

This week, students will be doing some research on careers in the field of geography.  Students should bring headphones/earbuds on Wednesday and Thursday if they have them.  Students will also be learning about some basic economic concepts like supply and demand and inflation.  We will have two quizzes this week but students will be able to use their notes on them.  

Reminder that re-writes on the WWI essay for 7th graders are due by the end of the day on Wednesday (11/19).  Re-writes for the WWI essay for 6th graders are due no later than 8pm on Sunday night (11/23).  Students must schedule a conference with me during ISP before they can make corrections.  Essay re-writes must be shared with me via Google Docs with "Edit" permission.  

Thank you and have a great week!

Social Studies 11/10 - 11/14/2014

Parents and Students - 

This week, we will be starting Section 3 of Chapter 1.  We will have a quiz on Thursday.  This will be a true/false quiz.  Student resources for the week can be found HERE (link).  

Reminder that the WWI essay is due at the end of the day today (Monday, November 10th).  Thanks and have a great week!

Social Studies 11/3 - 11/7

Parents and Students - 

Next week, students will be writing an essay.  The essay will be due by the end of the day on Monday, November 10th.  Students will choose one example of new technology that emerged during World War I and explain how it changed warfare.  Students will want to utilize the following web links to help choose a topic:

Twelve Technological Advancements of WWI (LINK)

World War I in Photos: Technology (LINK)

Here are some resources to help students write their essay:

Essay Rubric (LINK)

Transitional Words and Phrases (LINK)

Social Studies 10/20 - 10/24

Parents and Students - 

The next two weeks, we will be applying the Five Themes of Geography to World War I.  Students will be studying maps, photos, videos, and other online sources to gain a greater understanding of the Great War, which began 100 years ago this year.  Students can access the website we will be using the next two weeks HERE (link).  We will have a test over the material next week.

Social Studies 10/13-10/17

Parents and Students - 

Next week, we will have a matching quiz over Section 1 of Ch. 1 on Tuesday, October 14th.  Student study resources for that quiz can be found here (LINK).  We will also take a fill-in-the-blank quiz over Section 2 of Ch. 1 on Friday, October 17th.  Student study resources for the Section 2 quiz can be found here (LINK).

You can also access student resources from my website here (LINK).

Lastly, I would like all corrections from the Ukrainian Crisis DBQ essay shared with me via Google Docs by Friday, October 17th.  That is the end of the quarter.  I won't be able to accept corrections after that date.  Reminder that students must meet with me prior to turning in corrections.  Student resources for the DBQ essay can be found here (LINK).

Social Studies 10/6-10/10

Parents and Students - 

Apologies for the late update!  This week, students will look at some of the tools that geographers use to study the world.  Student resources for the week can be found here (LINK).  We will have a quiz over this material on TUESDAY, OCTOBER 14.

Also, I would like to remind parents and students that I am accepting corrections on the Ukrainian Crisis DBQ essay we did last week.  Students must come in and have a conference with me about their essay before I will accept corrections.  Resources for the essay can be found here (LINK). 

If students have earbuds or headphones, please have them bring them to class on Wednesday and Thursday!

Social Studies 9/29-10/3

Parents and Students - 

This week, we will be finishing up our writing project on the ongoing crisis in Ukraine.  The paper will be due by the end of the day on Tuesday.  Resources for the paper can be found here (LINK).  The film we watched in class can be viewed here (LINK).  Additional class resources for next week can be found here (LINK).  Thanks and have a great weekend!  

Social Studies 9/22-9/26

Parents and Students - 

Sorry for the late update...this week, we will be studying the ongoing crisis in Ukraine.  Students will watch a video to gain some background information and then will study some maps and photographs.  Students will write an essay based on the evidence they collect from the sources.  Student resources for the week can be found HERE (link).  A link to the video about the Ukraine crisis can be found HERE (link).

Social Studies 9/15-9/19

Social Studies This Week:

This week, students will be working with determining distance on a map.  We will work with map scales and also the distance tool on Google Maps.  Students will also discuss the difference between political and physical maps.  We will end the week with a video about the ongoing situation in Ukraine and how civil and social unrest often leads to maps changing.  Student resources for the week can be found here (LINK).

Social Studies 9/8-9/12

Parents and Students - 

We will begin working with different types of map projections this week.  Also, on Thursday, students and staff will participate in the "Umbrellas for Peace" parade in downtown Pecatonica to commemorate the 9/11 terrorist attacks.  Student resources for the week can be found HERE (LINK).  Thanks and have a great week!

More work with Latitude and Longitude and Google Maps!

Here's students using Google Maps and their knowledge of latitude and longitude to find cities all over the world!

Friday's quiz...

6th Grade Students and Parents -

I am going to postpone the quiz that is scheduled for tomorrow (9/5).  We will take the quiz on Monday (9/8) instead.  This is for 6th graders only.  7th graders will still take the quiz tomorrow.

Social Studies 9/2 - 9/5

Social Studies This Week:

We will continue to work with latitude and longitude this week.  On Friday, we will have an assessment (quiz) over latitude and longitude.  On this quiz, students will be given coordinates and will have to identify locations on a map.  Additionally, student will be give a location on a map and will have to give the coordinates for it.  Student resources for this week can be found HERE (LINK).

Remember to check my website and Teacherease if your child misses school.  Students are responsible for completing work that was assigned when they were gone.

Thanks and have a great week!

Google Maps Engine

7th grade students are using Google Maps Engine to cooperatively create a map of Pecatonica and then find distances and directions between different places.

Finding Places Using Latitude and Longitude

Here's some 6th graders practicing their map reading skills

Thank You!!!

Thank you to the Cuniff, Bardell, and Miles families for donating some gaming chairs and beanbags to my classroom.  They look great and students have already been using them!

Social Studies 8/25-8/29

Well...we made it through the first week of school!  It was great to see the students back after a long summer.  I hope you enjoyed the weekend and are ready to jump right in to the exciting world of Geography!  I am excited because I haven't taught Geography for a couple years and am looking forward to doing something new after teaching US History only since 2011.  This is what we will be doing in class this week:

Monday - Students will finish up the "Getting to Know You" presentation.  Students will have to share the presentation with me by the end of class.

Tuesday - Students will begin learning about mapping the Earth and finding locations using latitude and longitude.

Wednesday - Students will continue to practice finding places with latitude and longitude

Thursday - More finding places with latitude and longitude

Friday - Students will be using Google Map Engine to create a map of places in Pecatonica and find directions and measure distances between those places.

Student resources for the week can be found HERE (link).  If students are absent this week, this is where they can find the work they missed.

Betsy Ross flag!

Thanks to the Nash family for allowing me to display their Betsy Ross flag in my classroom!

It's Showtime!!!

All ready for the first day of school!

 

Philadelphia American Revolution Conference

Here's me with a couple of terrific History teachers I met at the conference, Chet Bauldrick and Nate Ricks.  We are at the concert and 4th of July fireworks on the Ben Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia.