Friday, November 5, 2010

Week in Review 11/1 - 11/5

Hi y'all... I apologize for being a little inconsistent with my posting recently. This semester of grad school is kicking my butt. So here ya go....

My student teacher has taken over full control and has been doing most of the planning, but I will give you a quick synopsis of the past week.

FROSH SEMINAR
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The first quarter has come to an end for our youngest Huskies. Hopefully their high school experience has been good thus far. Initial statistics of failure rates from this year as compared to last year indicate that the Freshmen Seminar course seems to be helping. We have been reviewing math and vocabulary concepts as usual. Please remind your student to bring their AR books for their English classes and any work they can complete or study. They get time everyday to work independently and some of them are not taking full advantage of that time.

US HISTORY
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We finished up Western Expansion this week by watching a clip from the film Dances with Wolves that shows the intersection and conflict of not only white and native culture, but also conflict between various native cultures. We have since moved into Ch. 18 of the text and are looking at historical American Imperialism. We will make connections back to the ideologies of Western expansion and Manifest Destiny and make connections to Imperialism.

GOVERNMENT
- We have been discussing the role of political parties in our system of government this week. We have also looked at various versions of the political spectrum as we try to comprehend the role that the left/right split plays in American politics. Obviously the election will be a source of discussion as we move into next week.

PARENTS' HOMEWORK

Seminar: Please encourage your students to come prepared to class to make the best use of their independent/guided study time.

US History: I mentioned this last book in my previous post, but it is a good one.... Habits of Empire: A History of American Expansion by Walter Nugent. Also, most books on Teddy Roosevelt would speak to American Imperialism in the United States.

Government: I would recommend The American Voter Revisited if you have any interest in understanding this past election and how people voted. I would also recommend Why Parties?: The Origin and Transformation of Political Parties in America which is an interesting read on American politics. In class the students went to www.politicalcompass.org to see where they were on the political spectrum according to this website. You may be interested in taking this survey as well.

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Week in Review 10/11 - 10/15

I apologize for the tardiness of the post, but here goes...

Frosh. Seminar:

We continued more of the same this past week... we worked on more vocabulary strategies to help the students study for their toughest classes. A lot of our freshmen seem to be struggling with biology, so please encourage your student to use these vocab. strategies to study in that class. We again worked on math concepts on Monday and the students were given ample time to read for their AR points. The students check their grades weekly on Infinite Campus in this class so there shouldn't be any surprises. We make them record the letter grade and the percentage so they can track change over time and then reflect on why their grade has changed either for the negative or the positive.

US History:

We are off and running in our Western Expansion/American Imperialism Unit. This past week we started by looking at the Lewis and Clark Expedition and talked about its role in sparking Western Expansion. We looked at the influences of Thomas Jefferson and his view of an ideal America and how that image drew Americans to the frontier as they searched for "open lands". We also discussed (and will continue to discuss) the tragic consequences of Western Expansion on Native Americans. We wrapped up the week looking at a the Presidency of Andrew Jackson. We watched a film entitled Andrew Jackson: Good, Evil and the Presidency. More specifically we watched the sections entitled "The First Imperial President", "The Great White Father", "Defender of the Union", and "The Prophet". These sections deal with Jackson's Indian removal policy (and its subsequent removal of the Cherokee to Oklahoma via the Trail of Tears), the nullification crisis with South Carolina, his expansion of executive power, and finally his war with the Second Bank of the United States and corporations.

American Government:

This past week we wrapped up our look at Chapter 3 which is a very structural look at the Constitution. We will get into more application of the Constitution in the upcoming chapters and units. Wednesday the students had a quiz on Chapter 3. We also began looking at American Federalism this week and began discussing how the Federal Government balances its powers with State Governments. Friday we had our first Seminar which is an opportunity for the kids to share their opinions on certain topics related to government. This weeks topic was addressing the question, "When should government intervene?" The students were given ten hypothetical situations to consider if government intervention was apporpriate. After looking at the ten situations they chose one to write a position paper on. Next week will will continue our look at American Federalism. Friday of next week they will have a quiz on Chapter 4 and Tuesday the 26th they will have a Unit test covering Chapters 1-4.

Parents Homework:
Frosh:
The first nine weeks is coming to a quick close. please continue to encourage your students to work diligently in 1st period.

US:
If you are interested in the presidency of Andrew Jackson I would recommend American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House by John Meacham. For those of you interested in American Imperialism I would recommend Habits of Empire: A History of American Expansion by Walter Nugent. Please continue to encourage your students to READ carefully and diligently. Many of them have not been reading carefully and have missed some easy questions on some of the assignments.

Gov.:
America's Constitution: A Biography by Akhil Reed Amar is a very interesting analysis of the Constitution point by point. American Federalism: A View from the States by Daniel Elazar is an important analysis of this topic. It is a little harder to come by now, but worth the effort. Please encourage your students to READ and be diligent in their work. Remind them about their service hours (the election is coming very soon) and their semester book project.

Saturday, October 9, 2010

Week in Review 10/4 - 10/8

It is hard to believe that six weeks have already come and gone in this school year. The first nine weeks is coming to an end quickly. Please encoruage your students to ask for help if it is needed.

FROSH SEMINAR: This past week we worked on our fifth vocabulary study strategy. Please encourage your students to use these strategies in any class they may have trouble in. Our mentors have been working very hard with the freshmen to keep them on track with their studies. This past week we also took a visit to the College and Career Center to begin mapping out a four year plan with the counselors. Please ask your student about the trip and what they planned for themselves.

US HISTORY: Monday we finished a lecture on the War fo 1812. We tried to place the war in the larger context of the Early Republic. The outcomes of the war is where we focused much of our attention. We worked on a practice DBQ (Document Based Question) the seond part of Monday's class in preperation for Wednesday's Unit Test. Tuesday we played Jeopardy in class to review concepts and ideas for the test. Wednesday we had our Unit1/2 test. The students were allowed to make a one page note sheet to assist them on the test. Thursday we completed the test and Friday we looked at the concept of Manifest Destiny to serve as an introduction to our unit on westward expansion and American imperialism.

GOVERNMENT:
This past week we finished our Common Craft "like" videos covering the Constitution. Next week we will review the basic principles of the Constitution and then begin our study of American Federalism.

PARENT'S HOMEWORK;
Seminar: Encourage your students to ask their mentors for help in all aspects of their high school experience.

History: If interested in the War of 1812 and more specifically the outcomes of the war I would suggest The Republic Reborn by Steven Watts. We will begin our look at western expansion with the Louisiana Purchase and the Lewis & Clark Expedition. I would recommend American Creation by Joseph Ellis. He has a very interesting chapter on the Louisiana Purchase. For the Lewis & Clark expedition I would recommend Undaunted Courage by Stephen Ambrose.

Government: Please encourage your students to finish their service hours sooner rather than later. If you have any interest in the Constitution I would recommend America's Constitution: A Biography by Akhil Amar.

Sunday, October 3, 2010

Week in Review 9/27 - 10/1

FROSH SEMINAR: This past week was more of the same. We worked on a series of different note taking strategies along with more vocabulary study skills. The students also had significant amounts of time periodically throughout the week to work on assignments from their other classes.

GOVERNMENT: Monday of this past week we finished a lecture on the ratification debates that took place after the draft of the Constitution was submitted to the states for ratification. We spent time analyzing the arguments of the Federalists and Anti-federalists. The students were assigned roles of either Federalists or Anti-federalists and were also given a specific topic to defend in an in class debate. Wednesday we began looking at the six principles that serve as the foundation for our Constitution. Thursday the students were placed in groups and given a section of the Constitution to explain to their classmates. The students will be producing films like those produced by the talented folks at www.commoncraft.com

US HISTORY: This past week we took a very brief look at the presidencies of the first four presidents (Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison). We did a more detailed comparison of the ideas and thoughts associated with Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton. We worked on some primary source document skills using the acronym APPARTS. The students were also introduced to the idea and concept of DBQs or document based questions. This form of assessment will be used in the near future. We concluded the week by beginning to look at the War of 1812.

PARENTS HOMEWORK:
- Frosh Seminar: Please continue to encourage your students to work diligently in 1st period and to be prepared everyday with their AR book.

- Govt.: Please remind your students to work on completing both their service hours and their semester book project.

- US History: Please encourage your students to read diligently and with purpose. Also, they need to make better use of class time when they are given time in class to begin working on homework.

History of Hip-Hop

Saturday, September 18, 2010

The Week in Review 9/13 - 917

For the parents of my wonderful students... I want to give you some sense of what it is we do in our classroom on a weekly basis. I hope this sparks some discussions with you and your student at home. I will also occasionally post some "Parent Homework" - This will be a collection of suggested readings, films/TV to watch, or questions to ask your students. My thought being that parents can remotely participate in our class from home and have meaningful discussions with their students. I was also fired up at the notion that parents might begin to have conversations via this blog or elsewhere about the content of the classes in which their students belong. Hopefully this becomes a useful tool.

Frosh Seminar
  • I have never taught the "young ones" until this year. I must say that I have really enjoyed the process thus far. This group of students is a lot of fun to be around. This week we worked on building academic skills across curriculum. Monday we reviewed some simple math equations, later in the week we examined one method of learning vocabulary that could be used in any class. We spent two days in the Learning Center (library) getting an introduction on how to use the Learning Center efficiently. We wrapped up the week by having the mentors take the freshmen around the school in a focused manner to make sure they know where to find help in all areas of their high school careers
US History
  • Our topic this week is the American Revolution. We spent some time covering the causes of the American Revolution; namely how the French and Indian War changed the imperial policies of the British government after 1763. We spent a good deal of time looking at some primary sources of the Boston Massacre which allowed us to work on developing our skills in analysis and also opened us up for a discussion about propaganda and how it was used by both the British and the Americans. We watched one episode of the TV series Liberty! from PBS. We viewed the episode titled "Reluctant Revolutionaries" which concisely described the reluctance of the revolutionary generation to cast off the British Monarchy.
American Government
  • We continued our look at both the historical and philosophical foundations of our system of government. We spent a great deal of time last week talking about John Locke and the Natural Rights Philosophy and compared that to the idea of classical republicanism. We took our first quiz last week that we didn't do as well on as we would have hoped. SO we took some class time last week to make some quiz corrections and bring up those quiz scores slightly. This week we moved into more concrete historical influences, namely the role of British Government and how it influenced our country. We started by looking at the Magna Carta from 1215 and traced British notions of "virtual representation" through the creation of our Articles of Confederation (1777). We analyzed the Articles and I had the students paraphrase sections from the Articles and we discussed in class the weaknesses of the document and why it needed to be changed. Yesterday we finished watching Liberty! Episode 6 from PBS. This episode described the reasons for calling a convention to amend the Articles and explains why the delegates who met in Philadelphia ended up changing the government completely. The film concluded with a brief description of the ratification debates over the new Constitution. Next week we will take an in depth look at three of the suggested plans of government that were proposed at the Convention and we will pay special attention to Mr. Madison's plan which is the basis for our current system of government. We will wrap up next week with a Federalist/Anti-Federalist debate about the merits of the Constitution. Monday, the students will also be given some specifics about the mock election that all of the government classes will be running in Sept. and Oct. Reminder for the students: you need to email me your book choice by Tues. at 2:30.

PARENTS HOMEWORK:

  • Come to parent night next Wednesday.
  • Gov./US History Parents - You may want to read 1776 by David McCullough or my favorite book Founding Brothers by Joesph Ellis. Both books give you a nice sense of the Revolutionary period in American History. Ellis' book is a good read and he crafts a really nice narrative. McCullough is a more traditional history book. If you have any interest in the French and Indian War I would suggest the book The War that Made America by Fred Anderson or the PBS documentary of the same name. The novel The Last of the Mohicans is also set during that time period. I attempted to read that book long ago and I couldn't get into it, but the movie is fairly good. The novel version is also an AR book as is 1776 if your student needs AR points for their English class. If they pass the AR test they can get a little bit of extra credit in my class.
  • Frosh parents - ask your students about the social and academic goals they set in 1* and see how much progress they have made towards those goals. Also, encourage them to bring their AR book to class everyday. They will start to get time in class to read these books.
  • Parent Portal to Infinite Campus opens on Monday.

Monday, April 19, 2010

Seth Godin - Tribes We Lead




Using the "Soda Guy" and Seth Godin - Describe how these two videos apply to you and your work in Senior Seminar. How can these two videos help you in your career exploration?

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Construction of Falling Water

This Frank Lloyd Wright structure was names to the Smithsonian's list of 25 things to see before you die... I know it's on my list.

Fallingwater from Cristóbal Vila on Vimeo.

Friday, January 29, 2010