7th Grade: DBQ Re-Do Opportnity

Hi 7th graders:

As many of you are aware, the DBQ that was due last week has been graded and returned to you...and some of you did less than stellar.

In an attempt to help you improve yourself (and your grade) I am offering the opportunity for you to re-do the work...

So, come to my class (tomorrow) Wednesday, December 1 at: 7:30 AM, Lunch, or 3:00 PM (tell your parents to come get you by 4) and bring your DBQ--I will go over with you what went wrong, and give you an opportunity to fix your errors...

DBQ re-dos will be due Friday, December 3 by the end of the day!

I hope many of you take advantage of this opportunity...

KF

Three weeks to break: Nov 29-Dec 3

Not that I'm counting down, but I figured you might be... (although I am rather excited because I will get to meet my new niece or nephew when I go home for the Holidays!! He or she is due on Friday!!!!)

Either way, we have 3 weeks left, and those three weeks are going to be {PACKED} with fun and interesting things!!

6th grade: Please remember that today, a week from today, and the final Monday of the semester we will be "dancing machines" with the 5th graders...I am very much looking forward to the final product at Songfest!!

Tomorrow we will begin our Native Americans unit: as you all requested no more packets, we are going to be doing a 2-person project with our table partners. Details to come. :) Your Native American quiz will be Wednesday, December 13.
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7th grade: You will also be starting a new project this week, the Ancient Africa group project. Working in the groups you had last week (it seemed to go well, I think) you will be completing a poster, 2 other projects, as well as an individual component. You will also have a quiz over Africa on Wednesday, December 13.
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8th grade: We will continue looking at Ancient Rome this week, beginning with a small research project to find historical anachronisms in some "Roman letters." Don't know what an anachronism is? Look it up! :) Later in the week we will look at what happened when the Republic collapsed (the Empire strikes back) and watch another dreamy David Macaulay movie :) Your Ancient Rome quiz will be Tuesday, December 12.
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Seniors: The speeches are coming, the speeches are coming!! This week we will spend Thursday working on our outlines in the lab, and Friday critiquing each others' speeches. Your demonstration speeches will be presented in class on December 9th and 10th, and your audience will be 3rd and 5th graders!
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Well, there you have it! Hopefully you have found something to look forward to in my class this week, and if not...well, there's only 3 weeks to Songfest! :)

KF

Senior Blog Post: 2 parts! 1st Due Wednesday, Dec 1, 2nd part due by class time on Friday, Dec 3

Hi Seniors:

Sorry sorry sorry...I mean, I know most of you do these on Sunday nights ;) but I meant to get this posted on Friday.

Anyway, here it is:

For Wednesday: I want you to have your introduction and conclusion written and posted on the blog. If you need a reminder of what that should look like, check out the outline template at this website.

For Friday: Bring a copy of your outline (introduction and conclusion plus whatever you have done on the body of the speech) to class on Thursday. ALSO you should bring short, written comments on two of your classmates' introductions and conclusions. Give suggestions on things you think they could improve, could expand on, could clarify.

Questions? BB or e-mail me.

KF

6th Grade Songfest Information

Here is a copy of a letter that should be sent home with all 6th grade students today:

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Dear 5^th and 6^th Grade Parents:

We hope this note finds you well. We would like you to know that for this coming Songfest, the 5^th and 6^th grade classes will be working together on a dance.

For the program we have chosen a mix of the songs “La Despedia,” “Coma Mi Niña Bonita,” and “We Speak No Americano.”

Today was our first meeting, and we talked about the clothing the student will wear for Songfest. The students decided to dress “normal, but cool,” which means jeans and any t-shirt of their preference. They are also welcome to wear a hat.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact either of us at school.

Sincerely,

Maricarmen Raunelli Kristen Fink

5^th grade teacher 6^th grade teacher

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To prepare for Songfest, the 6th graders will be dedicating 4 hours a week to practice. On Mondays I will take the students to 5th grade during my first hour class with them. On Tuesday they will meet with the 5th graders during 3rd hour, and they will practice together during afternoon classes on Thursday and Friday. In addition, please encourage your student to practice their dance moves at home.

Ms. Maricarmen and I see this collaboration as an excellent way to foster good relationships between the 5th and 6th grade classes, and are excited to see what our students achieve at Songfest!!

KF

Some Things to be Thankful For: November 22-25

Happy Thanksgiving Week, everyone.

I hope you are looking forward to turkey, stuffing, or at least a 4-day weekend. :o)

However, a short week ≠ a week with no learning, so here's what we will be doing for the next 3 days:

6th grade: We are going to start working on our Songfest dance with the 5th graders tomorrow. We will also put on our Incan fashion show for them, so be ready for that. Tuesday and Wednesday we will work on finishing up the Inca packet...you have done a really great job working on these...let's work hard to complete them, and maybe we will do something different for the next unit... :-D
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7th grade: I had ONE student e-mail me this weekend with a question about the DBQ, so I am going to assume you didn't have a problem with them?? I will look forward to hearing your thoughts tomorrow. We will spend this week looking at Africa, our final unit of the quarter (and semester). Monday we will complete a map and worksheet on the 4 regions of Africa, and on Tuesday-Wednesday we will complete an activity to learn about the traditional stores of these regions.
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8th grade: After the fall of the Etruscan (and Roman and Sabine) kings, Rome became a Republic. We will learn what that means, and oh, so much more, this week in class! :) You will get to check out my PowerPoint presenting skills and create a political cartoon (due Wednesday), as well as find out the advantage Hannibal had over the Roman army...(hint: it's big)
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Seniors: Once again, we will not have class this week...so hopefully you are keeping up with the blog, or you will be WAY behind (and not ready for your demonstration speeches) which will be presented December 9-10. Check in with me if you have any questions.
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I'm sure you were all sad to be out of school last Friday... ...but we teachers had a great time at the 2-day Conference at the Marriott. I attended 5 great sessions and presented at 2 sessions of my own, and I learned a lot! Hopefully you will see some new things being attempted in the class over the next few weeks...as always, your feedback is appreciated... :)

Have a great week!
KF