Week of 1/29 - 2/1

My apologies for posting so late in the week this week!  First, I have a couple reminders. 

1. Last Friday, we took a test over Ch. 22 The Rise of the Warrior Class in Japan.  Many students were absent for this test, so this is just a reminder that if you missed class last Friday, or didn't take the test because you had missed so many days previously, you will need to come in after school or during lunch to take it.
2. This Friday there is no school for Progress Reports.  Any missing assignments to be included on the progress report sent home must be turned in by Thursday 2/1.  
3. I WILL, however, still accept late work after progress reports, until the end of the trimester.

Now, onto this week in Social Studies!  We have started reading a short traditional story from Japan titled "The Samurai and the Tea Master."  The link to the story is available on the right side of this page.  We are reading the story in class, and then students will work to create an accurate re-telling of the story in comic book form.  Keep an eye out for the assignment sheet with the grading guide at the bottom for all the project requirements.

We will be working on this project for this entire week, and part of next week in class, with a due date of next Friday, 2/9.

Here is the weekly breakdown:

• Monday
• Students who need to may finish/take Ch. 22 test
•  Everyone else, begin reading story and taking notes
• Tuesday
• Read story and take notes as a class
• Wednesday
• Intro Project
• Students begin brainstorming & rough draft
• Thursday
• Finish Rough Draft (HOMEWORK - due Monday)
• Begin Final
• Friday - NO SCHOOL

Week of 1/22 - 1/26

It's the first full 5-day week of 2018 . . . And it's gonna be a doozy in Social Studies!  This week, we will be finishing up Chapter 22 of History Alive (The Rise of the Warrior Class - all about medieval Japanese samurai), performing a second round of mini-skits, and preparing for, and taking, the final test about the chapter.  Phew!  That is a lot of work!

Here is a breakdown of the week:

• Monday
• Finish reading notes: 22.7 - 22.10  (read and answer questions)
• Tuesday
• Mini Skits (round 2) Assignment and Preparations*
• Wednesday
• Mini Skit Performances*
• Thursday
• Ch. 22 Study Guide
• Test Preparation Kahoot
• Friday
• Chapter 22 Final Test

* If a student is absent for the skits, they will be excused from the skits.
* Also, students can improve their scores last week's skits by improving in this week's skits!

Week of 1/16 - 1/19

This week in social studies, we are starting reading chapter 22, "The Rise of the Warrior Class" about the samurai of medieval Japan.  In class, we will be reading the chapter and completing a note packet covering the main concepts of the chapter.  Students will also be performing mini-skits in small groups to demonstrate the different aspects of samurai daily life.

Here is a breakdown of the week:

• Monday - NO SCHOOL
• Tuesday
• Read 22.1 - 22.3 & Reading Notes
• Wednesday
• 22.4 - 22.7 & Reading Notes
• Thursday
• Skit assignment & preparation
• Friday   
• Skit performances

Weeks of 1/3 - 1/11

Happy New Year!  I hope you all had a restful and enjoyable winter break!

Last week in social studies, with only three days, we mostly worked on getting back into routine.  We started with reviewing the test students took on the Friday before winter break, and did some expectations review.  On Thursday, we practiced writing summaries, and on Friday we started in on the geography of our new unit - Japan!

This week, we are finishing up the Geography challenge, then watching a history channel documentary on Samurai.  There are two links on the right side of this page to the videos we will be watching.  Students will also be given guided C-Note templates for note-taking during the video.  I am not 100% sure how long it will take to view the video, so we may move on and begin the chapter, or we may just work on finishing the video.  Check back here for updates.

Bi-Weekly Breakdown:

• Wednesday 1/3
• Kahoot Review: Expectations & Procedures
• Return & Discuss Chapter 5 Final test
• Thursday 1/4
• Summarizing Activity/Practice
• Turn in at the end of class
• Friday 1/5
• Begin Japan Geography Challenge (link to maps on right side of page)
• Questions & Worksheet available in classroom
• Monday 1/8
• Finish Japan Geography Challenge
• HOMEWORK - finish geo challenge (borrow set of questions from Ms. Superneau)
• Tuesday 1/9 - Wednesday 1/10
• "Deconstructing History: Samurai" Video & Notes
• "The Samurai" Video & Notes
• Thursday 1/11
• Finish Video and/or Chapter 22 Preview
• Friday 1/12 - NO SCHOOL