8th Grade Chapter 10 Test Topics

Here are the test topics. Remember that this will significantly impact your grade and your class goal. Check out this map!

6th Grade Chapter 11 Test Topics

This test is over chapter 11 and the map and globe vocabulary. Remember, this test will have a big impact on your grade and your class goal. Click here for the test topics.

Q4 Grades on Powerschool

I just wanted to let everyone know that your grades are current on Powerschool. Since I fixed the java issue on my laptop, I have been able to access the online gradebook more frequently. Please check your grade often to see if you are meeting your class goal! Remember, do your homework every night to help your class succeed in the Homework Challenge.

Extra Credit Due Friday, April 3rd

Another Riddle! For 5 points, identify the islands described. Write your answer on looseleaf with a proper heading and deposit it, upside down, in the red box near my door.

"We're found where the Equator intersects the meridian 90° W. Observations made on us incited a fierce battle between science and the Old Testament that still rages on today!"

Answer: Galapagos Islands

Assignments for the Week of March 30th

No time to waste this week--let's finish our chapters before Spring Break so we can all relax! Please come prepared each day to work hard and get through everything we have planned. Also, remember the HOMEWORK challenge! I updated PowerSchool on Saturday, so Q4 grades are current.

6^th Grade

□ Go over 11.4 (Mon in class)

□ Read Aloud: The American Story (Mon in class)

□ 11.5: terms, read, reading checks, GR (Mon HW)

□ Go over 11.5 (Tues in class)

□ Read Aloud: The American Story (Tues in class)

□ Test Topics for Ch. 11 (Tues in class)

□ Ch. 11 Review: Reviewing Main Ideas and Thinking Critically (Tues HW)

□ Go over Ch. 11 Review (Wed in class)

□ Read Aloud: The American Story (Wed in class)

□ Study for Review Game/Test (Wed HW)

□ Review Game (Thurs in class)

□ Ch. 11 Test (Fri in class)

□ Grade test (Fri in class)

□ Goal Update (Fri in class)

7^th Grade

□ Read Aloud: Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes (Mon in class)

Meet in the computer lab on Tuesday – be sure to bring your flash drives in order to print out the Mongolia projects.

□ Finish the Sadako Read Aloud (Tues in class)

□ Take the AR quiz for Sadako (Tues in class)

□ Print out Mongolia post cards (Tues in class)

□ 25.4 and 25.5: terms, read, reading checks, GR’s (Tues HW)

□ Go over 25.4 and 25.5 (Wed in class)

□ Ch 25 Test Topics (Wed in class)

□ Ch 25 Review: Reviewing Main Ideas and Thinking Critically (Wed HW)

□ Video: Inside North Korea (Thurs in class)

□ Ch 25 Daily Quizzes (Fri in class)

□ Grade quizzes (Fri in class)

□ Goal Update (Fri in class)

8^th Grade

□ Collect Lewis and Clark Essays (Monday)

□ 10.2 Daily Quiz (Monday: 8B in class, 8S at home)

□ 10.3: terms, read, reading checks, GR (Mon HW)

□ Go over 10.3 (Tues in class)

□ SRQ #4 a&b (Tues in class)

□ 10.3 Daily Quiz (Tues in class)

□ 10.4: terms, read, reading checks, GR (Tues HW)

□ Go over 10.4 (Wed in class)

□ SRQ #2 (Wed in class)

□ Ch 10 Test Topics (Wed in class)

□ Chapter Review: Complete the following (Wed HW)

1. Pg 320 – Understanding Main Ideas #1-5

2. PG 320 – Review Themes #1-3

3. PG 320 – Thinking Critically #3

4. PG 323 – #2

□ Go over Ch 10 Review (Thurs in class)

□ Review Game (Thurs in class)

□ Ch 10 Test (Fri in class)

□ Goal Update (Fri in class)

8th Grade Essay on Lewis and Clark: Due Monday

The essay that was assigned last Tuesday is due Monday, March 30th.
"Would you have wanted to be a part of the Corps of Discovery? Why or why not?"

TIPS:
-make sure you provide general information about the expedition in your first paragraph (the introduction). Include the who, what, when, where, and why.
-your thesis statement should be the last sentence of your introduction. It shouldn't be the only sentence of your introduction!
-be sure you stick to the prongs in each paragraph.
-don't just talk about the expedition. Make sure you connect to the events by giving examples and then stating why you would or would not have wanted to be a part of that event.

LINKS:
Try visiting these links to help you include historical information. Be sure to cite the source by using EasyBib.com (choose MLA style) or the guidelines in your writing folder.

Lewis-Clark.org
PBS Lewis and Clark - Interactive Map
PBS A History of US - Lewis and Clark
National Geographic's Lewis and Clark Journey Log

Your essay will be evaluated based on:
-historical information (20 points) How many relevant factual details from the journey are in your paragraphs?
-good form (20 points) Did you use correct spelling, grammar, and punctuation? Did you use the first person? Is your paper well organized?
-sentence fluency and transitions (20 points) Are your sentences varied? Did you use good transitions? Is the essay choppy or does it flow nicely?
-quality introduction and thesis statement (20 points) Did you include answers to the 5 w's in the introduction? Does the thesis statement have three distinct parts and is it found at the end of the introduction?
-connection to the historical event (20 points) How well did you connect yourself to the event? Did you put yourself in their shoes? Did you imagine yourself on the expedition and then write about whether or not you'd like to have been on that expedition?

Oops!

Teachers are human, and humans make mistakes! So, I would like to announce a correction. I made an error in teaching the sixth graders about secession. I said Georgia was the first state to secede prior to the Civil War, but I was wrong. The correct state was South Carolina. Thank you to Noah Scheer for bringing that to my attention! Sorry guys!

Extra Credit Due Friday, March 27th

Write your answer on looseleaf with a proper heading and put it upside down in the red box by my door.

Who am I?

I'm an animal who lives in the interior west of the United States. I'm small, I look a bit like a gopher, and I make underground tunnels and lairs. I sometimes sit on the mound leading to my burrow with my family and friends. When Lewis and Clark's expedition found me, they chased me out of my burrow with water and then sent me back to President Jefferson in a cage.

Answer: Prairie Dog!

Assignments for the Week of March 23rd

I was out sick Monday and Tuesday, so the list this week starts with Wednesday.

6^th Grade

□ Grade Ch 10 Test (Wed in class)

□ Go over 11.1 (Wed in class)

□ partner graphic organizer (Wed in class)

□ read aloud from The American Story (Wed in class)

□ 11.2: terms, read, reading checks, GR (Wednesday HW)

□ Go over 11.2 (Thurs in class)

□ Main Idea Activities 11.2 (Thurs in class)

□ read aloud from The American Story (Thurs in class)

□ 11.3:terms, read, reading checks, GR (Thursday HW)

□ Go over 11.3 (Fri in class)

□ 11.3 SRQ’s with small group (Fri in class)

□ read aloud from The American Story (Fri in class)

□ 11.4: terms, read, reading checks, GR (weekend HW)

Next week we’ll finish chapter 11. Plan on the test for either Thursday or Friday of next week.

7^th Grade

□ Go over GR’s for 25.1 and 25.2 (Wed in class)

□ Go over 25.3

□ read aloud: Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes (this week in class)

□ as soon as Sadako is finished: 25.1, 25.2, 25.3 Daily Quizzes

I’m dividing up this chapter since I’m sure we won’t have enough time for a test prior to break. So, the daily quizzes will be in place of a test, and they’ll be open book.

8^th Grade

□ Finish Ken Burn’s Lewis and Clark

□ work on essay in class – due March 30^th

□ 10.2: terms, read, reading checks, GR (weekend HW)

Plan on the Ch 10 Test for next Friday.

6th Grade Ch 10 Test Topics

Click here to see the test topics for Tuesday's test.

8th grade - Plan Your Dream Trip!

I hear you're bored in computers, so here's an activity: Plan a Trip to Anywhere in the World!
Here are the steps:
1. visit Lonely Planet to choose a place to visit. Spend some time browsing through the world, and pick somewhere you passionately want to visit.
2. go to Travelocity to find a flight, hotel, transportation, etc.
3. Feel free to use other travel sites as well (sometimes countries have tourism board websites to help travelers).
4. Create a summary (in Microsoft Word) of your planned trip, making sure to include the following items:

• Where you will be going
• Flight plans (how will you get there from South Bend?)
• Itinerary - detailed description of your plans for each day (hotel/hostel stay, daytime plans, food plans, etc)
• pictures to help tell the story of your planned trip (hotel, locations, local culture, etc)

Tips:
- make sure your trip is at least a week long
- think outside the box: try planning a stay at a youth hostel or going camping!
- plan the trip as if you are just out of college and wanting to travel before you start your real job.
- be adventurous!

Have fun with this. Just make sure I have the printed summary of your trip by May 29th.

Belated Congrats

Congratulations to our Quiz Bowl Team who beat St. Pius last Wednesday, 265-240. We had a great time! Go Cougars!

Chapter 24 Test Topics - 7th Grade

Click here for the test topics. The test is Wednesday (200 points).

Extra Credit Due THURSDAY, March 19th

This week's opportunity is due on Thursday because it's the end of the quarter.
5 points: Which President was the "oldest" when he was elected?

Assignments for the week of March 16th

Subject to change—please check back often.

6^th grade

□ go over the weekend HW (Monday in class)

□ short, easy map/globe vocabulary quiz (Monday in class)

□ 10.1: terms, read, reading checks, GR, map (Monday HW)

□ SRQ’s 1-3 pg 221 (Tuesday in class)

□ 10.2: terms, read, reading checks, GR (Tuesday HW)

□ go over 10.2 (Wednesday in class)

□ Read Aloud: The American Story (Wednesday in class)

□ Chapter 10 Main Idea Activities (Thursday in class)

□ Ch 10 Test Topics (Thursday in class)

□ Ch 10 Review Game (Friday in class)

□ STUDY for Monday’s Ch 10 Test (weekend HW)

7^th Grade

□ Ch 24 Review Game (Tuesday in class)

□ Ch 24 Test (Wednesday in class)

We're pausing between chapters to watch China's Great Wall

□ 25.1: terms, read, reading checks, GR, locate (Weekend HW)

8^th Grade

□ No Social Studies on Monday due to ACRE Review Game

□ Go over 10.2 (Tuesday in class)

□ edHelper “Louisiana Purchase” (Tuesday in class)

□ Lewis and Clark Video (may take the rest of the week!)

□ WHENEVER THE VIDEO IS DONE: do 10.3 for homework.