Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Monday, September 29, 2014
Friday, September 26, 2014
Thursday, September 25, 2014
Wednesday, September 24, 2014
Friday, September 19, 2014
Social Studies Happenings!
Greetings all!
As we wind down our 3rd week, here's a bit of what we've been up to in Social Studies.
6th Grade:
Sixth graders to a spin at being history detectives (archaeologists, historians, geographers) as our classroom turned into a "cave" in order to explore ancient cave paintings and tools, make hypotheses about their purpose, and compare our ideas with those of professional social scientists. They've also been spending some time in the computer lab typing, editing, and revising Place Papers--this class LOVES to write, and making deep connections to our favorite place through narrative provides a lens to explore other cultures and the importance of their place.
7th Grade:
In addition to our "cave walk," the seventh graders also began initial study of early hominids, making informational posters and presenting to the class about Australopithecus Afarensis, Homo Habilis, Homo Erectus, Homo Sapiens Neanderthalenis, and Homo Sapiens Sapiens. Specifically, students looked at what characteristics each early hominid group had and hypothesized about why those characteristics would be advantageous.
8th Grade:
Eighth graders have been continuing to closely read varying narratives and primary documents associated with significant events in the history of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. We'll continue to use this case study to further read, critique, and analyze texts from competing narratives and explore how narratives shape beliefs about legitimacy of actions taken by various nations.
All classes are also completing various forms of Current Events (6th graders are completing brief informal summary speeches, 7th graders are reading and responding to choice articles, and 8th graders are going more in-depth to specific news stories selected by me). As the year progresses, current events will continue to be an emphasis for all grades while the type work completed around current events will evolve as we progress.
Have a great weekend!
~Mr. Radich
As we wind down our 3rd week, here's a bit of what we've been up to in Social Studies.
6th Grade:
Sixth graders to a spin at being history detectives (archaeologists, historians, geographers) as our classroom turned into a "cave" in order to explore ancient cave paintings and tools, make hypotheses about their purpose, and compare our ideas with those of professional social scientists. They've also been spending some time in the computer lab typing, editing, and revising Place Papers--this class LOVES to write, and making deep connections to our favorite place through narrative provides a lens to explore other cultures and the importance of their place.
7th Grade:
In addition to our "cave walk," the seventh graders also began initial study of early hominids, making informational posters and presenting to the class about Australopithecus Afarensis, Homo Habilis, Homo Erectus, Homo Sapiens Neanderthalenis, and Homo Sapiens Sapiens. Specifically, students looked at what characteristics each early hominid group had and hypothesized about why those characteristics would be advantageous.
8th Grade:
Eighth graders have been continuing to closely read varying narratives and primary documents associated with significant events in the history of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. We'll continue to use this case study to further read, critique, and analyze texts from competing narratives and explore how narratives shape beliefs about legitimacy of actions taken by various nations.
All classes are also completing various forms of Current Events (6th graders are completing brief informal summary speeches, 7th graders are reading and responding to choice articles, and 8th graders are going more in-depth to specific news stories selected by me). As the year progresses, current events will continue to be an emphasis for all grades while the type work completed around current events will evolve as we progress.
Have a great weekend!
~Mr. Radich
Thursday, September 18, 2014
Wednesday, September 17, 2014
Tuesday, September 16, 2014
Monday, September 15, 2014
Friday, September 12, 2014
Getting the garden together
Enjoy!
Thursday, September 11, 2014
Wednesday, September 10, 2014
September 10 Agenda
Hi all,
Oops, I forgot to take a picture of the agenda today! Here's what we did:
6th grade: SSR, finish social studies binder set up, HW: rough draft place paper due Friday
7th grade: SSR, finish social studies binder set up, HW: CE #1 due Friday
8th grade: SSR, read from "Tasting the Sky" HW: news read and respond due Friday
Math: warm up, homework check, lesson intro, HW: lesson 6 #s 2-12, 19
Tuesday, September 9, 2014
Monday, September 8, 2014
Friday, September 5, 2014
Week 1 in the Books!
Greetings all,
What an excellent first week back! It was so great to see returning students as well as welcome new students and the incoming 6th grade class, I'm really excited for this year!
Here are a few tidbits from Social Studies this week:
Building the Foundation Before the House
All three grades spent a good amount of time this week getting back into school routines, learning new procedures, and getting organized and set up for a successful year. Once we've mastered some the how we can really dive into the what. Homework for all three grades will be folded in throughout the coming weeks and become more consistent as move through September.
6th Grade Social Studies
Sixth graders completed their first homework assignment as active historians by conducting an interview in order to try to answer What is Social Studies? We'll use this intro assignment as a foundation to help us explore how social scientists interpret the past to help us understand our world today. Sixth graders also started work on their Place Papers--an informal narrative writing assignment that we'll complete in class through writer's workshop that answers the question What is your favorite place and why? We also completed a world map pre-test (it will be fun to look at these at the end of the year and see how much more geographically aware we are!).
7th Grade Social Studies
Seventh graders began practicing discerning reading strategies to define and gain an understanding of some academic vocabulary that we'll be using throughout the year in our expository writing: analyze, cite, evidence, and perspective. We also looked at some source analysis via photos and started what will become our first Current Events entry with a focus on learning how to properly cite an article.
8th Grade Social Studies
Eighth graders began building some background knowledge of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict via mapping and vocabulary. We then started reading Tasting the Sky, a memoir of a Palestinian woman recalling her childhood and teen years during the Six-Day War and it's aftermath. This unit's focus is not so much understanding the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (although students will gain a foundational understanding in this), but rather to begin to examine multiple perspectives of complex issues as well as what different primary and secondary sources can tell us about events past and present.
Have a great weekend!
Best,
Mr. Radich
What an excellent first week back! It was so great to see returning students as well as welcome new students and the incoming 6th grade class, I'm really excited for this year!
Here are a few tidbits from Social Studies this week:
Building the Foundation Before the House
All three grades spent a good amount of time this week getting back into school routines, learning new procedures, and getting organized and set up for a successful year. Once we've mastered some the how we can really dive into the what. Homework for all three grades will be folded in throughout the coming weeks and become more consistent as move through September.
6th Grade Social Studies
Sixth graders completed their first homework assignment as active historians by conducting an interview in order to try to answer What is Social Studies? We'll use this intro assignment as a foundation to help us explore how social scientists interpret the past to help us understand our world today. Sixth graders also started work on their Place Papers--an informal narrative writing assignment that we'll complete in class through writer's workshop that answers the question What is your favorite place and why? We also completed a world map pre-test (it will be fun to look at these at the end of the year and see how much more geographically aware we are!).
7th Grade Social Studies
Seventh graders began practicing discerning reading strategies to define and gain an understanding of some academic vocabulary that we'll be using throughout the year in our expository writing: analyze, cite, evidence, and perspective. We also looked at some source analysis via photos and started what will become our first Current Events entry with a focus on learning how to properly cite an article.
8th Grade Social Studies
Eighth graders began building some background knowledge of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict via mapping and vocabulary. We then started reading Tasting the Sky, a memoir of a Palestinian woman recalling her childhood and teen years during the Six-Day War and it's aftermath. This unit's focus is not so much understanding the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (although students will gain a foundational understanding in this), but rather to begin to examine multiple perspectives of complex issues as well as what different primary and secondary sources can tell us about events past and present.
Have a great weekend!
Best,
Mr. Radich
Fresh Produce Friday in Foods Class!
Today was the first Fresh Produce Friday in 7th grade Foods class. Here are some photos of the 7th graders harvesting and enjoying raw (yes, raw with no sauces, dressings, etc.) kale and lettuce, as well as tomatoes, honeydew, strawberries, and plums.
Thursday, September 4, 2014
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
Tuesday, September 2, 2014
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