Week of 12/12/11

Seventh Grade: This week your students will be taking final exams in most of their classes. They took their test last week in Social Studies. I am currently grading those exams and you should see the grades in powerschool by Tuesday. This week we are continuing our study of China by completing a physical map in class on Monday and Tuesday. During their final period, the students will be participating in an activity in which we will be examining the traditional art forms of poetry and landscape painting. This is an in-class assignment and the students will not need to study for this assignment. There will be no homework over break.

Sixth Grade: This week the students will be completing their interview presentations of the Egyptian Social Classes. They will have a unit Exam on Egypt during the final period. The students have a study guide and they should be studying in the evening to prepare for that exam. Please encourage your students to come see me if they have questions and they may show me drafts of their short answer essay questions to prepare for the test. There will be no homework over break.

Week of 12/5/11

Sixth Grade:
Your students have received a study guide for a test on Ancient Egypt. This test will be held during our final exam period. The homework assigned for this week is to use the study guide to study for the test. Your students should make matching flashcards to test themselves for the terms and people. They should review the map of Egypt and identify the items that are on their study guide. In addition, the students should practice writing the short answer essays. They are welcome to show their practice essays to me in advance of the test and I can give them feedback.

In class this week, the students are working in groups to write a script for a interview skit they will perform on Friday and Monday. They are studying the daily life and culture of the Egyptian social classes.

Seventh Grade:
This week we are finishing our unit on Africa with a small test. Your students will be taking this test on Tuesday. On Wednesday we will begin our study of China during the Middle Ages. We will be focusing on the traditions and changes that became a part of Chinese culture and history during this time period. We will be working on the geography of China and then beginning our study of the Chinese Dynasties during this time period. We will review Buddhism and Confucianism and introduce Daoism as well. This unit will continue when we return from break.

The student will NOT have a final exam. Their unit exam is this week. On the final period, we will be completing an in class assignment about Chinese art and poetry.

Week of 11/28/11

SIXTH GRADE:

We are continuing our study of Egypt this week. The students will be participating in a poster museum walk about the Egyptian gods and goddesses. On Thursday, we will be discussing the New Kingdom and its rise as an empire and military empire.

The students will receive a study guide for the test on Egypt which will be held during the finals period the week before break. Students should use this study guide to prepare for the test. I recommend creating matching flash cards and practice for writing the short answer responses. Any students who are experiencing difficulty with the material are welcome to come see me for help.

SEVENTH GRADE:

This week we are wrapping up our study of Africa. The students are learning about the pilgrimage of Mansa Musa and its impact on Western Africa. Later this week we will begin an in-class activity about African Proverbs. On Tuesday, the students will receive a study guide for a quiz which will be held given next Tuesday. The quiz will have 3 short answer questions. I encourage the students to use the study guide to prepare for this quiz. They are welcome to come see me with any questions they might have.

There will be NO final exam for this class. We will be beginning our unit on China and the students will be participating in a class activity.

Week Of 10/31/11

Sixth Grade:
This week we begin our study of Egypt! On Monday the students will watch a short video clip of a journey down the Nile River and we will discuss the importance of the river in this civilization. We will talk about the gifts of the Nile River and get an overview of the history of the Egyptian Civilization.

REMINDER: Students should have a set of their own colored pencils they bring to class each day. I do have some class sets, but the students have not been taking care of them, and I may have to remove them if it does not improve. Please ensure your student has colored pencils to bring to class each day. If this is not financially possible, please email me and let me know. I have some donations I can share.

Seventh Grade:
This week we will begin our discussion of West Africa. We will be specifically focusing on the Kingdoms of Ghana and Mali. The students will begin with a discussion of the geography of Africa, the difficulty of crossing the Sahara Desert, and why people would make this dangerous journey during the middle ages.

PARENT HOURS:
There are a few things I could use for our classroom and for an upcoming fundraiser.
1. $5 gift cards to Jamba Juice, Big Spoon, or Coldstone for student of the month awards
2. Regular size file folders for portfolio storage
3. Your left over Halloween candy: 1 gallon size ziploc bag=1 hour. (please no eyeballs or scary candy.)
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Week of 10/17/11

Seventh Grade:
This week we will be performing our commercials about the achievements of the Islamic Empire. When those presentations are complete we will examine the unique culture of Islamic Spain. We will discuss the concept of diversity and the benefits of embracing diversity.

Sixth Grade:
This week we will finish our study of Mesopotamia and begin our study of Ancient Egypt. We will begin by examining the geography of the region and will discuss why the Nile River was considered a "gift" from the Gods. Your students should be working on their final project for Mesopotamia at home. Please see the post below regarding that project.

SIXTH GRADE PROJECT

The sixth graders are currently working on a project about Mesopotamia. The students were required to have their introduction page of their project done today. You can look in powerschool to see if that was completed. If the student's score is a 0 that means they did not have the assignment completed today. The project is not due until October 25th, so I will be assigning checkpoints along the way to ensure the students are not procrastinating this assignment. You can check on their status by looking at the checkpoints on powerschool. It is worth 90 points and is the unit project for our study of Mesopotamia.

Week of 10/10/11

Sixth Grade:
The students finished their posters on the Sumerian achievements and will be completing a museum walk in the classroom. They will be examining the posters which will contain information about the Sumerian achievements and they will be identifying how these achievements fit under the characteristics of a civilization. After the museum walk we will begin to discuss the Babylonians with an emphasis on Hammurabi's Code of Law.

Seventh Grade:
This week we will begin to examine how the death of Muhammad affected the growth of the Islamic religion and empire. We will discuss the first four caliphs, the movement of the Islamic capital cities and we will begin to discuss the cultural and scientific achievements of the Islamic Empire.

Week of 10/3/11

Sixth Grade:
We are continuing our study of Mesopotamia this week by looking at the Sumerians. The students first identified the characteristics that make up a civilization and they are now examining examples of those characteristics in the Sumerian civilization. The students are currently working on posters in class and later this week and early next week they will complete a "museum walk" and learn about all of the different topics.

Seventh Grade:
We are continuing our study of the Islamic Empire. The students are learning about the historical figure Muhammad and his role as a religious leader, a government leader, a military leader, and a social leader. They will also learn about the basic teachings of Muhammad in order to understand how these teachings changed the culture of Arabia.

Week of 9/26/11

Sixth Grade:
This week your students will be working on a project at home entitled "Ancient Heads". The project was introduced on Friday and the work at home should begin Monday night. This project is due Friday 9/30. This week we will begin to study Mesopotamia. The students will be answering the investigative question: Why is Mesopotamia considered the birthplace of Civilization? We will be discussing what the characteristics of a civilization are and will be using those to evaluate why Mesopotamia is considered one of the first civilizations. We will also begin looking at the achievements of the Ancient Sumerians.

Seventh Grade:
The students have been working on the Roman Visual Spectrum project which is due this Wednesday. We have been discussing the reasons for Rome's fall and will be finishing that discussion Monday. On Tuesday, we will move on to our next unit: The Islamic Empire. We will investigating the following question: How did Muhammad's Message impact Arabia during the Middle Ages. We will first discuss the geography of Arabia and how people lived, and then we will discuss the culture of the Arabian people before Muhammad's birth.

Week of 9/19/11

Seventh Grade:
Your students should be working on their Roman Visual Spectrum Project this week at home! In class we will be discussing historians' theories on the Fall of Rome and will be comparing Rome's historic fall to our own nation's current challenges.

Sixth Grade:
Most of your students did well on the Geography quiz. If your student is unhappy with their grade, please talk to them about what they did to prepare for the quiz. I had several students, who, in class said they did not study at all. Unfortunately, some of the grades reflect that. If your student did study, and is unhappy with the results, please encourage him/her to come talk to me about study strategies that might help.

This week we will finish up our discussion of Hunter gatherers by looking at how humans began to develop agriculture and how it affected their lives. We will be discussing neolithic towns and an end of unit project will be assigned later this week. I will post the due date when it is assigned in powerschool and on this blog.

Seventh Grade Project Assigned

Your seventh graders were assigned the Roman Visual Spectrum Project this week. The due date for this project is 9/28/11. However there will be checkpoints along the way. The first column of their project will be checked next Tuesday 9/20, and I will be checking daily for progress. They will earn five points each day for meeting the assigned checkpoint. Please check powerschool to monitor your student's progress.

Week of 9/12/11

Sixth Grade:
On Monday, we will be discussing the students' "Remembering 9-11" interviews. We will discuss why it is important that we remember this event in our nation's history. On Tuesday we will begin to discuss Hunter-Gatherer Societies. We will discuss the lifestyles of the hunter gatherers and then analyze how the use of tools and the introduction of agriculture changed the lives of human beings.

The students have a geography quiz on Friday. They were given a study guide last week.

Seventh Grade:
On Monday, we will be discussing the students' "Remembering 9-11" interviews. We will discuss why it is important that we remember this event in our nation's history. On Tuesday, we will return to discussing Rome's achievements. The students will be generating a list of qualities that describe historical achievements. Using those qualities they will then determine which of the 14 achievements we have discussed are the most important. They will be assigned their first project late next week.

On another note, we still have some openings for our DC trip this Spring Break. We are opening the trip to parents as well. There are only 9 spaces left! If you are interested in going on the trip, please come to an information meeting right after Back to School Night in my room, F-2.

Week of 9/6/11

Sixth Grade:
This week we will be discussing the 10th anniversary of 9-11. The students will be assigned an interview they will be completing at home. It will be due 9-12-11. In addition, we will start our unit on Hunter-Gatherer societies. The students will be investigating how tools and agriculture changed the lives of humans.

Seventh Grade:
This week we will be discussing the 10th anniversary of 9-11. The students will be assigned an interview they will be completing at home. It will be due 9-12-11. In addition, we will continue our study of Rome by examining the major accomplishments of Rome.

Parent Information

Hello Parents!
Powerschool passwords should be going home this week! Please look at powerschool weekly.

I wanted to share a couple of tips about checking powerschool for my class. If you click on the overall grade for any class it will show you a list of the individual assignments for that class. If you see your student has a zero on an assignment, please ask your student if the assignment was turned in. If your student says yes, the assignment may have not had a name on it and so I could not assign a score to the work. Please ask your student to check the no name file in my class. They will get full credit for the work when they claim it.

In addition, if an assignment grade is highlighted, the teacher has posted a comment about that assignment. Click on it to see what the teacher has said. I will usually make comments when a student has scored very poorly on an assignment. I will also make a comment when a student has done exceptional work on an assignment. If you have any further questions, please look at the assignment with your student, and encourage your student to come see me if they want to know how to improve.

Week of 8/29

Please remember we have a short week this week! Thursday and Friday are staff development days which with Labor Day, gives the students a 5 day weekend!!

Sixth Grade:
We are continuing our study of geography by learning about longitude and latitude. In addition the students will be learning some basic geographic terms which they will need to understand as we study different ancient civilizations this year. Finally, we will discuss how an understanding of geography is essential to the understanding of the development of civilization. The map project is due this Wednesday at the beginning of class.

Seventh Grade:
The students are creating posters about various Roman achievements in class. When they are finished they will create a museum in our classroom. We will be discussing the characteristics of an achievement and they will be rating the Roman achievements according to these characteristics. When we return from Labor Day the students will be assigned a project! I will post the due date when the project is assigned.

6th Grade Mapping Project

Today the sixth graders were assigned a world map project. We are working on the rough draft in class and the students should be completing the coloring at home next week. The map is due Wednesday 8/31/11 at the beginning of class. I would recommend looking at your student's map and comparing it to the directions to help ensure it is complete.

Week of 8/22/11

Sixth Grade:
This past week your students were involved in an archaeological dig in social studies. We were examining a bag of clean household trash to answer some questions. Using the evidence in the trash the students tried to determine the number of people who lived in the house, their ages, their interests and hobbies, if they had pets, and what their profession might be. This week we will finish our discussion by determining how this small dig could give us clues about life in the United States in 2011 and how historians and archaeologists use these clues to reconstruct the past. Towards the middle of the week we will begin to work on map reading skills and discuss why it is important to understand geography while studying civilizations.

Seventh Grade:
I am really enjoying working with your students again this year! They are enthusiastic, engaged and very funny! This past week we reviewed the concept of history as an investigation by examining different primary and secondary documents to try to reconstruct a fictitious event on campus. We discussed the reliability of sources and the students learned to identify possible bias in primary sources. This week we will begin where we left off last Spring with Rome. At the end of last year we ended with the assassination of Julius Caesar. We will discuss the rise of the empire and its achievements this week. A project called the Visual Rating Spectrum will be assigned in about a week. I will post a firm due date when it is assigned.

Parent Hour Donation Opportunity

I need two barrels of red licorice for a latitude and longitude activity I would like to do in class next week. If you would like to donate this for parent hours please email me at kgreen@natomas.k12.ca.us.

Thanks!

Week of 8-15-11

Sixth Grade: Welcome to Natomas Charter School. I am looking forward to meeting your students! The purpose of this blog is to encourage family discussion of what we are covering in social studies. I will update the blog once a week. These updates will include information about our topics of study for the week, due dates for major projects and tests, and occasionally pictures of class activities. Your students are expected to record daily classwork and homework in their agendas.
During our first week of school the sixth grade teachers will be helping the student adjust to the procedures and expectations in our classrooms. In addition to this, we will begin to talk about history as an investigation.

Seventh Grade: Welcome back! I am very excited to see our seventh graders! I am looking forward to working with this terrific class again this year. Last year we ended with a discussion of Caesar's crossing the Rubicon River and the changes this action created for the Roman Republic. We will quickly jump into our study of the impact of the assassination of Caesar and the development of the Roman Empire.