HW due Fri., 10/1, and Wed., 10/6

Finish the rough draft of your essay, including the bibliography. It should be double spaced and typed and include all the revisions from prior drafts.

Due next Wednesday in Life Awareness: Parent Chat on Alcohol (turn in the signature sheet and give them the handouts). Advice: do this over the weekend.

HW due Thu., 9/30

Work on your slavery essay. Rough draft due Friday, 10/1.

Due tomorrow: LA Quiz -- Memorize the four steps of the decision-making process. You must have it about 90% right, including most of the language. Here are the steps in case you left your LA folder at home:

1. The decision fulfills your needs or wants, not someone else's.
2. The decison won't harm anyone emotionally or physically.
3. The decision is realistic and based on fact, rather than hope, assumptions or wishful thinking.
4. The decision has acceptable short- and long-term consequences.

HW due Wed., 9/29

Fill in 10 new items in the "gold record" graphic organizer on the American Revolution, using the AJ, starting on p. 130.

Continue working on your slavery essay. The rough draft, including a title and a bibliography (see example on the assignment sheet), is due on Friday, October 1.

HW due Mon., 9/27

We will attend the Philadelphia field trip on Monday. Please take note of the departure time – 8:00 a.m. We return at 5:30 p.m. Bring a bag lunch and two drinks.

For homework, continue to work on the rough draft of your slavery essay, which is due Friday, October 1.

For Monday, use the American Journey to do the following assignment:
 
Read  "A Call for Change," "The Constitutional Convention," and "Compromise Wins Out," pp. 201-205.

Make a graphic organizer of your own design that incorporates the following information from these pages:

1. The Key Players
2. The Main Problems
3. Solutions (Compromises)
4. Where and When (Key Places and Dates for the Convention and Ratification

BONUS: Who is considered the "father of the Constitution"? [He was the best prepared of the delegates, and they adopted most of his ideas and writing.] Find a way to put it into your organizer.
 

HW due Fri., 9/24

Paragragh #2 (include an edited Paragragh #1).

Some of you still need to turn in LA HW or the Revolution paragraph.

HW due Thu., 9/23

Homework: Read all of p. 187. Then, in one paragraph, summarize the information on p. 187, answering this question:

Why did America win the Revolution, and what influence did it have on the world?

Summarize the information in a well-written paragraph.

COME TO CLASS READY TO USE THE LAPTOPS TO CONTINUE WRITING YOUR SLAVERY ESSAY. THIS WILL BE THE LAST WORK PERIOD DEDICATED TO THE ESSAY. THE ROUGH DRAFT, INCLUDING BIBLIOGRAPHY AND TITLE, WITH ALL QUOTES AND SIGNAL PHRASES, IS DUE OCTOBER 1 (FRIDAY). I EXPECT YOU TO BE FINISHED WITH PARAGRAPH 2 BY FRIDAY.

Amnesty International Meeting at Lunch, 12:15 - 12:55 in the Grade 8 Room. There will not be any pizza this week, but please come if you can.

Also, please bring St. Clement's forms.

HW due Wed., 9/22

Finish and edit the first paragraph of your essay. Turn in a typed, double spaced version for my comments.

Also, those of you who need additional work on the outline, thesis statement, or acquiring quotes or research material should get that taken care of tonight.

For example, you can't just say "modern slavery" for Paragraph Three. For example, you can't just say O. Equiano quote, p. ___. Which quote, and which parts of it? Cut it with ellipses if necessary.

By Thursday, when you will have another work session, you should be writing Paragraph Two.
 
Optional: Sign the petition for the Millennium Development Goals Summit going on at the United Nations. Click this link:

Support the MDG Goals at the U.N. Summit 

Also, the first St. Clement's Pantry is this Friday -- 8th Grade only. Return Permission Slips immediately. 

International Day of Peace

September 21, 2010

Today is International Day of Peace (also known as World Peace Day or Peace Day). The United Nations’ (UN) International Day of Peace is celebrated each year to recognize the efforts of those who have worked hard to end conflicts and promote peace. 
 
This week also marks UN Week. The UN General Assembly has convened and the world’s leaders have come together in New York City for high-level discussions regarding the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). There is no greater goal than striving for peace.

HW due Tue., 9/21

Please finish the outline for your slavery essay. We will be using the laptop cart for writing in class on Tuesday and Thursday. The following items should be completed and ready in class:

1. The planned TOPICS for each one of your three or more paragraphs.If your essay is going to be more than three paragraphs, there should be a rationale and plan for it in place by now, and you will have shown it to me for my approval. You also checked the list of required topics in the assignment sheet to make sure you covered everything.

2. All the quotes you are using for the essay -- in the outline, noted with post its, or marked and clearly chosen (can't be found "later").

3. All the research and data you are using for historical and modern slavery -- don't plan on doing the research as you go, although you might add something new later.

4. Finally, and really important -- a thesis. Somewhere in the essay, your opinion must be incorporated. It could be here. The thesis could be placed at the beginning, middle, or end of the first paragraph, but not later than this.

Optional: Sign the petition for the Millennium Development Goals Summit going on at the United Nations. Click this link:

Support the MDG Goals at the U.N. Summit 

Also, the first St. Clement's Pantry is this Friday -- 8th Grade only. Return Permission Slips immediately.

HW due Fri., 9/17; no homework due on Monday, 9/20

Use the packet on modern slavery and the anti-slavery website to acquaint yourself with modern slavery as a topic. Highlight or use post-its to choose material/quotes you think might be useful for your essay. Think about how narrow or broad your discussion about modern slavery will be.

Look below at the post from yesterday for clarification about Monday's homework -- nothing is due -- you are just free to work on the outline on the weekend if you want to.

HW due Thu., 9/16

Read "Slavery in Virginia," 55-59 in Eyewitnesses,  and answer #1-3.

Yes, I know you are not to have any homework over the weekend. I will be giving you class time on Monday to work on your outlines, but I will not expect you to have them done until class on Tuesday, when we will be starting the essay on the laptops.You may start your outlines and begin organizing your essay anytime after Friday (which includes the weekend if you wish), since you will have all the material presented to you by then.

HW due Wed., 9/15

Read and answer the selection (#1-3) from Olaudah Equiano, "A Slave's Story," p. 77, in EYEWITNESSES.

If you did not get your essay project signed, please do so tonight.

HW due Tue., 9/14

Please read over the slavery essay assignment sheet carefully. Ask one of your parents to sign it so they are aware of what is upcoming.

Explore the links on the slavery assignment sheet. How useful will they be?

Finally, do the first reading assignment, "An Indentured Servant Writes Home" (p. 26). Answer the three questions at the end on a separate piece of paper.

Check this out:
Free Rice

HW due Mon., 9/13

Current Events and Social Studies Skills (Map and Worksheet)

Homework due Friday, September 10 (if you didn't complete it in class)

However, some of you need to get your binders organized or your green sheet signed.

Newcomers Packet for Matching:

1. Buddy Matching Sheet (with photo)
2. Letter (with another photo)
3. Bio-Poem

All of these items should be nicely written and prepared with special care.

Have a happy new year.