Social Projects

OK - Here are the pictures of the seventh graders projects.  You may have to tilt you head a little to view some of the pictures since I forgot to flip them.  Enjoy :-)

Congratulations

Congrats to the gymnasts who will be competing at state on Thursday. Also, a belated congratulations to the dance team who recently took a trip to state. Both teams have some 7th graders competing. Awesome job!

US History

Last week we started our US History unit.  As I mentioned before we go through 100 years very quickly.  In order to do this I break down each decade into 6 different categories.  People, Places, Events, Culture, Inventions and US in the World.  The students will be getting a packet of information about each decade, we then go through the packets and place the information into the six categories.  

Progress Reports

Today in class I gave the students a print out of their grades, most students are doing very well.  If a student is not doing well it may be because they are missing an assignment or two.  Here are the assignments we have handed in so far... (next week the White House quiz and projects will be added on)

Economics Quiz - 33 points

Washington DC article and made up questions - 10 points

Syllabus with parent signature - 5 points

200 years at the White House, questions and word find - 17 points

The White House article and crossword - 17 points

The White House packet (pink) - 91 points

Tomorrow we are starting our US History unit.  This unit covers the years 1900-2000 in an extremely short period of time...we do about a decade a week.  At the end of the unit the students will be responsible for doing research and teaching the class about a specific decade.  

Projects

Well, the projects have been coming in and they look great!  I have Washington Monuments, Jefferson Memorials, Lincoln Memorials and WWI Memorials that are made out of wood, cardboard, styrofoam, cake and even Rice Krispies!  I will try to figure out how to post pictures sometime next week.  

Today we also corrected the White House packet worth 91 points.

On Tuesday we are having a quiz on the White House.  It will be open notes, as long as the kids have all their worksheets they should be fine!

Have a good weekend - Happy Valentine's Day!    

Spelling Bee

Congratulations to Grace Brang for winning the District Spelling Bee!  She will compete in the regional competition at St. John's University on March 2nd.  Way to go Grace!   

Project

Today we watched a video on the first ladies and completed a worksheet.   

 Tomorrow (Thursday) is our work day.  Students may choose to work on their projects (50 points) or finish their pink packet (91 points).  Both are due Friday.  If they have everything done, I do have some extra credit options.  

Friday we will correct our packets, share our projects and maybe play some current events (always a class favorite).

Tuesday, Feb 17th we will have a quiz on the White House unit.  It will be open notes.  

February Fun Week

The Middle School is having their very own snow daze this year, officially called February Fun Week.  Here's what's on the agenda...

Monday: Pajama Day

Tuesday: Crazy Hair / Mismatch day, movie during 3rd and 4th hour, sundaes at lunch

Wednesday: Costume Day, sundaes at lunch

Thursday: Spirit Day, District Spelling Bee

Friday: Valentine Day, Grade level competitions 7th hour

Congratulations to the District Spelling Bee participants:

1.  Hailey Heinen

2.  Haley Hoppe

3.  Jordan Lieser

4.  Mitchell Welle

5.  Matthew Keller

6.  Hannah Miller

7.  Wyatt Kemper

8.  Jonathon Primus

 9.  Grace Brang

10.  Adam Austing 

11.  Abby Hellermann

12.  Justine Revermann 

13.  Brady Sprenger 

14.  Ashley Nathe

15.  Alisyn Hoeschen

16.  Aaron Stalboerger

17.  Tayler Reller

18.  Alex Bauer

19.  Mitch Reller

White House / Washington DC

Here's the assignment for the White House Unit (which I should change the name of since it's now about Washington DC).  These projects are due Friday, February 13th.  Today and tomorrow we will be in the library researching the monuments.

Congratulations!  You have been selected by a special committee to help celebrate our nation’s capitol.  Your assignment is to create some type of representation of one of the monuments/memorials located in Washington DC.  This project is due:

1.  Research the monument you have chosen and find at least ten facts about it.  These facts must be turned in with your project.

         -Washington Monument   -Jefferson Memorial   -Lincoln Memorial  -FDR Memorial  -Vietnam Veterans Memorial                                                    -Korean War Memorial  -Peace Monument  -World War II Memorial   -World War I Memorial  -Vietnam Women’s Memorial

2.  Create an authentic three-dimensional replica of the monument.  I will be grading you based on how authentic it is, how neatly it was created, how stable the project is, and overall creativity.

3.  Attach your facts to your replica.  You may chose to put them all on one sheet of paper, or place them in different places directly on your project.

A few things to consider…

-If you want to work with a partner, it needs to be someone from your hour.  Also, make sure it is possible for you to get together outside of school.

-How will you get your project to and from school?  It does not have to be huge! 

-What supplies will you need to create your project?  Some ideas are cardboard, leggos, construction paper, wood, metal, styrofoam, paint, markers, etc. 

Good Websites:

www.tourofdc.org and select monuments

http://nps.gov/state/DC and enter your monument in the search field

http://bensguide.gpo.gov and select 3-5, then select symbols of gov’t

The White House

Today we started each hour by cleaning out our folders and recycling everything in them.  We then discussed the White House unit.  In the past the students have each done a report on a president and then worked in groups to create a model of the White House.  This year I have decided to change things up a bit.  

Instead of creating a White House, I am asking the students to research one of the monuments/memorials located in Washington DC.  They will then create a model of that monument and present the facts to the class. We will take some class time to research and I have found some really good websites for the kids to use.  (I'll post those later.)  We also started today by reading a couple of articles about some of the monuments.      

Depending on time I may still require the students to do the presidential report.  Since this is the first time doing monuments, it is a work in progress.  I will keep you posted of any changes along the way. 

PS - Don't forget to sign your child's syllabus.