Nancy Jones
Yearbooks are currently on sale for $90 and will go up to $100 after Spring Break To purchase a book, please see a staff member in room 111 or 112 OR order online at PSAT scores/booklets were given today!
Synergy: Please make sure students have access to their grades via Synergy ◦ See Admin. 1 if they do not know their password ◦ I enter comments into Pinnacle as well as grades so check often We will cover over 5,000 years of history so we will move quickly Reading quizzes on assigned chapter material ◦ Generally, these are open note/open homework! ◦ Students retain more information when they gather it themselves.
Primary/Secondary source readings ◦ Focus on writing school-wide ◦ DBQ’s – Document Based Questions ◦ Documents/Primary sources important for AP classes ◦ Use complete sentences ALWAYS! ◦ Be careful about text “lingo” B/C, &, 2, U, etc. ◦ Use supporting details, examples ◦ ALWAYS, ALWAYS explain WHY (never a yes or no) ◦ First DBQ today: How Great Was Alexander the Great? This is on the blog now.
Summer Reading assessment Monday, Jan. 27 ◦ Given last Spring, 4 choices of books Goal is to provide different learning opportunities to meet individual learning styles – writing, group projects, presentations, technology, web quests, visual projects, etc. ◦ Example: Bonus writing activity – write an epic tale! ◦ Athens & Sparta Body Biography - visual project Focus on higher level thinking, analysis, application ◦ Historical facts and information are important but the concepts and themes are the most important
Study guides are given at the beginning of each unit. ◦ Do not have to be turned in ◦ Use as a “mental checklist” to assess whether students understand the term ◦ Do not just memorize the words: ask yourself if you truly understand why this person, place, event is IMPORTANT in history ◦ Always look at the big picture surrounding the historical facts – i.e. WHY DOES THIS MATTER?
Academic Support and Enrichment 25 minutes extra in each class one day per week Review, test preparation, online practice, individual help
Provide a challenging and fun environment for my students Create a warm, welcoming, safe environment where students are free to ask questions, challenge themselves and each other, make mistakes, learn from their mistakes and move on Encourage students to leave class with more knowledge than they entered with Allow students to explore differentiated material suitable for their academic needs Allow students to create learning processes and products that suit their individual learning style