I can't believe I'm posting in the morning. This is great! Maybe I'll be able to set up the Colonization Simulation during prep today, and then I won't have to put in another 14 hour day, like yesterday.
My second hour class is at a job fair, in case you're wondering what I'm doing. I could be up with them, but as I'm already gainfully employed I think this is a better use of my time. Mrs. K. Dutton is up there with them as well, so they're not just roaming the halls.
Natural resources, natural resources, natural resources. If there's one thing I want students to get out of this lesson, other than a review over karma, the caste system, and Hinduism in general, it's natural resources.
I gave the students a handout on exploration that Mr. Cowells gave me. It's basically a cut and paste from thinkquest. How I long for the day when we have paperless classes, and I can just send students to that link to get the information. There is Sooooo much we could do if every student had his own computer. The future continues to impress me.
If you want some extra credit points, go to the THINKQUEST site and discuss the reasons for exploration with an adult that lives in the same house as you. THOUGHTS: Were some reasons better than others? What are the implications of the sentence under Gold, Silver and Precious Stones, "They believed that Asia was loaded with gold, silver, and precious stones, so they decided to find it and bring it back." What about the section, Larger Empires? Any thoughts on that one?
If you want credit for discussing this blog, write down the headings from each of those sections from the thinkquest website. Then, write the sentence, "I discussed the thinkquest website with_________________________." on a piece of scrap paper. Finally, have the person you discussed the blog and website with sign on the line.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Monday, February 6, 2012
Shhhhhh!
Be very, very quiet. I'm coaching chess right now. We're treating the games like a tournament today, since we have the team qualifier coming up in a week... Which means I can't play, and I can't give hints - not that my hints are that helpful. I'm more a chess "sponsor" than "coach," if you know what I mean... Coaching chess is a humbling job indeed...
We read The Hunger Games for five minutes, one day last week. If we keep up that pace we should get through it somewhere around the spring of 2045. So, today we read all day. But this will be the only day this week that we get to read, so that's only bumping us up to finishing the book around spring 2044.
It looks like we have the green light to see the movie though. (Assuming we finish the book...) We'll work out the logistics later.
Today, if you want the extra credit, discuss what's happening in the book with some adult that you live with. (If the adult you're discussing this with plans on reading the books, maybe you should find a different adult to discuss these questions with...) Answer the following questions: How does the theme of trust play into the book? Who does Katniss trust? Who does she distrust? Why? How does being constantly watched affect the different levels of trust in the book? For instance, would you act any differently if you were at a birthday party and you knew someone was videotaping you? Why? How does that relate to the "trust" issue in the book?
After you've discussed these questions, write the following quote on a piece of scrap paper to prove that you've read today's blog: I'm a tracker jacker attacker. Then, have the adult you read the blog with sign the paper. Adults, by signing that scrap paper, you are signifying that you read and discussed the blog with whoever it is in my class wants the extra credit. Please don't sign it unless you really did discuss it.
We read The Hunger Games for five minutes, one day last week. If we keep up that pace we should get through it somewhere around the spring of 2045. So, today we read all day. But this will be the only day this week that we get to read, so that's only bumping us up to finishing the book around spring 2044.
It looks like we have the green light to see the movie though. (Assuming we finish the book...) We'll work out the logistics later.
Today, if you want the extra credit, discuss what's happening in the book with some adult that you live with. (If the adult you're discussing this with plans on reading the books, maybe you should find a different adult to discuss these questions with...) Answer the following questions: How does the theme of trust play into the book? Who does Katniss trust? Who does she distrust? Why? How does being constantly watched affect the different levels of trust in the book? For instance, would you act any differently if you were at a birthday party and you knew someone was videotaping you? Why? How does that relate to the "trust" issue in the book?
(Thanks, Dekalb for letting us use your Tracker Jacker...)
After you've discussed these questions, write the following quote on a piece of scrap paper to prove that you've read today's blog: I'm a tracker jacker attacker. Then, have the adult you read the blog with sign the paper. Adults, by signing that scrap paper, you are signifying that you read and discussed the blog with whoever it is in my class wants the extra credit. Please don't sign it unless you really did discuss it.
Friday, February 3, 2012
Grading
I just finished up putting in grades. You may want to check them and see if you're missing anything. It's 5:05 and my family is probably wondering where I am.
Speaking of grading, we graded the India Maps in class today. Grading during class is a great way for students to take in the information a second time. They get to see where they made mistakes, and correct them right away - which reinforces their learning.
I make the students take everything off their desks except for the red pen they are using, and the map they are grading. This cuts down on cheating. (Believe it or not, I've had students try to cheat in my class before... Sad, I know... What has the world come to?)
We also discussed the caste system a little bit more. The bellwork for the day asked whether or not there was a caste system or social structure here at CJHS. We had some pretty interesting responses. Personally, I'm putting the Chess Team at the top. We've got a tournament tomorrow. 8:00 AM until about 3:00 or 4:00 PM. I'm pretty sure we'll smoke the competition.
To get the extra credit Monday, students need to discuss the following with an adult in their home: is there a social structure at CJHS? What does it look like? Are there any other ways to make the social structure pyramid? Where would you put yourself? (Don't worry, I won't ask that one in class...) How much of social structure at CJHS is perception? I mean, some people might think one group is on the top, other people might thing a different group belongs there...
Once you've read and discussed the blog, write the following quote on a piece of paper and have the adult you discussed it with sign it. (Don't forget to put your name on it as well.) Quote: "Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one." - Bill Gates.
Speaking of grading, we graded the India Maps in class today. Grading during class is a great way for students to take in the information a second time. They get to see where they made mistakes, and correct them right away - which reinforces their learning.
I make the students take everything off their desks except for the red pen they are using, and the map they are grading. This cuts down on cheating. (Believe it or not, I've had students try to cheat in my class before... Sad, I know... What has the world come to?)
We also discussed the caste system a little bit more. The bellwork for the day asked whether or not there was a caste system or social structure here at CJHS. We had some pretty interesting responses. Personally, I'm putting the Chess Team at the top. We've got a tournament tomorrow. 8:00 AM until about 3:00 or 4:00 PM. I'm pretty sure we'll smoke the competition.
To get the extra credit Monday, students need to discuss the following with an adult in their home: is there a social structure at CJHS? What does it look like? Are there any other ways to make the social structure pyramid? Where would you put yourself? (Don't worry, I won't ask that one in class...) How much of social structure at CJHS is perception? I mean, some people might think one group is on the top, other people might thing a different group belongs there...
Once you've read and discussed the blog, write the following quote on a piece of paper and have the adult you discussed it with sign it. (Don't forget to put your name on it as well.) Quote: "Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one." - Bill Gates.
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Plenty to Discuss
I love this curriculum. I love my classes this year. We took notes today - which we hardly ever do. In spite of this, most classes had some really great discussions going on.
We started out by discussing the various ways to view a person. I stated that there are at least three. There's the way you view yourself, the way others view you, and the "true view" of you... We discussed these in depth. I generally ask the students how many agree with the statement, "I know myself better THAN anybody else knows me. I know my thoughts and motives. I'm the only person that's with me 24-7. I know myself best." The majority of students agree with this. Then I ask them, "how many of you know someone who thinks they're really cool - but they're actually not maybe as cool as they think?"
Again, the majority of hands go up. "Interesting," I say. "Can you have it both ways? I mean, you're saying that you know yourself better than anybody else knows you - but you're also saying that you know others better than they know themselves. Somewhere somebody's mistaken."
It makes for some pretty interesting discussion.
We discuss what makes up a person:
Once again, we had some great discussion. (Is that all there is? Is there a such thing as a soul? Is all of this stuff for real?...)
This is one of my reasons for having the blog... I'm teaching about Hinduism, but these questions come up naturally. I want to make sure you know what I'm teaching, and I want you to know the questions that your kid, or nephew, etc... has.
Hinduism teaches that there is a soul. So we continued talking about the Hindu view, the caste system, and reincarnation:
I was encouraged by the students today. They were very respectful throughout the lesson. Obviously, being a public school there are a variety of faiths and ideas that are brought into my classroom. Throughout the day, students listened appropriately to what others had to say and asked insightful questions.
In order to get the credit for the homework tonight, students are required to discuss this blog post with the adult they read it with. After you've read and discussed the post, write two complete sentences in response to it. Then, students, have the adult you discussed the post with sign the paper. (Make sure your name is on the paper as well.)
Again, the majority of hands go up. "Interesting," I say. "Can you have it both ways? I mean, you're saying that you know yourself better than anybody else knows you - but you're also saying that you know others better than they know themselves. Somewhere somebody's mistaken."
It makes for some pretty interesting discussion.
We discuss what makes up a person:
Once again, we had some great discussion. (Is that all there is? Is there a such thing as a soul? Is all of this stuff for real?...)
This is one of my reasons for having the blog... I'm teaching about Hinduism, but these questions come up naturally. I want to make sure you know what I'm teaching, and I want you to know the questions that your kid, or nephew, etc... has.
Hinduism teaches that there is a soul. So we continued talking about the Hindu view, the caste system, and reincarnation:
In order to get the credit for the homework tonight, students are required to discuss this blog post with the adult they read it with. After you've read and discussed the post, write two complete sentences in response to it. Then, students, have the adult you discussed the post with sign the paper. (Make sure your name is on the paper as well.)
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Why Does Everything Take Longer Than I Think It Should?
Perhaps you can guess from today's heading how I think class went today... I think I gave the students too long to finish their maps. So we didn't get to the discussion... which means we'll push that back to tomorrow or Friday. Tomorrow doesn't work so well because we'll be grading the maps... which leaves Friday. Of course that means we won't be reading The Hunger Games this week. I HATE going that long without reading. It really breaks up the flow of the book. Though, I guess I have to wait a week between episodes of The Office and I can still follow what's going on...
We did talk a little about the caste system pyramid:
Some classes even got a pretty good discussion going. We compared the social structure in the U.S. to the caste system. We also looked at similarities between racism and the treatment of the untouchables.
However, it was still a very surface-y discussion.
I was impressed by a couple classes bringing up The Hunger Games. We were going to get to that once I started going over the notes in earnest. Some students brought up how the top tier of society is The Capitol, and the higher the district number, the lower standard of living, and the lower you were in the social structure pyramid. Very perceptive. One student even mentioned that the Avoxes were like the untouchables.
I love connections.
To my class: make sure you have your map tomorrow. We're grading it.
If you want the extra credit, make sure you discuss the blog with an adult at your house. Then, on a scrap of paper, write down three points that came up in the discussion. Have the adult sign the paper.
We did talk a little about the caste system pyramid:
Some classes even got a pretty good discussion going. We compared the social structure in the U.S. to the caste system. We also looked at similarities between racism and the treatment of the untouchables.
However, it was still a very surface-y discussion.
I was impressed by a couple classes bringing up The Hunger Games. We were going to get to that once I started going over the notes in earnest. Some students brought up how the top tier of society is The Capitol, and the higher the district number, the lower standard of living, and the lower you were in the social structure pyramid. Very perceptive. One student even mentioned that the Avoxes were like the untouchables.
I love connections.
To my class: make sure you have your map tomorrow. We're grading it.
If you want the extra credit, make sure you discuss the blog with an adult at your house. Then, on a scrap of paper, write down three points that came up in the discussion. Have the adult sign the paper.
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