And now for  a final post to the 8th grade social studies blog. Good Bye eighth graders and good luck in high school.

Here is a link to the entire slide shown that was shown at the 8th grade Moving Up Ceremony. We did not get to show all of the pics from the slide show that night, but they are all here. Enjoy!

Slide Show Picassa Link

Tuesday  – Computer Lab

In the lab, we will revisit the geography tools we learned about last week.  Using details from the book, and data from our research, we will try to pinpoint where in Kosovo the Leshis live. Click this link for a great website for learning both US and world geography: Sheppard Software Games.

Wednesday & Friday – The Day of the Pelican

Day of Pelican beginning notes

This week, we will be reading chapters 6 – 10. We will revisiting the push and pull factors of immigration. Some questions being asked students this week: What is the history and purpose of NATO? If 90% of Kosovo was Albanian, why do you think so many left without fighting? What part does religion play in this story? Can you remember a time you have been hungry? How do you think that compares with the Leshi experience of hunger?

Thursday- River Valley Tech Center Trip

The 8th grade will be traveling to the tech center in Springfield for a morning designed to introduce students to the many hands-on options available once they start high school. Students who enjoy this trip and want more should check out their Summer Tech Camp for middle schoolers.

WASHINGTON D.C. WIKI’s

We will be spending the first 2-3 days of this week in the computer lab. First we will review the wiki on Washington D.C. that all students did. Students will practice grading another classmate’s site using the assessment rubric. Then they will have a chance to fix up their wiki before grading it.  I will be grading all wiki work Thursday night.

THE DAY OF THE PELICAN

While we are in the computer lab, we will also be using web2.0 tools to track the Leshi’s flight from their home. If all goes right, students should be able to program a short slide show of their traumatic journey. Thursday and Friday will be back in the classroom focusing on the story.

Homework

Mon – Wed: Continue to work on wiki. Photos have been added for each day of the trip so students may import from web or from our own collection.

Thursday:  Students have a geography sheet that they must keep bring back in on Tuesday (zero if lost)

PROJECT CITIZEN

I took two groups to Montpelier on Monday to compete at Vermont State Project Citizen Portfolio Showing. There were 14 groups from eight schools from all over the state. Though we did not bring home a plaque, our students did a great job and should be proud of their work. All students participating in Project Citizen will receive one grade that is actually worth 400 points. This grade is based on the following: consistent effort, cooperating as a group member, following directions, complete portfolio (that is the binder and the posters), oral presentation, plus final group and self-evaluation.

THE DAY OF THE PELICAN

The Day of the Pelican by Katherine Patterson is the 2010 Vermont Reads book that follows an Albanian Kosovar family trying to escape the “ethnic cleansing” perpetrated by the Serbians in the late 1990′s. Through this story we will be practicing our reading and geography skills, and exploring the idea of cultural diversity. We began this week by watching some of the History Channel’s special on Ellis Island. This is to get the students thinking about the “push” and “pull” factors of immigration.  On Wednesday we will begin the story and start tracking the characters and places.

Homework

Wednesday – students will be sent home with a progress report. They are to have a parent or guardian sign and return it the next day.

Thursday - A letter from the Leshi’s to their Albanian neighbors, explaining why they are leaving.

We had a fantastic time in Washington, D.C. last week. Our schedule was packed; we were on the go all day, and at the hotel at night, students worked hard updating their wikis. Here is a shot of us at the capitol building.

At times, it felt like we were at the auditions for a CHiPs remake. Get the link to our wikis from the last post.Ask your child what number their wiki is. Here is Mr. Ladd getting into the spirit.

This week students are working furiously to finish their Project Citizen presentation. They will be presenting to community panels on Wednesday @ 1:00pm. Each presentation should be less than 5 minutes with a 15 minute question and grilling session from the panel. Please note that science NECAPS are on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday; they will be administered in the morning and students will have regular classes in the afternoon, excluding Wednesday.

Their only homework will be what they assign themselves to finish their project. Students working on We the People will have no homework.

Next Monday will be the Vermont State Project Citizen. We hope to take our two top groups to the capital to compete.

I hope everyone is feeling refreshed after this glorious week of spring break. This week will be our last before the big trip to Washington, D.C. – and it will be packed.

Monday &Tuesday: We will be in the computer lab learning how to create and use a wiki. A wiki allows users to freely create and edit Web page content using any Web browser. Students will be working in groups to collect and present information. All students, whether there are staying here or going to D.C., will be using a wiki to complete their assignments next week. Here is a link to the PBWorks BFMS8 Wiki page, which also includes the assignments.

Wednesday: Follow up on wikis, if needed. Otherwise we will continue Project Citizen.

Thursday & Friday: Project Citizen students should complete and type all four parts of their assignment and begin laying out their presentation boards and speeches.

Homework: There will be at least one reflection due this week. Project Citizen folks will most likely have homework completing the the above assignments.

We the People participants have been using a textbook to discover the origins of our Constitution. They will look at our three branches of government more in-depth this week. Homework will be probably be a paragraph two separate nights this week.

Project Citizen folks should have a good handle on their problem by now. They should have several articles, at least five interviews and a survey. This week they should flesh out alternative policy ideas and pick the one that seems best to them. Then they need to come up with an action plan. Next week, they will have three days to put together their information for a presentation. This presentation will be given to a panel which may include teachers, community members, business folks and their peers.

Homework is following up on work from day. One reflection paragraph will be due this week.

I will be out on Wednesday meeting with Tina Smith as we try to  create our D.C. social networking  interface.

We are in week two of Project Citizen.  Project Citizen is a curricular program that promotes competent and responsible participation in local and state government. The program helps participants learn how to monitor and influence public policy. In the process, they develop support for democratic values and principles, tolerance, and feelings of political efficacy.

We the People participants will have work in class and very little homework.

Project Citizen

Step 1: After generating a list of problems that impact our community, groups of students choose one to work on. First they find out as much as they can through web searches, document research, and interviews.

Step 2: Students then generate alternative polices to fix the solution, or propose a better ways of enforcing the existing policy.

Step 3: One policy is chosen as the best.

Step 4: An action plan is created. Students identify the steps necessary to bring about change.

Homework: During this project, students will have homework sporadically. Hopefully, the groups will identify what tasks need to be completed by individual members.

How Does One Change the World?

What Does it Mean to be a Citizen?

For the next several weeks, we will continue learning about how our government works by using two different curricula, both put out by the Center for Civic Education. Some students will be following the Project Citizen curriculum, other students will be using the We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution Curriculum.

Students using We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution will spend the week exploring this question: What basic ideas about government did the Founders have? They will have little homework. The schedule below is for the students doing Project Citizen.

Monday – Community Problems

Students will discuss community problems in class. Homework will be to interview 2 – 3 adults that they know and record their answers. Here is the interview sheet:(double click & do it again when it opens in a new window)PC Interview word03

Tuesday – Policy Makers

After reviewing the new problems brought to class by thier homework, students will answer the question, “Who are the people involved in solving these problems?”

Wednesday – Project Citizen in the News

Students will view news clips of previous Project Citizen participants whose projects made it to the news. Discussion will focus on “How did they get to that place where everything comes together? Review the stages of Project Citizen

HW – Interview sheets for problems that seems significant

Thursday -  Prioritize Problems

What problem do you want to study? Who do you want to study with?

We will be visiting the State House in Montpelier on Thursday. Students will be involved in two different simulations there. The first will be a legislative role-play with a bill to increase the age for use and purchase of tobacco. Students will take on the roles of legislators, citizens & lobbyists to decide the fate of this bill. Students will be sitting in the actual seats  of the real chambers and committee rooms of our legislators. This role-play is concluded a student-governor signing the bill into law – or vetoing it.

The second simulation will be at the Supreme Court where students will role play an actual case from the court’s earlier history.

There is no need to bring money but students need to bring a lunch. We will be returning at 4:00pm and there will be no buses home, so please have alternative transportation arranged.

Monday & Wednesday – Students prep for role-play.

Tuesday – No School: Town Meeting Day. Students will receive extra credit if they visit their town meeting and observe some of the process.

Thursday – Visit to State House. We will return at 4:00, students will need transportation home.

- – Homework: Write at least a 5 sentence reflection on your visit. Include an introduction,   what roles you had, what you learned, highlights, and a conclusion.  If you did not attend the State House, write a reflection of the discussion of the bill that we had in class.

Friday - Quiz on “How a Bill Becomes a Law.”  No notes; students should study the homework from last week and review the yellow booklet.