We made it through a full week! No red days in sight… Next week is also exciting as we have the PTA Halloween Part on Friday afternoon as well a mask competition. All students were given a blank paper plate with a strap; it’s up to students to let their creativity shine! Please bring them back by next Friday.
In English we spent some time with Percy Shelley’s Ozymandias poem. Students annotated the poem, identified it’s parts, identified words denoting the contrast of power and weakness, and discussed the themes and messages. Then, they made poster with their interpretation of the imagery. I was also super happy that everyone brought their work back when unfinished posters were assigned as homework, yes!
We then took a look at Shakespeare’s a Midsummer’s Night Eve and read two key extracts from the play, including Oberon’s monologue in Act 2. After translating it into modern prose to better understand the meaning, we compared 5 versions of the play. Each video was either a film, stage play, or opera was set in different places and times, costumed the actors differently, and portrayed Oberon in a very different light. We had a lot of fun discussing which was the best (and worse!) and why.
Please keep in mind that next Friday the final submission for the English research project is due. Students received a final submission handout to ensure they submit their reports appropriately. Students also took home their full English notebooks. Inside is their essay writing work and the first part of our English survey unit. Keep or dispose at your discretion.
In History we started our unit on Democracy. Monday we looked at the origins of democracy in ancient Athens, arising after a tumultuous period of being led by aristocrats. Students were introduced to key figures and their ideas to make the city-state fair to the public. We did some roleplay with direct democracy, and how trials were conducted in the time period. While much different than today, students made connections to the ideas of 500BC to democratic practices today. In the homework there is a reading passage that goes over mush of our lesson, complete with comprehension questions to ensure understanding.
On Wednesday we jumped to 1215, Medieval England. Students engaged in a read-around where small groups visited different read passage stations linking together the story of King John trying to satisfied restless barons. The result was the Magna Carta, a document that came to be the basis of England’s Parliamentary system and the beginnings of the ideas of individual liberties. After answering questions to solidify their understanding of events, we took a Kahoot quiz to much student regale.
In Design and Technology, students continued to work on their projects about future transportation. This week they brainstormed solutions to the problems them came up with and researched on their mode of transport. Then, they drew images of their proposed solutions and uploaded them to Padlet with a description of their ideas. Thursday, students began to research innovations being made by others entrepreneurs and companies on the very problems they tried to find solutions for. The idea is to connect their own process of ideation with the ideas, designs, and implementations of others in the real world. So far, the Padlet is coming along nicely and we can’t wait to share it.
Finally, students have also been working on a country report in Geography. It’s been a long process as its only an hour a week. The final submission in due on Monday morning; students are aware that their report packet is due along with their tourism slide show submitted on the Google classroom!
Everyone have a nice weekend, stay dry, work on your costumes and masks for Halloween, and see everyone next week!
Mrs. Leah
