Latin 3 – Next week we will be beginning Chapter 3…read the chapter, copy boxes.

Marine Biology – We are finishing up the section on pinnipeds…Chapter 3.

Writing 1 – Read the first 7 pages from the Critical Thinking Handout.

History – Read in the hand out through the page about the causes of World War 1.

Writing 2 -  Write a 5 paragraph essay on why Jr. High kids should be allowed to go to the mall alone (alone meaning with friends, not with an adult.)

Greek Mythology – There will be a test on The Lightening Thief.

General Science – We will be going over the study guide and doing experiments for Module 4.

 Latin

 Review the chapter Do exercises D, E, and F Next week there will be a quiz on Adjectives, Adverbs, Conjunctions and Idioms.

 Chemistry

 Read Mod 2 and do the ‘on your own”’ questions

 Elementary Marine Biology

 You should be done with reading the first Chapter, and have found a box for your diorama.

 Writing High School

 Students are to write an essay on a movie.

Their thesis must be specific and narrow enough to cover in 1-2 pages.

The thesis must present a position that they can defend.

They must back up their position with details.

For example, this would be a bad start… ‘Star Wars is the best movie ever.’ It’s too generic and broad.

Better – ‘The relationships between Luke, Hans, and Princess Leah provide the heart of the original Star Wars movie.’ This has narrowed the focus, and provides more interest. Students are more likely to produce specific details to back up their claim. Also, as it did in class, this topic sparks interactions. I immediately had kids disagreeing and providing their own perspectives.

Providing an argument with specific details is important. Kids tend to write things like the following, which is really not saying anything at all. As your kids write this week try to help them see the difference between what I’ve included below and giving actual examples from the movies.

“Star Wars is the best movie ever. It is fun, and entertaining and I like watching it. Everyone should see this movie because parts of it are funny and other parts are exciting. There is some romance that girls will like and action that boys will like.”

Students are to write an essay about a movie they like with a good, narrowed down topic that is supported by detailed examples from the movie. No generic statements that could apply to anything.

20^th Century History

Students were assigned a couple weeks ago a person to do a short report on, which they will be giving orally in class. Here are the assignments

Terrance – William McKinley

Morgan – Quen Liliuokalani

Christopher – Theodore Roosevelt

Codey – Ghandi

Daniel – Booker T Washington

Dani – Carry Nation

Nick – Alfred Bernard Nobel

Garrett – Helen Keller

Josh – The Wright Brothers

Raquel – Albert Einstein

Megan – Pablo Picasso

Emily – Mary Cassatt

Corbin – Henry Ford

Mykel – Guglielmo Marconi

Alyssa – Robert Peary and Matthew Henson

Randi – Sanford B. Dole

Writing Jr. High

 Students are to write a paragraph on a movie.

Their topic sentence must be specific.

The paragraph should include real, supporting details.

This is an example of a paragraph a student wrote for me.

“Star Wars is the best movie ever. It is fun, and entertaining and I like watching it. Everyone should see this movie because parts of it are funny and other parts are exciting. There is some romance that girls will like and action that boys will like. Really, this is the best movie and you should watch it.”

The paper went on in a very similar vein for a whole page…never giving a specific example, just speaking in broad, generic terms. We are trying to work on that. The hard thing is, at this age, it can be hard for students to understand what I am getting at. Their focus is on writing the paragraph or paper as long as I say it has to be so they can be done, but not on what they are actually saying. I am frequently met with a blank stare when I tell them, this paragraph didn’t tell me anything. They respond with…’but I told you it was funny and good.’ and are truly confused.

So, as your students continue to write over the coming weeks, point out examples of when their writing is too broad, unfocused, or generic. Try to get them to include details and specific examples. Point out these things in other examples of writing, maybe reading some movie reviews online.

Mythology

Students should have made good headway in the first Percy Jackson book. We have been striving for 6 chapters a week (many students are going faster than that). So they should be near the end of the book.

The students have also claimed their first mythological being to do a report on for our “Grace Myth’s Encyclopedia” Remember, these will be reprinted in book format for everyone to read…so we want lots of information. For main characters, like the central gods,we will continue to add in information as the year progresses, but this should be a good start on that. I am avoiding a page requirement because I want a complete account of the mythological being. Illustrations are welcome. Here is what we have currently being worked on.

Linkon – The Fates

Corbin – Minotaur

Leilani – Hades

Randi – Hecate

Brendon – Nemesis

Christopher – Zeus

Raquel – Aphrodite

Desiree – Medusa

Garrett – Athena

Shawn – Apollo

Emily – Poseidon

Megan – Hestia

Codey – Ares

Terrance – Hercules

Jessica – Dionysus

Josh – Persisus

Daniel – Demeter

Alyssa – Kronos (Chronos)

Morgan – Hermes

General Science

Read Mod. 2, Pages 35-48

Do the ‘On Your Own Questions” 2.1-2.8

Write out the definitions for the terms

Do Review Questions 1-14

Finish the “On your Own’ Questions

Finish the Review Questions

Study for the test

You have much less reading this week, this will allow time for you to study for the test.  Focus on knowing what each scientist is famous for and the information in the review questions.

Famous people of 1900-1909

*Obviously, these people lived longer than that, and most continued to do their work throughout many decades. However, I need to group them, so here are the people we will be talking about in class from this first decade of the 20^th Century.

You are to pick one to research. You will share with the class what you learned, and should be prepared to answer questions. I’ve put a little note next to them to help you with choosing.

•  William McKinley – President in 1900, he was assassinated
• Queen Liliuokalani – The last Queen of Hawaii who tried to save her country from the US
• Theodore Roosevelt – President, trust-buster, conservationist, war hero…among other things
• Ghandi – A spiritual leader who many consider to be the Father of India.
• Booker T. Washington – A former slave, who worked hard to improve the life of blacks.
• W.E.B. DuBois – Another black leader who worked to make higher education accessible to blacks.
• Carry Nation – A woman who took the fight against immorality to new levels.
• Alfred Bernard Nobel – Nobel Peace Prize
• Helen Keller – Overcoming blindness and deafness to change the world for the handicapped
• The Wright Brothers – First flights
• Albert Einstein – Scientist
• Sigmund Freud – Psychologist
• Rudyard Kipling – Author
• Pablo Picasso – Artist
• Mary Cassatt – Artist
• Henry Ford – Industrialist
• Guglielmo Marconi – inventer of the ‘wireless’
• Andrew Carnegie – Philanthropist
• Robert Peary and Matthew Henson – First to reach the North Pole.

Note: The first chapter is one of the hardest in the book for most students. While none of the concepts are hard there is a lot of information and it is a long chapter. Don’t get off to a bad start..get your students reading each day next week.

Sept. 9 Read to page 1-23. There is a lot of reading this week, more than can be one in 1 or 2 days…don’t procrastinate. I have divided it this way on purpose. Do 4-5 pages every day.

Do the ‘On Your Own’ questions 1.1 through 1.6

Write out the definitions for the Vocabulary Terms

Do Review Questions 1 – 16

Sept. 16 – Read to the end of the module

Finish the ‘On Your Own’ questions

Finish the Review Questions

Study for the test.

You have much less reading this week to allow time to study for the test.

Focus on knowing what each scientist is famous for. Review your study guide repeatedly

Sept. 23 Read Module 2, Pages 35 – 48

Do the ‘On Your Own’ questions 2.1 – 2.8

Write out the definitions for the terms

Do Review Questions 1- 14

Sept. 30 Finish reading the Module

Finish the ‘On Your Own’ questions

Finish the Review Questions

Study for the test.

This week I want you to write about something that happened over the summer.  Yes, I know, a traditional beginning of the year assignment, but it’s a cliche for a reason.  I don’t want a list of things you did over the summer, I want you to take one experience and tell me exactly what it was like.  So don’t tell me you went to camp for week and all the things that happened there…pick one thing that happened and tell me all about that.  So, can you tell the story of the crazy tye-dye lady, your favorite skit, the night game, or how about a new friend you made.  If you went to the beach instead of listing everything that happened all day tell me about that wave that took you under and scared you, or the stop at In n Out on the way home with your friend.  Hopefully, you get the idea.  Pick one  incident and make me feel like I was there.

As we begin our study of the 20th Century we need to do a little background work.  Students who are in high school are required to read the following links about Imperialism.  There are 5-6 links to read through, each of them talks about a different European country and it’s holdings in other countries.  Younger students would benefit from a discussion of imperialism if parents wish to read the material and have a discussion.  This would also be an excellent time to pull out a world map and locate the areas being spoken of.  Most of us are not familiar with the geography of Africa and Asia, but an understanding of it will greatly aid in our study of this century.

We are going to be spending the first few weeks of our high school writing class focusing on the SAT Essay.  Many of you will be going in to take your SAT’s in the next months and it is important that you are prepared.   As a launching off place I want each of you to read this article,

This article, from the Washington Post, will touch on points we will be discussing in the next few weeks.  You will also be writing several 25 minute essays, in class, and at home.  This week I want you to read the article and write one essay.  Choose a topic to write on from the list below and set a time…only give yourself 25 minutes to finish.

Should people always be loyal?
Do circumstances determine whether or not we should tell the truth?
Can deception—pretending that something is true when it is not—sometimes have good results?
Is it sometimes necessary to be impolite?
Is acting an essential part of everyday life?