Welcome Back! I hope that everyone had a relaxing break and a very happy and healthy New Year. The week of January 2nd – 6th saw the students of Team 8-1 review concepts from Chapter Five: The Spirit of Independence and also the completion of the Language Arts, Mathematics, and Science NWEA Exams. I was very impressed with the diligence showed by all of the students at Elizabeth Forward Middle School during the three days of testing… Nice work everyone! To begin this blog post, I wanted to say how impressed I was with the Boston Massacre Mock Trials that occurred prior to the holiday break. The amount of work that each student put into the Mock Trial and the execution of the prosecution, defense, witnesses, and jury members was definitely inspiring. The Mock Trials took place in the iCreate Studio, and the students took their roles very seriously. Well done to everyone and I hope all enjoyed this activity! In American History Class, students returned from break by participating in a review of concepts from Chapter Five: The Spirit of Independence. The Quizlet Live Platform facilitated this review. Quizlet Live is a great resource that not only reinforces concepts taught, but also promotes teamwork and collaboration. In this rendition of Quizlet Live, students are placed into teams (this is done by Quizlet Live) and each student is provided a definition or concept. What makes this game engaging is that only one student has the correct answer on their iPad. The teacher displays the scoreboard for all the students to see. The gameplay is fast-paced, and the students really enjoy the nature of the game. The rest of the week was spent introducing significant topics and events that will direct the class to the American Revolution. Specifically, students became familiar with the following events:
At the end of the week, I introduced the Declaration of Independence to students. I like to introduce the Declaration of Independence as a break-up letter. Essentially the American colonies decided to “Call it quits” with Great Britain. To add an element of drama to this lesson, I tell students that I have found a break-up letter in my classroom and then read the pretend letter to the class. The reaction by the students while I read the letter is hilarious, but the reaction of the students when they find out the letter is a farce is even better. From there, I have students work in groups to compose their own break-up letters with Great Britain. This school year, students worked on these letters in the iCreate Studio. Students were able to utilize the Apple TVs to project their letters, promoting collaboration and feedback within the group. This upcoming week will bring a conclusion to Chapter Five and the beginning of the American Revolution. Look for an exam on Chapter Five sometime in the middle of the week. This week is also the Snowball Dance (Friday, January 13th)!
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Mr. Steve Hartnett
Mr. Hartnett will update the Room 212 Blog with classroom updates on a regular basis. Be sure to follow me on Twitter @ MrHartnett212 Archives
July 2019
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