10.25.07

Hi! This week in geography we focused on Central Asia. Chapters 18 and 19 were the focus. I also introduced the “Global Classroom” blog to the kids this week. We had a fun time on Monday responding to the first discussion question and I think the students enjoyed reading each others comments.

 Our 7th grade Red Team also had a field trip this week to the Bear Creek Nature Center. We were lucky to have two beautiful days of weather for this field trip.

 I will be out of the classroom on Monday and Tuesday, October 29 and 30. Mrs. Peek will be my substitute. The kids all know her already, I know she will do an excellent job! I hope you all have a great three day weekend! 

Favorite Place?

Hi, class! OK – our first discussion! I am excited!

 What is your favorite area or region in the world, and why?

Please write a paragraph (7-10 sentences) in your original post (due Monday, 10/22).  Remember good internet etiquette – check spelling, check grammar, no “text message” talk, etc.

 When you respond to postings, please use only your first name and last initial (ex. Kelly W.). Also, please DO NOT include your email address.

10.19.07

This week marks the start of a new quarter, and the start of a new area of the world! We have moved on from Europe and are now studying Asia. We had a short week due to parent/teacher conferences, so we just started learning about Asia. As usual, we started out with some maps of Asia. Please remember that these maps are designed to familiarize students with the new area we are studying. I realize that there is a lot of information on them – Asia is a huge continent, and it is an area that many students aren’t familiar with. However, we have to start somewhere, and starting with maps allows students to develop the spatial perspective that is necessary for the rest of the unit.

I am excited for next week – I will be introducing the blog to the students, and we will beginning the discussion part of the blog. I think the students will really get into it, and find it to be an engaging way to communicate with their classmates. I also encourage parents to “chime in” to our discussions!

Please keep posted for the start of the Kashmir Project – this is a really great project that we will be starting on November 1st. Have a great three day weekend!

10.12.07

Wow! What a crazy, busy couple of weeks it has been! I apologize for not getting an update posted to my blog for the past few weeks – after planning lessons, making copies, having meetings, grading papers, helping kids, making power points, grading tests, etc, my blog just slipped my mind! J This is the last week of first quarter, and our last week to study Europe! The kids wrote some great country reports over the past few weeks, and made some really wonderful travel guides to go along with their countries. Such creative, hardworking kids we have at LP! This past Wednesday the students took the Europe Test, which is one of three assessment pieces for our Europe unit. The test, the country report, and the travel guide are the three formal assessment pieces for Europe. Many students did very well on the test, but I think that there were also a number of students that thought it would be easier than it was, and didn’t study as much as they should have. Please, please encourage your student to study! I have tried to make studying as simple and fun as possible. If you haven’t gotten onto the online review games yet, please check them out. They really are a lot of fun, and provide kids with instant feedback about how prepared they are for the test.  Our next unit of study is the giant continent of Asia! We will start out studying Northern Asia, and then move onto Southern Asia, Southwestern Asia, and Eastern Asia. This is the quarter that we do the big Kashmir Project, which allows the kids to use their critical thinking and cooperative learning skills to create a peace proposal for the conflicted Kashmir region between India and Pakistan. The Kashmir Project will take place during November. Thanks!