Students read their personal novels for 10 minutes to start the block.
We went over Quiz #2 (Please note that "David brings his radio wherever he goes" is a complex sentence.)
We watched video sections for Men of Cloth and Holy War notes.
Have a great weekend!
We started today's block by going over Practice Quiz #1.
Students received Practice Quiz #2 and worked on that for 15+ minutes - - Those who finished early read their personal novels.
We then watched the segment of the video for "The Plague" notes - discussed the section - talked about witches and cats, and listened to this classic tune by They Might be Giants.
Today we went over yesterday's "Extra Practice" to open the class.
Please note: "They spoke to him in French but responded in English," is a simple sentence. It is not compound, as it does not include a second subject. Sorry for the confusion!
Students then did their first practice quiz - if they had extra time, they read their personal novels. If you did not get the quiz done, please have it done before tomorrow's class.
We then watched two more sections of the Dark Ages doc and students took notes.
Students read for 10 minutes, before continuing grammar work.
We went over the review page from yesterday together, and then they received an "Extra Practice" sheet (due tomorrow).
Once that was finished, we watched "The Waning Empire" section of our current documentary, and created notes for that section together.
Students alternated between reading their personal novels and doing grammar work for pages 37-38. Page 39 is homework. Please note, as discussed in class, the second pre-filled example on page 37 is incorrectly done.
We began the transition from 476CE (the absolute end of the Empire) into the "Dark Ages."
The overarching question for the history section of this unit is: Does the Early Middle Ages deserve the name the Dark Ages?
We began watching a documentary on this time period - Students took notes on "The Sacking of Rome."
Students started the class reading their personal novels
We did pages 35&36 of their grammar work (make sure you know what a subordinate clause is!)
We did a gallery walk of the sketchnote work from this week, and students evaluated the posters that best illustrated the the key ideas and questions of the Rise and Fall of Rome.
Next week, we move from 476CE (the absolute end of the Empire) into the "Dark Ages."
A special round of applause for those in today's dance show - amazing!
The entirety of today's block was dedicated to an in-class sketchnote to illustrate "The Rise and Fall of Rome" (or The Roman Empire), and answer the questions: Why did Rome become so successful? Why did Rome fall?
There is no homework for tomorrow - HOWEVER, students who are finding it challenging to identify the subjects and verbs in sentences should absolutely be reviewing grammar work at home, perhaps in tutorial, and in the Writing Lab as needed.
We are rocketing forward with skills - ideas - timelines!
Students read their personal novels at the beginning of class.
We did pages 33 &34 of the grammar package (phrases and clauses)
Students received their textbook notes (some did not do a good job of those notes - they will need to add to them tonight).
We looked at sketchnoting techniques, and we discussed how sketchnotes differ from mind maps.
Students began a sketchnote on "The Rise and Fall of Rome" and will have tomorrow's block to power through this first run-through with these techniques (we will use these pieces to learn techniques, and see what works - then apply them on a subsequent project).
BRING COLOURS!
We covered a lot of territory today!
Students read their novels, completed and reviewed the latest grammar package, reviewed and handed in their textbook questions from last class, and began taking notes on a video on Rome.
***NB - Please note, this video was originally produced in Spanish, and is dubbed into English using AI. Furthermore, AI has clearly played a central role in much of the creative process. While we are using this piece to offer a short overview of material (30 minutes for the rise and fall of the empire) I will not be using it in the future.
Homework: Finish note taking for the video. Humanities A got to 15:14 and Humanities B got to 18:04
Students set their mind maps out at the start of the block, and were able to do a gallery walk. Everyone worked hard on these pieces - lots of different strengths were obvious across the work - Well done!
We shifted modes entirely and began work with simple and compound sentences. students should have pages 26-30 of the package complete for Monday (really, just the last exercise may have a few left to do - we did the rest in class). Students also viewed "Conjunction Junction" just for kicks :)
Students went over our new unit - we are looking at the overarching question: If Rome was the most powerful civilization in ancient times, why did it fall?
Students received a package on the Roman Empire - there are questions on pages 3 and 4 of the package that relate to pages 9-12 of the text. Anyone who needed more time to complete the questions (all of Humanities A) took pictures of the pages so they can do the questions at home.
Students are absolutely welcome to take the weekend off and just pop in to complete these pieces during Monday's tutorial.
Congratulations on all the hard work!
Today was the last day for mind map work! Many students made use of tutorial and the Writing Lab - many still have some work to do for tomorrow.
Mind Maps for the Abrahamic Religions are due at the start of tomorrow's class.
Students are reminded to bring their novels tomorrow - we will read, start some grammar work, and then begin to look at Ancient Rome.
Students had the block to work on their projects - it is imperative that they have the necessary materials ready for tomorrow's class (many were still in need of rulers, erasers, and colours today!)
***Many students took their mind maps to the Writing Lab for an extra boos today - it will also be open to mind map work tomorrow at lunch.
Tomorrow's class is the last block to work on these - they are due AT THE BEGINNING OF CLASS ON FRIDAY.
Students had the remainder of the block to work on their projects - it is imperative that they have the necessary materials ready for tomorrow's class (many were in need of rulers, erasers, and colours today!)
After a review of their assignment, and a look at a number of examples, students had the block to work. This project is to be complete by the beginning of Friday's class.
Students can take their work home (as long as they bring it back daily), can work on the pieces during tutorials, and will have three more full blocks to continue this very challenging piece.
Most students came to class with the necessary materials, but about 6 decided to go to the library for poster paper at the end of lunch, rather than coming to class on time. Please ensure you have all necessary materials ready to go for Monday's class.
We looked at a number of examples of the Monotheistic Religions mind map, and discussed how it should be organized.
Students received a rubric, and should have the following written on the back:
YOU MUST INCLUDE A MINMUM OF 5
Must -have Categories:
· Conflicts
· Similarities
· Differences
· Acceptance/Rejection by their societies
Optional Categories:
· Basic Beliefs
· Geography
· Origins
· Holidays/Rituals
S Students went over their Islamic Review packages in their small groups - many discovered they had not fully filled in their packages for Judaism and Christianity - THIS MUST BE DONE BEFORE MONDAY'S CLASS.
St Students received their synthesis work, and we discussed that the skills therein, combined with the mind map techniques, are at the heart of the major project for this unit.
They had a bit of time to work on their mind maps, but will have a great deal of time to complete them next week.
We opened the class by debriefing yesterday's assembly.
Students went over the textbook questions from yesterday's class, and handed in their documentary sheets.
Students worked on their Islam Review sheets (just as they did the last two faiths).
Students received their mind maps, and began thinking about the major mind map assignment for this unit - they will look at examples and the rubric tomorrow.
HOMEWORK:
Students read their personal novels today - most were prepared!
We debriefed the documentary from last block - question sets should be finished, using only the documentary itself, for tomorrow's class.
We read the "Story of Mohammad," then watched a brief summary of the prophet's life (which is also about the founding of Islam).
Students received a question set to work on, along with two textbook pages - These questions should also be complete for tomorrow's class.
Reminders:
We began the class by going over the "Christianity Review" from last class.
Students received a handout to accompany a documentary called 14 & Muslim. We are starting our exploration of the Islamic faith by hearing from some Muslim students in Ontario.
Anyone who missed today's class should watch the documentary. They can pick up the sheet during tutorial (or ask a friend to pick up an extra one to take home for them today).
We will talk about the work tomorrow!
Students were reminded that, by the end of the weekend, they should have completed the first two packages (most should be done already). We ...
