Tuesday and Wednesday

Today in class we worked to revise the Native American American stories.  Everyone worked REALLY hard to apply the hamburger method to their paragraphs.

All of the groups read their stories and we learned many new things about the Native American tribes who lived in North America before the arrival of Europeans.

Homework: Complete assignment #7 by ACTIVELY reading in the text book.  Assignment #7 refers to a concept web.  We will complete the concept web in class.  Your job is to add two examples of how the Greeks and Romans influenced the United States today.  When you come to class on Thursday you should have 5 examples. 

I figured out how to get everyone to post comments to the blog and I'll show you that tomorrow.

Happy Monday!

There was no homework over the weekend!

Today we continued our discussion of Native Americans by comparing and contrasting the Great Plains Tribes with the Iroquois Nation.  Make sure your chart for assignment #3 is complete.  We put all of the information on the board today.
Your stories should be complete.

Homework: Get quiz signed 
Actively read three pages in assignment #6.  You will find the reading in the back of your unit and it is marked assignment #6.  There is a graphic organizer for this assignment but we will do that in class.  YOu should actively read the assignment and answer the following question on this blog. 


Do you see any examples of how the Jews, Christians, Greeks, and Romans have influenced our government today?  Include at least three examples.

Finishing our stories

All of the groups are really moving along on their Native American stories.  I've enjoyed hearing about some of the information you've found so far.  I can't wait to hear your completed paragraphs.

Homework is to study the 16 items on the map you labeled in assignment #4.  We will have a short quiz on the map tomorrow at the very beginning of class.  I will choose 10 of the 16 items and put them on the quiz.  

Native American Webquest

Today we began work on a webquest where everyone divided into groups and each group investigated a different tribe that lived in North America during the 1400's and 1500's.  The point of this assignment is to show that there were millions of Native Americans living in North America when Europeans arrived discrediting the old idea that Columbus and Europeans "discovered" America.

We started class talking about why geese fly in a V formation and then talked about the rules for cooperative learning.  1) Have a positive attitude 2) Listen to all ideas with an open mind 3) Everyone actively participates 4) Everyone in the group should be ready to present.

Homework: Due Thursday: complete assignment #4.  This assignment involves labeling several Native American tribes on the map labeled #4 in your unit.  You need to use the map in your text book on page 13.  Also, please begin studying for a short map quiz on Friday.  

This is the link to the webquest

http://www.kn.att.com/wired/fil/pages/webunit1wsp.html

Check out the link with the information about why geese fly in a V formation and see what we can learn from this story.

https://sites.google.com/a/pdst.ie/cooperative-learning/5-basic-elements/promotive-interaction/the-goose-story

Active Reading

Today in class we talked about how reading a textbook is very different from reading a novel.  We practiced using the Active Reading bookmark which is a slow process until you get the hang of it.  All 6th graders should read actively every time we read in history class, which means there should be lots of marks in your book.

Homework for tonight is: 1) Complete Assignment #3 in Unit 1.  This assignment has an active reading part and a written part.  Don't forget the graphic organizer. 
2) Review unit with your parents and get it signed 
3) Label your tabs in your binder with the following labels: current unit, notes, tests/quizzes, and journal.
 

I Pads Are Awesome!

Today in 6th grade history we talked about the guidelines for using the iPads in our class.  iPads are great and we will be using them throughout the year.

We accessed a site using the iPads called todaysmeet.com:
You can look at the sites again at:
www.todaysmeet.com/know

www.todaysmeet.com/wanttoknow

We "chatted" about what everyone knows or wants to know about the following topics in our upcoming unit.
Greece, Rome, democracy, Native Americans, Judaism, Christianity, Crusades, Black Death, Islam and the Renaissance.

There is NO HOMEWORK over the weekend!  Have a great weekend! 

Welcome to the first day of 6th grade history!  


Today we will spend some time getting to know each other and talking about what to expect as we study history together this year.  


You will always find lots of helpful information on this blog including an explanation of homework assignments.  Your homework for tonight is to read the class syllabus with your parents.  Both of you should sign the last page and return it to school on Friday, 8/17. You were given a copy of the syllabus in class but you can also access it in the Class Syllabus section at the top of this blog. 


Please participate in the poll to the right side of the blog!  


Quote of the week: 


Holidays are enticing only for the first week or so.  After that, it is no longer such a novelty to rise late and have little to do.  ~Margaret Laurence