Tonight's Homework - After the MET - Happy Halloween

Think about our trip to the museum today. What pieces of art stuck out the most for you? Why did they resonate for you? What did you learn on your tour? Really reflect on the experience of going to the museum... post your thoughts to this blog.

Explorer Multi-genre project

Multi-genre Report assignment on early Exploration of America –

Due Friday, 11/16/07

Overview: You will be required to write a multi-genre research paper on an explorer. This research will be fun and creative. You will use several different genres to write this paper.

Guidelines: You will choose at least five (5) different genres for your paper. Listed below are suggested genres that you may choose from. A minimum of three facts will be presented in each selected genre. Make sure the genres work best for the information you want to present. Your research paper must flow from one page to the next; making it an integrated paper based on the topic you have chosen.

While you are researching, when we come across your explorer in class, I will ask you to help me teach the class about your explorer.

Genre Possibilities:
Skit or Monologue
Newspaper feature story
Newspaper news story
Newspaper obituary
Interview of a main character
Narrative story
Informational poem
Formal letter
Descriptive paragraph
Trivia game (Jeopardy, Wheel of Fortune)
One page essay
Timeline
Diary entry

Birth Certificate

Certificate or Award
Song
Map of discovery
Any other teacher- approved genre that is not on the list

Putting your paper together:
1) Create a table of contents. List the title of each genre,
2) List the references you used using proper work cited format
3) Create a cover for your paper with the title and illustrate it by hand or use a PAINT program on the computer. Only student-generated art will be accepted. Artwork is another type of genre (a picture is often worth a 1,000 words!)

4)Statement of Process - explain what you did for each genre and how it helps complete the project

You MUST revise and edit your paper. Your grade depends on how well you follow the criteria listed in the rubric.

Multi-genre projects...explanation

The Multigenre Approach
"Tom Romano was the first to describe how to teach the multigenre research paper in his book, Writing With Passion (1995). In it, he explained his first use of the approach when he asked his high school seniors to integrate various types of genres into a paper about a famous person. Students applied traditional research activities, but the output was anything but traditional as they applied poetry, drama, interviews, letters, articles, or whatever they thought would best illustrate the lives of their subjects. "

"What's to be gained from this approach? Student work must consistently reflect the facts gained from thorough research, yet the creative outlet often generates enthusiasm for research and writing. Most teachers -- and students alike -- would also agree that it's fun! "

"The multigenre approach works well for elementary, middle, secondary, and college classes, and can be integrated easily with other content areas. Multigenre writing is highly adaptable, and works for any topic from autobiography for younger students to critical explorations of literature, social issues, or historical events or persons."


This information was taken from NCTE's website regarding Multi-genre project...

Trip to the MET for Wed. 10/31

Please bring your writer's sourcebooks and a pen. You won't be able to use them during the tour, but you can write things down when we get back to th.e bus.

You will need to bring a bagged lunch as we will be on the bus at lunchtime.

HW - reflect on the art seen today... what one piece or few pieces really had an effect on you? What did the art make you think about? How does art help place history? - post your answers to this blog...

Tonight's homework -10/30

Go over the multi-genre assignment and create a list of concerns and questions to be discussed in class.

questions should be posted on the blog as per Nina's question.

1st drafts of the teenage issues feature article are due on Wedneday, 11/7. These are just drafts and don't need to be perfect.

Weekend homework

Find a feature article in the newspaper and discuss the effectiveness of the lead and the headline on the blog...

remember, use the words of the writer in quotes and talk about how the lead works... do you want to read the rest of the article? What do you know based on the lead?

Please finish the lead assignment from class as well in your writer's sourcebooks... we will discuss this on Tuesday.


* Side note, I have a meeting on Monday and won't be in school so no extra help.

Homework for tonight

Read the feature story at the back of the packet and identify the following parts: headline, lead, direct/indirect quotes, nutgraph... highlight the parts...

Make sure the bring the packet back to class tomorrow as well as the single page about Feature articles.

Tonight's homework and fieldwork

Complete Understanding a feature in the packet (section 4.1) only...

http://www.ypp.net/pdfs_writersguide/unit4.pdf - this is the packet from class if you misplaced yours...

Work on interviewing teenagers for writing a feature article about teenage life...

http://www.econnect.com.au/pdf/quicktips/writing_features.pdf - more feature writing tips

Tonight's homework

compare and contrast the Mayan and Aztec cultures... post your answers here...

Mayan Cultures

I think that the Mayan culture is different from other cultures because they build pryamids for their gods.They understand and study astrology. They also draw different figures.And they also
live in Mexico unlike other civilizations back then.

Weekend Homeworks

How does the Mayan civilization compare with the other culture studied so far?
Post your answers to this blog...

http://cybersleuth-kids.com/sleuth/History/Ancient_Civilizations/Mayans/index.htm - some more info... some of the links are dead, but the ones that work are fascinating.

Trouble accessing blog?

This may not be the problem but a few people are having trouble accessing your blog.
It might be because you are going to wjps.com and going to ms.sacksteins blog and trying to access it from there but just go to blogger.com, log in and it will be right there on the page.(ms.sackstein delete this if you want because it really has nothing to do with work but i thought people would see it if it was on your blog).

Tonight's homework...

Find a newspaper article in Today's paper that involves one of the countries discussed yesterday. (It doesn't have to be the country you researched.)

• Cut out the article
• read it
• write a short response on loose leaf paper... TO BE COLLECTED tomorrow
• The response should NOT be a summary... it should be a reaction to it...

Good sites for good writing

http://www2.actden.com/Writ_den/tips/essay/index.htm - good site for different kinds of essays... how to write essays and edit them

http://members.tripod.com/~lklivingston/essay/ - a very basic guide...

http://www.studentnow.com/features/essayswritingtips.html

http://www.utoronto.ca/writing/advise.html

just a start....

What NOT to do when you write an essay

Some tips on what to avoid while writing essays...

Never start an essay with:

"I'm going to tell you about..."
"In this essay I will be writing about..."
"This essay will be about..."

Never finish a paragraph with...
"... and that was about..."
"and this is why I told you about this"

Never conclude an essay with...
"In conclusion..."
"Now I will finish my essay with..."

Anyway you get the point... We will be working on this in class next week.

reflection on our country project

Today I learned about many different countries. Some of the countries were Yemen, Kenya, and Ukraine. All the countries were very interesting. I have learned at least one fact from every country. I learned that China has a population of 1.3 billion people, and I just thought that was amazing!

World Geography homework

Tonight reflect on what you learned while listening to each presentation... why is the country important?

here's a really good website you can use for the project even though its too late. It's www.cia.gov . Then if you are at the home page, on the right side panel, you'll see world factbooks. After that you will be able to find facts almost all the information you need for the project. There will be a scroll box, (it says "Select a Country or Location") click on your assigned country. TADA~!

I hope this works out for you as it did for me.:)

~christina park

websites for the geography project

http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0001742.html - geography site

http://www.theodora.com/wfb/abc_world_fact_book.html - world facts

http://www.allcountryinfo.org/ - more world info

http://www.ed-u.com/country-backgrounds-and-profiles-list.htm - country profiles

For famous people/authors/scientists... search your country on Wikipedia and look at the notable residents

I hope this helps... if you can't find someone, look for politicians and/or peacekeepers... be creative.

Latitude and Longitude

When I look it up, it shows me the longitudes and latitude for different cities. Which one do I pick?

Works Cited format

http://www.lvcsd.k12.ny.us/uploaded/Library_Media/Research_Guide_2007-2008_ed_7_formatted.pdf pages 41-44

The WORKS CITED at the end of the paper (WORKS CONSULTED must be included with other forms of research presentations) lists all the sources of information used in preparing the paper. Center the title, Works Cited, at the top of the page with one-inch margins all around. List all sources, regardless of type, in alphabetical order by the author’s last name or the first significant word in the title if there is no author. The list should be formatted exactly as shown below, including the indentation of all lines following the first line of each entry. DO NOT use bullets or numbers!

Writing Checklist... a reference

Writing Checklist
Name_____________________________________
Writing Assignment________________________________
Prewriting
􀂃 I have thought enough about my thesis.
􀂃 I understand how much time is needed to complete the essay.
􀂃 I know the steps I will take to complete the essay.
􀂃 I have an outline, web, or graphic organizer to help me organize my ideas.
Meaning
􀂃 I understand what point(s) I am trying to make.
􀂃 I have stated my thesis clearly.
􀂃 I have used words that will help people understand my meaning.
􀂃 I have shown evidence of original thinking.
Development
􀂃 I have used many details, examples, and/or quotations to support my thesis.
􀂃 I have fully developed my ideas.
􀂃 I have used accurate information.
􀂃 I have related all of my ideas to my thesis.
Organization
􀂃 I have included an introduction that clearly supports my thesis.
􀂃 I have several supporting paragraphs.
􀂃 I have an order that helps to develop my ideas.
􀂃 I have used transitions that help my ideas and paragraphs flow smoothly.
􀂃 I have a conclusion that helps to pull my ideas together.
Language/Mechanics
􀂃 I have used a variety of sentence structure.
􀂃 I have added rich vocabulary and/or figurative language.
􀂃 I have reviewed my work for correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation, and other errors.
Reflection
􀂃 I have written something new or original about my thesis.
􀂃 I have received helpful feedback from my peers and teacher.
􀂃 I know what I can do next time to improve my writing.

Research papers...

from http://www.lvcsd.k12.ny.us/uploaded/Library_Media/Research_Guide_2007-2008_ed_7_formatted.pdf

The Research Project: What It Is and Is Not
What a Research Project Is
1. A research project synthesizes your discoveries about a topic and your evaluation of those discoveries. The discoveries consist in large part of the ideas, knowledge and actual words of experts in the field you have investigated. But all that would be without value in a research project unless you weighed the discoveries you made and drew conclusions from them. A research project reflects your own ideas as much as anyone else who has written on the subject. Selecting information to use is a personal process; deciding how to approach this information, developing a point of view toward it, and, finally, choosing your own words to present it, are all highly personal activities.
2. A research project shows your originality. The product resulting from your studies, evaluation and synthesis will be a totally new creation, something that has originated with you.
3. A research project acknowledges all sources that have been used. Although your research is a new and original work, you will have consulted a number of sources in preparing it, and you must acknowledge these sources. In a research paper, you will use parenthetical citations and a WORKS CITED page. For other forms of presentation, a WORKS CONSULTED list is necessary. It is important to note that the failure to provide proper acknowledgement and documentation of sources can lead to intentional or unintentional plagiarism.

What a Research Project Is Not
1. A summary of an article or a book is not research. A single source does not permit you to be selective of materials and does not lead you to exercise judgment. Furthermore, since summaries usually follow the order of the original content, not even the organization can be your own.
2. The ideas of others, repeated uncritically, are not research. If you are satisfied simply to repeat the conclusions of other people without weighing them against what you have learned, you will perhaps end up presenting a satisfactory "report" of those findings, but you will not have done the kind of research this guide is about.

Tonight's homework and plans for the week

Tonight for homework everyone was to finish their self-reflection sheets and/or reading booklets (most people finished this already)

The self-reflections should be done in the writer's sourcebook.

Tomorrow in class we will be working on map presentations and proper citation for the your world geography projects which are due on Wednesday when they are presented... this is a pair effort, so the grades go for both people.

reflection 702

while taking the test for 702 I took a little too long so if anyone knows what the reflection was please comment

I think that Columbus Day should be celebrated because he founded our land. This day became a holiday on October 12,1866.

Early American's Test- What you need to know...

The test is will be laid out as follows:

17 multiple choice questions - based on class discuss using real ny state test questions (34 points)

a DBQ - document based question - 2 questions based on a pictures or maps and short essay (paragraph) response based on the documents (34 points)

extra credit on the documents as well (5 points)

essay question (32 points) - talking about the way the tribes/peoples used their environments to adapt and survive... you won't be able to use the people who you wrote about for the DBQ


The Tribes and/or Peoples to know:

The Inuit
Anasazi
Northwestern People
Plains Indians
Hopewell Indians
Algonquin
Iroquois

Know the terms: primary source, culture, tribe, people

Review how to read a map

http://www.nativeamericans.com/ - an interesting website about Native American life today

Interesting primary sources - http://www.teacheroz.com/Native_Americans.htm

Portfolios

Our school is a very unique place in that it seeks to evaluate students based on the on-going work and progress of each individual student. We do this kind of evaluation based on a portfolio.



A portfolio is a self-selected selection of your work... you can choose pieces for different reasons...
read more about them here:
http://www.eduplace.com/rdg/res/literacy/assess6.html

some useful info for parents:
http://ag.arizona.edu/fcs/cyfernet/cyfar/Portfo~3.htm

essential elements of portfolio:
http://www.anglit.net/main/portfolio/default.html#essential

By the end of the year you will have amassed a great deal of work, but as we move through each trimester, you will need to be able to show progress in your portfolio so that we can assess where you are.



More of about this will be discussed in class.

7 Habits of Good Readers

As good readers each of us do things that we may not even be aware we are doing...

7 things good readers do are:
http://www.geocities.com/mssackstein/7HabitsofGoodReaders.ppt

1. monitor for meaning - when I'm confused, I slow down and try to make sense of what I'm reading.
2. questioning the text - sometimes we need to ask questions to understand better
3. determine importance - what am I supposed to be getting from the text? what is important to remember?
4. make inferences - the author doesn't say something specifically, but based on the information that is given, I can make certain evalulations of what is happening. We can think of this as reading between the lines.
5. creating mental pictures - what do I imgine when I read?
6. activate schema - or make connections like: text-to-self, text-to-text, and text-to-world
7. synthesize - juggle all of the others and make my own meaning out of what I read (it's the same as the second highest level of Bloom's taxonomy)

Test date... Monday, October 15th

I know the projects are due on Monday, but I'm hoping after we review and do all the work on Friday, you should be ready for your test on Monday. I just want the material to be fresh and not sitting for too long.

You have many things to accomplish in the week to come and we are also hitting our first milestone of the year... the first midpoint in our first trimester.

So once we are beyond the Early Americans test on Monday, we will be headed toward map presentations and reflection.

We need to start talking about portfolios in class... has anyone started thinking about what they might like to put in their portfolios from humanities? if you have any ideas... post them!

World Geography Assignment

7th grade World Geography Brochure Project
Assignment for the East Flushing Library, October 10, 2007

Assignment Due Date: Wednesday, October 17, 2007 to be presented at a grade level assembly in the auditorium periods 2 and 3

Collaborating teachers: Mrs. Moreno, Ms. Sackstein, Ms. Song

With a partner, you will be assigned a country. For each of your countries you will have to create a travel brochure for the 7th grade. After you have completed your brochure you and your partner will present to the grade.

Your 2 countries: ______________________________________________

Find out for each country:

1. Where your country is located – both absolute and relative location
2. What the capital is
3. What a map of the country looks like
4. Major cities, geographic features (rivers, mountain ranges, oceans etc)the population – how many?
5. What is the religious and ethnic breakdown?
6. a famous author the country is famous for
7. a famous scientist and/or technology the country is famous for
8. Native foods
9. Native animals
10. The kinds of vegetation
11. The kinds of industry – how does the country make money?
12. Some kind of current events happening … why is it important to know about this place?
13. The median age of your country.
14. The land area of your country.
15. The latitude and longitude of your country.

Library Field Trip

Please come with your permission slips (if you haven't turned them in already) and your blazer... we will be leaving 2nd period and will be returning 5th.

Make sure to bring:

• your writer's sourcebook
• your assignment sheet
• a pen/pencil

These assignments/presentations are due on October 17th - to be presented as a full grade assembly.

Homework for tomorrow

On loose leaf paper to be collected on Thursday... summarize the chapter you read in class that you will be presenting. This is for 731 only.

Test Rescheduled

Due to pictures being taken today and the field trip tomorrow... we will have to push the Early Americans test off until next week... it will either be Monday or Tuesday depending on how far we get this week.

Stay tuned...

Journal entries from last night's homework

Please email me at mssackstein@yahoo.com - send me your journal entry homework... that means please type in an email whatever you wrote... thanks... Ms. S

Columbus Day

In our discussion of early Americans, we have one of our most famous Spanish explorers being honored this weekend...

Should Columbus Day be a holiday? Why or why not? You decide...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbus_Day

http://stockholm.usembassy.gov/Holidays/celebrate/Columbus.html

http://holidays.kaboose.com/columbus-day/

http://wilstar.com/holidays/columbus.htm

Long Weekend Homework

First a few reminders:

1. Your map projects are due on Monday, October 15. If you want to hand them in early, that would be appreciated and rewarded. I'd also like to start scheduling map presentations for class.
2. Get all permission slips signed (library for Wed., The MET for the 31st with a dollar, and the Queens Museum for the first week in November)
3. You should be doing independent reading all the time and logging what you have read... full reading logs even at home, just like we do in class in your reader's sourcebook.

Homework:

Please post to the Blog answers to the following questions and make sure to sign your posts:

• Why do we celebrate Columbus Day?
• When did it become a holiday?
• Should it be a holiday?

If you find good websites... post them with your comments.

Have a great long weekend.

Ms. S

Advance Notice...

There will be an Early Americans test next Friday, October 12th. It will be largely short answer and essay based on the material we have begun to cover and will cover next week.

A reminder... if you need extra help, please come in early on Mondays, Wednesdays or Fridays. You need to tell me you are coming the day before and then I will make sure you have a pass. You can come as early as 7:30.

Have a great night.
Ms. S

Homework for tonight

Pretend you are an asian traveler crossing into the new world over the land bridge. Write a journal entry of what your experience is like.

Remember tomorrow in class you will be working on your scripts and acting out what you created.

Homework

Create index cards for your map presentation.

If you need to have a private conference, make an appointment with me to meet in the morning or at lunch.

Thanks,
Ms. S

If You Are Interested More About the Bering Strait...

this is also a good site if anyone is still interested in the Bering Strait.
http://www.answers.com/topic/bering-strait?cat=travel
there is also a photo across the Bering Strait, and much more. So check it out!
(Ms.Sackstein, you can delete this if you want to)

Homework...

Please finish the handout on the early Americans... you DO NOT have to do the interview on the first page.

Upcoming Field Trips

East Flushing Public Library

Wednesday, October 10, 2007 @ 10:15

Metropolitan Museum of Art

Wednesday, October 31, 2007 @ 9:00

Queens Museum of Art

Wednesday, November 7, 2007 @ 10:00.

Homework for 10/1 to be done in writer's sourcebook

Answer the following questions:

1. Where is the Bering Strait and what is it?
2. What was the Bering Strait during the ice age?
3. Come up with 5 questions of your own that you hope to have answered about the earliest Americans.

Location

http://www.worldatlas.com/aatlas/infopage/bering.htm

Theory and History

http://www.native-languages.org/bering.htm

More helpful information

http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/engineering/beringstrait/interactive/interactive.html

Happy Searching...