April 29, 2013

Post date: Aug 29, 2013 5:01:07 PM

Things got away from me yesterday; I updated the homework, but didn't have time to post to the blog. Such is life, it will get busier and busier.

Literature 9 courses are continuing to study what we read (first, last letters and consonants), how we read (left to right, top to bottom), what prior knowledge is, what is an interior monologue, historical fiction, and chronological order. We worked on a fun deduction puzzle entitled Zooley. I've done this assignment for years, and it's been a very good lesson to show inferences (what we know - prior knowledge combined with what we learn to make an educated guess). We're also talking a lot about honor. We took the time to watch the Medal of Honor ceremony of Ty Clark. We're tying the concept of honor to the story we're reading, "Of Dry Goods and Black Bow Ties."

In English 10 nervousness has set in. The first speech assignment is the Past, Present, and Future Speech. It's a minimum of two minutes with a three minute maximum. This morning's presentations were quite good. Olivia had probably the most memorable speech experience. In the middle of her speech a mouse went running across the floor. I can safely say that has never happened before! She kept her composure and did quite well.

In American Government (yesterday) we tried to tie geography with a civic responsibility. We did very well naming countries; the next step is can we tell where they are! We then began discussing the various types of government: unitary, confederacy, federal, and constitutional. Students were then assigned a task of choosing three countries: a developed country, a developing country, and an underdeveloped country. After a little research using the CIA World Factbook, they are asked to write a reflection. What do you think makes one country more developed than the other? Analyzing basic statistics is a needed skill in today's society.

Today American Literature met and we reviewed the contributions of Native American literature to our culture. We did take a quiz, and I'm sure everyone did quite well. We're going to begin to discuss the Puritan work ethic. We understand what it means to work hard in this part of the world. Working is ingrained in us. We also admitted that the younger generations don't seem to work as hard as the generation ahead of us. Hopefully the idea of working hard will develop as maturity occurs.

That's all for today. Have a great day!