TISD School Fusion Website

Regular postings for this class are now being done at the Pre-AP Social Studies 7 pages at the TISD School Fusion website. Period 7 is here, and Period 8 is here.

Monday, 9/14/09

For Wed., 9/16: Quiz over Chapter 1 Summary: Land of Contrasts

Today's Classroom Learning Activities

1. Students were given 15 minutes to do correctives on last Thursday's Timeline Quiz.

2. We read, highlighted, color-coded, and analyzed the first several paragraphs of Chapter 1 Summary: Land of Contrasts in preparation for Wednesday's Chapter 1 Summary Quiz.

Friday, 9/11/09

For Mon., 9/14: No assignment

Today's Classroom Learning Activities
1. We read the last section from the What is History? packet: "In Space: The Planet Earth."
2. We played the chronology puzzle/game, "A Short History of America." This involved putting eleven pictures in chronological order, first by yourself and then by working with your classmates. The eleven pictures show the development of a human society on the same geographical space. At no time did the teacher verify whether your chronology was right or wrong. Students had to depend on their own judgment and that of their classmates.

Thursday, 9/10/09

For Friday, 9/11: Finish drawing the pictures onto the CHART: Time Periods of Texas History. You can use the textbook to help you find pictures for each time period. Use the Table of Contents in the front of the book or the index in the back to get picture ideas. I will take up the charts and grade your pictures on Friday.

Today's Classroom Learning Activities

1. I explained the importance of checking Gradespeed on a regular basis and warned of the deleterious effects of zeros on your grades.

2. We took the QUIZ over the Timeline of Texas History.

3. You were supposed to read the CHART: Time Periods of Texas History twice, as stated above and draw a picture for each of the time periods on the chart. Due Friday.

Wednesday, 9/9/9

For Thursday, 9/10: Timeline Quiz - Texas History through the Civil War - Click here for Timeline Quiz instructions. Remember that for the Timeline Quiz, the required bits are:
1) Names of the Time Periods from Indian Period through Civil War.
2. Dates of the Time Periods from Indian Period through Civil War.

Everything else is EXTRA CREDIT.

Today's Classroom Activities
1. We spent the period getting ready for tomorrow's Timeline Quiz.
2. We color-codes the Time Periods.
3. We jotted information that will help us remember the Time Periods. This information can also count as EXTRA CREDIT on the Timeline Quiz.

Tuesday, 9/8/09

For Wednesday: No assignment, but Timeline Quiz will be on Thursday. See Timeline Quiz instructions here.

Today's Classroom Learning Activities

1. Students listed The Ten Most Important Events in My Life Thus Far.
2. Students classified each of the ten events by SMERFCAPS (sociology, military, economics, etc.).
3. We finished reading "The Development of Human Societies" and "In Time: The Past" sections of the "What is History?" packet.
4. Students numbered off the ten most important events in chronological order.
5. Students made a table dividing their lives into three and wrote each of the "Time Periods of My Life Thus Far"ten most important events into the correct time period.

Timeline Quiz Thursday

For Thur, 9/10: Timeline Quiz
1. Be able to fill out the Time Periods of Texas History through the Civil War, as indicated in class today.
2. Know the names and dates of the time periods through the Civil War.
3. You may learn everything else for Extra Credit on the timeline quiz.
4. The quiz will count as 3 daily grades.
5. Here is a copy of the timeline, in case you need it.
6. Click here for a blank copy, in case you want to take some practice quizzes. Here's another blank one, in case the first one doesn't open for you. You can click on the one above to make it larger.

Friday, 9/4/09

For Tuesday: Have a great Labor Day Weekend!

Today's Classroom Learning Activities

1. In "Shipwrecked in Outer Space," you were told you had crashlanded on a planet that looked just like earth. Today in class you were asked to write a paragraph telling where on earth you would choose to crashland.

2. We graded the "Shipwrecked" SMERFCAPS classification assignment.

3. We found textbook pictures illustrating SMERFCAPS from Texas history. Students called out page numbers and SMERFCAPS, and we used the document camera to view them on the large screen in the front of the classroom.

Thursday, 9/3/09

For Fri., 9/4: Have the classification part of "Shipwrecked in Outer Space" ready to turn in when you arrive in class. Remember to tell which SMERFCAPS each of the 16 items is and to explain why you classified it as you did. Your explanation should include part of the simple definition of the SMERFCAPS found in the "What is History" packet.

Today's Classroom Learning Activities

You did a fantastic job of discussing "Shipwrecked in Outer Space"!!! That flapping sound you heard? Just yours truly ascending into Teacher Heaven. Wow!

Wednesday, 9/2/09

For Thur., 9/3: Nothing due. The classification problem for Shipwrecked in Outer Space will be due Friday, instead of tomorrow. If you complete it by tomorrow and do it correctly, you will earn Extra Credit.

Today's Classroom Learning Activities
1. Students were issued personal textbooks for use at home.
2. Shipwrecked in Outer Space: a decision-making activity based on individual, small group, and large group analysis, evaluation, and discussion

Tuesday, 9/1

Happy September, Students!

For Wed: No Assignment.

Today's Class Activities:

1. Warmup: Read the rest of the "What is History?" packet.
2. Drew symbols for each of the Aspects of Human Development (SMERFCAPS).
3. Quiet study of the SMERFCAPS. Memorized the definitions and explanations for each of the 9 Aspects of Human Development.
4. Oral Drill: SMERFCAPS
5. The History of History: One of the Aspects of Human Development/SMERFCAPS is Culture. One subject you can study in cultural history is history. You can actually study "the history of history." For example, you can study the "history of the history of slavery," the "history of the history of Texas," and the "history of the history of the United States." Many historians 100 years ago were saying that slavery was a good system, that the slaves were treated well by their masters, were given plenty to eat, good housing and clothing, and were basically happy to be slaves. Later historians began to describe slavery as a harsh, evil system in which slaves were treated brutally, were fed, clothed, and housed poorly, and were basically very unhappy to be slaves. You can read more about the history of the history of slavery here.
6. This also came up in one class today: What's the difference between the White House and the Capitol Building? Here's a table we worked up on this.