Chapter 8 - Lesson 3 Notes, Test on Friday

Today and tomorrow we will be wrapping up the Chapter 8 notes. We will be reviewing tomorrow and Thursday and the the students will take the exam over Chapter 8 on Friday.

Time is quickly running out on this grading period. Please make sure your student has turned in all late/make-up work and prepares adequately for the Chapter 8 test on Friday and the 9 weeks exam next Tuesday.

Chapter 8 - Lesson 2 Notes, Chapter 8 Vocabulary Builder Worksheet, Columbian Exchange Maps Due Monday

Today I gave the students a break from lecture/note-taking and had them work on the Chapter 8 Vocabulary Builder worksheet. This is a very short formative (daily) assignment that is due tomorrow (12/1). Most students finished the worksheet during class but some did not. Please check with your student to see if they have completed this assignment.

The maps of the Columbian Exchange (pg. 267 in the book) are due on Monday 12/4. The map is also attached below. Students are to have at least 12 icons representing items that shipped or were carried either from Europe, Asia, Africa to the New World or vice versa. One required icon is "enslaved persons." This is important as it was the beginning of the slave trade in the New World. Please stay on your student so they get this done. The map will be a major summative grade and it will be all but impossible to pass for the 9 weeks if it is not completed and turned in on time.

Welcome Back, Chapter 8 Vocabulary Assigned

Welcome back. I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving break. Today we got right back into the thick of things with the vocabulary for Chapter 8. The assignment is due on Wednesday 11/29 at the beginning of class. The vocabulary terms and instructions are below.

Field Trip Thursday, Chapter 7 Test on Friday

Thursday the students will be going on a field trip to the Bell County Expo Center to hear the "Launch" the Rhett Revolution in Your School message of encouragement and perseverance. The event will be attended by many schools and is sponsored by KWTX.

Friday the students will be given the test over Chapter 7. I will review the kids Wednesday but, due to the field trip the test will not be administered until Friday. Please make sure your student is prepared for this exam as it will be counted as a major Summative grade.

Lesson 2 Notes, Central America Maps Due Today, Vocabulary Builder Worksheet Assigned

Today the students completed the notes on Lesson 2 of Chapter 7 over Central America. The notes can be found below.

The maps of Central America the students were to color and label were due today at the beginning of class. Please double check with your student to make sure they turned this assignment in on time.

The Vocabulary Builder worksheet was assigned today. This was a very short assignment and will be due at the end of the period tomorrow.

Chapter 7 Notes, Central America Map, and UIL Grade Check

This week we started work on Chapter 7 which covers Central America. Below are notes for Lessons 1 and 2 of the chapter. We also watched a pretty cool short video on the making of the Panama Canal and how it works. I have attached the notes and a link to the video below.

The students have been working on a map assignment and it will be due on Tuesday 11/7. The map and instructions (on the map) are attached below the notes.

Today was a UIL grade check day. I have taken the opportunity to send mini-progress reports home via email or letter to the parents/guardians of any student with a grade below 75 to this point in the 9 weeks. Please check your student's grades online at the Eastern Hills School site.

Panama Canal Video Link: http://www.history.com/topics/panama-canal/videos/panama-canal-locks

Lesson 3 Notes, Failing Students Email, Test Next Week

Today the students finished up their notes on Mexico. The Lesson 3 notes are attached below. Notes from Lessons 1 and 2 can be found in my previous post. We are looking at having a test early next week, likely on Tuesday.

I will be sending an email to the parents/guardians of any student that is failing the course as of the end of this week. The emails will go out either today (Friday) or tomorrow. Please make sure your email address in the school system is correct.

Wrapping up Chapter 6, Test on Friday

We continued work on the notes from Chapter 6 over Mexico today and should finish tomorrow. We are looking at a test on Friday of this week. This will be the first summative grade of the second nine weeks grading period. I have attached ALL of the notes from the chapter below.

Chapter 6 - Mexico Vocabulary Assigned

The students began work on Chapter 6 - Mexico today. As with every chapter, we started with a vocabulary assignment. The assignment is due tomorrow (10/11) at the beginning of the period. Full instructions and the terms are below.

Students wishing to get a head start on the material should read Chapter 6 - Lesson 1 in their textbook.

Chapter 4 Test Tomorrow

The students will take their test over Chapter 4 (United States) tomorrow. This will not be an open book/notes test so please make sure your student studies their notes, vocabulary, and looks over the self-check quizzes available on the online textbook.

Notes Over the U.S., Grade Check Coming Up

Today we continued our discussion and notes over the United States. The notes today focused on the Louisiana Purchase, the annexation of Texas and the American Southwest, and the idea of Manifest Destiny. These notes are available in full on a post from last week. Just scroll down until you see them.

There is a UIL grade check coming up this Friday and we are rapidly approaching the end of the first grading period (it seems impossible but it is true). Please check with your student and make sure they have turned in all of their work. You may check your student's grades in all of their classes by visiting the EHMS home page.

Notes Over the United States Continued

Today we continued to discuss the notes over the United States. We touched on the Articles of Confederation, Constitution, and three branches of government (Executive, Legislative, Judicial). A full copy of the notes over the U.S. can be found below in the post from 9/27.

Corrected Notes

Attached are the notes we have been working on in class the last two days.

Health Issues and 3 Assignments Due

I apologize for having been out so often the past week or so. I'm having some health issues and have multiple tests being run. I'm afraid I'll be missing some more time in the not too distant future. Because of this, it is taking me a bit to get my feet underneath me and get everything graded. Bear with me as I am making progress.

Now, there are three assignments that I need you to make sure your student has turned in to me. The first - and most important - is the mapping project mentioned in previous blog posts. This is a major summative grade and any student who fails to turn it in will have almost no chance of passing for the nine weeks. This assignment was actually due this past Monday 9/25. Any student that did not turn it in on time may still turn it in late for a grade up to a 70. This is much better than a grade of 0. The second assignment is a worksheet the kids worked on while the sub was with them called the Chapter 4 Vocabulary Builder. This worksheet was due today (9/26). The third assignment is the standard Chapter 4 vocabulary assignment. This assignment and the instructions for it is attached below. Also, attached are the notes for Lesson 1.

Please make sure your student gets these three assignments completed and turned in ASAP.

Regions of the U.S. and Tornado Alley

Today we discussed the major geographic regions of the United States and discussed a bit about the climate of each. I touched on the fact that we are in central Texas which is considered the southern edge of an area known as "Tornado Alley." This area encompasses most of the Great Plains region and sees more tornados than any other area on earth.

After the initial discussion, I showed a short video that detailed the terrible F5 tornado that struck Jarrell 20 years ago. Jarrell is only 25-30 miles south of us and the video makes quite an impression. I have included a link to the video below (I did show the first 2-3 minutes without the sound on as the filmography uttered a couple of profanities. These words were NOT broadcast to the class).

I have also attached a short video of an elementary social studies teacher mapping out the regions of the United States. Students may want to refer back to this video when they start their mini-project tomorrow.

Chapter 4 Vocabulary Builder Worksheet

Today the students were assigned the Vocabulary Builder worksheet for Chapter 4. They were given most of the period to complete the worksheet. The assignment is due at the beginning of the period tomorrow (I will likely allow 10-15 minutes for the students to finish it up). The worksheet is attached below.

North America Unit Started, 9/11 Video

We started class today by watching a video on the 9/11 attacks 16 years ago. For these students, this event seems like ancient history as the event took place before they were born. We discussed the fallout from the event and how it has deeply affected our Fort Hood community with deployments to Afghanistan.

After the video, we took some brief notes over Chapter 4 - Lesson 1 over the geography of the United States. Attached below are the notes taken in class. Any student who did not finish the notes in class may print these notes off or fill in any gaps by referring to them.

Vocabulary Due, Map Activity, and Online Textbook Access

The vocabulary assignment for Chapter 1 was due today at the beginning of class. Any student who was absent today will need to be ready to turn in the assignment upon their return to class next Monday. The assignment can be found below on the post from 9/5.

In class today the students practiced their map interpretation skills and use of latitude/longitude. The students rotated between five maps and answered questions pertaining to each. Any student who was out of the classroom today will need to make arrangements to come after school and make up the assignment.

Online textbooks can be accessed by following the steps listed below:

- Go to the Killeen ISD home page
- Click the "Students & Parents" link at the top of the page
- Click on the "Learning Resources" link in the left hand margin of the page
- Click on the "McGraw Hill Online Textbook" link

These steps should take you to a log in page where a user name and a password are required. The user name is simply the letter "s" followed by your child's six digit student ID # @killeenisd.org. The password consists of the first three letters of your child's last name followed by their six digit student ID #. So, log in information for a mythical student named John Smith, who had ID #123456, would look like this:

User Name: s123456@killeenisd.org
Password: smi123456

Your child may also check out a hard copy of the textbook from the library if online access is a problem.

Welcome Back, Chapter 1 Vocabulary Assigned

Welcome to the 2017-18 school year. The first week is behind us and the students are now getting ready to go to work.

The vocabulary for Chapter 1 was assigned today. Please see the assignment and instructions below. Make sure your student has this assignment completed and turned in no later than this coming Friday.