Jeopardy Review Game

Students did very well during the review game today on Chapter 8 Japan. I think because the topic of samurais and honor were interesting and so I'm expecting high scores for this test. Remember, the test is tomorrow right after current events!

Test Thursday!

Today in class we finished instruction on Japan, Chapter 8. Tomorrow we will complete the study guide for the test which will be this thursday. Wednesday will be our review game, and thursday will be the test and current events. Friday, the last school day of 2007, and Mr. Collins' 26th birthday, will be spent previewing the next unit on Medieval Europe and fun games using the historical information covered thus far in class. Friday will be a fun day since it will land between two different units of study and is the last day before the Christmas break.

Current Events and the Shogun

Today, after current events, we read, outlined, and discussed how the Shogun gained power in Medieval Japan. Students completed this portion of the outline in class, and will finish the section on the Code of the Samurai for homework.

next week's current event students are:
Per 1
Devyn Robledo
Daniel Sanchez
Erik Shepherd
Jimmy Stewert

Per 3
Daniela Quezada
Nicky Rodia
Celina Rodriguez
Kylee Schmale

Per 6
Allison Hoing
Katrina Kimes
Gregory Laveaga
Kim Lorenzo

Current Events Tomorrow!

Today in class we began our study of Military Japan, with our focus on the Samurai and the Shogun. Students outlined the first portion of section 3 of chapter 8. No homework tonight.

Chapter 8 Section 1

Today we are finishing the Japanese Map, and finishing the first section of chapter 8. We will outline the main ideas of this section together as a class, and the remainder will be finished as homework, due tomorrow.

Japan

Today we began Chapter 8 - Japan. Students were given an outline of the Japanese Islands and a list of things to include and label on their maps. Mountains, flatlands, seas, oceans and two vocabulary terms need to be labeled and colored. This will be due tomorrow.

Mongol Video and new Current Event names

Today we watched a video on the Mongol Onslaught. Students answered 13 questions on the video as the movie played and we discussed answers at the end of the period.

Per 1
Carly Norris
Hailey Peoples
Alex Ramirez
Aaron Raynor

Per 3
Allyson O’Brien
James Ortiz
Ryan Owens
Bryant Perez

Per 6
Richard Garrison
Erika Gomez
Johnny Guitierrez
Rodrigo Herrera

Test on China

Students took their chapter 7 test today on China after current events. Tomorrow is a short day due to the REACH assembly, and we will be watching video clips of Mongol invasions of Asian lands. No homework tonight.

Review Game Today

Students played Jeopardy as part of a Chapter 7 - China review for the test that will be tomorrow. Also, a reminder to the students who have current events tomorrow in addition to the test. Current Events will be given at the start of class as usual.

Formal Study Guide

Today students were given a formal study guide for the test on China - chapter 7 this thursday. Two different study guides were given to students based on their individual needs. Two test forms will be given that match the study guide given to each student. Hopefully, all students will perform better on this test with a more personalized test form and study guide. We will play our review game tomorrow, so the formal study guide needs to be completed today, due tomorrow.

Test Thursday!

Today in class we finishished our study of Ancient China, we focused on the Ming Dynasty and the policy of isolationism. Tomorrow we will review the entire chapter, wednesday we will play our review game, and then thursday we will take the test after current events.

China Sections 3 and 4

We continued working on our China Study Guide, which today included information on the Mongols and Confucianism, students have no homework for the weekend, but new current event names have been posted in class.
Per 1
Michelle Lopez
Michael Martinez
Mercy Mburu
Angel Monobe

Per 3
Sergio Meda
Sarina Melendez
Julian Melendez
Maggie Morales

Per 6
Calvin Dickenson
John Efseaff
Ulixes Flores
Aubrey Fox

Current Events and China

Excellent current events today. After the presentations, we collected the homework from yesterday and discussed it in class as we created a study guide for the upcoming China test. No homwork for tonight, new current event names will be posted tomorrow.

Quiz Today, Homework Tonight!

Today in class students turned in thier homework from Ch 7 Sec 1. We then took a pop quiz on this section in class. Students then began the Ch 7 Se 2 review on page 175 of their textbook. Questions 1-3 are due tomorrow as homework.

Welcome Back! On to China...

This week we began our unit on the cultures of Asia, starting with Ancient China. Today students outlined ch 7 sec 1 in class, all except for the Buddhism section which should be completed as homework. Students should identify the Main Idea of the section on Buddhism found on page 168, and then include 3-4 details that support the Main Idea. This is due tomorrow.

African Travel Guides

Presentations all day today and tomorrow, remember no current events this week!

Finish African Travel Guides Today!

Today is another short period, so groups will finalize all aspects of the travel guide, also determining which portions of the project will be presented by each group member. Tomorrow and wednesday we will present the projects in class. Students assigned current events for this thursday will be giving them the following thursday due to Thanksgiving.

Thursday Current Events

The first part of class today will be spent doing the current events. The last part of class students will be working in groups on thier Africa Travel Guide. These will be due tuesday of next week, so students may choose to work on them at home this weekend. I'll give a few minutes in class on monday to finalize the project and presentation plans, so all typing on information, all printing of pictures, and all pasting on the travel guide should be comleted by monday.

Next week's currents events will be done by these students:Per 1
Jacob Hosmer
Eugenia Ji
Jacob Koskondy
Alexah Leamons

Per 3
Michelle La Farge
Vanessa Macias
Kevin Marin
Ethan Matias

Per 6
Katelyn Brewer
Jonathan Cardenas
Juliana Cornejo
Gage Costaello

Current Events Tomorrow!

A quick reminder: Students who have been assigned current events will give their current events even though it is a short period. We will continue working on the artistic and creative parts of the African Travel Guide, and students may bring home pieces of information to type or complete at home, although it is not necessary. We will have class time today and tomorrow to finish this group project.

Short Period Today!

Since today is a minimum day, and we only have 30 min in class, we continued working on our travel guides for the West African kingdoms of Mali and Ghana. Groups worked to plan the layout of their travel guide, and began to place certain information in certain locations on the travel guide.

Completing the Charts on Mali and Ghana

Each group today in class completed their individual charts on Ghana and Mali after about a half hour of goupwork. Groups then decided what tasks each member would be responsible for completing the travel guide. No homework over the three day weekend, we'll be putting the travel guides together next week.

Current Events and Groups!

After current events we organized into groups for the Africa Project. Students read information about the social and religious aspects of the kingdoms of Mali and Ghana. In groups, they shared this information with each other and worked on these two sections in class. Most of this information is found on page 116-117 and for Mali on 138-140. No homework tonight, we will finish these two sections tomorrow in class.

Here are the new names for current events next thursday.

Per 1
Erik Flores
Riley Gallagher
Dylan Goldstein
Dakota Heath-Warr

Per 3
Oscar Gomez
Kevin Gutierrez
Kylie Haiber
Stephanie Klein

Per 6
Anthony Acosta
Alexis Anaya
Kevin Arzate
Danielle Bautista

Economics and Politics

Students began completing the "economics" and "politics" portion of thier charts on Ghana and Mali. The information on these two topics is found in sections 1 and 2 of chapter 6. Both these topics need to be completed for both Ghana and Mali by tomorrow, 11/8/07.

Benchmark Test and Africa Travel Guide

Today students took the benchmark test and began the unit of study on Africa. The unit on Africa will be taught as a group project, where students create a travel pamphlet advertising the Kingdoms of Mali and Ghana. Students will research the geographic details of each kingdom tonight for homework and bring the charts this information is collected on to class each day. This project will be engage students within groups where they will eventually present thier finished pamplet to the class after a week of research, groupwork, and creative completion of the assignment.

Start of Quarter #2

As we begin the second quarter of the 2007-2008 school year, we will start by taking the Quarter 1 Benchmark test. All social 7th grade social studies classes will take this same test comprising of 13 multiple choice questions covering the main points from the following topics: Rome, Origin of Islam, The Rise of Islam. This test will be given tomorrow, 11/6/07 and we will revies the topics today in class. Students shouldn't worry about this test. They have already learned and been tested on this information and it is significantly shorter than the chapter tests they are used to.

Test today!!

Today's test on ch 4 was handled well by students, and today marks the end of the 1st quarter. Starting monday, everyone will have an A in the class, will have 0 tardies, and will begin again with current events.

New Current Event Names for 11/8/07

Per 1
Adara Cervantes
Emily Cid
Summer Del Real
R. J. Dioneda

Per 3
Jacob Arce
Maria Covarrubias
Holly Diaz
Juliana Fierro


Per 6
Isabella Solorzano
Evan Tosunian
Brandy Trejo
Alexandria Walsten

Jeopardy Today!

After current events, we reviewed for tomorrows test by playing a jeopardy game with possible test questions. A reminder to parents: Please remind your kids to study from the study guide they received yesterday in class. This will help them score high on the test!

Halloween!

Students were told in class yesterday that their test on chapter 4 will be friday. We will have a review today, play a review game in class thursday, and then test on friday to end the quarter.

Standards Review

On page 101, at the end of Chapter 4, there is a set of questions that review the standards covered in the chapter. We worked on them together as a class to start the assignment, and students were given the latter portion of class to work independently. Questions 1-10 must be completed, and any not finished in class needs to be done as homework, due tomorrow 10/30/07.

New Current Event Names for Nov 1st - and a NEW rule!

Per 1
Micayla Wiener
John Balsamo
Kaylene Brouwer
Adam Caron

Per 3
Wolf Tressler
Richard Turner
Donny Van Hoogmoed
Elijah Wilson


Per 6
Pricilla Salceda
Nicholas Sauer
Allison Sherman
Emma Sluiter

The new rule is: no current events where the main story is death or people. Sure, your article could have death as part of the story, but no more bombings, shootings, or war articles. The trend that students are choosing needs to shift to other types of news. Thanks!

Today in class students worked on Identifying statements made by different groups of Muslims with the larger Muslim world. We collected and then reviewed the homework from yesterday. None was assigned for the weekend.

Homework today!

After the Current Events, we briefly read Ch 4 Sec 3. After a brief discussion on the culture of the Islamic Empires, students were assigned homework in the section review. Students should complete only question #1 including a, b, and c. This is due tomorrow.

10/23/07

We started class today by completing an activity where students pretend they are advisors to the ruler of the Muslim Empire. We had wonderful discussions about how to rule an empire so diverse and large, while at the same time making sure our ideas were consistent with the teachings of Islam. We didn't have time to do the section review, but we discussed the homework during the later portion of class.

Early Expansion of Islam Ch 4 Sec 1

Students were given thier tests back from last week's Ch 3 test. We discussed the scoring rubric and took care of any concerns and questions the students had. We then moved forward with sec 1 of ch 4 and finished reading this section. Students are to complete a venn diagram with the two cities of Baghdad and Cordoba as topics. This is due tomorrow and can be completed as homework.

New Current Event Names for 10/25

Per 1
Daniel Sanchez
Jimmy Stewart
Jessica Uyehara
Danielle Valenzuela

Per 3
Erik Shepherd
Amanda Small
Rebecca Tannheimer
Tanner Thompson


Per 6
Jeremy Owens
Marc Parra
Gavin Proctor
Alexandria Rannis

Islam Test Today

Students took their test on Ch 3-Islam today. Current events were done at the begining of class, and the remainder of the class period was devoted to completing the 32 multiple choice question test. Students finished the test with plenty of time. None were rushed.

This is Jeopardy!

Today in class we are playing jeopardy! Each question will be from the review assignment that students completed two nights ago and that we discussed yesterday. We will play guys vs. girls for a few Xcredit points. Test and current events tomorrow!

Tuesday 10/16/07

On tuesday we reviewed the homework covering all of chapter 3. Many students had questions about some of the answers and we were able to review the correct answers to all 30 review questions. Students were again remined that the test for Ch 3 will be thursday of this week right after current events!

Test Thursday!

After a review of what will be covered in thursday's Islam test, which comprised all of Ch 3, students had a chance to ask questions about certain review questions they did not understand. These Review questions, which were given oraly in class, need to be answered and brought back to class tomorrow. We will discuss these questions and the answers further tomorrow and wednesday, in an effort to prepare as best we can for the test which will be thursday!

REACH for the Stars!

Today we had short periods due to the REACH assembly, but we were busy regardless. We reviewed the 5 Pillars of Islam, and discussed the Sunnah and the Shariah. We only had 35 min to get into these subjects but students did a good job of grasping this information. Another great week at Rancho Starbuck!

Next Week's Current Event Students

Per 1
Hailey Peoples
Alex Ramirez
Aaron Raynor
Devyn Robledo

Per 3
Daniela Quezada
Nicky Rodia
Celina Rodriguez
Kylee Schmale

Per 6
Jonathan Magdaleno
Ray Meza
Rebecca Moreno
Marisa Ortega

Current Event Thursday!

Another excellent batch of current events! After the presentations we discussed the issues involved and how each affects us. Then we discussed Ch 3 Sec 3 - Islamic Law, and the similarities between Islam and other faiths of the world. We finished the discussion on the 5 Pillars of Islam.

Roman Tests Returned

Students were given thier Roman Empire tests back today. As we discussed the results, many students asserted that they could have studied more. I informed them that if they were unhappy with how they scored on this first test, that today's discussion on the Rise of Islam would be invaluable to the next test. Our discussion centered around the origin or Islam and the basic beliefs as described in the Homework Assignment. Students turned it in at the end of class.

The Origins of Islam

We read in class the entire section on the orgin of Islam, which is Ch 3 Sec 2. Students were given a study guide with questions coming directly from the reading. Most were able to complete the majority of the questions in class, and the remainder can be completed as homework, due tomorrow. Many in the class are realizing they know more about Islam than they thought!

10/8/07

We introduced the chapter on Islam today and began a map project that will cover all of Ch 3 Sec 1. Students will draw pictures of the vocabulary words and label them as well as the seas and important rivers in the Middle East. This will be due 10/9/07. We also discussed the students who will give current events this thursday.

TEST TODAY!!

So we have finally reached the first test of the school year! All of chapter 2 will be covered in this first test. 50 questions, all different types. We will have the entire class period to finish the test, so students should not feel stressed about completing the test. We move on to Islam next week!

Here ar the names of the students who will be giving a current event this thursday.
Per 1
Michael Martinez
Mercy Mburu
Angel Monobe
Carly Norris

Per 3
Allyson O’Brien
James Ortiz
Ryan Owens
Bryant Perez

Per 6
Allison Hoing
Katrina Kimes
Gregory Laveaga
Kimberly Lorenzo

Today's Test Review

Students did a great job on Current Events today, and our discussion and test review was very productive. Roman Empire and Byzantine Empire Test tomorrow - 50 questions - true/false, mulitiple choice, completion and short answer. Good Luck!

Test Friday!

We will have our first test on Friday. It will cover the Roman and Byzantine Empires. We will do an in depth review tomorrow in class.

Today we finished ch 2 section 3, and discussed how we would feel if we lived in Constantinople under the Emperor Justinian.

10/2/07

We have many assignments that have been graded and recorded, but need to be passed back to the students. While students continue identifying main ideas from ch 2 sec 3, I'll be busy passing back papers and other assignments. The majority of these assignments were very well done, and most students will be pleased to find their grades are improving with each assignment they complete.

Another announcement will be made regarding current events, and we will discuss the main ideas that students found toward the end of class.

The Byzantine Empire

We moved east today in class and introduced the eastern Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire. Students Began to disect Ch 2 Sec 3 and identify main ideas from the text. Students found keywords, constructed phrases showing the main idea of portions of text, and illustrated the main idea. We will continue this activity tomorrow and continue moving forward with Christianity in the Eastern Roman Empire and its diferences with the West.

Current Events for this Thursday

Here are the students who are assigned to present a current event this thursday, 10/4/07.

Per 1
Eugina Ji
Jake Koskondy
Alexah Leamons
Michelle Lopez

Per 3
Sergio Meda
Sarina Melendez
Julian Melendez
Maggie Morales

Per 6
Richard Garrison
Erika Gomez
Johnny Gutierrez
Rodrigo Herrera

Roman Eulogies and Poetry

Today in class we finished the Roman Eulogy assignment. Many of the students had thiers typed, which was awesome! Thank you parents for helping with this. While some finished thier assignment, the rest of the claas had the chance to earn extra credit points by writing a poem about the fall of the Roman Empire.

The Poems were excellent and hilarious! The students were so creative and skilled in their use of the language combined with their knowledge of the Roman Empire. An excellent friday and great way to end a hard working week!

Current Events and Roman Eulogies

Students did and excellent job of presenting thier current events today, and several great discussions resulted. Next week's students will be posted tomorrow. The example has been set by these first groups of students, and it is a very good one.

We reviewed a possible outline for the Roman Eulogy assingment, due at the end of the period tomorrow. Students will have classtime tomorrow to complete thier eulogy - the outline given in class was helpful to most students who needed assistance organizing thier thoughts into the proper 5 paragraph format.

September 26th

Today in History class we will finish the Roman Legacy booklets. Students will have a few minutes at the start of class to finish the coloring and other informaiton that shows how the Roman Empire has influenced western civilization long past the tenure of its empire.

Students will begin a new assingment, a "Eulogy for the Roman Empire" - a five paragraph essay with a thesis statement and supporting details taken directly from the class discussions and homework. We will begin the eulogy in class and it will be due friday the 28th.

Spetember 25th

Today in class we began a project that highlighted the legacy of the Roman Empire. Students created a color booklet that illustrated the 5 things the Roman Empire has left behind after its fall; Art, Architecture, Engineering, Philosophy, and Government.

Students will have a chance to finish thier booklets on wednesday in class, so there is no homework tuesday night!

Page 29 - #1-4

Today we discussed Roman philosophy, and how the legacy of Rome has influenced western nations like the US. Students identified Roman contributions that are present in the US today, and how they feel about these contributions - whether they are positive or negative.

At the end of chapter 2 section 1 there are 4 questions that the students will complete as homework, due tomorrow 9/25. Students had time in class to begin this assignment and used our in class discussion to prepare thier answers.

Current Event Names and The Fall of Rome

These are the students who will be giving current events this coming thursday.
Per 1
Riley Gallagher
Dylan Goldstein
Dakota Heath-Warr
Jacob Hosmer

Per 3
Michelle LaFarge
Vanessa Macias
Kevin Marin
Ethan Matias

Per 6
Calvin Dickenson
John Efseaf
Ulixes Flores
Aubry Fox

Today in class we disected the fall of Rome and organized Ch 2 Sec 2 into an outline that shows the main ideas covered in this section. Students are getting great practice reading history texts and finding the important information. Soon, the students will be able to do this independantly.

Back to School Night

Thank you wonderful parents for a wonderful back to school night. I enjoyed meeting you all and hope you did too.

Today in History we had excellent current events, we reviewed yesterdays notes and colored them, and then began Ch 2 Sec 2. The students are getting very good at identifying main points and also supporting details from large portions of text.

Thanks again to all my awesome parents!

Finally into the Textbook!

We began our journey into world history today by starting the chapter on the Roman Empire. Students read Ch 2 section 1 as a class and completed a cornell notes style study sheet. The class was able to identify as the main points of the section:
1. The Roman Empire was Huge!
2. The standard of Living for Roman citizens was improved
3. Christianity spread throughout Rome

Students were also assigned thier textbook, and should bring it to class each day.

World History Pre-Test

Today in class students took a pre-test on the many subjects we will cover this year in World History. Students might have felt overwhelmed with the number of questions, and also their lack of knowledge on many of the topics, yet I did my best to assure the classes that this is a form of determining what topics to cover and to what degree for the remaineder of the school year. Students were allowed to use the book to research questions they were not familiar with, and discussion on answers followed the testing portion of the class.

Happy Constitution Day!

Today in class we disected the preamble to the US Constitution. Students identified the 6 goals that the framers set for the young nation, and also the methods they proposed to accomplish these goals. Students then critically analyzed how effective the Constitution has been at fulfilling the goals set forth in the preamble. Students chose one goal that they feel is not being met and explained why in written form.

Listening w/ Index Cards

Today students will finish thier textbook location activity and then turn in their answers. For the remainder of the class students will learn a reading comprehension activity using index cards. Students will practice this activity several times in class and will turn in thier index cards at the end of the period.

Names for next week's current events have been posted, yesterday's students did an excellent job!

A wonderfull second week, and the first of many Spirit Fridays!!

Current Events

Excellent Job for the students who presented the first crop of Current events. I was very pleased with the abilities shown in class today. We also started a textbook location activity, where students searched the new textbook for a variety of information. We will finish this activity tomorrow, Friday September 14.

Final Day of Wold Map Activity

Students finished thier world maps today, and we reviewed a sample of the current events that the first four students will give in class tomorrow. I was very impressed with the quality and accuracy of the Maps!

World Map Activity and Current Event

Remebering 9/11/01... we had a special school wide pledge to the flag this morning and sang God Bless America as a school durring a special ceremony. We certainly have a patriotic student body...

Today's class was spend finishing all the labels for the World Map Activity. By the end of the period, most students had all the features on thier map labeled and properly placed. Most of the maps look excellent! I can see many of the students at Rancho-Starbuck are very artistic, and tomorrow's class will be spent coloring and finishing the assignment.

We also reviewed the requirements for the Current Event Assignment, and students were given the details in a handout that should be placed securely in thier binder to stay for the remainder of the school year. It was hole punched for this reason. Parents could help thier students select an article from any world news source and review the specifics of the assignment on the earlier post on this blog.

World Map Activity

Today we began a three day assignment where students started drawing a map of the world. All seven continents, four oceans, and ten seas including several lines of lattitute and longitude will be labeld on colored maps hand drawn by the students. Most got a great start on their maps, and more detail will be added in the next two days along with a neat and creative color scheme that will make each student's map pleasing to the eye.

Knowing the basics of world geography will be such a boost to the students as the course will study many culture from various parts of the world. The first group of current events will be presented on Thursday, 9/13.

Current Event Guidelines

Current Event Assignment
Please follow the directions below to present your current event. You are required to present one article to the class per quarter. Each current event must be between 1 and 3 minutes. Give us the basic information and be sure that you know where your Current event took place so that you can place a pushpin into the world map at the end of your presentation. You may use the class newspaper, the class copy of the National Geographic or a reputable internet source to find an article. Your article may pertain to the leadership or politics of the United States but must be focused on a country outside of the US. Please use the “World news” sections out of the newspapers or off of the internet. Wherever you choose your article, you must bring the copy of the article with you to class. Also, please turn in a written page (this may be typed or hand written) with the answers to the following questions. You will use this to present your article…

Who did this article happen to?

What happened to make this Worldwide news?

Where did this happen? (Remember, after you present this article you will stick a pin in the exact location of this story. If you don’t know where this is at, ask me before Thursday.)

When did this happen? (This event should have taken place sometime within 30 days of the day you present.)

How or why did this happen? (this could be multiple reasons and may require a little more research or digging..don’t just regurgitate facts…find out what it means.)

What significance does this article have to one or any of the following: this country, our community (around Rancho), our class, or you and your family?

First Week of School

Hello to all my students and parents!

It has been a great first week of school and I'm very pleased with how well each of my students has adapted to the new experiences of intermediate school. The family history assignment went very well and I've learned so much about the diverse herritage of my studnets. Thank you to the parents and grandparents who assisted in the research portion of this assignment!

Begining next week...

1. Textbooks will be issued early in the week
2. Regular coursework will begin
3. Current events will be presented in class Thursday - the first 4 students' names are posted in class.

Thank you to all for a great first week! Heres to many more!
Mr. Collins