Today we talked about an exciting opportunity for the students to win prizes and earn some extra credit in English class. Chivas USA is holding an essay contest on the following prompt:

"Our favorite professional athletes accomplish great things in their sport. Off the field, many of our favorite athletes also believe in helping to improve their community. Imagine that you are your favorite athlete. You have been asked to put together a "dream team" and your team has been asked to work on a community service project. Who would you want on your team? What would your team do to serve your community and make it a better place?"

All students who participate get a free ticket to a Chivas game, which is pretty cool. Also, ten winners will receive the following: 
4-tickets to Chivas USA home opener 
4-tickets to Disneyland 
Chivas USA autographed team soccer ball 
Adidas Cinch backpack with official Chivas USA gear 
Fox Deportes Gift Bag 

Sounds pretty amazing! This is NOT required, but many students are interested in entering the contest. Essays are due to me by February 7th. They need to be no more than 400 words and must be typed. Also, anyone who participates can earn up to 20 points of extra credit in English class. Good luck!

I have been a blogging slacker this week...my apologies. This weekend the kids need to work on their How-to Posters & Speeches, since they are due on Tuesday. We will be videotaping the speeches, and the best ones (who have their internet form turned in) will be posted on the website! Have a great weekend!

I will be out Tuesday, so I want to list EVERYTHING I will be collecting when I get back on Wednesday:
-Weekly Reader (Haiti cover story)
-Ten Commandments drawing project
-Martin Luther King packet (in class work on Tuesday)
-Abraham reading and questions (in class work on Tuesday)
-Family Tree Worksheet (in class work on Tuesday)
The students should also work on their How-to Poster and Speech.

Happy Martin Luther King Day!

Today your students are bringing home a letter and reading log for an exciting opportunity to earn a FREE ticket to Magic Mountain. All the students have to do is spend six hours doing recreational reading between now and February 28th. Then, I send them in and the students get a free tickt to use this summer, as well as a coupon so that their families can get in at a discounted rate. I hope ALL students participate in this exciting opportunity! Please let me know if you have any questions!

Today in class we watched a Brainpop video about Martin Luther King and wrote assertions about him. We also provided evidence to support our assertions.
In history we performed our Ten Commandment skits and started on our Mini-project for the Ten Commandments, as part of our study of Ancient Israel.
Tonight's homework is to work on the How-to Speech/poster. Hopefully you're making some progress!

Today we worked on writing on assertions for our district assessment in English. In history, we did activities about the Ten Commandments for our Ancient Hebrews unit.

Tonight's homework is to finish the assertion worksheet on both sides. Also, I sent home a book order today that is due next Friday, January 21st.

Today in class we did a practice assessment to review and what we studied in English before the break. We also took notes on the Central Teachings of Judaism (Power Point available in the history resources section on the website).
Tonight's homework is to choose a topic for the How-to Speech and write a rough draft of the instructions for the poster. The students can choose any topic and must write at least five steps. The instructions for the speech are on the English resources page.

Today in class we introduced the website and went over the How-To speech format. In history we introduced our Ancient Hebrews unit with a KWL chart and an introductory timeline activity.

Tonight's homework is to complete ALL Christmas break homework and to take the surveys on the website.

If you look under "Fun Stuff" there are three surveys for you to take! These are a way to share your opinions with me. I'll keep adding surveys throughout the year, so check back often!

Hello everyone! Just wanted to let you know that I have posted several of my Power Point Presentations on the site. That way if you need notes, miss a day, or if any of you parents want access to some of our class information you can check them out as well.

To find the presentations, go to classes, then choose either history or English (there are more history ones for now), and then choose resources. From there you can choose the unit you are interested in and check out the Power Points. We are about to start Ancient Hebrews, so if you want a preview, check out that section! I will keep updating the site with more resources throughout the year, so check back often!