Final Week

Dear Parents,

One final update for Social Studies. Thank you very much for a wonderful and incredibly supportive year. This past week was a delight as students once again had an opportunity to shine. Presentations were suprising and many far exceeded my expectations.

One class has already taken the final (7C) and I appreciated both how prepared they were and how dedicated they were in taking their time to completely apply themseles on each question. Several students used the full two hours. I am still in the process of grading and the results look great.

Thank you again for a fabulous year and best wishes for a healthy, restful, and just plain enjoyable summer.


In Full Appreciation,
Matt Piercy
7th Grade Social Studies

Last Week of Classes

Dear Parents,

How excited I already am for next week! From the projects I've seen, it is going to be both a lot of fun and very informative. Several creative approaches are being taken. Many students did a fine job of balancing their time and are finished with the project, this weekend they just need to practice for their presentation. Other students have more to do this weekend. The plan was to use the entire week in class for working on projects and I was a little surprised that some students are concluding the week without having yet begun their project. The internet and planning their itinerary seemingly "consumed" them. In this case, a lot more work will need to be done this weekend. You might ask you son/daughter to show you their project (not just their itinerary, if they haven't already shown you). What I have emphasized in class, is that the presentation should leave the audience feeling like they have a pretty solid understanding of how the city is and also what a visitor can find there. Again, I know the presentations are going to be excellent.

The presentation days are as follows:
7A=Monday and Tuesday next week
7B=Monday and Wednesday next week
7C= Tuesday and Wednesday next week

I have discussed with all classes what to anticipate for the final. A note card can be used. As well, a study guide has been provided. I encourage students to begin studying ASAP and I also suggest studying/reviewing a little each night rather than for hours the last night or two. The final exam schedule for Social Studies is as follows:
7A=Tuesday, May 20th
7B=Tuesday, May 20th
7C=Friday, May 16th (next week!)

That's it for this week. I really do appreciate the support you all continuously provide.


Most Kindly,
Matt Piercy
7th Grade Social Studies

Week of May 5th

Dear Parents,
This past week, students very successfully showed they knew where countries were across the European continent. At this point in the year, I’ve given students a bit more space and I have trusted their diligence and responsibility to research outside of class. In my conversations with students and in several of their lengthy notes, I’ve been able to see how serious many have been in accepting the challenge to be an “expert” on their city. What follows is a detailed listing of the next steps in this exciting end-of-year project.

All in all, there really are 3 distinct steps in this project’s process.
1. research (for over a week now)
2. virtually visit by typing up a detailed itinerary + create a meaningful project (next week)
*project materials are expected to be in class every day and preparedness / use of
class time will be figured in the final grade
3. practice presentation and share your project for 2-3 minutes with the class
Presentation days are: 7A=May 12th and 13th (Monday and Tuesday)
7B=May 12th and 14th (Monday and Wednesday)
7C=May 13th and 14th (Tuesday and Wednesday)

The following was discussed in class but if there are questions, I encourage students to ask, ask, ask. I really want this to be a rewarding experience for each of them.

In last week's update, I shared the first two steps. Here are the next steps:
3rd Step: Plan a vacation to the city. You now should know the place well and at this point, virtually visit! Find out airlines and how much the fares are from Hawaii. Is there a better time to travel there (cost? season?)
PLAN YOUR WHOLE ITINERARY
--hotels (dates you will stay, cost, etc.)
--rent a car, train travel, bus, walking, taxi, etc.
(cost and getting tickets)
--where will you go? What will you see? Why? (costs?)

4th Step: Create a project so you can take us there. Will photo shop play a part? It could.

Your #1 job is to create something to teach us about what you have “experienced.”

Your 2nd job is to convince us why we should go. How will you persuade us? (no bribery :-))
----------------------------------------------------------
A few ideas that you may wish to use are below although the list of possibilities is limitless:

--power point --video --posters
--song --dressing up --food
--brochures --skit/play

THE CLASS SHOULD FEEL LIKE THEY HAVE GONE ONCE YOU HAVE SHARED

PLAN ON A 2-3 MINUTE PRESENTATION OF WHAT YOU HAVE CREATED TO TAKE US TO YOUR CITY

MUST HAVE MATERIALS EVERY DAY AT SCHOOL. PART OF YOUR GRADE IS BASED ON HOW WELL YOU WORK AT SCHOOL

Last, the following sheet is printed on yellow paper and every student should have it in their binder. It is the form we will use to evaluate the research, project, and presentation on the last days.



NAME ________________
European Project Evaluations

What were you most proud of in your project? _________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

If we began this project tomorrow, what would you make sure you did differently? Explain.

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

Your overall effort: (please circle the number)

Research 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Project 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Preparation for presentation 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10


Effectiveness of teaching:
(did we learn a lot from you?) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10


How convincing do you feel you were? 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10


What were your favorite 3 presentations? (student names)

1. _________________________

2. _________________________

3. _________________________


Now that you know a lot about various European cities, what would be the two places you were convinced to visit? Why?

1. __________________ ___________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________


2. __________________ ___________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________


--PLEASE STAPLE YOUR ITINERARY TO THIS PAGE--
Should be typed and include:
--flight
--ground transportation (rental car, taxi, train, subway, bus, foot)
--hotels
--places you visit

Please also include the cost of each and what companies you chose :-)



Thank you very much for taking the time to understand what we are doing. Your teamwork with me and with your child really does make a big difference. If there are any questions, please let me know.


Most Kindly,
Matt Piercy
7th Grade Social Studies

Week of April 28th

Dear Seventh Grade Parents,

Last night's performance was very well attended. I don't know about you, but I honestly had tears in my eyes. How proud I am of each child and how extraordinary it was to watch them shine. What a wonderful bunch!

Students have known for nearly a week now about the Europe/Russia map quiz. I've encouraged students to study in a multiple of ways (ilike2learn.com , spelling on backs, spelling in the sand, mnemonic devices, etc.). Monday, 7C will take the quiz and on Tuesday, 7A and 7B. A fun way you might study with your son/daughter is ask questions like, "What country is just west of Sweden?" Or, "What country is in between France, Germany, Italy, and Austria?"

This past week, the first two steps of the final "Europe/Russia End of Year Project" were discussed. The directions were as follows:

1st Step: Pick a city
PARIS ROME LONDON MADRID MOSCOW
*See me if you have an idea of another city you feel strongly about studying

2nd Step: Research this place completely. What is there? How is the culture? Climate? Economy? What is there to see/do there? The history? Etc., etc.

BECOME AN EXPERT ON YOUR CITY!!!

*Yes, you may have a partner in this project.

For the bulk of this week, we will be researching in class. I also expect a lot of investigative work to be done outside of class. I am encouraging students to REALLY get into this final project and that they come to know the city so well, it's as if they have physically visited.

I am intentionally holding off on describing the project portion of this assignment until latter in the week. Not for the sake of suspense but rather for the necessity of students thoroughly "getting to know" the city they have elected. Pictures are not important in this first phase. Information...information...and more information. Your help in supporting this and maybe just checking in with your child about what they are learning and still need to find out, will be very beneficial.

That's it for this week. Time is certainly getting compressed but I am sure students, parents, and teachers alike will delight in the remainder of this wonderful 7th grade year.

As always, please ask if there are any questions. And, thank you for you all that you continue to do.


Kindly,
Matt Piercy
7th Grade Social Studies

Week of April 21st

Dear Parents,

Thank you everyone who took time to be interviewed by your child with respect to the war in Iraq. I very much enjoyed reading the wide variety of responses and plan to have student who wish to volunteer, share these responses and ideas for how things may be made different. A lot can be learned from both your ideas and opinions. A point I have carefully impressed upon students is that so many of the problems we are confronted with, are human created. Thus, they can be "human solved." Inspiration to have a larger world vision and also grow up with the skills, passion, and will to lead with integrity has also been at the forefront of each unit of study. I must say, as the year winds down and remain even more optomistic. The last few weeks, classes have continually amazed me by both their hight level of maturity and interest in the subject. So, once again I congratulate the 7th graders!

This week, we will jump right in to our final theme. This will take us to Europe and Russia. A little background knowledge will be explored and geography will be at the start of our focus. Students will hopefully be challenged with spelling and knowing the location of the various European countries. In addition, the last large project will be explained in detail. I think students are going to really enjoy this one as it allows for an exceptional degree of creativity. More on this next week, however you might expect for your son/daughter to begin researching by week's end.

As always, I remain gracious for your support.


Kindly,
Matt Piercy
7th Grade Social Studies

Week of April 14th

(A few examples of the tiles students created)

Dear Parents,
I came home today (without leaving school) excited to share how impressed I was by the amazing discussion one class participated in this morning. Though the subject (specifically the conflict in Palestine and Israel) can be quite complex and not pleasant, students did such a fine job engaging completely. Their questions and how well they listened to and built off each other's comments really did have me in awe.

Another class, began a trivia review on the Middle East. Their obvious motivation and how they worked together to help each other was also commendable. The third class? I didn't have the pleasure to see them today but they too, continue to march to a similar and very impressive beat. I guess what I am saying is, "It is going to be hard to say good-bye to the seventh graders." Their passion for learning really is a lot of fun to be around and makes me happy to be their guide.

In the coming week, we will not be meeting but just a couple times. Our plans are to finish up the Middle East. There are several "loose ends." As students are aware, there will not be a final on the Middle East and West Asia but material from this region will be included on the final. To help students better prepare, specifics will also be added to the Final Study Guide.

For the final month of classes, students can expect to be studying Europe and Russia. Those who care to get a head start might want to peruse the mini-text as we will be using this in class.

That's it for this week. Please give your son/daughter a gentle pat on the back as truly, what I saw today and most recently really is pleasing.

Have a wonderful weekend!


Kindly,
Matt Piercy
7th Grade Social Studies

Week of April 7th

Dear Parents,

Our power point presentations are over and I really was impressed. If you haven't seen your son/daughter's show, you might ask them to either show you it or tell you about it. It was not only obvious that they learned a lot about their two specific countries, but also evident was how hard so many worked in preparing for their presentations. Please ask your son/daughter about how they did overall and if their were specific areas they know they can focus on in future projects and presentations. Rubrics were returned this week.

This week we also watched the first segment of a a video students are really enjoying. It pleases me to see how intrigued they are. After our book quiz at the beginning of the week (Monday=7A and 7B and Tuesday=7C), we will continue the video. As mentioned last week, the "follow along" sheets will be collected when we are finished, including the little bit of research for a few of the questions. I am expecting the responses to demonstrate students' full thought and expression.

Next week we also will be doing a review of the country presentations with a fun cooperative trivia game. Students' notes will come in handy and will be collected with their game sheet. As well, we will discuss a few hot issues (Palestine/Israel and War in Iraq) of the region and I plan to send students home with interview questions. These interview questions will be compiled from students during our discussions.

Should be another fun week! Thank you.



Kindly,
Matt Piercy
7th Grade Social Studies