Week of March 31st

Welcome back from Spring Break! As hard as it is for me to believe, we are into the 4th quarter. Before the break, we did our best to squeeze in all the Middle East powerpoint presentations but not everyone had the chance to present. Several students will be giving their presentation this week. Tomorrow, I will speak to classes about the order of who still gets to present. If your son/daughter is on the following list, I recommend they look over their slideshow and practice their presentation a few more times so they are fresh for Tuesday (7B and 7C) and Wednesday (7A).
7A
Lauren
Justin
Zeke

7B
Nina
Peter
Camille
Tsukasa

7C
Juan
Kyle
Kawai
Andrew
Emily
Tessa
Lucas

At the conclusion of the presentations, we will have a a little trivia review game and note sharing session. Additionally this week, we will begin watching an extremely informative, easy to follow, and fun video on the Middle Eastern countries. Students will be given a handout I made that coincides with the movie. Most of the questions can be answered in class as we watch but a few questions were intentionally written so students would extend what they were seeing by doing a little research. This extension will need to be finished for homework.

Also this week, on Thursday students will have the choice to either work in teams or with a partner. The assignment will be to carefully read the National Geographic West Asia mini-text. This is supplementary material as it enlarges our more specific region of focus. A quiz will be given which will test how well students comprehended what was read. I will be available for questions but also part of working with another student(s) is to provide the opportunity for students to help each other. As well, students will have several days to read and take notes so it largely comes down to being responsible for what is read. I also plan to encourage students to take notes and hopefully some will even outline. What is not able to be read in class on Thursday will be homework for Thursday night and over the weekend as the quiz will be given on the following dates: Monday (7A and 7B) Tuesday (7C)


Well, this wraps it up for this week. My appreciation continues for the support you provide at home. Again, welcome back to school!


Kindly,
Matt Piercy
7th Grade Social Studies

Week of March 10th

Dear Parents,

WOW! I've seen just a few student's Power Point presentations and I am very impressed. I congratulate their efforts. If you have not seen the work your son/daughter has created, I encourage you to ask them over the weekend. They may even wish to practice with you. In the coming week, our class time will be dedicated to students getting up in front of their peers and teaching the countries they researched. Their Power Points will serve as a helpful tool as they teach (and do not just read). This past week, we discussed in class what will contribute to successful presentations. Students all have the rubric and their only homework is to practice, practice, practice. During the presentations, the rest of the class will be an "inviting" audience and will also be responsible to take notes.

In the coming week, I also am expecting students to finish their Arabic tiles. I hope to have a photo taken of these by Thursday. Again, my feeling was one of "Wow." I look forward to sharing with you the results of both this week's presentations, as well as a photo of the wonderful art that our very own, Cindy Yarawamai, was so kind to integrate (thank you Cindy!).

As always, I welcome your questions. Otherwise, have a delightful weekend, week ahead, and Spring Break with your son/daughter.



Kindly,
Matt Piercy
7th Grade Social Studies