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Thursday, November 5, 2015

Picture Narrative

Wow! What a great day we had today in class! Many times students forget about the importance of theme when we switch reading passages and genres. With our study of Anne Frank we talk a lot of the characteristics that are found in narrative non-fictions readings. Today we again discussed theme in regards to why individuals view the Holocaust as an important time in history. We followed a photo narrative activity with pictures from the USHMM website.  Students were given 26 different pictures  and instructed to choose six that they believe addressed one of the three themes: 1) Why remember the Holocaust? 2) Tell the chronological story of the Holocaust 3) Reflect on how and why the Holocaust even happened. Below you will find pictures that taken today in class. 

As an extension activity, students were given all 26 pictures and were instructed to place each individual picture into the "right theme" and defend their reasoning! 




Extension Activity 

Extension

Monday, November 2, 2015

Anne Frank Audio

Week of October 2nd- October 6th




Happy Monday everyone! More importantly Happy Royals Monday! What a great way to end a long weekend! Below you will find a calendar of homework for the week as well as any announcements. 

Announcements
1. School dance, Friday November 6th @ 7pm-9pm (Cost= $3)
2. Anne Frank Vocab Test will be on November 24th and the Unit test will be November 30th



Monday, October 26, 2015

Week of October 26th Calendar and Outlook

Hello all, 

Due to the fact that we don't have school on Thursday or Friday this week your student may be feeling a little bit overwhelmed with the amount of work that is required because your teachers are trying to put five days of lessons into three. For this reason I have included a calendar for the week as well as any "to do" and friendly reminders! 

Reminder
- Parent Teacher Conferences: Tuesday (4pm-8pm) and Thursday (9am-6pm)
- PTO Gambino's Fundraiser is October 26-28th. 25% of of qualifying sales will be donated to WMS! You can find the flyer below!
Yearbook sales will be from October 15-30, 2015.  The home bases will get their forms on Wednesday. Orders will also be done online at www.balfour.com for a $1 convenience fee.

To Do This Week: 
1. "Staking a Claim" PDF document (two sided) with two separate claims for students to prove using primary source documents (found in their Edmodo folder under the 8th ELA group)
2. 1 paragraph summary from "Staking a Claim" outlining their stance for a Socratic Seminar on Wednesday. 
3. Online Question #1: Claiming Responsibility (Instructions on Edmodo) 



Friday, October 16, 2015

QR Code Scavenger Hunt

      Yesterday in class we successfully attempted our first time at using QR codes in order to extend our learning and technology usage. Students were instructed to scan 6 different QR codes that were linked to a URL of a primary source document or an online website outlining different elements and historical lessons regarding post- WWI in Europe, WWII and specifically The Holocaust. We will begin our reading of The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank today in class. 





Thursday, October 15, 2015

Anne Frank Pre- Reading

Good morning, 

     As most of you already know we are beginning our second unit which covers The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank. I am extremely excited about this next unit as it is something I have become very passionate about over the years. I took my first trip to the National Holocaust museum at age 7 and have been hooked ever sense. I have been back three other times and have actually traveled to Munich, Germany and walked in the first running concentration camp, Dachau. I am beyond excited to share my studies with the students! 

     As a Pre-Reading strategy to set up the importance of this book, the eighth graders have been constructing a scaled model of a house that includes a secret annex or hiding space. They have not read one single word of Anne Frank as of yet and the products were incredible! I have attached a few of the pictures from this week in class. Please join us the week of October 26th for parent teacher conferences so you can see the fully finished products!

 Objective/ Task

 Beginning Scaled Blueprint
 Initial Construction stages
Finished scaled blueprint