St. Luke’s History

This Thursday, May 28 at 1:30 pm, Dr. Tom McNish will be speaking to the 8th graders about his experiences in Vietnam as a POW.  In class we have been watching the PBS American Experience documentary Return with Honor in preparation for his visit.  The subject material isn’t easy and it is often difficult to see the images and hear the stories, but the students have handled it wonderfully.  They are asking probing, thoughtful questions and are eager to make sense of the struggles of those in the difficult situation of war.  I am so proud of them.

We welcome any parents who would like to come and hear Dr. McNish.  Be sure to check in with Becky or Margay as we are still firming up the location.

Thanks

Whoops!  I made a tactical error with the review post.  I will repost the review later.  If you viewed what I thought was the exam review, please remember our Honor Code and the St. Luke’s Way and throw it away.  What was posted was the 2008 Spring Exam.  While we covered much of the same material as last year, we did end up in a different spot, so I am modifying the exam amy way.

Sorry for the goof!

G

8th-grade-spring-exam-review   Here is the 8th grade review.  We will watch Return with Honor in class this week and have guest speaker, Dr. Tom McNish, here on Thursday to talk with us about Vietnam.  This means our class review time is limited, but never fear!  I will take care of you.  The exam is an overview of the Spring semester…I will not be asking you to go as in depth or in detail as you would for a regular test.  If you will work through the reiview sheets and know the basic facts and remember that I always want you to understand why things happen.  I will be asking you to reflect on your trip to Washington D.C. and on the what Dr. McNIsh has to say to us.

I can’t believe we are here at the end!  I have enjoyed all the time I have spent with you from 4th grade PE to this your 8th grade year!.  You really are special. 

Hello Everyone! Washington DC was a blast and it was hard to get up this morning, but I made it.

I can’t believe we only have about 3 weeks left before finals…7th grade, be ready to work on your Civil War Projects (details to come in class today) and 8th grade, we still have one more major topic of learning…The Vietnam Conflict. You will get a topic list for this soon.

Soooo….Here is this week’s schedule

7th Grade: Monday~Assign Civil War Museum topic and review for an open book test for the Causes of the Civil War

Tuesday~Begin a time line of major Figures and events of the Civil War

Wednesday~Continue Time Line

Thursday~Field Trip to the Texas History Museum!!!!!

Friday~Map major battles of the Civil War

8th Grade: Monday~Work on Cold War Packet

Tuesday~Grade packet and discuss Red Scare and domestic spying

Wednesday~Review for Cold War Test

Thursday~Cold War Test and begin Thirteen Days movie about the Cuban Missile Crisis

Friday~Continue Movie

World War II Research Papers are due TOMORROW APRIL 27!!!!!!!!!!!!

Be sure to follow the formatting requirements posted here on the web page, handed out to you at the writer’s conference and discussed in class.  Make sure they are printed out before coming to class!!

See you tomorrow.

I was able to get through most of the rough draft writer’s conferences today.  I will finish those tomorrow.  As the week progresses, I will be happy to look at any other changes you have made.  Remember, the final draft is due Monday, April 27  NO EXCEPTIONS!!!!

Attached is the sheet with all the formatting requirements.  All papers must be printed and in their folders BEFORE coming to class.

Thanks for all your hard work with these!

requirements-for-the-final-draft

It’s a short week here as SLES.  Fiesta activities are in full swing so make sure you stay on top of your work.

Tuesday Apr. 21:  Parent Information meeting for Washington DC Trip 6:00 pm. We will discuss safety issues, the agenda, how much money to bring and dress code.  We encourage all parents to attend.

Thursday Apr. 23:  King Antonio visit 8:30 am in the gym

7th grade Topics:  Differences between the North and the South before the Civil War

Monday~Chapter 13 Section 1  Technology North v South (do questions pg 390)

Tuesday~Chapter 13 Sec 2&3 Factories v Farms and Plantations (reading packets)

Wednesday~Chapter 13 Sec 4  People and Culture of the North  South

Thursday~Discuss how these differences lead to a division large enough be a major cause of the Civil War

8th Grade Topics:  The Beginnings of the Cold War

Monday~Chapter 17 Section 1:  Compare and Contrast Yalta and Potsdam Conferences                               **Writer’s Conferences with Rough Drafts**

Tuesday~In Class discussion and notes on the beginnings of the Cold War (do questions pg 568)

Wednesday~Chapter 17 section 2:  Korean War (do questions pg. 575)

Thursday~Chapter 17 section 3 & 4:  Fear of Nuclear War and the Growth of the CIA (selected questions from both sections)

Due to lots of things going on….remember that some dates have changed for the 8th grade research paper.  The rough draft is due Tuesday April 14.  I will read and edit them.  I will return the rough draft on Monday April 20.

THE FINAL DRAFT IS DUE MONDAY APRIL 27th!!!!  NO EXCEPTIONS!!!!  The final paper needs to be accompanied by the rough draft and the final works cited page.

I am looking forward to reading all of the papers this week!

Hello all! Here is is the end of March already! Here is a break down of what is going to happen over the next week and a half. Remember Achievement Testing is next week so there will be no homework.

7th grade: Wed. March 25-Fri. March 27 ~ Work on the Texas Revolution Newscast

Mon. Mar 30-Fri. April 3 ~ Achievement Testing (I can’t believe it’s April!) There will be no homework this week. Major in class topics will be the Industries of Texas (Cattle Ranching, Oil, Lumber, Manufacturing).

8th Grade: Wed. March 25-Fri. March 27 ~ Continue Webquest for Battles of World War II

Mon. March 30 ~ A look at D-Day facts and Statistics. Read Gen. Eisenhower’s letter of Failure to Congress

Tuesday March 31 ~ Continue D-Day: Complete D-Day Statistics Worksheets

Wednesday April 1-Friday April 3 ~ Holocaust Video and discussion

On Going for 8th graders is the research papers an deadlines. Even though there is no official homework, students must continue work on the paper!

I am so glad that everyone is SUPER EXCITED about the World War II research papers.  I handed out the official requirements and deadlines to everyone today and they are listed below.  Each day we will have time to discuss a feature of the paper and the writing process.  Be sure to stay on top of this.   The final due date is Wednesday, April 15.

World War II Research Paper

Your task is to write a 4-5 page research paper on the a
World War II topic of your choice.

You will do research at the school library, the public library and, possibly a university library as well as the internet.  You must use a variety of sources to ensure corroboration of facts and diversity of information.

The Resources:

You must use at least 10 different sources for your resources.
•    4 reputable internet sites (university sites, museums, government sites)
•    3 journal articles (these may be found using data bases on the internet, but are publications i.e. magazines or journals)
•    3 book sources

Each of these resources must have facts and information represented in the paper and documented properly.

The Writing:

Your paper must have a clearly stated thesis in the introduction of the paper.  This thesis statement should inform the reader (me) of the purpose for the paper and all information in the paper must relate to that thesis.

You must demonstrate that you have done planning and prewriting as you go through this process.  Attached are important dates to guide you through the paper.

The paper must be clearly written IN YOUR OWN WORDS.  Any ideas, statements of opinion or fact that are not your own should be documented.  Be careful of cutting and pasting because it is easy to forget where the information came from and to forget to come back to it.

Grammar, spelling and proper sentence structure do count as part of your grade.

The Works Cited Page:

All of your information must be documented (cited) with in your paper using In-Text citations.  We will use the MLA style of citing information and creating a bibliography.

Important Dates:

March 31:  A list of at least 5 sources and each type of source represented

April 2:  A preliminary outline or plan for the paper with a thesis statement.  Have at least 4 main sub-topics to write about

April 7:  A full introduction written and ready for peer editing and the full 10 source list

April 10:  A rough draft ready for peer editing and teacher conferences

April 15:  Final Product Due!!