Discontinued

I will not be posting additional assignments here for the 09-10 school year. For assignments, please go to www.edline.net.

Exam Dates

Exams are Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday of next week. The exam schedule is as follows:

Tue:  History/Lit

Wed:  English/Math

Thur:  Spanish/Science

8th Grade Sci Fi Story Starters

While drilling for oil, workers find something that threatens the existence of the whole world...

Geneticists discover how to prevent aging so that human beings theoretically should be able to live for ever.. 

SETI researchers realize that they have been getting messages from outer space all along...

Exploring South America, biologists encounter a disease to which humans have no immunity...

Hybrid, genetically - modified plants, create a toxin that destroys the bee population in the world, preventing plans from growing.

It is 200 years from today and it turns out that global warming was real. Very real.

Exam Questions:

You may and should prepare an outline for these essay questions. Be sure that your outline is not so detailed that it includes full sentences, however.  

8th Grade:

History :  How has war changed over the last 100 years?

Trace the causes and consequences of the Arab-Israeli crisis and suggest a possible solution.

Literature:

What effect did John Proctor's flaws have on the plot and theme of The Crucible? 

What significance does  The Crucible have for people today?

7th Grade:

History:

What are The Constitution's flaws? Explain.

How did the US change from the Revolution to the Civil War?

Literature:

Huck Finn believes he is a terribly flawed individual. Why? In your opinion, is he?

A writer once said that The Adventures of Huckelberry Finn is a uniquely American novel because if focused on two uniquely American obsessions: Space and Race. Comment.

 

Debates

The remaining debates will take place as follows:

Water-- 0830-0900

Cameras-- 1050--1130

Electric Cars 1230-1300

Debate/Declamation Schedule for Monday 18 May and Tuesday 19 May

Times are approximate, of course. 

Monday:

1.  The US should invest more in the search for extra terrestrial intelligence. 0830-0900

Rahi and Alex 

2.  Americans should be encouraged to support organic farming. 0900-0930

Lindsay and Jillian

3.  The government should restrict people from owning wild animals as pets. 0930-1000

  Kasey and Karli

4.  As a way out of the current economic crisis, Keynsian methods are the best. 1050-1135

Thomas, Bryan, Chris, Jeremy

5.  The federal government should implement a single payer health care system in the United States.

Abiha, Renee, Andrew, Morgan B 1230-1315

6.  In matters of culture, the world is getting dumber. 1315-1335

Kristen and Morgan F

7.  Public school classrooms should all have surveillance cameras installed. 1345-1410

Velty and Zach

8.  The US should take more of a role in developing electric only cars. 1415-1445

Eva and Nicole

Tuesday

9. Water, as a scarce resource, should be priced according to its market value. 0830-0900

Tehran and Mr Jarrell

Homework Week of 11 May

All: Declamations/Debates will be on Monday and Tuesday of Next week. Be sure you have outlines and notecards with you for both the speech and the cross examinations. The only thing you will be handing in will be a bibliography alphabetized by last name of author.

8th Grade:

7th Grade: Quote Essay--Pick one quote from Othello and write an essay following format:  

Paragraph 1: Intro putting the quote in context.

Paragraph 2: Explain what the quote means.

Paragraph 3: Explain whether you thing the quote is "true"

Paragraph 4: Conclusion

Chapter 16:2 is Due Thursday

All Classes

Following are the number of blog postings by each student in the Upper School. 5 would be a reasonable number to have right now. 

Homework assignment:  I would also like to ensure that everyone's parents are keeping track of your independent reading. To that end, kindly print out a copy of your reading record for the third trimester, write in the number of blogs you have posted this trimester (listed below), and have mom or dad sign the paper. Bring the signed copy to me no later than Monday, 27 April. 

8th Grade:   

Renee-5

Lindsay-1

Tehran-2

Alex-4

Abiha-0

Velty-1

Jillian-8

Kristen-4

Jeremy-1

Zach-2

Chris-2

Rahi-5

Andrew-4

7th Grade

Morgan B-2

Morgan F-3

Bryan-2

Kasey-1

Eva-1

Nicole-6

Thomas-0

Karli-0

6th Grade

Jaxx- 3

Jordanna-8

Haddon-9

Alec-3

Caleb-5

Alex-3

Lauren-4

James-4

Emily-6

Mo-1

Dhruv-4

Neil-12

8th Grade

I want to thank the three individuals who competed the Howard Zinn chapter.  For the rest of the class, I'll expect to see your detailed notes on Wednesday. 

8th Grade Assignments over Spring Break

Read The Howard Zinn chapter: "The Impossible Victory: Vietnam"

Complete Cold War Essay

Read Act I and II of The Crucible

7th Grade Othello Essay

Essay Question Due After Break-- What personal flaw caused Othello's downfall?

Week of 6 April

6th Grade

Odysseus Writing Assignment: Your choice--Essay or Story. Due after break.

Essay: Is Odysseus worth of emulation? In other words, is he a good role model for people today? Remember to avoid "special pleading in your response. Odysseus is a complex character and your answer needs to take that into account. 

Story: The story of the Odysseus's return to his homeland of Ithaca is one of the most enduring tales in history. I want you to write a story about a return "home." You can define home in any way you like. It could be a return to "homeroom" after a trip to the bathroom. It could be about a runner coming "home" after finding himself on first base. The journey is up to you. The only requirements I am placing are :

1) The story must be about a journey home.

2) The main character must display the same characteristics as Odysseus. 

3) The character must face a series of obstacles that he/she must overcome during the journey. These obstacles should resemble the obstacles faces by Odysseus himself. 

These are not due until after spring break. 

7th Grade

For Monday-- Complete Othello and list 5 historical events between 1803-1822 that you think might affect the economic game.

8th Grade--Due After Break

Cold War Essay: What factors best explain the beginning of the Cold War between the US and the USSR? What actions on either side might have averted the Cold War?

Today's Essays

If you were absent from school today (7th and 8th grade),  kindly email me your essays. I would hate to see you not get credit because you failed to hand in your work on time. 

Week of 30 March

6th Grade

 

Complete Chapter III--Odysseus

7th Grade

No History Sections Due

Chapters 12-17 Othello--Due Wednesday

Debate Due Date II--Thursday

8th Grade

Complete Cold War Documents G and F for Monday

Debate Due Date II-- Thursday

8th Grade Vocabulary Update and History Documents 26 March

8th Grade:

This week's Vocabulary words: "Something's Coming":  Ominous, Portentous, inauspicious, imminent, impending, minatory, presage, bode/forebode, propitiate, harbinger

Complete Documents D,E for homework, Due tomorrow, Friday the 27th. What is the primary argument each author is making and what does that document add to your understanding of the Cold War? 

25 March

6th Grade-- Read  42-59 of Odysseus for Friday, 27 March

7th Grade--Remember to read Othello to page 62 for Tomorrow and read to page 76 for Friday.

6th Grade 24 March

Tomorrow (25 March) you should be finished Odysseus pages 26-42. 

Week of 23-27 March

7th and 8th Grade

Please continue working on your Debate. The next checkpoint will be on Thursday, 2 April. You should have 5 additional resources, notes on those sources, and revised outlines. Be prepared to present your arguments orally on that day.

8th Grade

Your Night/Holocaust essay is due on Friday, the 27th. The question, once again is: How did the Holocaust happen? Keep in mind, I am not looking for a simple recitation of facts. You have to carefully categorize and prioritize. In this essay you should use all of the sources that you have available.

7th Grade

Your essay is Due on Friday.

History Test, Chapter 10 is on Wednesday.

Othello chapters 6-11 due Tuesday.

7th Grade Essay

What was the greatest threat to the young American republic between 1788 and 1800?

Final Draft is due Friday, 27 March.

Week of 16-20 March

8th Grade--

  Complete the Holocaust readings 1939-1945--Due Thursday.

  Complete Phase I--Debate--5 bibliography cards, notes on those sources, 2 outlines(1 for each side)

  Complete Night -- Due on Monday.

7th Grade

  10:3 Due Tuesday.  10:4 Due Thursday

   Complete Phase I --Debate--5 bibliography cards, notes on those sources, 2 outlines (1 for each side)

  Othello: A Novel 1-32(Chapters 1-5) Due Friday

6th Grade

  Read Chapter II Odysseus at Troy (pages 9-19).

Debate Propositions

1.  The US should invest more in the search for extra terrestrial intelligence.

Rahi and Alex 

2.  Americans should be encouraged to support organic farming.

Lindsay and Jillian

3.  The government should restrict people from owning wild animals as pets.

  Kasey and Karli

4.  As a way out of the current economic crisis, Keynsian methods are the best. 

Thomas, Bryan, Chris, Jeremy

5.  The federal government should implement a single payer health care system in the United States.

Abiha, Renee, Andrew, Morgan B

6.  In matters of culture, the world is getting dumber.

Kristen and Morgan F

7.  Public school classrooms should all have surveillance cameras installed.

Velty and Zach

8.  The US should take more of a role in developing electric only cars.

Eva and Nicole

9. Water, as a scarce resource, should be priced according to its market value.

Tehran and Mr Jarrell

10 March Homework update.

7th and 8th Grade:  Debate Topics have been chosen. I'll post the propositions tomorrow. For Friday, be sure you are prepared to present the three points I asked for today--topicality(Why is this topic worthy of debate), historical perspective(how has this topic changed over time), and clash (pro and con differences). 

8th Grade Reading Assignments

  Introduction to the Holocaust--Due Wednesday, 11 November

  1933-1939-- Due Friday

  1939-1945(All)--Due Next Thursday

Night--Chapters 1-4 Due Monday.

Week of 9-14 March

All--Most classes are doing much better on the blog postings, and I thank you for the effort. Remember that two assignments--reading for AR and blog postings-- are ongoing throughout the trimester. Make sure you keep up. 

For this week  8th Grade and 7th Grade  Debate topics will be decided by tomorrow. The first due date of 5 bibliography cards, 2 rough outlines, and note cards on the sources will be on Thursday 19 March.

6th Grade students should be memorizing a poem/speech/ monologue of no less than two minutes.

7th Grade-- Chapter 10:1 is Due Tuesday and 10:2 is due Thursday.

8th Grade Vocabulary Update

Unless your name is Rahi or Chris, you should prepare for tomorrow's review quiz. The following might be covered: ape,dun, fop, gad, hex, ken, pox, sow, vex, vie, amalgamation, admixture, eclectic, catholic, motley, corroborate, assunder, diaspora, cleave, disseminate, aphrodisiac, chthonic, hector, hermetic, junoesque, mercurial, mnemonic, muse, odyssey,                            saturnine--plus the 10 words for this week. 

Those of you who have to take the full quiz also owe me 20 sentences(2 per word) for this week's vocabulary list. These sentences are due on Friday.

Everyone has to take the 10 question quiz on Wednesday.

23 February

7th Grade:  Section two of the citizenship handbook is due tomorrow and section three is due Thursday. Be sure to complete the story "Some Opposites of Good" for Wednesday.

6th Grade: We will complete The Jumping Frog story in class on Wednesday. Be sure to look at Howthingswork to prepare your oral presentation.

12 February

6th Grade-- Please be sure to read the story that I gave you on Wednesday, "Sucker." It is due tomorrow.

8th grade--prepare your lessons if you have not done so, and glance over chapter 19. You might need that information. 

Thursday, 12 February

All:  The independent reading blog counts as eight literature grades. At the end of the trimester, I  calculate your grade by adding the number of posts you have made, adjusting for length and originality, and comparing the total to an acceptable average number of posts.  Last trimester, that  average was eight. If you had eight posts, your grade was an 85. Fewer posts yielded lower grades, and more posts yielded higher grades. 

Last week I warned each class that some students were not blogging enough, or, more to the point, at all.  Several of you did not take my warning on blogging seriously. Instead of trying frantically to make up for a trimester squandered and posting immediately, some students did nothing.  Clearly, procrastination is deeply seated in those few students, and I would like to help. To that end,  if you have not made substantial contributions to your class's blog by Tuesday, 17 Feb, I will record five of the eight zeros that you have earned so far in my grade book. No amount of last second blogging will save you from those five zeros, though posts made after the 17th will help on the final three grades.

Hope this helps!

7th Grade--Review the information about the Articles of Confederation and review your agendas for the Constitution game.

Week of 9-13 February

Just a reminder to all students--write your blogs. If you have failed to write any blogs this trimester, you are looking at eight zeros in literature. You have about four weeks left to make up for your lack of effort so far.

7th and 8th Grade, nice work on your debates. I'll send grades home next week, but many of you have improved dramatically. Those who made mistakes, please learn from them. We start the final debate in two weeks.

8th grade--Chapter 19:3 and 19:4 Due next week.

7th Grade--No history sections due, yet again. We'll be making our Constitution next week. Kindly remember to finish The Chocolate War.

6th Grade-- Remember todays class discussion and think about what limits you place on yourself when you fight with siblings. Ask yourself if there is anything you could do or say that would be unforgivable.

Week of 2-6 February

7th and 8th Grade--Debates are on Thursday and Friday. Remember that you need to hand in the following:  Bibliography (alphabetized by author's last name), written speech, and a final outline.

You do not have any history reading assignments this week.

26-30 January

6th Grade: 

Monday: Revised essays Due for those of you who have wisely decided to take another chance with on of your Giver essays. Please have the carefully revised and proven essay on Monday.

On Friday next week you recite your speech.

Homework for Thursday

7th and 8th Grade: Remember to complete section four of your history chapter. I would also advise thinking about your essay on "Torturing Democracy" and studying your vocabulary.

6th Grade, for those of you who have yet to begin memorizing your declamation speech, kindly do so. Earning another zero would be counter productive. 

Reminders

7th and 8th Grade--remember that a section of history is due on Thursday, 8 Jan, as well as completed work on "Torturing Democracy." Also, Debate checkpoint II is on Monday.

6th Grade--Be sure to complete The Giver if you have not done so already. It is due on Monday. Also next week, be prepared to recite as much of your declamation speech as you can.