Wrapping up the week in LASS7 - HW at end of entry.

Some reminders first:
1. The checklist is due Monday.
2. Bring all supplies, from the checklist are due Monday - for my class you must bring one binder and a minimum of 5 dividers, but 8 will be better.

The week in review:

Our guiding question this week was "Why am I here (in school)?"

On Wednesday, we explored some our feelings about the differences between summer and school. We had a discussion. I read some classic poems - The Boat by Lewis Carroll and The White Room by Charles Simic - about summer. Then we discussed the poems and different kinds of poems very briefly, before writing our own poems about Summer and/or School.

We discussed the writing process and the writing portfolio that will be utilized throughout the year.

On Thursday, we discussed how to write Journals for this class. We then wrote a journal  - Best Dreams - and then students volunteers to share some of their entries.

On Friday, we received our SS textbooks, which are to be taken home. Second textbooks may be available once more textbooks are found.

We also discussed the guiding question in relationship to the poem and to the question of why we study history. It was a very interesting discussion, with discussions about what will today's students tell kids in 25 years about the music they listen to, with a real transistor pocket radio comparison to the iPhone. A discussion about time travel, time machines, and if being able to call someone living in 1215 is possible to ask questions about the Magna Carta or having to only read about it in books is a similar way of learning about history than actually talking to a person that actually lived through the Great Depression.

The optional homework:
Ask a parent to tell you about a historical event that happened before they were born that they learned about from an older relative or family friend. Find out how they learned about this event and if your parent actually also studied or read about this event or time period as well.

Write a five point summary about the event or time period, and who told your parents and how else they also learned about the event details.