January 18th - 21st

This week my 5th/6th graders will finish their "Family History Story" (if they haven't already completed it already).  In addition, you should complete your drawing for the Famous American Woman Contest. 

Next week my 5th/6th graders we will start  a lesson on human evolution.  You should look at the following PBS web site, as we will be following the lesson contained on that site.  You will learn about anthropology, paleontolgy, and what science tells us about our evolution.  Perhaps by understanding where we came from we can have a better idea of where we need to go.  For those of you with internet  at home, here is the site: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/educators/lessons/lesson5/act1.html.  For those who do not have internet at home, I will give you a photocopy of the pages.

My 7th grade students are about to start their analysis of world religions.  Each student can pick one religion to study (Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism).  Although they can reserarch in teams, each students will have to create a "Glogster" (which is a poster that you make online) depicting one of the five most popular religions.  Students will need to present their Glogster to the class.  Rest assured, parents, I do not do any proselytizing during these lessons.  We discuss the Old Testament, the New Testament, the tenets of Islam, the beliefs of Buddhism, and the growth of Hinduism.  I do, however, hope that the students see the common themes and persons who are frequently mentioned in many of the five great religions. I will give each student a handout on Tuesday.

Have a great Martin Luther King Day.

Mr. Shea
(802) 371-8068
 

Jan 10th - 14th

A.)  This week the students will be continuing their work on their Family History projects.  First each student made a family tree.  Then each student was supposed to onterview a parent or guardian and learn a story about their family's past.  last week the students began writing a story about their family's history.  The story must be factual (no tall tales) and they could write about when their ancestors came to America, or they could write about one particular ancestor.  Their story could be about a grandparent or a great aunt or uncle.

This week we will continue to type our family history stories.  Many of the students have finished their first draft.  Most are stunned to learn that they need to make revisions and type a 2nd or 3rd draft.  It's all part of the learning process.  The paper does not have to be long, eve 1 page is adequate.  However, many of the students are discovering that 1 page is usually not enough to tell their story.

When I grade their papers, I will only look at 3 things:  (1) Do they have an interesting first sentence (or is it boring)?  (2) Are all the words spelled correctly?  (3) Do they have capital letters when necessary?

B.)  On another note, we have an exciting climax to our Danville Geo Bee last week.  Logan Larose and Brodie Talbot slugged it out for 3rd place, and Logan won.  In our Championship round, Christina Cassidy beat Haley Loura.  Christina will be travelling to Middlebury College in the spring for the Vermont State Competition.  I want to extend my sincere thanks to all of the students who participated in the Danville Geo Bee!

C.)  We are still making plans for the 7th/8th grade ski program at Burke.  More news should be coming soon.

D.)  After we complete our Family History papers, the 5th/6th grade students will spend time studying famous women in history.  The federal Women's Program Council of Vermont is sponsoring a poster contest.