xMr. Brown's Social Studies

Unit 3 - Governments of SW Asia (Middle East)

Blue Days started working on Unit 3 - Governments of SW Asia (Middle East) and Silver Days will begin the activity tomorrow. The classes are working on an activity that included unpacking (developing an understanding) of the standards for this unit and then working on the key vocabulary. The days' lesson follows.

Download citizen_and_government_structure.doc

Below are the standards to be covered during this two-week unit. The structure of the unit develops an understanding in the student of the key aspects of government. After this has been developed, the student will study the structure of a selected governmental structures of Middle Eastern nations.

Download sw_asia_govt_standards.doc 

On Thursday the 23rd and Friday the 24th, the classes will complete this two-day lesson by completing a Think-Tac-Toe exercise. The assignment, an example for each option and the grading rubric are available below.

Download vocabulary_thinktactoe.doc

Download examples_of_vocab_thinktactoe.doc 

Download thinktactoe_rubric.doc

VERY IMPORTANT: If you were absent or need to retake the Unit 2 test, please see Mr. Brown or Mrs. Clark about a time to do so. Remember, it is up to you to plan and schedule any make-up or retake assignments.

Our Students of the Week are Prince D. for the Silver Days and Miranda B. and Emily T. for the Blue Days. Thanks for working hard and being an asset to the learning process in our World Studies classes.

A Thought to Remember - "Without geography, you're nowhere." - Unknown

Time to Study

Blue Classes on the 13th and Silver Classes on the 14th completed an assignment on the important issues covered in Section 4 of Chapter 16 - Israel Today. We finished the lesson with a discussion of Israel and its current relationship with the surrounding Arabs and especially the Palestinian Arabs.

Blue Days on the 15th and Silver Days on the 16th will conclude a short discussion on the United States' role is in the region today and work on the unit review packet for the Unit 2 Test. Blue Days will have the exam on Friday the 17th and Silver Days on Monday the 20th.

We will be moving on to Unit 3 - Governments of the Middle East on Tuesday and Wednesday of next week. This unit is expected to last approximately two weeks.

VERY IMPORTANT: Unit 2 Test - Blue Days on Friday, Oct 17, and Silver Days on Monday, Oct 20.

IMPORTANT: Report cards for the first nine-weeks will be sent home on Friday, October 17.

DON'T FORGET: Wednesday, October 15, is an early release day. Please make arrangements to get out of the school at 2:15pm.

Congratulations to our first two Students of the Week for the new grading period. Jose C. for Blue and Angel G. for Silver. These two are great representatives of the students in World Studies. Give them your best when you see them in the halls!!!

A Thought to Remember - "If you wait to do everything until you're sure it's right, you'll probably never do much of anything." - Win Borden (author)

Time to move forward!

I think the Thought to Remember for today is very appropriate. As we end one grading period and head to the next, it is important to remain focused, believe in oneself and remain determined to succeed. Many of you had a great first grading period. Some, not so. Either way, it is up to you to head into the second nine-weeks with the belief that you will accomplish whatever goals you set for yourself.

Students on both Blue Days and Silver Days worked on a Sequencing Events lesson over the last couple of days. For those in Silver 4 who did not finish this assignment, please remember to have it completed and ready to hand in on Tuesday.

Lastly, the Unit II Exam is planned for Friday, October 17, and Monday October 20. We will be finishing up this unit and be ready to move on to the Governments of SW Asia (Middle East).

IMPORTANT: Report cards for the first nine-weeks will be sent home on Friday, October 17. With the exception of the students I talked to on Friday the 10th, grades on I-Parent are updated and show the final score for this first grading period.

DON'T FORGET: Wednesday, October 15, is an early release day. Please make arrangements to get out of the school at 2:15pm. We like having you around, but on Wednesday, go enjoy your afternoon. A great suggestion is to take some extra time to read or get ahead on your homework---or more likely, play some Wii, text message a few friends, listen to your IPOD and waste the afternoon. The Choice Is Yours!!!

A Thought to Remember - "Whether you think you can or think you can't, you're right." - Henry Ford (American businessman who perfected the assembly line and made lots and lots of cars)

Three days until Nine-Weeks

Blue classes followed the lead of the Silver Days by getting back on track with each other. All three classes completed guided notes on the conflicts in Middle East. Blue 2 finished the time line activity, as well. Each class included a discussion on the conflict issues in this region. Blue 4 began watching the video "The Holocaust - A Teenager's Experience". Each of the classes will complete this video after the Benchmark Test on Thursday.

All subjects will be completing Benchmark Exams over the next two days. These are exams that cover the standards that students are working on during the last nine-weeks. These tests allow the school and the county to compare what is being taught between the different schools in the county. The Benchmark Exams do not count against the students, but allow for an assessment of what is being covered and not covered throughout the system.

IMPORTANT: All students must complete retakes and make-ups by Thursday, October 9. The nine-weeks has arrived and grades must be submitted. As I mentioned yesterday, all students were given progress reports to take home. On these progress reports, I highlighted what quizzes and tests need to be completed. Please make sure your students schedule a time to come in to finish these with either Mrs. Clark or me.

A Thought to Remember - "Always remember that you are absolutely unique. Just like everyone else." - unknown

We've been in school nine weeks...can you believe it?

As we wind down during this last week of the first nine-weeks, we are working on getting all the classes back on the same schedule. We have ended at different places lately in each class and today and tomorrow the classes are each getting back to the same point. So, here is the work to be completed at home for Silver Days:

SILVER 2 - Israel Today in Chapter 15 - Read and complete sections 1, 3, and 4 at the end of the section. This is due on Wednesday, October 8.

SILVER 3 - A Region in Conflict in Chapter 15 - Read and complete sections 1, 3 and 4 at the end of the section. This is due on Wednesday, October 8.

SILVER 4 - A Region in Conflict in Chapter 15 - Complete the guided notes provided in class by using the material from this section of Chapter 15.

ALL STUDENTS HAVE BEEN ASSIGNED TEXTBOOKS TO KEEP AT HOME! IF A STUDENT DOES NOT HAVE HIS OR HER BOOK AT HOME, IT NEEDS TO BE THERE. A CLASS SET WILL REMAIN IN THE CLASSROOM SO THAT BOOKS DO NOT HAVE TO BE BROUGHT BACK AND FORTH.

DON'T FORGET: Progress reports were sent home on Friday. If you received a pink slip about retakes and concerns about receiving a D or an F, a parent or guardian must sign and have it returned by Wednesday.

IMPORTANT: Make-ups and retakes must be completed by Thursday, October 9th. Make sure that you schedule a time with Mr. Brown or Mrs. Clark to get this taken care of. Any grades in place on October 10, will be the ones counted for your first nine-weeks report card.

The beginning of the week means time to announce the Students of the Week. This week, Silver Days has two, so congratulate Maiya M. and Lizbeth M. when you see them. The Student of the Week for Blue Days is Saud S. All three of these students show the effort and positive attitude needed to succeed. When you see them, congratulate them for this accomplishment!

A Thought to Remember - "A book is a gift that you can open again and again." - Garrison Keillor (American Writer and Broadcaster)

Nine weeks is Coming on Friday, October 10

The classes are continuing on with the time line activity. The students are completed two time lines as a group. The first covers The Beginnings of the Arab-Israeli Conflict and the other is The Formation of Nation of Israel. We finished watching a video that coordinates with both of the time lines. The classes will begin working on key terms and people on Friday and Monday. The handout and notes will be on the blog on Friday.

We are now issuing books to students. These books are to remain at home and be used when needed to complete an assignment sent home or assigned as homework. The classroom will still have a class set so students do not have to bring the book back and forth. A number of students are not completing assignments and do not check books out over night to do so. Assigning books is an obvious effort to deal with this.

DON'T FORGET: Make-ups and retakes must be completed by the October 7. Make sure that you schedule a time with Mr. Brown or Mrs. Clark to get this taken care of. Any grades in place on October 10 will be the ones used for your first nine-weeks report card.

Accolades go out to D'Angelo A...the August/September 7A World Studies Student of the Month. Well, actually, the first one is always the Student of Two Months. Either way, his efforts in the subject made him an easy choice. To all the rest, keep working hard. You might be the next Student of the Month.

A Thought to Remember - "Ability is what you're capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it." Lou Holtz (American football coach)