Created Equal Work

Here are the questions for the Created Equal assignment:

Created Equal Readings and Activities

Part 1: The Declaration: What’s In It For Me? (Pages 2-3)

1. List three important dates from the timeline.
2. What are some of the ways the Declaration of Independence affects you? (list at least 2 ways)
3. Why was the Declaration of Independence written?
4. Who wrote the Declaration of Independence?
5. How long did it take to write the Declaration of Independence?
6. What are the Dunlap Broadsides?
7. How many copies of the Declaration of Independence exist?
8. What would have happened to the men who signed the Declaration if the colonists lost the war?
9. When was a copy of the Declaration sent to King George III?
10. Why is it important for you to understand the Declaration?

Part 2: Created Equal (Page 4-5)

11. Why is there no mention of slaves in the Declaration?
12. Why do you think women were left out of the document?
13. Why do you think Native Americans were left out of the document?
14. What did Abraham Lincoln use the Declaration to do?
15. Who is Elizabeth Cady Stanton?
16. What do Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcom X, and Cesar Chavez have in common?
17. What are some ways we should be equal?
18. Describe the US population in 1776.
19. How does the young population in the US today compare to the adult population?
20. List two important historical figures who have referenced the Declaration.
21. List two other nations that have Declarations of Independence.
22. Why do you think Thomas Jefferson had several drafts of the Declaration?

Part 3: A Revolutionary Idea (Page 6-7)

23. What is the difference between alienable and unalienable rights?
24. When should you receive your rights?
25. Do you think all people in the US have rights today? Why or why not?
26. What do you think it means to have the right to life?
27. What do you think it means to have the right to liberty?
28. What do you think it means to have the right to the pursuit of happiness?
29. Where did Jefferson get the idea to include the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness?
30. Why do you think people use other sources in their writing?
31. Do you think kids should be punished for making political statements with their clothing? In other words, does the school have a right to suspend you for wearing a shirt that is against war? Why or why not?

32. Should freedom of speech ever be restricted OR should Americans always have this right? Explain your thinking.
33. List two things that you would not be willing to tolerate and would fight to change.

Part 4: And Justice For All (Pages 8-9)

34. How many grievances do the colonists list against the King?
35. How do you think the Declaration changed the world?
36. What was the purpose of the Constitution?
37. What was the first televised trial court?
38. Do you think people get a fair trial on tv? Explain your thinking.
39. Why do you think teens don’t always have the same rights as adults?
40. How do youth courts work?
41. Do you think youth courts are a good idea?

Part 5: The Ongoing Struggle for Freedom (Pages 10-11)

42. Would you be willing to risk your life for freedom? Why or why not?
43. Why do you think hate crimes still occur?
44. Why do you think if the Declaration was written in 1776 that in 2010 we haven’t achieved all of the goals listed in the document?
45. Summarize the Michael Fey crime and consequence.
46. Do you think Michael’s punishment was fair? Why or why not?
47. Why would the punishment given to Michael not happen in the United States?
48. How did Craig Kielburger make a difference?
49. What could you do to make a difference in your community?
50. What is one reason immigrants would choose to leave the US and return to their native country?

Part 6: Risking it All (Page 12)

51. How do Benjamin Franklin’s quote and the snake political cartoon go together?
52. What would you be willing to risk your life for? Explain your thinking.

Part 7: Voting FAQ (Page 13)

53. What are the requirements to vote in a US election?
54. Do you think the voting requirements are fair? Why or why not?
55. How often do federal elections take place in the US?
56. Is Election Day always the same day? Why or why not?
57. When is the next presidential election?
58. What can you do until you turn 18 to engage in the political process?

Part 8: It’s Up To You (Page 14)

59. Summarize the main idea of this passage.

Ready to Get Back to Work???

I hope everyone enjoyed their extra long Thanksgiving Break. We have a lot of work to do between now and winter break so come prepared to work hard and learn a lot!


As many of you know this is my first winter in the Pacific Northwest. It has been an interesting introduction. The snow was a huge shock as I have never lived anywhere where it snowed that much or this early! I also got a huge dose of snow due to my commute. I left the middle school at 3 pm on Monday afternoon and did not arrive at my home until 8:15 pm. The driving conditions were quite scary in parts and so many roads were closed! 

Celebrities Read the Declaration of Independence

Language Arts & Social Studies - Tues. Nov. 16

Language Arts:

1. Skill Work - Seed Questions vs. Tree Questions

2. Creation of Reading Groups

3. Revisit the Peer Review Work from Monday

Homework:

- Finish Memoir Draft

- Collect Titles for Reading Group

Social Studies:

1.Review Purpose of the Declaration of Independence

2.Read and Discuss the Declaration

3.Take Notes on the Sections of the Declaration

Homework:

- Collect resources for debate

Language Arts & Social Studies - Mon. Nov. 15

Language Arts:

1. Skill Work - Evaluating Ideas

2. Peer Review Notes and Discussion

Homework:

- Finish Memoir Draft

Social Studies:

1. Review Complaint Lists created on Friday

2. Narrow down your complaint to one that you will focus on in your personal declaration

3. Personal declaration pre-writing

Homework:

- Collect resources for debate

What Not to Do in Peer Review Sessions

We will be working on this in class on Wednesday-Friday. Even though this is elementary students creating this video it still has some valuable information:

Looking for a Good Book?

Declaration of Independence

The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere

This is the poem you read in class on Monday:

Patrick Henry's Speech - "Give Me Liberty OR Give Me Death"

A teacher's rendition of Patrick Henry's speech - no, I will not be doing this in class:

Student Created Six Word Memoirs

This is not the same assignment we have been working on in class, but I thought it was pretty cool how these kids were able to capture the memoir genre in six words.

Social Studies: Tuesday 11/9

Here is what we did in class today:


- Reviewed major events that caused the American Revolution that we had studied previously
- Notes: American Revolution

Language Arts: Tuesday 11/9

Here is what we did in class today:


- Skill Work: Possessive Nouns
- Reviewed skills for active reading
- Setting Analysis

Thursday and Friday

Last week was a bit crazy in the Chapman block. On Thursday, students took the Reading MAP test to help me find out their reading level. This will allow me to better serve the needs of each student. On Friday, students had more time to finish missing work and conference with me about performance and missing assignments. Students also participated in a practice seminar.

Week in Rap: Election Edition

Week in Rap: Halloween Edition

The Road to Revolution Game

Just click on the sentence below:
Head on over to PBS and play!

The Boston Tea Party - Part 2

The Boston Tea Party - Part 1

The Boston Massacre

Social Studies: Wednesday 11/3

Here is what we did in class today:


- Many students have several missing assignments so they were given time to work on these items since the end of the quarter is this Friday!
- Students who are caught up on all of their work were allowed to read a book, work on memoirs, or work on something for another class.


**Students will have more time to complete missing assignments during the SS time tomorrow. Students who do not need this time will receive an incentive period. All missing work must be turned in by Wednesday, November 10th if a student would like to receive credit.**

Language Arts: Wednesday 11/3

Here is what we did in class today:


- Skill Work: Parts of Speech
- Worked on Memoir Drafts
- Conferenced with Mrs. Chapman about grades, missing assignments, and memoir work

Social Studies: Tuesday 11/2

Here is what we did in Social Studies today:


- Reviewed our Boston Massacre work
- Read a comic on the Boston Tea Party
- Discussed how the Boston Tea Party was an event leading to Revolution

Language Arts: Tuesday 11/2

Here is what we did in class today:


- Skills Work: Parts of Speech
- Memoir author's purpose analysis
- Create a purpose statement for your own memoir

Social Studies: Monday 11/1

Here is what we did in class today:


- Read mini readers theater on the Boston Massacre
- Students were asked to choose either the Boston Massacre OR the Boston Tea Party and create a newspaper article OR a comic strip to explain the event


Homework: Finish assignment - due tomorrow!

Language Arts: Monday 11/1

Here is what we did in class today:


- Discussed subject and predicates; skill practice
- Read two memoirs written by middle school students and discussed positives, negatives, purpose, and role of relationships within the pieces
- Created a list of significant people in our lives; these people may be used in the memoir or to generate other pieces in the future
- Reading Logs were handed out - students should be reading 200 minutes per week - Reading Logs are due Monday November 29th


Homework: Read!!!

History Fun: Halloween

Ever wondered where the holiday traditions of Halloween came from? Well, here's your chance to learn!

DON'T FORGET: SS NOTEBOOKS DUE TOMORROW!

Tomorrow Social Studies Notebooks are due! Students will receive a grade on the organization and neatness of their notebook as well as grades for the following assignments:


* Colony Ad
* Colony Outline Notes
* French and Indian War Primary Source Work
* American Revolution Vocabulary #1
* American Revolution Causes Foldable

The Week In Rap: October 22nd

Social Studies Class - 10/25

Here is what we did in class today:

* More class time to finish French & Indian War Primary Source Work (there will be no more class time and this is due Friday) - This will count as a quiz grade!

- Task #1: Why did the British use biological warfare? You must cite reasons using the primary source document.

- Task #2: Do you think armies today should use disease as a weapon? Explain your reasoning. (3-5 sentences)

- Task #3: Rewrite each of the journal entries from the perspective of an American Indian.

* Students began working on American Revolution Vocabulary (Part 1) - this will be used for other assignments in class and there will be a quiz in the near future. Students were asked to write the word, define the word, and draw a picture to represent the definition. Students will have more class time for this assignment tomorrow, however, if it is not done at that time it will become homework. 

1. revenue

2. writs of assistance

3. resolution

4. effigy

5. boycott

6. nonimportation

7. repeal

8. propaganda

9. committee of correspondence

10. militia

11. minutemen

12. Loyalist

13. Patriot

14. petition

15. preamble

Homework: None

Language Arts Class - 10/25

Here is what we did in class today:

* Created an anchor chart on character inferences

* Reviewed "Moving Around" to make character inferences

* Whole class discussion on our inferences and how we might choose to change the chart

Homework: Read!

The Sugar Act

The Stamp Act

The Shot Heard Round the World

American Revolution

Characteristics of a Memoir

Here is the list of Memoir traits that we generated in class:
- significant life event
- true story
- emotional (positive or negative)
- focus on 1 single event
- sensory details
- written like a story
- could change thinking of the main character OR the reader
- you are the main character

Memoir Hooks

Struggling to find a way to start your memoir? Here is a video with some suggestions that may help as you craft the beginning of your piece:

Social Studies 10/20/10

Here is what we did in class today:


- Primary Source work with the journal entries of a British soldier from the French and Indian War

Language Arts - 10/20/10

Here is what we did in class today:

- Learned how to access and use the Chapman Lexicon

- Worked on the rough draft of our memoirs

Too Late to Apologize: A Declaration

We will be studying The Declaration in the coming weeks. 

The Road to Independence

This quiz is a fun way to help you prepare for the American Revolution unit we are currently working on in class.

Beautiful Creatures and Beautiful Darkness Book Trailers

If you're into supernatural books you should give this series by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl a try. The first book is Beautiful Creatures and book #2, Beautiful Darkness, just came out October 12th. Happy Reading!

Last Week's Current Events in Rap

I love that this week features Atlanta! The Shepherd Center you see in the video is one of the major spinal cord injury rehabilitation centers in the South. This is where my husband played wheelchair basketball before we moved to Atlanta.

Reminder: Early Release for the Rest of the Week!

Don't forget that students will be released at 12:15 for the remainder of the week. Enjoy your afternoons! Do some reading OR write in your writers notebook. :)

Social Studies - Tuesday October 19th

Here is what we did in class today:


1. French and Indian War Cloze Reading Activity (see me for a copy)
2. Discussion on the French and Indian War
3. Comparing and contrasting primary and secondary sources
4. Began reading journal entries from British soldier about his experience in the French and Indian War
5. Independent Reading Time


HOMEWORK:
Complete the French and Indian War Word Search - this is due tomorrow!

Language Arts - Tuesday October 19th

Here is what we did today:

1. Responded to the following writing prompt as a warm up:

Is war ever okay? Why or why not?

2. Looked back over the memoirs we read together to study the writer's craft 

3. Created a list of things memoir authors do well in their writing

4. Began writing the first draft of our memoirs