A few students came to me today and said that when they tried to open the Geography Challenge Homework document it did not work.  That is because all documents that I post are in PDF files.  You need an Adobe Reader on your computer to open these files.  Most computers have this, but if you need it, I have posted a link to a FREE download.  Go to the Link for a FREE Adobe Reader and down load it, then try to open the homework document.  If you are still having problems email me and I will email back the document you need.

You will want to get this resolved somewhat quickly because most of the teachers on the 7/8 Team post things as PDF files rather than in Word.  PDF does not allow the person viewing the file to change it so it a security issue.

Good Luck...

The title of this lesson is, "Geography Challenge:  How has geography influenced the development of the United States." 

General Note:  Students started this assignment in class and have been asked to finish it as homework.  This assignment is due Tuesday September 4th, the day after Labor Day. 

The documents you need for this assignment are posted below this blog under the "documents" section under a tab labeled, "American History Homework".  You will become very familiar with this over the course of the year. 

In addtion, one of the maps requires that you know postal codes for every state in the US.  If you don't know them I've posted a link to a web page that has them, see "Useful Internet Links" to the right of the documents section on the front page of my web ...

Ms. Posateri's Newsletter/Week Review: 7/27 - 7/31

Monday 7/27:  Students were introduced to the general themes for this course. This year's content is American History and the course is titled, "Pursuing American Ideals." We had a classroom discussion on the following five statements: All Americans are Equal, Some Americans have more rights than others, Americans have all the freedoms they deserve, All Americans have the same opportunities to succeed in life, and Wealthy people have a more powerful voice in American Democracy. From those statements you can see the five ideals/values in American History we will be exploring: Equality, Rights, Freedoms, Opportunities, and Democracy. The students took notes in their 3-ring binder for this class. All notes must be logged in their table of contents and follow the structure that I set up with them today.

Today was the first day of school and it was a huge success.  It was great to meet every student and to get the year started.  The students had a very interesting discussion about American History and American Values such as equality, opportunity, freedoms, justice, and democracy. 

The next session that I meet with the students I will be assigning their American History Textbook.  Every textbook will need to be covered.  I recommend using heavy paper such as a grocery store brown paper bag. 

If you have any questions about class please feel free to email. 

Thank you for attending the meet the teacher night tonight.  The event was a success and it was great to see everyone.  The new building is going to provide us with space to do some creative work and I look forward to seeing everyone. 

On Friday you will get your lockers and get set up.  Leave room in your locker for your American History textbook that I will be assigning to every student during week two.  You will be provided with all of the information you need to get off to a good start on Friday.   I will be posting details on my classroom expectations and what to expect this year over the next few days so stay posted!