Ms. Posateri's Blog

5/12 - 5/16 Week Review

Mon, 12 May 2008 15:26:11 GMT

5/12 Monday - Part 1 World War II Test

Part 1 of the test is 50 multiple choice questions. Each question is worth 2 points for a total of 100 points.

5/13 Tuesday - Part 2 World War II Test

Part 2 of the test is 5 short answers. Each question is worth 5 points for a total of 25 points.
IMPORTANT STUDY TIP: The students have a choice to answer 2 of the 4 essential questions from Chapter 34-37, there will be two Dr. Suess Political Cartoons from World War II, and one question on the Cold War.

5/14 Thursday - The multiple choice portion of the test will be returned with grades on the scantron. We will go over the test in class.

5/15 Friday - Video Lecture on the 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s

4/21 - 4/25 Social Studies Weekly Summary

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 21:58:39 GMT

Congratulations to the students whose essays on leadership were sent into the "Write to Lead" essay contest. Winners will be announced on May 19th. The students did some great thinking and writing on this important question and we hope to have a Stargate student represent Colorado as an Ambassador! Good Luck

This Wednesday at lunch there is a W.A.C. Oscars Party! If you are on a W.A.C. team come celebrate with us!

Monday 4/21 - Students were assigned homework on Chapter 35. The essential question for this chapter is, "What kinds of opportunities and hardships did the war create for Americans at home and abroad?" Students will look at 6 different groups: G.I.s, Japanese Americans, African Americans, Women, Mexican Americans, and Jewish Americans. This assignment was explained in class and is due in class on Friday. Next, the students watched a documentary on Pearl Harbor.

Tuesday 4/22 and Wednesday 4/23 - In today's activity students will take on the role of government officials and discuss the limits of Presidential Powers and the Constitution in a time of War. They will consult the government on war time policy during WWII. They will specifically look at how to protect the U.S. against enemy collaborators after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. This will put them in a position to dig deeper into decisions made around the Internment of Japanese Americans during WWII. At the end they will debate whether to apologize and provide reparations to Japanese Americans based on the history of the internment. This activity will take two days and will help students evaluate the internment of Japanese Americans.

Thursday 4/24 - Field Trip to Wings Over the Rockies

Friday 4/25 - Students will look at Dr. Suess comics that were published in 1941 -1945 and look at the political satire and how it reflects attitudes in the United States during World War II. Homework on World War II is due in class.

4/14 - 4/18 Social Studies Week Review

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 21:44:37 GMT

Congratulations to the students who participated in the World Affairs Challenge this weekend at DU! We are very proud of all of the students who participated. Two of our teams came in 1st place and 4 individual students were honored for their work on the Collaborative Question and the Quiz. The results will be posted on the DU website at http://www.du.edu/worldaffairschallenge

Monday 4/14 - Today Ms. Krill and I introduced an essay contest on leadership. Students will be bringing home application forms for the contest. The essay is required but the contest is optional. Students will be working on the essay in class this week. We will be helping with the writing and editing of their work. The final draft is due in class on Friday. For more information on this contest go to http://www.demconvention.com/write-to-lead

The essay prompt is, "What qualities make a great leader? How could one exhibit those traits in everyday life?"

Tuesday 4/15 - Students will work on first draft of essay. First drafts must be hand written.

Thursday 4/16 - Students will workhop their first draft and revise their writing.

Friday 4/17 - Students will type their first draft.

If you have any questions about the essay contest please email me. Have a great week.

Ms. Posateri

4/7 - 4/11 Social Studies Update

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 05:40:37 GMT

There is a lot going on this week as students prepare for the World Affairs Challenge at DU this Saturday April 12th. The bus will leave from Stargate at 6:45 on Saturday to get to D.U. on time. All groups should have a final performance in front of Ms. Posateri this week. Some groups are coming in on Friday 4/11 to polish their formal presentations.

In additon, the students are studying World War II and the Holocaust and this week have the honor of meeting a Holocaust survivor Jack Adler. Mr. Adler will meet with the 7/8 students and answer questions they have about the Holocaust. For more information on Jack you can go to www.jackadler.com.

4/7 Monday and 4/8 Tuesday - The students will continue working on their "Holocaust Journals" to prepare for Jack's visit on Wednesday. Part of the journal will be a reflection on the documentary "Paper Clips." This documentary follows a Middle School in Tennessee as they learn about the Holocaust. This documentary is rated "G" and is age appropriate therefore no permission slip is necessary. For more information about this documentary you can go to http://www.paperclipsmovie.com.

4/9 Wednesday- Jack Adler Guest Speaker

4/10 Thursday- Ms. Krill and Ms. Posateri will be combining classrooms as students write a thank you letter to Jack Adler. We will spend a portion of class debriefing what students took away from the day before.

4/11 Friday - No Students / Teacher Work Day (Parents, if your son/daughter is on a WAC team that is coming in to practice on Friday they will be supervised. Please email me if you have any questions or concerns.)

Thanks to all the parents of WAC students who are helping support this event! We will take lots of pictures of the students to share with you! We all wish you good luck!

Have a good week, Ms. Posateri

4/2 - 4/4 Update

Thu, 03 Apr 2008 00:02:53 GMT

Today was the final day for the "Change for Change" fundraiser and it was a big success. Cody Southard challenged the students to raise $500 dollars in change for Invisible Children and Children's Hospital. If the goal was met he would shave his head! Well...the students final count was $820 dollars raised and now Cody has a new haircut! Thanks to everyone involved.

I'm sending an update on class for Thursday and Friday:

Thursday 4/3 - Students will complete the DVD on World War II and will complete the notes for WWII introduction. They will then begin a reading on the Holocaust.

Friday 4/4 - Students will read about the rise of Hitler in Nazi Germany and will be introduced to the Holocaust. Next week Jack Adler, a Holocaust Survivor, will be at our school to talk to the students. The lessons on 4/3, 4/4, 4/7, and 4/8 will prepare the students for Jack's visit on Wednesday 4/9. If this is the first time your son/daughter has studied the Holocaust you may want to talk to them about their reaction to this study. If you have any questions please email me at debbie.a.posateri@adams12.org

For more information on Jack Adler you can visit www.jackadler.com

Have a great rest of the week. Ms. Posateri

3/31 - 4/4 Social Studies Week Review

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 01:18:35 GMT

Monday 3/31 - Students will begin a unit on WWII. A homework assignment on Chapter 34 will be assigned. This homework is due on Friday.

Tuesday 4/1 - Students will watch a DVD covering the Origins of WWII.

Wednesday 4/2 - Community and Elective

Thursday 4/3 - Students will continue watching a DVD covering the course of WWII.

Friday 4/4 - Geography Challenge on World War II. Homework is due.

3/17 - 3/21 Social Studies Week Review

Mon, 17 Mar 2008 21:25:27 GMT

Monday 3/17 - Students will be working in groups on a creative writing activity. They will "tour" the United States to create a scrap book of photos and information on how ordinary Americans endured the hardships of the Great Depression. They will analyze photos and music. This project will take two full class days.

Tuesday 3/18 - Thursday 3/20 Students will complete their Great Depression Scrapbooks in class.

Friday 3/21 - Students will work on the final essential question for the study of the Great Depression, "How did the expansion of the Government during the New Deal affect the Nation?"

Summary: There is a modified schedule again this week due to CSAP testing. There is no Social Studies homework this week.

3/10 - 3/14 Social Studies Review

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 14:38:49 GMT

Monday 3/10 - Students will finish the Stock Market simulation for the 1920s and debrief the activity. They will be working on the essential question, "What caused the most severe economic crisis in American History?"

Tuesday 3/11, Wednesday 3/12, Thursday 3/13 - Students will have a modified schedule due to CSAP Testing. In Social Studies they will be working with the essential question, "How did the Federal Government respond to the economic collapse that began in 1929?" The activity in class will be part of the study of Chapter 31.

Friday 3/14 - Students will be working with the essential question, "How did ordinary Americans endure the hardships of the Great Depression?" In this lesson students will review work from photo journalist of the 1920s and then make connections to issues of poverty in our society today.

Summary: There is no homework in Social Studies during the weeks of CSAP. Have a good week.

Social Studies Homework Due Thursday 3/6

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 01:05:30 GMT

In class on Tuesday 3/3 I gave students notes on different forms of government and economic systems that will be a part of lessons on the 20th Century. As a follow up to that assignment students need to complete the following homework by Thursday 3/5.

Directions: Pick 1 country from Europe, Africa, North America, South America, and Asia and explain/list out the information below for that country. Use the CIA Factbook at www.cia.gov (the link to the factbook is on the right hand column). I've also posted a link to this site below.

-What form of government does the country have?

-What is the countries economy like? (read the summary and pick out key points)

-Who is the leader, is it a President, Prime Minister, or other?

-What is the currency?

-What is the GDP (per capita)?

3/3 - 3/7 Social Studies Weekly Review

Mon, 03 Mar 2008 04:48:01 GMT

3/3 Monday - Students will complete Upfront articles from Friday and discuss answers in class. This will be the first grade for 3rd Trimester.

3/4 Tuesday - Students will begin the Unit on the Great Depression. Over the course of this unit they will be answering 4 essential questions. The students will complete this unit before Spring Break. There is no test for this unit. Students only need to complete 4 activities based on each of the four essential questions.

1. What caused the most severe economic crisis in American History?

2. How did the federal government respond to the economic collapse that began in 1929?

3. How did ordinary Americans endure the hardships of the Great Depression?

4. How did the expansion of government during the New Deal affect the nation?

3/5 Wednesday - There will be no community or workshop, instead students will complete an activity from the Speak Up curriculum from Teaching Tolerance.

3/6 Thursday and 3/7 Friday - Students will participate in a group activity which simulates the boom and bust of the stock market leading up to the Great Depression. This activity can not be recreated if you miss class. If you are going to be absent from class you need to see me for an alternative assignment.

Summary: There will be a homework on the Great Depression assigned this week on either Tuesday or Thursday. The date of assignment depends on Monday's class and how far we get on Tuesday. Please email Ms. Posateri if you have any questions about class this week! Have a great week.