I can hardly believe it's 12:40 and I'm sitting here typing......I didn't feel very well on the way home from church today ~ I ended up taking a midday nap and here's the result! I have gotten quite a bit done for my classes tomorrow at co-op, so it's really not that bad.

I am teaching a class called, The History of the Pacific Northwest with an emphasis on WA State. I have 11 students, 4 boys guys and 7 girls gals (wink!) No really they are a great group of kids! Tomorrow I will be handing back some work they've turned in this month and I'll be recieving their first Ch. Test. I'm excited to see how well they all did. Class has been going great! I was super Super nervous to teach this age but all in all my worries have been put to rest.

Let's see the first day I went over the Grading Scale for this year. Which is:

10% Chapter Reviews

15% Chapter Tests

10% Assigned Work

40% Student Project

25% Final Test

I taught and had students take notes on 'Tools of the History Trade'. I informed them that the following Monday they would have a worksheet on their notes. Then I went over the upcoming field trip to the History Museum and their People Introductions - what I did was assigned them 'people' some were actual people, like Captain George Vancouver and some were 'people' from a certain time in history, like Rosie the Riveter or A Worker on The Grand Coulee Dam. What they had to do at the museum was find out as much as they could about these people and then come to class prepared to Introduce themselves as that person ~ they did GREAT!!! They were sent home with Chapter 1: to be read & worksheet to be completed by the 19th.

That following Friday everyone but 1 student was able to make it to the Museum. It was a lot of fun and a lot of work......for them that is (wink!) They were in groups of 2 or 3 and they were assigned a certain time in history to really study, they had a worksheet that they needed to be filled out and they also had a scavenger hunt to complete. I thought it was an absolutely wonderful way to get the most out of the museum.

10/12
We talked about the field trip and then the students presented their People Introductions. It was a lot of fun - I'm really proud of the hard work they all put into it. They also had their worksheet on the Tools of the History Trade to do in class - this was over the notes they took in class. We talked about the Rain Shadow Effect in WA State and they were sent home with the homework of copying the Rain Shadow Effect from their books and finishing up their Ch. 1 Review.

10/19
Students turned in their Rain Shadows and their Ch. 1 Review - this consisted of 15 Identifications, 2 Short Answers & 1 Essay. We watched a movie on the eruption of Mt. St. Helens. It was the IMAX movie ~ so the photography was outstanding but I do have to say that the narrator's voice almost put us all to sleep. We had some fun at the end of the class going over Facts about Washington State. Everyone really seemed to enjoy - participation was at an all time high and there was a lot of laughter. I handed out the Chapter 1 Test to be turned in tomorrow (oh wait! I mean today) and Chapter 2 Review which I said was due Nov. 2 but I'm pushing it out a week to Nov. 9th. Homework was to read in their books about the Makah Indians and come prepared to class to discuss, if they should be able to hunt grey whale today.

10/26
Well today.....let's see, I plan on handing back papers and I plan on receiving Ch. 1 Test. We have a People Introduction to hear, due to a student being out because of an injury. We will be mapping; 1 map will be on the Geographical Regions of Washington State. Then we will have a class discussion on, "Should the Makah Indians be allowed to hunt grey whale today." I have fantastic articles to read and my students have been reading about the Makahs in their books - so I'm really looking forward to hear their opinions on the matter. We will also (depending on time)work on a Fact Worksheet on Washington State - to be finished at home. Their homework will be to find 3  FUN Facts about Washington State. For example, Father's Day began here in 1910 or the world's 1st soft serve ice cream machine was located in Olympia's Dairy Queen or the oldest operating gas station in the U.S. is located in Zillah. Fun Stuff like that! They will also need to make a Bumper Sticker that supports the Makah's Whaling or is against the Makah's Whaling, these will be due 11/2. This is why I'm bumping out their Ch. 2 Review an extra week :) Lots to do!!!

Well that's just one of my classes I'm teaching this year ~ but now it's 1:22  and I'm finally tired.

Blessings,
EMichelle