This week brought another week of strong progress, measurable growth, and the bourgeoning intellectual inquiry that will prove to be useful in 7.1 Social Studies. The trace fossil papers approached and moved past the halfway point. They will be due Friday of this week.
As students reached this critical point of construction, the questions and dialogue reflected advancement. Students were asking questions such as, “What is culture?” or “What is my culture?” Many were critically dissecting the question of who they were, in what they believed, in which social setting does their identity lie. These are the questions that not only help form the definition of the trace fossil paper, but also help to form the constitution of who we are as people. For seventh grade students to engage on this journey is powerful to behold. Students also began the examination of their trace fossils. From literal descriptions and striving to find the different ways to express physical reality to emotional connections and resurrecting memories that might have lay dormant, students demonstrated a great deal of progress and improvement in articulating objects that represent their voice, their experiences, their narratives. In philosophy, the post –modern movement emphasizes that human beings are the authors of their own stories. If this is true, then we have many writers on team 7.1 for many are continuing that tradition of seeking to establish authorship of who they are and in what they believe.
This process comes to its summit this week. Monday will be the last mini lesson. The topic will be leads, symbolic meaning, and time capsule. From this point, students will be on their own to complete their handwritten or typed final draft by this Friday. It is my hope that all papers will be submitted on this day. Progress Reports in Social Studies will be going home the following Friday, and the Trace Fossil Writing Task will be included on this report. After this, we will begin our study of American History- a living, breathing trace fossil. Our first unit will be the Road to Revolution, a study of events leading to the American Revolution. A short term goal will be to be at the construction of the Constitution by January.
This week marks the annual celebration we call Curriculum Night. Thursday evening at 6:45 in your child’s Advisory classroom or area will commence this yearly tradition of PowerPoint slide shows, handouts, and the wonders of navigating through student schedules. It is my hope that all of our 7.1 parents will attend this year’s Curriculum Night. Those who attend will receive first opportunities to sign up for conferences and will also receive their child’s log in password and classword for all student grades via mygradebook.com. To quote Lennon and McCartney, “a splendid time is guaranteed for all.” Of course, they were talking about a circus. On the other hand, some would argue that Curriculum Night might fit such an interpretation.
As always, if I can be of any assistance to students or parents, I encourage both sets of stakeholders to contact me at school via email or at my home number. This week is a very big week for us. I am confident that like so much I have thrown at students in this embryonic stage of the year, they will rise, endure, and triumph over what is presented.
All best and Happy Hunting.
Mr. Kannan
As students reached this critical point of construction, the questions and dialogue reflected advancement. Students were asking questions such as, “What is culture?” or “What is my culture?” Many were critically dissecting the question of who they were, in what they believed, in which social setting does their identity lie. These are the questions that not only help form the definition of the trace fossil paper, but also help to form the constitution of who we are as people. For seventh grade students to engage on this journey is powerful to behold. Students also began the examination of their trace fossils. From literal descriptions and striving to find the different ways to express physical reality to emotional connections and resurrecting memories that might have lay dormant, students demonstrated a great deal of progress and improvement in articulating objects that represent their voice, their experiences, their narratives. In philosophy, the post –modern movement emphasizes that human beings are the authors of their own stories. If this is true, then we have many writers on team 7.1 for many are continuing that tradition of seeking to establish authorship of who they are and in what they believe.
This process comes to its summit this week. Monday will be the last mini lesson. The topic will be leads, symbolic meaning, and time capsule. From this point, students will be on their own to complete their handwritten or typed final draft by this Friday. It is my hope that all papers will be submitted on this day. Progress Reports in Social Studies will be going home the following Friday, and the Trace Fossil Writing Task will be included on this report. After this, we will begin our study of American History- a living, breathing trace fossil. Our first unit will be the Road to Revolution, a study of events leading to the American Revolution. A short term goal will be to be at the construction of the Constitution by January.
This week marks the annual celebration we call Curriculum Night. Thursday evening at 6:45 in your child’s Advisory classroom or area will commence this yearly tradition of PowerPoint slide shows, handouts, and the wonders of navigating through student schedules. It is my hope that all of our 7.1 parents will attend this year’s Curriculum Night. Those who attend will receive first opportunities to sign up for conferences and will also receive their child’s log in password and classword for all student grades via mygradebook.com. To quote Lennon and McCartney, “a splendid time is guaranteed for all.” Of course, they were talking about a circus. On the other hand, some would argue that Curriculum Night might fit such an interpretation.
As always, if I can be of any assistance to students or parents, I encourage both sets of stakeholders to contact me at school via email or at my home number. This week is a very big week for us. I am confident that like so much I have thrown at students in this embryonic stage of the year, they will rise, endure, and triumph over what is presented.
All best and Happy Hunting.
Mr. Kannan
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