The Midterm of a Moment, The Steps That Lie Ahead

ATTENTION ALL 8TH GRADERS: ALL CONSTITUTION PROJECTS WILL BE DUE ON FRIDAY, 10/8. IF YOU WISH TO TURN THEM IN EARLY, I CAN GIVE EXTRA CREDIT FOR IT, BUT I AM GOING TO EXTEND THE DEADLINE TO FRIDAY. PLEASE ACCEPT MY DEEPEST APOLOGIES, BUT I THINK THAT THE EXTENSION WILL HELP MANY OF YOU COMPOSE QUALITY PRODUCTS.
THANKS FOR YOUR UNDERSTANDING.
MR. KANNNAN

The Midterm of the First Trimester falls upon us this week. It is a moment in time where we have to see that the time for transition has long since passed and now we enter what Morpheus would call, "The desert of the real." This holds much in way of both work and promise for all of our emerging scholars. (Have I forgotten to ask, "Is this fun or what?")
7th Grade
Our study of Chapter 5 concludes this week. We will assess the different actions of the Colonists towards the outbreak of war. Students should start the process of budgeting and allocating their time properly. The Writing Extensions will be assigned on Wednesday of this week and shall be due on Tuesday, October 12 and will be worth about 250 points. Rough drafts will not be read after Friday of this week. At the same time, the Chapter 5 exam will take place on Wednesday, October 13. This exam will be a two day exam and should run in the neighborhood of 300 points. Students will be given an index card that can be used as a reference point, if the Writing Tasks are submitted on time, and will also be able to use the visuals posted around the wing and team area for assistance. Much is on tap for this week and the more advanced steps students take to do well, the greater the likelihood they will do well in what lies ahead. Encourage your emerging scholar to begin the process of studying and working in nightly doses towards the end goal. Success will not be something that is instantly given, but rather something that will have to emerge over a given period of time. This is our goal this week, leading into next.

8th Grade
There is so much to be done. In all honesty, I think that this is the week where things will prove to be decisive one way or the other. Students should consider revising their most recent quiz, to be returned on Monday. Revisions are due Friday. There will be study sessions on Wednesday and Friday of this week, as well as the Writing Prompts on the Constitution assigned this week and due on Wednesday, the 13th. These prompts will be worth 500 points. Prior to all of this, though, are the Constitution Projects that are due on Wednesday of this week. The remainder of this blog entry will be devoted to specific tasks and how students should progress with them. I am trying to design this blog entry to serve as a type of "breakout" session that I would hold with students, only now doing it through this blog. These tips will help all of our students do the best they can with what they can produce and to the end that they can work.

Specific Websites
These sites might be real helpful in accessing, especially if technology is going to be in use with student work. If you have an active email that can be used, I strongly suggest registering, as you will probably use these sites more throughout the year in Social Studies and other classes.
1) Blogger.com
2) Glogster.edu
3) Prezi.com
4) Wordpress.org (Another blog site, but with much more aesthetically pleasing set ups.)
If you are really lost and need some guidance as to what some of these sites actually do, check out this link here!
Once you register at these sites, most of it will involve your commitment to being able to utilize the technology you have with the research or thoughts you have assembled. Only go to these sites when you have something with which to work such as thoughts, research, ideas, or rough drafts. These sites don't do the work for you, but they really help in terms of being able to present what you do have. If these don't work for you, Powerpoint or a simple paper will do. Nothing fancy is needed if you don't like it. Pick what works for you and there's a good chance you will work for it. Finally, you might want to examine the rubric for assessment of the project here.

In terms of the actual projects themselves, you can find your topic below and start the process of integrating these questions with what you already have:

Supreme Court Cases/ First Amendment Cases
1. Have you identified a case that is actually interesting? Don't pick a case that you think is boring. If you think it's boring, there's a good chance it will come across as that way, and that cannot spell good things for your project. This link might be helpful as a guide if you have not found a case yet.
2. Have you established the basic background information about the case? Look at the first page of the task description and make sure you have clearly identified all the needed components.
3. Have you been able to clearly make a case as to why this case represents some aspect of force in American Society? the case has to have meaning and you have to be able to explain what this meaning is and why it's relevant. Do this and you might be getting closer to a relevant project.
4. How are you going to display what you have chosen? This becomes critical and I think that this might be the next step for you.

Roles of the President
1. Are you clear about the six functions outlined in the textbook? I think you need to fully understand how this works and what it entails before moving onwards.(Section 5 of "Citizenship Handbook," first page.)
2. You cannot use the current President, so have you figured out which ones can be used for which functions? The grouping of years lends itself to being able to use the textbook as a resource. I think that you might not need to use the Web that much as a guide. The timeline, the index, and the reference section that highlights each President's tenure would be really helpful for you. The textbook does a fairly good job of highlighting what each President did and then all you have to do is match up what they did with how they represented the function of the President.
3. Assess the function- Explain if you think they represented the function well. Did they use their power wisely? Did the function and the President benefit the country or not? Explain your position. Naturally, there is much in way of the ST in terms of finding information and matching it up, but there is also plenty of room for the the Feeling component to be present. Moreover, I am assessing you on it, so be sure of it ("Strong Analysis.")
4. How are you going to display what you have chosen? This becomes critical and I think that this might be the next step for you.

Constitution Unit Assessment
1. The most important thing here is to make sure you have a clear understanding of all the tasks in each box. Don't leave anything out. Make sure that everything in each is done.

To delve into each:
Duck Task
*Linking the first ten amendments to the historical background of the Colonists is important- You will need to explain how the colonial experience led to the adoption of these amendments. Check out Chapter 5, sections 2 and 3 for a reference point. The Citizenship Handbook will also be important. Each amendment needs to be represented.
* Make sure you are clear on how a bill becomes a law- Explain it using your own understanding and examples. Check out "SchoolHouse Rock" or the visual in your textbook, in part 4 of the Citizenship Handbook.
* In Part C, examine your packet to see which thinker played a large role in describing the principles featured.
* Part D is going to require you to think about life after the first 10 Amendments and which group was represented and why.

Electric Task
This one will require you to think critically about the different items featured. You have enough in way of detail featured. A T- Chart might be good in terms of listing out the different arguments needed and, perhaps, three or four points on each side would be good. You chose this one because you like to argue, so don't pick only one and stick with that. Expand on it. In terms of the last one, you might want to examine the legacies of Justices Warren or Burger and Justices Rehnquist and Roberts. This might be a good representation of the debate present. A web search might be able to give you the background you need on this one. Check out something else, as well. Judicial Activism vs. Judicial Restraint. Defining these concepts could help you on part D. Click here for a good paper about the topic. Make sure you cite it properly, as it is from "Associated Content."

Frog Task
You are giving a speech to the Smithsonian. It needs to be persuasive because your audience are Constitutional Scholars. You also need to be a bit cheesy because it's a speech. Pretend you are at the podium for graduation (Some of you might be.) You give a speech to your colleagues about the "most important amendment" for you all to embrace now that your time at Julian is done. Live it, love it, make it work. The second part allows you to think about a part of the Constitution that will have meaning in your life. Think about political action in the future, challenges with the law, or why you might need to embrace a life that listens to the cries of others' suffering and how the constitution is a part of it.

Solar Task
Legacies are something that are given to future generations with the hopes of being able to continue what has been started. For example, a legacy I would give to the next person who took my classroom would be to continue "the wall." Think about why this would be. What did the Constitution leave for us to do after the framers were dead and gone? What is included in this? How do we know this? How are we doing with this? Are we doing a good or poor job in carrying out this legacy? Have we made mistakes? If so, where? Have we made improvements? If so, where? You have to think broadly here and give examples to support your identified legacy and the "State of the Union" with this legacy. Finally, the music prompt is real tough. Linking a piece of music to what is present in a document that has guided the world's oldest Constitutional democracy for 200 plus years is not easy. Don't be afraid to open your minds and ears to what is out there. Don't denigrate it or do something ignorant by picking a piece of music that you like, but has no connection to the Constitution.

These are the most common options being presented. The "speaking" of the Constitution is something that we can discuss privately with the two people doing it and the stack of worksheets... well, to the one out there, get them done!

Good luck with all that needs to be done this week and I hope you are able to pull this one off. What is out there is much more difficult...
All best.
Mr. Kannan