January 27- 31

This week students are finishing up their unit on the Iliad and they will begin a unit on Greek governments.  Students will also study the 2 major Greek city-states: Athens and Sparta.

• NO homework readings this week.
• In-Class Reading (Close-Up Reading Strategy and Questions) on Athenian Democracy
• DBQ: Sparta

* The first test on Ancient Greece will be Thursday, February 6th.  Students can start studying their notes and vocabulary now.  A study guide will be given to students Tuesday, February 4th.

January 20-24

This week students will be finishing up their unit on The Iliad. Students will be completing an in-class essay Friday, January 24th.  Students will be given an essay planning sheet Thursday in class and I will post the planning sheet to schoology on Thursday. 

January 13th- 16th

Last Friday we began our unit on The Iliad by Homer.  Friday, in class, students read a summary of The Iliad and completed a close reading strategy on the content they read.  For homework Friday, students were assigned a set of reading guide questions to complete by Tuesday.

* There will be no "official" homework this week.  However, students will be working on a project in class this week.  Any classwork not complete is homework.

• Monday- The Iliad Reading Web Activity
• Tuesday- The Iliad Facebook Project Day 1: Research (Instructions can be found on Schoology)
• Wednesday- The Iliad Facebook Project Day 2: Research and begin template
• Thursday- The Iliad Facebook Project Day 3: Complete Facebook Template

** PROJECT DUE FRIDAY

** CNN Student News Discussion posted on Schoology. Due Friday

January 6th- 10th

Happy New Year!  Hope you each enjoyed a nice relaxing break.  Today marks the start of the second semester of school.  I can not believe how fast the first semester passed by.  This semester students will study Greece, Rome, and The Middle Ages.

A few things to look forward to this semester include:The 8th Grade Greek Festival (we will have a parent volunteer meeting in the coming weeks) and the reading of Blood Red Horse (The historical fiction novel all 8th grade students will read in Social Studies.).

This week...

Wednesday- Heinrich Schliemann Reading (Reading is posted on schoology and class copies are available.  Students should prepare for a reading quiz Thursday.)
Thursday- Archaeology: Was there a Troy? (Reading is posted on schoology and class copies are available.  Students should prepare for a reading quiz and discussion on Friday.)
Friday- In class students will partake in a close reading strategy on the story of the Iliad. Students will have reading questions based on the reading and discussion to answer for homework.