Monday, May 2, 2011

History Was Made

I'm overjoyed that we were able to experience this historic event together.

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

An evening to remember...

Hi parents,

We are currently planning an evening to celebrate projects that have truly set the bar for DLC. Please check your email and be looking out for the flyer that will be sent home with the students (end of this week) and via email. MAKE SURE YOU RSVP!!!

Thanks,
Miss Bailin

It is like a ZOO in here...





4/26 had an always fun event....lizard catching. We are thinking of making it the past time of the DLC. While the kids were working, a cute lizard made its way into our world. Miss Leland started to capture the little creature, so that we could put it back into its habitat (the kids wanted to keep it as a class pet, but that wasn't happening). While she was trying to capture our little friend, it detached its tail and a fun spash of blood emerged and the tail kept wagging while detached from the body. :) Once was captured it in a jar, our little friend was released in the garden. We wish it well. There's never a dull moment in the DLC.

Pic 1 - The detached tail.
Pic 2 - The cute stomach and feet of our non-furry friend.
Pic 3 & 4 - a closeup look of our little buddy.

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Due Dates that Parents Should be Mindful of.....

Hello all,

As a reminder, all AIMS week and Monday and Tuesday of next week are work days in class. The students are continuing their projects that they previously started during class time, but no new content is being delivered and no direct instruction is being done this week.

The kids have been working on their documentaries for a few weeks now (and have had almost 20 hours of work time IN-CLASS, so if you are hearing whining, you can be assured that you child has not been using their class time appropriately). The due date is Friday the 22nd.

Ask your child if they have been reading All Quiet on the Western Front. It is to be read by Wednesday the 20th. Many students received copies and have been reading it when they are done with AIMS, but some students do not have a book because we cycle them through. If you student needs more time to read, then NOW is a good time to pick them up their own copy.

Their animated stories..."One day Miss Bailin and Miss Leland went for a drive...." are due on Wednesday the 20th. These are based on the work we have been doing with 8th grade on their EGG projects. You may ask your students about it. :) The 8th graders are making a MythBusters-esque inspired project and we are making a little narrative (YAY for narrative writing) into an animated story about Miss Bailin and Miss Leland's adventured in the golf cart. :) You can also ask your child about that....especially if your child is in BLOCK I>

Your final showcase is due in May and the kids have been working on it since we got back from break. This piece has no guidelines, but will serve as their technological prize piece. There are no check points for this and they are not to share their ideas with classmates. I am not even to know. They are graded on the digitally narrated product rubric that we have used all second quarter.

Progress grades and deficiency reports will be done and going home/emailed on Tuesday the 19th, so any missing work will be entered as a zero over the weekend. The students will not have extensions to turn in missing products. Also remember that their products are worth 80% of their grade in 4th quarter, so they can't afford to blow any of them off. GAME TIME!

As a side note, our curriculum does not slow down after AIMS. Some people, none of us, have this delusion, I mean idea, that after AIMS we stop teaching. We are still in school and learning until the last day. True story. I hope everyone is aware of this, as we are a specialized program and maintain our high standards. We have a lot of fun, but special requests for modifying projects and due dates and not doing as many intense simulations during the day will not be granted. We are going to have fun :), but learning will be taking place every day.

Monday, April 11, 2011

AIMS WEEK

Hello,

It is AIMS week. Please make sure your child is well-rested, eating HEALTHY, VITAMIN ENRICHED meals/snacks (breakfast is a must during testing), and staying hydrated. Their only HW is continuous projects that we are working on all week. All DLC7 classes are work periods, so that the kids don't feel overwhelmed and we are giving variety in the day. There will be no direct instruction this week. The kids have been provided a novel that we are reading in the DLC for when they are done with their AIMS test.

Smiles,
:)Miss Bailin

Monday, April 4, 2011

What are the kids working on?

1. Complete your "Survivor" themed vote for
a. Make sure it HAS THE SAME THEME/MOOD as the show
b. Make sure your narration is CLEAR (no stutters, ums, pauses, correctly pronounced
words, etc.)
c. Make sure you have MULTIPLE CONCRETE DETAILS that explain your choice!!!!!
*Save it on that thing I know nothing about as Your Number/First Name/SurvivorWWI
**This will be compiled into a massive show vote tomorrow by Luke H., so having the
correct title to keep it in order is imperative

2. Work on your WWI Documentary (please see instructions in pvOnline and refer to the
topic you signed up for on the :)DLC7 Google Doc. It is due 4/20

3. The final showcase is due May 14th

4. We will start reading AQOTWF soon

5. AIMS is next week!!!!

Thursday, March 17, 2011

The Updated Agenda While Miss Bailin is SICK :(

Hi kids,

Here is what is on your agenda for the next two days....it goes through what you should be working on, the NEW due dates (please mark your calendars or phones), and some helpful info. from me.
  1. Music video
  2. pvOnline (it is listed in the order for it to be completed…process through each section and always come back and see which questions you now can answer from the unit overview. Mark the ones you can’t. Then repeat for each section.)
    1. Unit overview and guiding questions – read this one, so you know what is expected of you. You should be able to answer these after each section.
    2. “The Origins of Wilsonianism” - make sure you can answer/discuss the learning objectives
    3. “Innovators and Traditionalists”
    4. “Innovators and Traditionalists: a debate”
    5. The US Entry into WWI: Two Opposing views
    6. A Documentary Chronology of World War I (this will be due on Wednesday, April 20th, so plan accordingly)– you will find the WWI documentary project on this page. This is a content heavy project. We started WWI with vid clips and high discussions, then pulled at your creativity with your music videos, worked in some debates for collaboration and public speaking opportunities, and now we are going to hit the content piece hard with a totally different feel than the other two ways we have been bringing this content to our minds.
  • Miss Bailin’s Notes/Help for the Class
  1. All of your points need to come back to the focus question: "How new was Wilson's foreign policy?" My suggestion is to read each of your points (not your whole speech, but each individual explained point) to someone and then ask them if it answers this question. It is does NOT clearly answer it, then revision is needed.
  2. If your teams would like (the pro and con sides MUST agree), we can remove the responses (First “con” response (5 minutes), First “pro” response (5 minutes), Second “con” response (5 minutes), and Second “pro” response (5 minutes), then your group can present the pro, con, pro, con speeches.

a. If you choose this, then the speaking members have to divide the two 10 minute speeches.

b. If you choose this, then the response section will be replaced with some rapid-fire (not real fire = hazardous = people could get hurt or be burned to death = someone could die = we don’t break that rule) Miss Bailin questions. J

c. This is my compromise, so feel free to take it or leave it. My feelings won’t be hurt either way. If some of you would like to choose this option, but still present your pieces that you have worked so hard on (directed at some amazing pieces I have read from Block I so far), then we can still present those. I don’t want to take anyone’s spotlight away from them.

d. Just one person from your group, shoot me an email with what your groups decide and I will prepare accordingly. The best way to settle this is a vote.

e. I won’t be mad or disappointed with whatever you choose. J

  1. Each person is graded on their individual contributions to the group as well as their individual public speaking performance. This means that if someone didn’t do the section that the team decided, then that person does not get credit AND the group is not penalized.
  2. Please email me if you are in the Bracket Debates with the Leaders, so I know how many to plan for.
  3. DUE DATES!!!! FINAL CHANGES!!! The goal for the start of next week is to get all the loose ends tied up, so we can cleanly move on. I know we are all feeling a bit rushed and stretched thin, so let’s get it all done.
    1. Monday, March 21st

i. Period 1 I have some things planned, but I want to gather and reflect on how Thursday and Friday went before moving on.

ii. Period 2 – THEE Matty West v. Sando Showdown in JDLC7 lab. If you aren’t watching, then you are working on your projects.

iii. Period 3 – ALL JDLC7 together: The final trial (ALL ATTORNEYS MUST COME TO SCHOOL DRESSED AS WELL AS THE WITNESSES…we will not be using class time to get ready.

iv. Period 6 - I have some things planned, but I want to gather and reflect on how Thursday and Friday went before moving on.

v. Period 7We finish our Bracket Break Down Debates to see which student debates it the best in ALL JDLC7!!!!

vi. Period 8 - To be announced….

    1. Tuesday, March 22nd

i. The Innovators v. Traditionalists debate will be happening TODAY!!!!

    1. Wednesday, March 23rd

i. Music videos will be due TODAYIT MUST BE POSTED ON YOUR WEBPAGE (unless I spoke with you privately).

1. For those of you in groups of two or three, while the other person is working on their part, YOU should be working on the debate or the next section in pvOnline (The US Entry into WWI: Two opposing views) and the documentary project (up and coming project).