December 16

Today I started a new assignment with you. This assignment involved writing a friendly letter to yourself in which you reflected back on Term 1 and set goals for yourself in Term 2. In your letter you should address a few of the steps in the S.M.A.R.T. plan, that is Set a goal, Make a plan for how you're going to achieve that goal, and how you are going to Act on your plan. At the end of Term 2 we will write another friendly letter in which you will Reflect on your goals, and possibly Try again, or maybe it will be Time to set a new goal!
By the end of the class you should have completed the following:

• a rough draft of your friendly letter to yourself
• had your letter revised and edited by at least one person
• rewritten your letter, incorporating the edits into a revised draft of your letter

After the Winter break, we will be revisiting this assignment. My expectation is that you will have a revised draft of your letter finished on the first day back from the Winter break. Please don't forget! Additionally, the handout that I gave you today on writing the friendly letter must be put into the Resources section of your binder. (Parents: on the back side of the handout you will find more details about goal setting and how to do this assignment)

December 15

We went over the Regions of the USA retrieval charts today in class. Then, very quickly, we looked at the answers to the Chapter 1 questions. Next, I gave you the USA Geography Test Study Guide. This study guide also appears here in this post.
I told you about two helpful websites for learning more about the geography of the USA. They are:

1. USA Map Puzzle/ Interactive Map of the USA: www.yourchildlearns.com/owlmouse.htm
2. USA Map Quiz: www.lizardpoint.com/fun/geoquiz/usaquiz.html

Here is the study guide for the USA Geography Test:

Format:

1. Identify the States
2. Multiple Choice Section
3. Fill in the Blanks Section
4. Matching Section
5. Short Answer Section

Topics:

1. Regions of the United States:

• major cities in each region
• states in the region
• major economic activities in each region
• you must be able to list off all 8 regions

2. States and State Capitals

• 14 states and their capitals on the test (in the matching section)
• know all 50!!

The date for this test is yet to be determined, but it will be after the Winter break.

December 14

Today we finished working on the Regions of the USA retrieval charts. These charts are due tomorrow, as are the Chapter 1 questions. Please make sure that you get this assignment finished.

December 13

Today we split our time between creating notes on the Regions of the United States, and finishing the maps of the USA (which are due tomorrow). Please make sure that you label and color your maps accurately.

December 10

Since today was a short day, I gave you time to work on the two USA maps that I gave you yesterday. These two maps are due on Tuesday December 14th. Please make sure that you follow the guides for labeling these maps from the previous post.

December 9

We started the USA unit today in class. If you missed school today, you missed some handouts that you will have to collect when you get back. You missed the Unit Outline (blue sheet), the Unit Flowchart (green sheet), and two map handouts: the States and Capitals of the USA, and the Regions of the USA. You were given instructions about what to label on each of the maps. Here's the detailed list, by map, of what needs to be labeled:

Regions of the USA map:

• label all 5 of the Great Lakes (Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, and Superior)
• label the following bodies of water: Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, and the Gulf of Mexico
• label the 50 states (you can use the official abbreviations)
• color the 8 regions of the USA (from your textbook, map on p.3)
• don't forget to label Alaska and Hawaii
• you must include an abbreviation key on the back of the back if you abbreviated the states
• you must have a legend (key) for the regions' names

States and Capitals map:

• label: Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, and the Gulf of Mexico
• label the states (you can abbreviate again)
• label the capital cities
• don't forget to color your map (please use only 5 colors to color the states)
• don't forget to color and label Alaska and Hawaii
• put a key on the back of the map if you used state abbreviations

December 8

Today was the day that you wrote your USSR Unit Final. This was a very demanding test, as you probably gathered while you were writing it. Most of the questions on this test were taken from past Provincial Achievement Exams, so it was your first real practice at writing an exam of this difficulty. You will be writing exams like this for each of your units.

December 6

For the better part of both periods we played a review game called "Back to the USSR". This review was designed to show you what some potential unit final exam questions might be. Your USSR Unit Final is on Wednesday.

Many of you did not hand in your Political Cartoon Analysis assignment. This was due today. If you do not finish it today then you will lose 10% from your mark on this assignment.

December 3

Today, we looked at the USSR Unit outline and how it could be used as a study guide. I asked you to look at all of the questions of the unit outline (pink sheet) and put a question mark next to any of the questions that you didn't know how to answer. For most of the class we then talked about high school recommendations and placement for grade 10.

Please don't forget that your analysis of the two political cartoons is due on Monday, December 6th. I hope that you will be taking time to study for your USSR Unit Final on Wednesday, December 8th.

December 2

For the better part of two periods, we played "Taboo" today. The "Taboo" cards were based on the templates that you worked on in class yesterday. For the remainder of class time we played another review game, "Memory", which focused on memorizing and learning the capital cities of the Soviet republics.

Please remember to study every night for next Wednesday's USSR Unit Final!

December 1

Today we spent most of the time getting ready to play Taboo tomorrow. For the better part of both periods the class was split into two groups (guys and girls), with each group writing clue words and taboo words to go with each clue word. We also did some peer editing of the analysis of the two political cartoons that you have to analyze by Monday.

Important upcoming dates:

• Analyzing Political Cartoons due Monday, December 6th
• USSR Unit Final, Wednesday, December 8th

Every night you should be studying for this unit final because it is VERY difficult!