Blogging & Maps

Good morning!

A few reminders today for Monday.

First: Your maps are due for social. Make sure to follow the guidelines below!

- Your jobs is to create an ACCURATE map of Canada that we will use as a reference for the rest of the year. 

- You NEED to have: 

• a compass rose 
• the scale (the scale on these maps is 500km = 1 inch)
• a title (Should be at the top and in all capitals)
• a key
• THE DETAILS:
  • Provinces & Territories (NEED to be labelled in ALL CAPITALS, horizontally)
  • The Capital of Canada
  • Capital Cities (Should have the first letter capitalized, horizontal)
  • Oceans (should be 3) (First letter Capitalized, Horizontal)
  • Hudson Bay (First letters capitalized, horizontal)

Where do you find the information for these? 

- Agenda's

- Atlases

- Social Textbook

- The Internet. 

Make sure that your information is ACCURATE, and NEAT. Please colour in the bodies of water as blue. Make sure that all of the capital cities are marked in the correct place. 

Second: Your blog posts are due tomorrow morning for the 2nd Blogging Challenge. Make sure that you have gone to your blog and answered my questions on your blog. The links are: 

7-5: http://kidblog.org/Hyland75

7-6: http://kidblog.org/Hyland76 

We are just finishing up our common formative assessment on Monday and then we'll be on to bigger and better things! 

PA students, make sure to remember your homework of watching people for interesting character traits. We'll share your research in class on Monday. 

Updates!

Good evening all!

A few updates for this week:

Picture day is Friday September 21. Make sure that everyone comes with their hair done. (I'll bring some extra Brylcreem and comb for the boys, just in case).

The Fall Dance is Thursday September 28. Tickets are $10 at the door. It will run from 6:30 p.m. - 10:00 p.m. Our dances are always a lot of fun. If parents have some dance moves to show off, or just want to experience a middle school dance all over again, we are always looking for chaperones. Send me an email if you're interested, and I'll forward you to the right people.

This week we will be doing some Common Formative Assessments with all of the Grade 7s in ELA. These will be writing based and students will respond to a prompt. They will be used to give us some guidance as to where students are at, and to help us guide instruction. We will be doing another one near the end of the year, and it's also useful to use this as a guide to measure the growth between September and May.

We have started up our use of Edmodo and Kidblogs. Information about it should be in your Inbox. If you'd like to know more about it, as your child, or send me an email or phone call! We would LOVE to have you comment on our blogs! Our second blogging challenge is up, make sure to check my blog on the Kidblog page for the details.

All of the clubs have started to get rolling at Bishop. If you (students) have signed up for any clubs, make sure to listen to announcements to keep up to date with what is going on. (For example, Outdoor Ed club will meet Monday's after school, 3:15 - 4:45ish. Starting next week!)

I will be gone on Thursday for a WE Team (formerly Leadership) planning day & mini-conference, BUT you all will be in good hands with our sub.

That's it for today!

Welcome to the class blog!

Good morning! Welcome to the class blog! This is where I post all of the REALLY important stuff that is going on in class. A few things for you to check out.

Across the top of the blog, are tabs that help you find things like the blog, a Resource page, a Links page and a calendar of events.

On the right hand side of the blog, you can SEARCH the blog for keywords you want, follow the blog via email (which all of you should do), and also scan through the old blog archives of posts.

The main part of the blog is what you're reading RIGHT now! It's where you'll find all of the updates of what we are working on in class, and all of the important information you will need (especially if you "misplace" one of the assignments or handouts). 

Check out the blog often for new updates. If you Follow the blog as I recommended, you'll get an email when the blog is updated. THAT way, you ALWAYS will stay on top of what's happening in class. Even if you miss a few days because you're sick! 

Stay tuned for more! 

The First Day of School 2012

Well tomorrow is the first day of school. It's what we've been either building up to or avoiding all summer. I've spent the better part of the past two weeks at school, and I am excited for us to get started!

I'd like to start by welcoming everyone to the 7-56 team here at BLMS. You have all been hand picked for this team, and we are going to have a great year. I've put together a little welcome video for you. Check it out below.



We will be spending lots of time in the coming weeks getting to know each other, and getting everything sorted out. I just wanted to send an initial post to say hello, and that I'm really looking forward to classes starting!

See you all soon,

Mr. Hyland

Peer Assessment Day!

Today we will assess our peers on their involvement in the Literature circles. Please find the link to the survey here: 

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dDdUSk02VFRhNHc1QURnMEJBeGJUUUE6MA#gid=0

Please make sure to evaluate ALL members of your group! 

Once you are done that, please take a moment to reflect on the year and please give me some feedback on how you think that the year went to help me make improvements in my teachings. Please fill out the survey here: 

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dDVpTzViNzhnVUZjRWNFS2ZwYXJwNUE6MA#gid=0

Thanks for sharing your time and opinions! 

May 24 Updates

Some updates for this week!

ELA: We are continuing to work on our Literature circles. Students should be doing some reading at home this month to keep up to date with their work. Our next Literature Circle sharing day will be on TUESDAY May 29. 


SOCIAL: In social studies, we are working on an examination of Power and Government. We are halfway completed the power section, and we will have a quiz on TUESDAY MAY 29. It will involve True/False, Matching, and Multiple choice sections, as well as a Short Answer section. The two questions for the short answer have been given to the students, and are as follows:

1. Explain why and how a nation can have power? Make reference to a minimum of 3 of the powers that a nation has and give detailed examples. (6 Marks)
2. During Global Sim this year, you have used the power of your country to affect others, and you have been affected by other countries using their power on you. Describe a situation when you used your power, or were affected by the power of another country. Include in your description which FORM of power was used, which SOURCES of power and give evidence to back up what you say. (5 marks)

Students should consider these questions before the quiz so that they are better prepared to answer them. 

PERFORMING ARTS: Students are just finishing their writing and recording of Radio Plays this week. All recordings should be completed by Monday next week. After that, we will begin work on our short film final project. 

We also will host our Discovery Afternoon on Thursday May 31st. Check with your child to see what they're signed up for, along with the necessary fees and equipment. 

It's getting down to crunch time! We are going to be cruising fast all the way to the finish line. Final exams are coming up. As it looks now, we will write a Social Studies final during class time, then Math on Monday June 25th, ELA in the AM of June 26, and Science in the PM.  

Enjoy the weekend! 

Literature Circles!

Great news! We are embarking on our Courage Unit, and will be participating in Literature Circles.

What are literature circles? Easy. Here's the plan.

1. You will be presented with options on which books are available, and rate your top three. 
2. Groups will be created by me based on your choices and availability of books. 
3. Books will be signed out to each of you. They are your responsibility to take excellent care of. If they come back in worse condition or are lost, it will be your responsibility to replace them. 
4. Each week you will have a role to complete and a specific number of pages to read. Please do not read ahead, as it can create problems with your group. 
5. You will receive one, and only one booklet with the roles to be completed. Do not lose this. You will need to turn this in at the end of the literature circle. It will be a part of your final mark. 
6. In class you will have time to read and prepare your role. The number of pages to read will depend on the book that you have chosen. There will be necessary homework time to read and prepare your roles. Please plan to be spending time in the evening on this. 
7. During Literature Circle meeting time, you will share your roles with your group and discuss the book. 
8. One group will share their literature circle in front of the class during each discussion period. You will be evaluated on your participation with the group, understanding of the text, and completion of your role. It will be a part of your final mark. Other groups will engage in their discussions after this. 
9. If you complete your reading early in class, there will be a creative project option. More on this will be discussed in class and posted to this site soon. 

Alright! Ready to go? Check out the list of possible books and vote for your choices by going to http://mrhyland.wikispaces.com/The+Novels. Read through the options, and then go to this site to vote for your favourite choices!