Last Week of 2014

This is the final week of our 2014 school calendar. When we return, the calendars will read 2015.

6th Grade students are taking notes about our world in spatial terms (geographic features) and will end the week by completing vocabulary, creating a vocab. review on quizlet and taking a vocab quiz on Friday.

7th Grade students are learning about specific biomes and adaptations needed to survive in them during the prehistoric times. Students will conclude the week with a video on the early stone ages (paleolithic and neolithic times).

6th Grade Test Review Links

6th Grade SS students: Please copy and paste these links into a new tab to access and practice for Weds. Unit 1 Test

http://quizlet.com/49023174/6th-grade-vocabulary-cards-flash-cards/

http://quizlet.com/53433221/categorization-five-themes-of-geography-flash-cards/

Also study the Unit 1 Big Ideas.

Thanksgiving Week

I would like to first share how Thankful I am to be a part of the education of my students. I have been blessed with a wonderful group of 6th and 7th grade Spartans! I hope you are all able to find some time of Thanksgiving this week.

This week is the final week of the trimester.

6th grade students are continuing their work through Unit 1. The Unit 1 Test should be a week or so after our return from break.

7th grade students have taken their Unit 1 Tests and grades were immediately posted into gradebook. Make up tests are on Monday (24th) and retests are during lunch on Tuesday (25th). All students are completing Unit 2 Vocabulary words 1-9, and will make and take a student-made vocabulary quiz on Tuesday.

Have a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Conference Week

This week Thursday we are holding parent-teacher conferences at the middle school from 4:00 to 7:00. I will be available in the gymnasium to conference with you about your child's progress in class. We are also holding conferences next week Tuesday from 5:00-8:00.

Hope to see you there.

Progress Reports Coming Home

Progress reports are coming home today. Please take time to discuss your students grades with them this weekend. Progress envelopes are due back at school signed by early next week.

7ht grade SS is nearing the end of their first unit. A test will be scheduled for either the first or second week in November. More details to come.

6th grade SS is finalizing the 5 Themes of Geography with a group act-it-out on the 5 themes. This project and video taping will be done on Monday.

Week of October 13th

Homecoming week was a fun time with the kids. Many students look great in their spiritwear!

6th grade SS classes are reviewing the 5 themes of Geography, taking notes on the perspectives of social scientists, and describing how social scientists help us understand our world. Students will be taking their first vocabulary quiz on Friday.

7th Grade SS classes are utilizing tools and studying ways historians organize and analyze time and the past.
They will have an introduction to historical eras and utilize timelines as a way of organizing chronological information.
Students will also complete lesson vocab.

Spirit Week At SMS!

SPIRIT WEEK DAILY THEMES:
MONDAY, OCTOBER 6TH: COLLEGE WEAR (SHIRTS OR
SWEATSHIRTS)
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 7TH: FAVORITE SPORTS TEAM
APPAREL
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 8TH: SOUVENIR SHIRT/CLOTHES
FROM A PLACE YOU’VE BEEN OR WOULD LIKE TO GO (NO HATS,
PLEASE)
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 9TH: MISMATCH DAY
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 10TH: BLUE AND WHITE DAY
*SCHOOL DRESS CODE STILL APPLIES DURING SPIRIT WEEK*

7th Grade SS classes are finishing their lessons on determining what is historically most important or significant. They will continue studying how historians investigate the past by framing porblems to study, selecting and analyzing available evidence, organizing their information and creating an historical account. Studies also inlude understanding the tools historians use to organize information, including significance, social institutions, time and space.

6th Grade SS classes are learning that geographers use a variety of tools and technologies to acquire geographic information. They are learning about the use of some of these tools, including: maps, areial photos, satellite images, globes, Geographic Information Systems, and Global Positioning Systems.

Link for 6th Grade SS

Copy and paste the following link in a new tab to open National Geographic Mapmaker

http://mapmaker.education.nationalgeographic.com/?ar_a=1&b=1&ls=000000000000#/

End of September

Families and students,

Thank you for the awesome first month of school. My 7th graders are running at full speed; 6th graders are speeding up. I want to reiterate that the initial use of this blog is for a general description of the classroom happenings. There is a great deal of time and energy spent preparing for each class and grading papers (reality of new curriculums), so the blog will probably only provide the basics.

6th grade students are learning to think like geographers. They have had their first several assignments entered into powerschool. Many students have struggled with the reality of the impact of not turning in their work. My hope is that our 6th graders become more focused and consistent on work completion (and quality of work.)

7th grade students have been applying language art skills to their social studies class. They have been differentiating between primary and secondary sources, checking for internal and external consistencies, and evaluating the validity of sources. Students also are taking their first vocabulary quiz on Thursday.

Welcome Parents and Students

Welcome to the 2014 School Year. I am very pleased that you will be taking this educational journey with me. I am teaching 6th and 7th grade classes again this year. This blog will share a snapshot of what is covered in my class each week. Some resources will be attached or linked to the blog. My priority efforts will be spent preparing to teach your students in my class. We have new social studies curriculums and a large amount of my time is spent organizing and implementing my new lessons in my classroom. I will attempt to keep this blog updated with the latest classroom news and expectations.

Looking forward to an awesome year!

-Mr.Toole

Final Week of School!

It is here....the final week of school. It has been my pleasure to work with all my students and parents this year. I hope each and everyone of you have an enriching summer.

6th grade: Its camp week! An abundance of information has been communicated to parents about camp details, please read them in order to help your child prepare for camp. I am excited to be going to camp with my students! We will be gone Monday to Wednesday. Thursday will be a year end wrap up day.

7th grade: Mr. McDowell will be covering my 7th gr. SS classes while I am away at camp. Students will be watching an Apartheid themed movie and they will be required to complete a daily movie review for each day. These reviews will serve as their last grades in SS class. Thursday will be a year end wrap up day.

Happy Holiday and Plans for the Week of May 26th

I would like to wish you all a Happy Memorial Holiday Weekend. A special thanks to all former and current military personel. I appreciate your dedication and service. I hope you all take time to enjoy your family and the beautiful weekend that is forecasted.

6th & 7th Grade SS Plans: Exams are scheduled for the week of May 26th. Students will have an adjusted schedule to accomodate the exams. All SS students have received an exam review that identifies the content vocabulary (geoterms) and the learning targets that are assessed on the exam. Students should complete their review (they have already been given school time to work on this) and study it to prepare to take their SS exam. The exam schedule is as follows: Tuesday exams for 1st and 2nd hours. Wednesday exams for 3rd and 4th hours. Thursday exams for 7th and 8th hours. Friday will be a regular schedule school day (it will probably be utilized by teachers as an exam make up day).

Blog Back and Running

Parents and Students,

I apologize for the long delay in my Blog account....to make a long story short, I have been locked out of my blog, but have now regained access. Regular posts should be found between now and the end of the year.

All social studies classes are looking ahead to next week's final exams. All classes have received their exam reviews. Parents, students will have some time in class to work on these reviews, but please take some time to review with them at home. Your help is appreciated. Students also have a significant amount of time in seminar to review for the exams. Exams are next week Tuesday (1st and 2nd hour exams), Weds. (3rd and 4th hour exams), and Thursday (7th and 8th hour exams).

6th Grade SS Plans: Monday and Tuesday, students will be presented an economic mini lesson. Focus will be on key terms and types of economies. (scarcity, bartering, economic systems: traditional, command and market economies. Wednesday and Thursday will be mini lessons on NAFTA and forms of government. Friday will be an exam review day.

7th Grade SS Plans: Monday and Tuesday, students will be studying population dilemmas. Wednesday and Thursday, students will be studying globalization and the Chernoybl nuclear disaster. Friday will be an exam review day.

Enjoy the Sunshine!

Mr. Toole

April Plans: Happy Spring

7th Grade SS students are finishing an Economics Mini-Unit prior to Spring Break. When students return, they will review and test on the Econ. material.

6th Grade SS students are HAITI ALLSTARS! Our students (with some staff contributions) raised over $2700 dollars to save lives and provide clean water to those in need in Haiti. This week, we wrapped up and celebrated their fundraising efforts. Great Job Kids! I am very proud of you!

Have a happy and safe spring break!

6th Grade Latin America Online Practice Quizzes

http://www.purposegames.com/game/countries-of-south-america-quiz


http://www.purposegames.com/game/latin-america-physical-features-quiz


http://www.purposegames.com/game/2d8b644b


http://www.purposegames.com/game/latin-america-physical-features-game



Below is a video link for learning the South American Countries:

https://video.search.yahoo.com/video/play;_ylt=A2KLqIH6kzFTFDkAY5b7w8QF;_ylu=X3oDMTBzZnZtb2xyBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDdmlkBHZ0aWQDBGdwb3MDMTM-?p=south+american+country+song&vid=2cdc4a1428d8e198fb152da7cc521a69&l=3%3A46&turl=http%3A%2F%2Fts3.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DV.4591772302314882%26pid%3D15.1&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DyYSHaL2uGGE&tit=Memorize+South+American+Countries+and+Geography+in+under+5+minutes&c=12&sigr=11a2aj4j6&sigt=122tka8p1&pstcat=arts+culture+and+entertainment&age=0&fr=yfp-t-901-s&tt=b

SS Plans Week of March 10th

6th Grade SS: Students are completing their chapter 8 tests on Monday. These grades will impact the student's second trimester final grade. Tuesday through Friday, students will be learning about the physical geography of Latin America by completing an in-class Latin America Mapping Lab. Students probably won't have SS homework this week as a resultof this in-class lab.

7th Grade SS: Chapter 14: Supranational Cooperation in the European Union. Monday and Tuesday, students are studying political and cultural cooperation in the EU (European Union). Wedensday, students will think globally and describe what forces work for and against supranational cooperation in the United Nations. Chapter 14 processing will be assigned as homework either Weds. or Thursday eve. Chapter 14 review will begin Thursday and test will be Friday or Monday.

6th grade SS Test moved to Friday

The chapter 8 test for 6th grade social studies has been moved to Friday (instead of Thursday)

Week of March 3rd

Looks like we are marching into a cold spring. This is the final week to our 2nd trimesters. I hope all students finish strong!

7th grade SS: Students are concluding their Ancient Greece and Rome unit. Student projects were due last week and students should have them submitted. Monday will be a day where students describe why ancient romans flocked to the colosseum. Tuesday through Friday, students will begin their chapter 14 studies. Focus will be on centrifugal and centripetal forces, common markets and supranational cooperation. Homework will be assigned Tuesday night (geoterms)

6th grade SS: students will complete their immigrant interviews on Monday. Tuesday and Wednesday will be chapter 8 test review days. Thursday will be chapter 8 test.

Week of Feb. 24th

7th Grade Plans include the students concluding their Ancient Greece and Rome research and notes. Double Bubble notes are turned in on Monday and the final project is assigned and rubric handed out. Final project is due Weds. and worth 70pts. Students have class time Monday and Tuesday to work on this project. On Weds./Thursday, students will work on a review for Ancient Greece & Rome. On Friday, students will take an open-note final Greece/Rome quiz. Students will be able to use their research notes to complete this quiz.

6th Grade Plans include the conclusion to chapter 8. Monday and Tuesday, students will be conducting immigrant interviews in class. Weds and Thursday will be chapter 8 review days and Chapter 8 Test will be on Friday.

Recommended Ancient Greece Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHMu2gVzspA

7th Grade Ancient Greece Research Sites

7th Grade SS Students, here are the two recommended links for continued research and information about Ancient Greece:

http://www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/ancient-greece

http://www.ancientgreece.com/s/Main_Page/

Week of Feb. 10th

Its Student Led Conferences Week. Conferences are held at the middle school on Tuesday and Thursday from 4:00-6:30 pm. I look forward to seeing students and parents there.

6th grade SS is reviewing and testing on chapter 7. Chapter 7 Test is Tuesday. Then Chapter 8 will be introduced: Migration to the United States. Chapter 8 Geoterms will be assigned as homework Weds. night.

7th grade SS is finishing their Europe and Russia Mapping Quizzes. Then we will begin our studies of Ancient Greece. The majority of the Greece (and Rome) unit will be contained in the classroom. We have no textbooks for this unit. Some worksheet homework will be supplied.

See you at conferences.

Mr. Toole

Europe and Russia Mapping Quiz Practice Site

7th Grade Students. Here is a copy/paste link to help you study for your Europe and Russia Mapping Test.

http://www.purposegames.com/game/countries-europe-quiz

Week of Feb. 3rd

Well, we might have our first full week of school in a while. Lets hope so.
Student's scores for their midterm/interim benchmark tests are in the gradebook and all grades will be up to date by Thursday. Progress reports go home with students this Friday, hopefully the grades are something to celebrate over the weekend!

6th grade classes are finishing up their reading notes for chapter 7. Students will complete a political cartoon about the effects of a growing consumer class. This is homework for Weds. Students will be reviewing chapter 7 on Thrs. and Friday and testing next Monday.

7th grade classes are working on their Europe and Russia Challenge assignments. Scores will be taken on the challenges and entered into the gradebook. Mapping quizzes will begin on Friday (Quiz 1 & 2) and continue thru Monday (Quiz 3 & 4).


Please ask your child about Wednesday's "Be Nice Program".

2 Day Snow Week (1/30-1/31)

Well the snow fall has quieted for now and the temps are reasonable for the season so we are back at school. As a result of the 3 day snow-break, progress reports will be delayed until next Friday, Feb. 1st.

7th Grade Students will be using thematic maps to answer geographic inquiry questions about Europe and Russia. This is in-class group work. You should not see any homework this week. Exam grades will be place in powerschool by the end of school Friday.

6th Grade Students will be working collaboratively in completing their Chpt. 7 Reading Notes (Consumption Patterns in the U.S.) You should not see any homework this week. Exam grades will be place in powerschool by the end of school Friday.

Interim/MidTerm Exam Week

6th and 7th Grade Students will be taking their Interim Benchmark Tests this week. Students will have an adjusted schedule this week with the priorities being their interim tests. 1st and 2nd Hour assessments are on Tuesday, 3rd and 4th hour assessments are on Wednesday, and 7th and 8th hour assessments are scheduled for Thursday. Regular class schedule resumes on Friday.

Week of January 13th

6th Grade Plans: Monday and Tuesday, students will be completing work on Chapter 5. At the conclusion, students will be able to explain how Urban Sprawl Effects People and the Environment. No final assessment will be given for this chapter as a result of the upcoming interim-benchmark exams.

7th Grade Plans: Monday and Tuesday, students will be completing work on Chapter 26. At the conclusion, students will be able to explain how people's life, health, and employment has been affected by the shrinking of the Aral Sea. No final assessment will be given for this chapter as a result of the upcoming interim-benchmark exams.

Weds. and Thursday will be spent on the reviews for social studies class. Students will have the opportunity to ask questions and review for the following week's interim-benchmark test.

Friday is a half day for students and Monday the 20th is a full day off for students.

Mid-term/Interim benchmark exams begin Tuesday the 21st.

As always, please feel free to email me with any questions or concerns you have.

Thanks,

Mr. Bob Toole

Website Links for 7th Grade Processing 26

Use the following links to assist you in answering the processing 26 worksheet





http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/mwater.html

http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/qa-home-wherefrom.html

Happy New Year 2014!

Wow! What a wonderful and long Christmas and New Year's break. With a couple extra snow days and a long break from the academics we will have a shortened review week.

6th grade students will re-connect with chapter 5 and continue with chapter 5 reading notes.
7th grade students will re-connect with chapter 26 and continue with chapter 26 reading notes.

Looking forward to being back in class.

-Mr. Toole
(We had many students absent prior to break and then we missed the Friday before vacation, so this week's priority will be to successfully get all students academically back on track and moving forward)