Mrs. Servedio- Controversial Issues Assignment

Students will write a 3 page research paper on a controversial issue of their choice. For this assignment students must use the VRC to locate journal/magazine/newspaper articles on their topic.
The paper must also be written using MLA format. Noodletools will be used. See Mrs. Hatcher for info on the VRC & Noodletools.

(image: UCLA protestors by Albert Sabate)

Learning Standards:
AASL: 1.1.5, 1.1.8, 1.2.2, 1.3.1, 1.4.2,2.14, 2.3.2, 2.4.1, 3.1.5
Big6 Skills: 1.1, 1.2, 3.2, 4.1, 4.2, 6.1, 6.2
NYS- MST: 2

The Odyssey Research Project- Ms. Leidahl, Mrs. Palmer

For the Odyssey Research Project, students must design a storybook that tells the Creation Story of the Greeks, or the story of any specific set, pair, or individual god/goddesses, monsters, nymphs, or muses. The book must be based on original research, contain illustrations (drawn or computer generated), and written for a specific audience. All project books must have a cover page, story title, author's names, illustrations and a reference (work cited) page.

Students will be given class time in the Information Center to work on the assignment. The LMS, Mrs. Hatcher will provide instruction on using MLA style and Noodletools. There will be several checkpoints/conferences to monitor progress by Mrs. Palmer, Ms. Leidahl and Mrs. Hatcher.

Learning Standards:

AASL: 1.1.5, 1.3.1, 1.4.2, 2.1.6, 3.1.2, 3.1.4, 3.4.3
NYS-ELA: 1, 2

Big6 Skills: 1.1, 1.2, 3.1, 4.1, 4.2, 5.1, 5.2, 6.1, 6.2

The Big6: Information & Technology Skills for Student Achievement

The Big6 is an information and technology literacy model and curriculum, implemented in thousands of schools - K through higher education. Some people call the Big6 an information problem-solving strategy because with the Big6, students are able to handle any problem, assignment, decision or task.

The Big6 Skills:

1. Task Definition
- 1.1 Define the information problem
- 1.2 Identify information needed (to solve the information problem)

2. Information Seeking Strategies
- 2.1 Determine all possible sources (brainstorm)
- 2.2 Select the best sources

3. Location and Access
- 3.1 Locate sources (intellectually and physically)
- 3.2 Find information within sources

4. Use of Information
- 4.1 Engage (e.g., read, view, hear, touch)
- 4.2 Extract relevant information

5. Synthesis
- 5.1 Organize from multiple sources
- 5.2 Present the information

6. Evaluation
- 6.1 Judge the product (effectiveness)
- 6.2 Judge the process (efficiency)

The “Big6™” is copyright © (1987) Michael B. Eisenberg and Robert E. Berkowitz. For more information, visit: www.big6.com

VRC site of the month: ABC CLIO- World History

ABC-CLIO World History: Ancient & Medieval Eras allows students and staff to explore and/or analyze eras from a global perspective.

Timelines:

• Pre-History: Beginnings to 1000 B.C.


• Ancient Asia, 3000 B.C.- A.D. 500


• Ancient Rome, 1000 B.C.- A.D. 500


• The Islamic World, A.D. 600- 1500


• The Americas, 3000 B.C.- A.D. 1500


• Medieval Europe, A.D. 500-1500


• Egypt and the Near East, 3200-500 B.C.


• Ancient Greece, 2000- 30 B.C.


• The Byzantine Empire and Russia, A.D. 300-1500


• Africa, 3000 B.C. - A.D. 1500


• Central and East Asia, A.D. 500-1500

See Mrs. Hatcher for VRC username and password.

Library Resource Scavenger Hunt- Mrs. Hatcher

As part of orientation, students from 7th grade Social Studies have been coming to the Library/Information Center for a scavenger hunt of resources. The activity is designed to familiarize the students with the resources available in our library. Students were given a task card that featured a print or non-print (computer-based) item found somewhere in the library. Once a student finds his/her item they will evaluate it and discuss what they learned about the item with their classmates.

Learning Standards:

AASL: 1.1.4, 1.1.5, 1.2.6, 3.2.1, 4.4.2

Big6: 1.1, 3.1, 4.1, 4.2, 5.2, 6.2

Technology dept.- Pumpk'n Chunk'n Trebuchet

Good Day Everyone,

We just wanted to extend a thank you for everyone’s support on last Friday’s Pumpk’n Chunk’n Event. The response from students, staff, and administration alike were inspiring to the event. It was nice to see so many familiar faces in the media via Newsday, News12, Fios1, TV55 and our own district newsletter (Thanks to Jen Finn). Together the entire staff of Gelinas created an event that students will remember for years to come and solidified our rank in their educational experience.

The record toss of a 4lb pumpkin over 221 feet was either set by Mr. Hueber or our Superintendent Mr. Webster (whom ever buys us lunch first). Now that's honey turkey, on a wrap; just kidding. In all seriousness Mr. Hueber and Mr. Santana deserve a direct thank you for not only allowing us to hold the event, but also for allocating the funding to construct the trebuchet. Maybe next year we’ll even let Mr. Mutter fire the trebuchet again.

While we had plenty of fun with this oversized visual aid, it helped students to understand:
Trajectory
Apogee
Range
1st 2nd and 3rd Class Levers
Counterweight
Centrifugal Force
Potential and Kinetic Energy

Thank you all for taking classroom time out of your day and wagering your cars in the parking lot.

Sincerely,
The Gelinas Technology Department

Available Library Resources:

- The Art of the Catapult: build Greek Ballistae, Roman onagers, English trebuchets, and more ancient artillery by William Gurstelle.

-Levers, Wheels and Pulleys by John Farndon

- Levers by David Glover

VRC site of the Month: Custom Newspapers

Custom Newspapers is a great site to use for news information. It contains 150 national and international newspapers with full text articles going back to 1980. This database is updated daily. You can search by subject and keyword. Citation information for each article is included.

See Mrs. Hatcher for your username and password to access the VRC.