Laurelhurst School

Renaissance Overview

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British Museum Renaissance Overview

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Renaissance About.com

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Please use the linked organizer to help plan your mini-documentary. Use all the notes you have collected to help you plan.

Documentary Graphic Organizer

Documentary next steps:

1. Choose your topic for your documentary.
2. Fill out the Partner Sign Up Sheet, if you choose to work with a partner.
3. Create notes on your topic: there are web links below that help with research on your topic. Look for the pod that corresponds to your topic and click the links.
4. Notes: Can be taken on Cornell Notes or created in Inspiration Software.

Completed Notes are due Monday, May 23rd.

 

You will create mini-documentary (3-5 minutes) on an aspect of ancient Rome.You will choose ONE of the following topics for your documentary. You may work with a partner from your class or alone. If you work with a partner, you must turn in a signed form letting me know.

Topic choices for Roman Empire Documentaries


1. Who was Julius Caesar and how did he come to power? What lasting changes did he bring to Rome? Did they improve Rome or change it for the worse?

2. Explain the social order of Roman Society. Describe the key groups (such as plebeians, patricians and more). Explain the freedoms, privileges and limitations for people living in the Roman Empire.

3. In what way did the Greeks influence Roman civilization?

4. Rome established a Republican form of government. What were the parts of the Roman Republican government? How were the people elected to office? Were the offices restricted by social class?

You will explore the topics for your mini-documentary on Ancient Rome. Use keywords to find database articles and websites and let them help you narrow down your choices and choose a topic.

Online database: www.oslis.org has many databases that can be used for historical research. One of your sources will have to come from an online database, so begin your search now.

Websites: Google is a great search engine, but don't ignore other search engines such as ipl.org and findingdulcinea.com.

Use the Graphic Organizer below to help you narrow down your topic choices. When you are ready, print and turn in your topic choice.

You will fill in all of the questions on this graphic organizer, print and then turn it in to me.This is due Monday, May 16.

Narrowing the Ancient Rome topic choices.

 Due Monday, May 16

Today we will move on to a very popular research resource: the website.

You will read two web pages from PBS.org that cover the Ancient Rome's social order and the Senate.

You will take notes on the important information from these web pages in your own words.  Look for the data that helps you understand:

1. Who the key people and groups were and how they influenced Rome.

2. How Rome was governed, how the Senate was structured and worked with the Emperors.

You will create your notes on an Inspiration document.

PBS.org Social Order

PBS.org Senators

Example of Inspiration Software notes

Due Monday, May 16

We will continue to build our understanding of the Roman Empire by using a new resource: a National Geographic Book titled Ancient Rome.

You will create Cornell Notes based on your reading. In your Cornell notes, there is a summary section. You will post your summary on the Wallwisher wall below. There is a text-limit, so make sure to be brief and to the point. Your notes and summary will be graded.

Blank Cornell Notes sheet

Click the link for your class to post your summary of today's reading.

 

5th period Wallwisher  

6th period Wallwisher

As part of our new project featuring ancient Rome, we will watch three video overviews saved on your Learn 360 student account. We will conduct an in-class activity based upon these three videos.

Sign into Learn 360 with your student account to begin the activity. Click here for the log in page.

Once you are logged in, go to the assignment "Ancient Rome."

Soon we will begin a new Technology Project featuring Ancient Rome.

We will conduct and in class activity today which will have us all reading an overview of Rome from an Online Database source. Read the section highlighted in yellow.

To read this source, click this link.

Below I have linked the scoring guide I used to score the Sketch Up Essays. Please refer to it to interpret your score.

Scoring Guide

Battle of the Books Homework

Due Friday, April 29: Read 100 pages of your Battle of the Books assigned book. Create 10 questions (5 Content and 5 In Which Book) which can be used in the Battle of the Books battles.

Citation Homework

Turn in Citations for Sketch Up Essay (see below for details). Due date extended due to testing: the new due date is April 28.

Battle Facebook Power Point Template

Finish your template handout, if you did not finish it in class. Due date extended due to testing: the new due date is April 28.

Facebook, the social networking site, is widely used by people all around the world.

Your assigment: Imagine a character from one of the Battle of the Books titles has a Facebook account. You will use the template linked below to create Facebook pages for this character. A sample using President John F. Kennedy is provided, and is also linked below.

Step 1: Fill out the Facebook organizer in class. The written part of the Facebook assignment will be completed first. You will create posts from the character's friends (example: from the Hunger Games, Peeta might post a message on Katniss' wall). Do not use quotes from the book. This must be your own work.

Step 2: Plan your image selection. You will have to imagine what your book's characters might look like in real life. You may want to take your own pictures to use in this project. Think of keyword searches you can make on google images to help you find just the right pictures for your character and his/her photo albums.

Step 3: Create a folder for "Facebook Project" in your My Documents/Tech folder and your Flash drive/Tech folder. Within your Facebook Project folder, create a "digital kit" folder to house the pictures you select for this project.

 

Step 4: Download the Blank Facebook Template, and begin inserting your text and pictures where appropriate. This template is on PowerPoint. Spelling and proper capitalization will count in the grading of this assignment.

Step 5: Save your Facebook project to your flash drive under your own name. Save it to Mrs. Schlosser's laptop, in the folder designated for your class.

 The Blank Facebook Template

The John F. Kennedy Example Template

Project due date: April 28 (deadline extended)

It is important to give credit to the sources you use in research. Citation Maker on Oslis.org helps make creating a citation easier. Websites can be some of the most difficult sources to cite. Quality websites tend to post the name of the organization publishing the website, when the website's article was posted/updated and the name of the author.

When conducting online searches, look for these quality clues before you utilize the information from a given website.

In class we will practice finding the citation information for a set of websites. These websites are linked below.

Website #1

Website #2

Website #3

Website #4

Website #5

Website #6

Website #7

Website #8

Conducting a web search

Click on this link to create a web search with a partner

You will create MLA style citations for the print resources, websites, videos and database articles from which you got information for your Sketch Up Essay. Some of the citations are posted on my web page, and some you will create using the MLA Citation Maker on Oslis.org. We will review the MLA Citation maker in class.

Your Sketch Up Essay citations will be created in Word, printed and turned in to me by April 28 (extended).

Link to MLA Citation Maker

Here is the Portland Public Schools calendar to help you estimate the date you accessed web information, in case you did not record it at the time.

PPS Calendar

 

The Sketch Up Essay

In class today and Thursday, March 17, we will be working in Microsoft Word to create our Sketch Up Monumental Structure essays.

To help guide your transition from the graphic organizer notes you created for this essay, I am attaching a sample introductory paragraph. You will have the Tuesday and Thursday class sessions to work on your essay. When we return from Spring Break, you will have an additional class period to work on your essay and then the final draft will be due when you arrive in class on Tuesday, March 29.

Sample Introductory paragraph

The 3-D Sketch Up Drawing

On Tuesday, March 29 and Thursday, March 31 we will spend time drawing our monumental structures in Sketch Up software.

The final due date for Sketch Up 3-D drawings will be Monday, April 4. It will be turned in as a .skp file to me, not a paper copy.

 

Our class has done a wonderful job creating Cornell Notes for the Sketch Up Monumental Structure essay. Tuesday 3/8 and Thursday 3/10, we will use our Cornell Notes to fill out an Inspiration Software graphic organizer. Inspiration is a terrific mind-mapping software. It is proprietary, so is only available for Laurelhurst student use at school.

Students that do not finish the Essay Graphic Organizer in class on Thursday, 3/10 will go home with a hard copy that they can use to finish their work. I am linking this hard copy below, so students who lose their hard copy can download it and finish their work.

Hard Copy of Essay Graphic Organizer (in Microsoft Word for home compatibility)

Here is an example of the Essay Graphic Organizer partially filled out to guide you.

Battle of the Books has its own page-look on the left tab. There are book reviews, links to Accelerated Reader resources, an overview and more! Soon there will be classroom projects linked to the Battle page, as well!

Your assignment is to compare two monumental structures of the ancient world. You will write about both and create a 3-D drawing of one in Google Sketch Up software.Your six subject choices are posted below in small pods on this web page.

As you research, keep a Word document that records the MLA citation information for any on-line, video or print resource you get information from.

Sketch Up Assignment Overview

Cornell Notes will help you keep organized and focused on answering the assignment's three important questions. I have created Cornell Notes that have the questions included, to help you research.

Cornell Notes for Question 1: Which structure was a greater engineering accomplishment?

Cornell Notes for Question 2: Which structure better demonstrated its civilization’s strength to neighboring societies?

Cornell Notes for Question 3: Which did a better job of improving life for the civilization’s inhabitants?

 

Try creating a Sketch Up model of these famous monumental structures.

Pyramids of Giza

Roman Aqueducts

Greek Acropolis

Stonehenge

Mayan Stalae/Pyramids

Great Wall of China

Google Sketch Up is a fun 3-D drawing program that uses practice and problem solving skills.

Watch the video tutorials linked below and then try making a simple geometric shape. We will work as a class to create more complicated buildings in our next Technology project. Watch the first four videos (Concepts, Drawing Shapes, Modify Tools and Make a Chair). Sketch Up is loaded on your computer. Go to Programs and select Google Sketch Up to begin.

Sketch Up Video Tutorials

Please use the link below to explore ways to use the fabulous word-cloud website, Tagxedo.com. Watch the presentation. We will discuss the different uses for our classroom.

101 Ways to Use Tagxedo.

Elements of Design. This article lists and describes the elements of design and will help you plan the layout of your Lit Circle Collage. We will look at examples of design elements in class.

Plagiarism occurs when a person directly quotes text from another person's work without giving them credit through a citation. It also occurs when a person paraphrases another person's original idea and does not give the author credit.

Rutgers University created a great tutorial that they have made available on Youtube.com. The links to the following videos will explain Plagiarism and how to properly footnote and cite sources so you can avoid stealing another writer's work.

Plagiarism Video from the Rutger's University Library

Plagiarism Video II from the Rutger's University Library

Speaking of Citing Sources, here are the credits for the above productions.

In class, we will work together to create footnotes in a document from information gathered in a National Geographic article.

Link to the National Geographic article

With a partner, you will create a footnote for a paraphrased idea and another footnote for a quote.

Link to a new National Geographic article

I am very excited about the novel choices for our January Literature Circles. Here are the links to Amazon.com reviews for novels I book talk in class. You have to scroll down to find the reviews on the Amazon.com site.

Wednesday Wars

The London Eye Mystery

Dairy Queen

Bound

Sunrise Over Fallujah

Schooled

Jane Eyre

The Breadwinner

Habibi

Come Juneteenth

Airborn

Heart of a Chief

We have focused on specific presentation styles and skills during our slide show presentation unit. I am attaching my grading criteria, which matches lessons and demonstrations conducted during this unit. I am also attaching a graphic organizer for student responses to presentations. I am looking forward to watching the wonderful presentations that students have spent so much time and effort creating.

Mrs. Schlosser's presentation grading criteria

Student responses to presentations

You are able to work on this Independent Project after you have turned in all documents required for your Slide Show Presentation with Power Point project.

I have created a school account on Prezi.com, a zooming presentation software. Your first task is to watch the video tutorials on Prezi.com that show how to use the online Prezi tools. The link to Prezi training is below.

http://prezi.com/learn/

In the Explore tab (next to the Learn tab) see examples of Prezi presentations. On page one, the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World uses images and Google Earth.

After you have viewed at least three examples of Prezi presentations, begin to gather information to 

Assignment: Answer these essential questions: If a visitor from another city was to visit Portland, what three places in Portland would you recommend that person visit? Why are these three places the best representation of what Portland has to offer a visitor? To answer these essential questions, conduct research using the Big 6 method and create a Prezi presentation to present your findings. Your presentation must have an introductory slide,  supporting slides and a satisfying conclusion.

Big 6 Step 1 & 2:

Fill out and turn in the graphic organizer below to get started.

Big 6 Step 1 and 2 Graphic Organizer

Big 6 Step 3

You have chosen two types of resources to use as you conduct your Portland research. In Step 3, you locate the articles that will give you the information you need: articles that tell you about important places in Portland that you could send a visitor to see. Save the URL for on-line sources and record them in a Word document. For print resources, copy the citation information (the information you need is listed on the MLA citation maker for an encyclopedia or book).

Big 6 Step 4:

Note Taking

You will use the Cornell Notes graphic organizer to take their notes. I am supplying a link to a blank Cornell Notes.

Blank Cornell Notes: You can download this document and take notes on it.

 

Requirements for turning in a complete Slide Show Presentation.

1. You have created a Power Point presentation with 7 or 8 slides that include images and text.
2. You have checked spelling, capitalization and punctuation on your Power Point.
3. Your Power Point presentation has URL addresses for the images you downloaded from the Internet.
4. The last slide on your Power Point has an MLA citation for the Opposing Viewpoints article or articles from which you gathered information.
5. You have turned in printed notes that you will use for your speech as you present your Power Point to the class. Your name is on these notes.
6. You have turned in a PPT (Power Point) file that has your name on it to Mrs. Schlosser. Example = mrsschlosser.ppt.

Students: Your assignment today is to work on your slide show slides and to create notes to accompany each slide.

Remember, you have received printed copies of PowerPoint tutorials. In the pod below titled Slideshow Presentation Assignment, those tutorials are linked, as well as a video tutorial on how to create custom animation on your slides.

You will finish your first slide, and continue to build your presentation using your Cornell Notes to help you decide which information will go on each slide.

 

Your slides should be supported by written notes that you will use to rehearse and will refer to as you present your slide show. Notes must accompany each slide. For students who want to type their notes, I have linked a graphic organizer below (I handed it out as a hard copy on pink paper in class). Your slide notes will be turned in and graded.

Slide Show Notes Graphic Organizer

Slide Show Notes Filled Out for Renewable Energy Slide Show

Sample Power Point: Renewable Energy Power Point Presentation

Due Dec 2, Presentations scheduled Dec 9 through completion 

6th grade students will be creating fabulous slide show presentations using Microsoft PowerPoint. As with the Photo Story Project, we will be following the Big 6 Research Process to successfully complete this assignment. Check out the assignment requirements.

Big 6 Step 1: Task Definition. Students chose a topic on which to focus a persuasive PowerPoint. We highlighted the following assignment requirements on our assignment overview: the presentation should have 8 slides maximum, a bibliography of images and sources, and students will present to their class.

Big 6 Step 2: Information Seeking Strategies: Students must know the source requirements. For this project, students will use articles from the Opposing Viewpoints database on Oslis.org.

 

Big 6 Step 3: Location and Access: Students will learn how to access Opposing Viewpoints at school and at home independently.

 

 

 

Big 6 Step 4:

Note Taking

Students will use the Cornell Notes graphic organizer to take their notes. I am supplying links to a blank Cornell Notes and a sample Cornell Notes sheet I have filled out using an Opposing Viewpoints article.

 

Blank Cornell Notes: You can download this document and take notes on it.

Cornell Notes example: A completed Cornell Notes organizer, with information taken from an Opposing Viewpoints article.

Saving Source Information for Bibliography

 

All images used in slide shows will be cited with the URL address where the image was found. So, if the image was downloaded from Google Images, the specific URL for that address is copied and pasted into the ending slide show slides.

The Opposing Viewpoints articles show an MLA citation at the bottom of the page. This citation must be copied and placed as the last citation on the slide show.

 

Image Collection

You can use Google Images or another image search engine. To crop photos for better use in your Slide Show Presentation, you can use the online photo editing software on www.picnik.com.

 

Big 6 Step 5: Synthesis

 

Students will bring all of the elements together-notes, images, citation information-to create a persuasive slide show presentation using PowerPoint software.

 

Power Point is fun and easy to use. I have some basic Power Point tutorials linked here and we will practice using the software tools in class.

 

Power Point Tutorial I

 

Power Point Tutorial II

Adding Custom Animation to 2003 PowerPoint

 

Big 6 Step 6

Students will evaluate their effectiveness and efficiency during the research process and in producing their final product.

 

 

Today we will work on using simple images and text to persuade fellow students to pack their lunch. Use images to support, not distract. Keep text minimal. Use powerful pictures, not clip art. 

Your assignment: With your partner, read the article "5 Reasons to Pack Your Own Lunch." Choose ONE reason from the article. Open your Internet Browser and get to the site Google Images. Open PowerPoint. Save a Large Size image to your PowerPoint digital kit. Use the technique "Apply an Image as a PowerPoint Background" and place simple text on the slide to support your argument.

This article from Kid's Health.org will provide the basis for your argument. Do not copy and paste their text. Use your OWN brief words and an image to create a slide that supports ONE of the article's reasons to pack your own lunch.

5 Reasons to Pack Your Own Lunch

 

 

Today we will practice inserting a picture (saved in your PPT Digital Kit folder) onto a Power Point slide. We will also  practice creating a graph on the website Create a Graph.

When making a presentation, sharing statistics can be a powerful way to persuade your audience to share your point of view. However, a slide covered in hard to read graphs can have the opposite effect. So, rather than loading the page with graphs, make your supporting data count with a graph that easily explains your point.

Today's assignment:

1. Read the Teen Volunteering PDF linked below. Choose one statistic and use the website Create a Graph to build a graph to insert into a Power Point slide.

Link to Teen Volunteer statistics

Link to Create a Graph site

    2.  Read the link to the article "Why Exercise is Wise," from the website TeensHealth.org. Select ONE reason listed in the article. Create a slide in PowerPoint that has a picture inserted and brief supporting text.

Link to Why Exercise is Wise

Literature Circles discussions will take place Thursday, November 4, Friday November 12 and Friday, November 19. As in October, each student will have the responsibility of filling out a Note-taking sheet, reading to the assigned page and arriving ready for discussion on the designated discussion days. 

 

Literature Circle Reading Assignments                                                                                                  

Call Me Hope

Gregor The Overlander

Code Talker

Softwire

Life As We Knew It

Al Capone Does My Shirts

Tangerine

So Far From The Bamboo Grove

A Girl Named Disaster

Note Taking Sheets

Discussion Director

Connector

Travel Tracker

Summarizer

Illustrator

 

 

 

 

Microblogging is a way to communicate thoughts and ideas on-line. Microblogs limit writers to a small number of characters within a post. To make a great post, the writer has to be clear and concise. We will share our first impressions of our Literature Circle books on by posting on the website Wallwisher.com.

Cybersafety

I chose Wallwisher.com for our first online post because of its look and ease of use. I also chose it because it does not require an account to post. Also, I set up the Walls I built so I could check that the comments are appropriate and edited for spelling and punctuation. As the wall owner, I will have to approve a post before it is visible to the public. The directions state that students will not post their full name, and instead post their first name and last initial.

Directions

Select the link to the Wallwisher.com site that features your Literature Circle book. The posting directions are on the site.

A Girl Named Disaster

Al Capone Does My Shirts

Tangerine

Call Me Hope

Code Talker

Softwire

Gregor the Overlander

So Far From The Bamboo Grove

Life As We Knew It

Literature circles have begun. Students received their books on Tuesday, October 19th. The first discussion will take place in the Technology lab on Friday, October 22nd. 

Each student wrote his or her book's library barcode in the 6th grade planner. Students should be checking that they have the correct books in their possession. Many students are reading the same book, and this is the only way to make certain that each student has the original copy assigned.

Students were assigned pages to read and a note-taking sheet to fill out before class on Friday. I am linking copies of the page assignments and note-taking sheets on this page.

Page Assignment Calendars

Call Me Hope

Tangerine

Code Talker

A Girl Named Disaster

Gregor the Overlander

Al Capone Does My Shirts

So Far From The Bamboo Grove

Softwire

Life As We Knew It

Note Taking Sheets

Discussion Director

Connector

Travel Tracker

Summarizer

Illustrator

 

We will begin Literature Circles in mid-October. From now until books are assigned, I will book talk potential Literature Circle books. As I book talk the books, I will add them to this web page. When all books have been book talked, students will fill out a form with their top three book choices. Then, students will be assigned to a Lit Circle group. Discussions will take place Fridays, with other Lit Circle activities occurring during the Monday, Tuesday, Thursday class sessions. A great place to view book reviews is on the website Amazon.com. They have excerpts of reviews from School Library Journal and Booklist, two gold-standard book review sources.

Book talks:

Gregor the Overlander: Amazon.com book review. scroll down on the Amazon page to see the book reviews.

Tangerine: Amazon.com book review

Al Capone Does My Shirts Amazon.com book review

Call Me Hope Amazon.com book review

So Far From the Bamboo Grove Amazon.com book review

Life As We Knew It Amazon.com book review

Welcome to 6th Grade Library/Technology class. I am so excited to begin a new year in the Library and Computer Lab. I love the intelligence and energy of Laurelhurst's 6th graders. I consider myself one of the class' most enthusiastic learners, for I gain so much from the ideas of my students.

 

There is a focus in this class on literature, research and computer applications. Some of my favorite Tech projects that we will work on together are digital storytelling, mini-documentary films, and Ancient Civilization Newsletters. In Library, we will participate in Literature Circles and Battle of the Books. We will conduct research throughout the year, including the creation of MLA-style bibliographies to cite our sources.

 

Homework: I consider reading to be a nightly homework assignment. At times this reading will be assigned for Literature Circles, but can also be novels or non-fiction reading students have self-selected. There is a sizable Mid-Level book collection in the Laurelhurst Library, to which 6th graders will have weekly access.