Hello again,

Today I talked through this PowerPoint review on Ancient Rome.  We are planning to have our Roman Assessment next Tuesday.  It may be a good idea to talk through the slideshow with your student to check their understanding.

Students will be receiving a paper review to work on in class tomorrow.

Let me know if you have any questions.

 Michael Hutchinson

Hello Everyone,

On Friday I introduced our next Roman project.  In this assignment students will take on the role of a Roman city planner and develop a city blueprint for a new Roman city somewhere in the empire.  In order to better understand Roman city design we are watching the following film and taking notes.

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Once we are finished watching the film, students will create their city blueprints.  I hope that students will be able to complete all of this project in class.

Let me know if you have any questions.

J. Michael Hutchinson
6th Grade Social Studies
NBCT 2003
http://smsguysread.wordpress.com/

Hello Everyone,

Yesterday I introduced a project called the Roman City Myth.  In this project students were given a set of six words and told to imagine a story that uses each of the words at least once that ends with the city of Rome being founded.  Students have free reign on how to use the assigned words.  They can imagine the words as characters or setting elements, or really how ever they want to incorporate them.

The completed myth will need to be finished for Wednesday, November 23 or before.  I am looking for a story that does not exceed 2 pages, but does a good job of following the plot arc from exposition to conflict, to rising action, to climax, falling action and ultimately resolution.

Students will have some time in school to work, but that time will diminish as the days get closer to next Wednesday.

Please let me know if you have any questions.  The initial story drafts seem to be very interesting.

J. Michael Hutchinson
6th Grade Social Studies
NBCT 2003

ouropus.wordpress.com
smsguysread.wordpress.com

Good Morning,

The second quarter seems to have rushed by.  We have been very busy since we tracked back in, getting into the media center, computer lab, getting a classroom blog up and running and talking about the Ancient Greeks.

We will be having our Greek Assessment this Thursday.  If you have a few minutes you may want to ask your student to talk with you about the following topics...

Acropolis

Parthenon

Pericles

Hippocratic Oath

Socrates

Alexander the Great

Greek Gods

How Athens and Sparta were different

What an Agora was and how it compares to modern cities

I feel fairly confident that students have the knowledge needed to do really well on this assessment.

I have just posted social studies grades, so you can check SPAN if you are interested.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks,

J. Michael Hutchinson
6th Grade Social Studies
http://smsguysread.wordpress.com/

Hello all,

I wanted to take a quick minute and introduce you to a newish website called Our Opus.

I had a classroom blog called Our Opus a few years ago that went away when we decided to stop paying for the subscription. Since then I have often wanted to bring it back, but never could quite find the time. Well over the weekend I found the time and now Our Opus is back.  Take a few minutes and check out what is up from this week and know that soon students will begin producing content for all to see.