Intelligent Comment Points
In order to stimulate more class discussion, I started giving Intelligent Comments points. Each time a student answered a question related to World History or current events, I noted this down and every few weeks I would enter into the gradebook either a homework grade for class participation, or for the top two or three contributors to the class a quiz grade. Since it is so important for a Social Studies class to have input and feedback from students, I found that this was a good way to get more students involved in more lively discussion of the topics we study in World History.
Mr. Drake
Enlightenment Age
Students in the Fall took the role of philosophers and scientists during the Enlightenment and presented to the class information about their lives and contributions to mankind. By the end of this activity there was more understanding of Rousseau’s Noble Savage and the Natural Rights of Man of John Locke.
Mr. Drake
Student Debates
Students have been debating current event topics, especially those relating to the presidential race in the Fall of 2012 between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney. As the news changes, we also have taken up the issue of Gun Control and reasons for violence in U.S. society. As the year continues, topics of interest to the students will continue to be looked into.
Mr. Drake
Federalists
The most interesting project we did so far in our study of U.S. History was to have groups take the role of Federalists and Anti-Federalists. After getting in groups the students worked on deciding what were the strongest arguments for and against the ratification of the U.S. Constitution.
Mr. Drake
We Have Fun Together
Our class went on a trip to the pumpkin farm and we each picked a pumpkin, and rode on the school bus.
When we go to the library we listen to great stories. We all prayer together, have snack and lunch together too. We are leaning so much in Pre K 3. Thank You Jesus.
Ms. Banoff
Songs Help Us Remember
We pick out puzzles shapes and colors, we know so many now. We have magnets with our alphabet letters on them and we sing songs to help us remember them. We trace them and color them too.
In class we play games to teach us things that are the same and things that are different.
Ms. Banoff
Weather Calendar
Our class does our morning routines with Pinky, Sunny, Dilly and other puppets that help us learn about our weather and our calendar.
Ms. Banoff
Bible Time Dress Up
Since September PreK3 has learned so many new Bible stories, we have use puppets and have dressed up like some of the people in the Bible we have learned about. We now can walk together as a class and we are doing just great when we go to Chapel, Gym and Art.
Ms. Banoff
Sonnets
We began the year with The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare and asked the vital question: How do you measure strength and power in an individual? We concluded that real strength comes from treating people kindly and not through force or bullying. We had several class discussions on how we are to treat one another and God’s design on marriage according to the Bible. We then took a look at how literature and art can fight injustice in society and compared the different rhyme schemes of Shakespearean sonnets with Petrarchan sonnets. We compared sonnets from Shakespeare to John Milton and found that Christian poets tend to focus on God, salvation and eternity, whereas secular poets focus on the things of this world that will one day waste away. We then read The Scarlet Pimpernel by Emperess Orczy and asked the question: Is a vigilante a hero or a law breaker? We had many in-depth class discussions on what makes someone a true hero and learned that part of being a hero is protecting those that cannot protect themselves. Just like the hero in the story, we are expected to protect the lives of those around us, as God’s word says that Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. – John 15:13.
Miss Topale
What Is Literature
We began the year with the question: What is literature? We took a look at the different interpretations that one poem can have depending upon how each individual views the poem. We then learned about Sonnets and compared the sonnets of Shakespeare’s secular love with John Milton’s more spiritual love of God and learned that God’s love provides healing and protection. We then read Les Miserables by Victor Hugo and focused on the question of whether or not there are limits to redemption. We learned what makes a man truly heroic through studying the character of Jean Valjean and that only God can change a man from bad to good through the redemptive cross of Calvary. We also went on to read A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens and asked ourselves – Does greed rule the world? We concluded that, though mankind can be trapped by the greed of this world, God will not allow us to live life without showing us that we need to change our motives and keep the golden rule, which is to help our fellow man on this journey we call life.
Miss Topale