Monthly Archives: October 2012

November Madness Resources

November Madness is just more than a week away.  Attached are a bunch of  resources that teachers and students can use throughout the evening to analyze the election.  Please feel free to make copies for your students.   What we tried to do was to have students engage in the political process by connecting it to social media, media bias, ideology, the Electoral College, and the candidates.

Teacher/Student Resources:

November Madness Information Sheet – For Students – An invitation for students to attend.

November Madness Electoral College Map – To be completed prior to election night, or during the evening.

November Madness Electoral College Tracking Sheet – For Election Night – A simple way for students to track the election.

November Madness Media Comparison – For Election Night – Comparing coverage on ABC, NPR, CNN, and Fox News

November Madness Social Media – Getting “Plugged In” – Using social media to engage in the election process.

Here are some websites that may help as well:

270towin.com – a great resource for the electoral college process.

studentnewsdaily.com – can be used for conservative vs. liberal ideologies.

youtube.com/politics – The YouTube channel dedicated to the 2012 Presidential Election.

Gallup Polls and News –  A look at the latest news and polls from Gallup

Pew Research Campaign Center – News, research, polls and a Political Ideology quiz

Twitter.com/president – The twitter page for the 2012 Presidential Election.

President Barack Obama’s Twitter page

Mitt Romney’s Twitter page

CNN’s 2012 Election Center

FoxNews 2012 Election Center

If you have any questions, please email: matthew.schultz@greece.k12.ny.us

Thanks…Looking forward to seeing lots of students and teachers in action for Election 2012!

…Matt

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CIA Volunteer Opportunity

CIA Teachers,

Here is a great volunteer opportunity for your students.  Check it out!

Volunteer Opportunity

What: An opportunity to help English as a second language (ESOL) learners  – they are students in Greece Central.

Who: CIA Students would help tutor ESOL learners, complete homework, or work with the teachers.

When: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 6-8:30pm.  Students do not have to be at every session.

Where: Greece Ridge Mall

Why: You get to help students in need of support, complete CIA volunteer hours, and if interested in Education, get a great experience in helping others learn.

Contact: If interested, please contact me at matthew.schultz@greece.k12.ny.us or Annamaria Falzarano (GCSD Coordinator of World Languages) at annamaria.falzarano@greece.k12.ny.us with student names.  Feel free to give either email to students as well.

Here’s the summary from Ms. Falzarano’s request for volunteers:

On Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 6-8:30 pm we run a Family Literacy program for ESOL students K-12 at the mall. I currently have two teachers leading the program. Happily, our enrollment has grown, and I was wondering if we could tap CIA students in need of service hours to help us out with the program. I have used student volunteers in the past, and it has been successful for all. The high school students help the program students to finish homework, assist the teacher with activities, read stories, etc.

Thanks for helping…

Matt

 

Native American Day at the Greece Historical Society and Museum

Elementary teachers and administrators, the Greece Historical Society and Museum is holding a “Native American Day” for all residents of Greece.  Please forward this to building teachers and students.

Where: Greece Town Hall, rooms B and C

When: Saturday, November 10, 2012

Time: 10am – 12 noon

What:

1) 10am: Anthropologist George Hammel (Rochester Museum and Science Center) will discuss and display Iroquois artifacts that are 500-750 years old!

2) 11am: Mohawk Storyteller Barbara Bethmann-Mahooty

Why: To explore and learn about local Native American History.  To experience history “hands-on” through artifacts, including tools, spear points, adz, net sinkers,  arrowheads, wampum and tomahawks.  You can also bring any relics or artifacts you may have for identification. You will learn about early Aboriginal tribes of the Genesee region through displays, artifacts and books.

Contacts: Email the Greece Historical Society for more information at: greecehistoricalsociety@yahoo.com, or call 225-7221.

Here’s a link to their website: Greece Historical Society and Museum

…Matt

“NOVEMBER MADNESS” Coming Soon!!!

Social Studies Teachers,

Election 2012 is only a few weeks away.  New this year in Greece, we are holding an event called “November Madness.”  Other districts have done similar things in the past with great success.  The basic idea is to have students engaged in the electoral process in many different ways – side by side with teachers, administrators, peers, media experts, and possibly local politicians.  This is primarily for 11th and 12th grade students interested in politics and the election process.

The event will take place on Election night – November 6th, from 7-10pm at the Arcadia Library.  In case of a close election (which it very may well be)…we may be brewing coffee and drinking Red Bull to stay a bit longer.  Attached is a flyer for the event that outlines the who, what, where, when and why questions.  This will be an exciting opportunity for students in Greece to connect the election of 2012 to Citizens in Action, US History and Government, and AP Government and US Politics.  Content connections include the US Constitution, Electoral College, Voting trends, United States Regional differences, Media influence on politics, Political Ideology, persuasive literacy applications, and analysis and polling strategies.  More to come through this blog and your emails!  Please view and print the flyer below for students in AP US History, Citizens in Action, and AP US Government and Politics.

Click here for the “November Madness” Informational Flyer:

“November Madness” Student Flyer

That’s all for now…

Matt

Differentiation in Social Studies Classrooms

Hi all…

Part of the new process of instruction is evaluating students through formative assessments on a daily basis.  We all know the term “differentiated instruction”, but having a few key strategies that work in any content area can help level, or differentiate,  learning for all students in the classroom.  Formative assessments provide data, and that data can be used to identify appropriate levels of activities, tasks or assessments in class.  I’ve attached both a powerpoint summary that focuses on five methods of differentiated instruction, as well as a one-page summary sheet.   Feel free to use as you wish.  A few teachers have used the choices boards strategy with great success already.

Differentiation as RTI PowerPoint

Differentiation One-Page Summary

Matt

CIA Academy Set to Begin

For seniors in Greece Central, a very exciting and unique opportunity is set to begin.  30 Students were selected to participate this year in the CIA Academy, an increase of 18 from last year!  The CIA Academy is a partnership between the Greece Central School District and the Greece Police Department.  Organized through the social studies office for students in Citizens in Action, and led by Officer Jim Leary of GPD, students will meet once a month to learn about and experience first hand, the inner-workings of GPD.  

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Many students have an interest in law or criminal justice, so this experience will help guide them to their future career decisions.  The first session will occur in late October, with one session per month until May. Sessions will cover many topics, including patrol units, investigative work, drug policy, defense tactics, firearms safety, the court system, civil liberties, as well as many guest speakers from the area.

Matt