What we did on Wednesday, September 5, 2007

Period 1: SWBAT understand and explain the paycheck system at USA: deductions, rewards.

Every week this year you will earn a paycheck. But if you are earning money, you must be doing a job, right? So what’s your job? (being a good student)

Your paycheck will reflect how well you do at your job. What kinds of things do you think you could do to get a really high paycheck? (Work hard. Be nice.)

What kinds of things do you think you could do to get money taken off your paycheck? (examples of bad things – try to pull out many of the likely deductions -- attendance, homework, respect, off-task)

You start at 40 and have to earn points.

40-40 Club = Rewards
35-39 = BENCH (in need of improvement)
34 below = LUNCH DETENTION

Period 2: SWBAT organize their math binders

I will be checking for organization and to see how well you are maintaining your binder. At the end of each term, we will clean out our binder so that there is always enough room for our new work. Keeping track of our binders will also make it easier for us to organize our portfolios.

Period 7: SWBAT learn the importance of an education

Do Now: Read the following quote and reflect on it. What do you think it means? How do you relate to the quote?

Some men see things as they are and ask why. Others dream things that never were and ask why not." -George Bernard Shaw

We had a class discussion about the quote above. You all have some great ideas!

Period 8: SWBAT learn the importance of community and of positive words.

Who wants to tell me what they think community means?

Allow students to share ideas.

Definition: a social group of any size whose members reside in a specific locality, share government, and often have a common cultural and historical heritage.

LATIN ROOTS:
The word community is derived from the Latin communitas (meaning the same), which is in turn derived from communis, which means "common, public, shared by all or many"[1].

Communis comes from a combination of the Latin prefix con- (which means "together") and the word munis (which has to do with performing services).

Last year, the most successful classes in the school had very strong communities.

Respecting each other and our difference was key and will be key to the success of our class. This class is a new class. Even though I am teaching most of you again, this is a new class, a new community with new personalities,

In my class, like I said yesterday, I do not tolerate nasty or negative language. Negative language will result in RAMPS point deductions and a continuation of it will result in a call home. I do not have time or patience for immaturity. You left that when you left 6th grade. This is a new year and a new beginning!

How many of you like to hear when people say nice things to you or about you?

We all like it! It’s human nature.

How many of you like when people tell you nasty things?

Not much of us.

How does it make you feel if someone keeps brining you down? (Remember Trisha in Thank You, Mr. Falker. Eric used to tease her a lot, so much that he made her hide during recess. He was a bully, and bullying and negative words are unacceptable in my class.

Now, I want you all to look at the piece of paper. That is how you wake up in the morning. Nice and clean and untouched.

Now, I want you all to crinkle you to fold your sheet in half.

Reflect on this.

Fold again.

Now, I want you to crumple your paper up al together and open it.

Is it nice and clean as it started?

No, it’s not. Now, let’s try to flatten it out and get it back to its original state.

Can we?

No, we can’t.

This is what bullying and mean words do to us. They affect us negatively and hurt us and there is no way of taking about the mean words….

DISCUSSION

Closing: Community: Respect. Civility. (Be nice to each other) This is our family for the year. We have to learn to get along and get to know each other.

Bullying is not acceptable. Mean words are also unacceptable. We cannot take them back and they hurt others’ feelings.


HOMEWORK:

JOBS APPLICATION
RAMPS hand-out