Shakespeare learns to collaborate with Google Apps

Shakespeare had his first adventure of the year. He is so glad that the students are back in school. He gets so bored over the summer! He sat in to observe the seventh grade AT Literature class as they peal the layers of David Sedaris's "Me Talk Pretty One Day." The students read an excerpt of the book, which, was edited for a middle school audience.

Students created groups where each person assumed a role. The roles are discussion director, person in charge of summarizing the group discussion, character tracker, and teacher.

The group shared their contributions through verbal discussion and reported to each other and Mr. Smid in real time using Google Apps in Google Classroom. Students are learning class culture and how to effectively communicate points as well as discerning important information that needs to be reported from verbal brainstorms and discussion. They also learned to synthesize multiple viewpoints into one interpretation.

This is not Shakespeare's first introduction to Chromebooks, and he is starting to get the hang of Google Apps. As a Renaissance man, Shakespeare loves to learn new technology. He wishes that he had so many great tools for communication when he was writing!

Shakespeare Learns about the Sixties

The Eight Grade students have been working on their research skills for the last couple of months. They have been learning about how to develop a good research question, and how to locate reliable sources to collect information for answering that question. It has been a long process, but the students have 

After conducting the research,  students delivered the information to their classmates in a 10-12 minute speech. Shakespeare learned a lot about the politics and culture of the sixties. What an exciting era in American history!! Topics included sports, the civil rights movement, JFK's assassination, fashion, music, the Vietnam War, and more. 

The speeches just wrapped up before spring break. Soon the students will be learning more about this era in Mrs. Blatchley's Social Studies Class. What a great introduction! 

Shakespeare Shows Off His Own Work!

Shakespeare was especially excited to visit Mrs. Oros's literature class! They were learning about the format of his sonnets.  Students were working in groups to identify the rhyme scheme in Shakespeare's Sonnet #18 and analyze its meaning.  Not all of the lines in the poem were in the correct order, so they had to reorder the lines using what they learned about rhyme scheme.

The students were excited to have Shakespeare visit during their class!

Stay tuned for more of Shakespeare's adventures...

Shakespeare experiences the real world application of modern scientific instruments.

Shakespeare loves being invited to the science classrooms. So much has changed since his glory days in the 16th century! The sixth grade scientists did not disappoint him. They took him on an adventure with some high tech scientific measurement tools as part of their physical science unit experimenting with waves. 


The class used PASCO probes with light sensors to measure the intensity of different light sources and of light bouncing off of objects in the room.  This was a great way to experience scientific principles in action! They gained an understanding of reflection, absorption, and transmission, the students use the light sensor probes in a variety of investigations. 

Students are continuing to use the light sensor probes in a variety of investigations in order to gain an understanding of reflection, absorption, and transmission of light!   

Shakespeare learns about chemistry and Google apps.

Shakespeare went to visit the Seventh Grade Science classroom. Shakespeare is always intrigued by modern science. There have been so many exciting discoveries in the last 500 years!  The students are in their chemistry unit. The theme is "How do I get new stuff from old stuff?" 
Shakespeare also got to test out the new technology being used in Mrs. Keigher's classroom this year. The whole class used Chromebooks to collaborate with the other students in class on a Google Doc. For those of you who are not familiar, a Chromebook is a relatively new device, put out by Google. It is faster than a traditional laptop, because it does not have hardware. It's an internet only device. They are compatible with all the the Google apps that are being used at The Junior High.  
Mrs. Keigher's class is using the Chromebooks to collaborate with their classmates to suggest questions for the Driving Questions Board. This will be used to drive their learning for the whole unit. The questions that they ask will be answered as they complete the unit.

Shakespeare also learns about good lab safety!

All students received instruction about lab safety skills and appropriate behavior when dealing with chemicals. It's a must if they want to participate in labs. Safety first! There are lots of fun opportunities to learn about chemistry first hand if they show that they can be responsible enough to handle it. Shakespeare is demonstrating some smart and responsible lab behavior by wearing safety equipment.  

Shakespeare Experiences Africa

Shakespeare, along with the 7th grade social studies classes, got to learn about Africa from Mr. Bruce and Rene Lauer, who have been to Africa many times. Shakespeare and the students were thrilled by the Lauers' personal accounts of adventures to this amazing continent.  

The students got to see wildlife caught on camera, as well as, pictures and videos of students their age in Africa.  The Lauer’s have been to many different schools, and are generous enough to come here annually.  Students get to experience what it night be like for them if they lived in Africa.  

The Lauers are supporters of National Geographic and the World Wildlife Fund, and they are associated with the Field Museum.  They discussed poaching with the students and how they can help stop this decline in animal populations.  The 7th grade social studies classes have just started their unit on Africa, so this was a perfect addition.

Shakespeare Learns about Latin America

Shakespeare learned about Latin American History with Ms. Hernandez's Seventh Grade Social Studies Classes. The classes spent two days in the LRC learning about Latin American history and culture.   

Students worked with a partner moving through interactive stations that cover different concepts and countries. They learned about Mexico, Columbia, Panama, Brazil, Argentina, Peru, as well as art and holidays. Students used books, videos, articles, and digital resources to make sure that they could experience the information in different ways.

Shakespeare especially enjoyed learning about Frida Kahlo. Her art is very graphic and expressive! Also, the differences in how holidays are celebrated in different parts of the world is also interesting.