May Field Trip

Our May Field Trip is right around the corner.  During the morning hours of Friday, May 10th, we will be going roller skating in Oaks Park.  This is part end-of-the-year celebration and part PE lesson, because we will be receiving skating lessons prior to getting out there ourselves!  After that, we will need to travel downtown so that we may experience Chinatown with Teacher Wenny.  Beginning this week, 8th graders will be reading The Good Earth, by Pearl S. Buck, as well as studying the growth of China over the 10th Century. Downtown, we will be dining in a Chinese food restaurant, where students from our Chinese class will be ordering food for us.  Then we will be traveling over to the Lan Su Chinese Gardens for a guided tour of their beautiful grounds.  This one is not to be missed! 

If you are available to be a driving chaperone, please email me at your earliest convenience.

Random Tidbits of Learning

Here are a few things that I have found related to the learning that has been happening over the last few weeks in the 8th grade.  Please take them for what they are worth, but consider sharing some time with your student over one or more of them!

This is an interesting anti-war comic book created by a Congressman from Georgia.  Students may remember him from a documentary we watched about the importance of music during the Civil Rights Movement called "Songs for a Revolution".
http://www2.iath.virginia.edu/sixties/HTML_docs/Exhibits/Bond/Bond.html
(It should be noted here that many perspectives on the Vietnam War have been presented in our classroom.  Please do not think that the only narrative in school has been one that is against the US involvement in Vietnam.)

This is another Vietnam-related site that I have not yet had time to look at.  My hope is that it covers the inequity of the War, with regards to race and social class of the draftees during that time.
http://aavw.org/

This is a nice timeline of the events of the Cold War from a website that offers a great deal about history.
http://www.history-timelines.org.uk/events-timelines/03-cold-war-timeline.htm

After speaking about McCarthyism today in class, I would love for students to watch the excellent film entitled "Good Night and Good Luck".  It beautifully presents some of the issues surrounding the fear and extremism of the accusations of the time, has an amazing cast, and an even better soundtrack!!!  If you are looking to have a movie night w/ your student (I don't think that you'll find anything other than a bit of language in it), this may lead to an interesting discussion afterward.  Edward Murrow is one of my favorites, as is this film!!  I'm tempted to show a clip or two in class, but all anyone is welcome to borrow my dvd copy of it.

May Lunch Menu

Please click on the link below to access the Lunch Menu for the month of May!

http://chpcscafe.webnode.com/menus-/may-menu/

Creativity Project

I am very excited to receive the 8th Grade Creativity Projects next Monday, April 8th.  I have been asking students about progress, and am happy to hear about what is being created.  Several students must have found inspiration in the artwork of Carrie Mae Weems that we saw at the Portland Art Museum a few months ago, since there are several photography-based projects.

Please check in to make sure that progress is happening.  Today in class we will speak about the Artist's Statement that will be graded in the first row of the rubric below.  Feel free to email with any questions; this is the first time I've ever assigned something like this, and I am very interested to see how it all turns out.

Caged Bird Creativity Project

due Monday, April 8^th

The goal in reading Maya Angelou's heart-wrenching novel, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, was two-fold. As a class, we reveled in the abilities of Angelou as a writer. She is incredibly talented, and any time one can be exposed to the work of a Nobel Prize-winning poet and author, one should take advantage of the opportunity. But more specifically, we planned to soak ourselves in her ability to use words to put each of us in the shoes of a nine year-old girl living in rural Arkansas. Many would say that the role of the artist, whether she be a photographer, sculptor, mime, or writer, is to portray emotion, tell a story, or recreate an experience.

This Creativity Project allows students to do just that. Over the next three weeks, each student will create a piece of art that epitomizes an experience. No two lives are alike, and even when individuals are witness to a single event, they each walk away with something different. In hopes that we will learn a little bit more about each other, this assignment is for every 8^th grader to tell a bit of his/her story.

Any type of art form is acceptable, and can be turned in by any method possible. Be sure to get approval from Mr. Harvey prior to getting started, and be prepared to give an Progress Update on Monday, April 1^st.

	1	2	3	4
Artist thinking and reflection	Little to no student opinion has been added. The belief is not clearly articulated to the reader.	Insufficient or incomplete reflection results in only partial explanation of artist experience.	A complete explanation of the artist's experience has been given.	The artist has gone above and beyond to articulate the relevance of the belief, and its importance
Presence of theme in art	Very hard to determine by looking at the art what the artist intended to show.	After reading the artist's purpose, it is possible to imagine what the artist intended to show.	Without the use of the artist's purpose, it is clear what the artist was intending to portray.
Attention to Detail	The piece of art created was hastily crafted, is messy, or unfinished	Some aspects of the art piece seem unpolished or hastily crafted.	The piece of art created is thoughtful, well-crafted, and it is clear that time has been taken that has resulted in quality work.
Creativity	Little to no thought went into creating an original piece of artwork.	Some aspects of the piece are original, but some have been stolen from other artists.	An original piece of artwork has been created by the artist.