27 & 28 August

Today's starter was: What is the name of the line that divides the northern and southern hemispheres?  What is the name of the line that divides the eastern and western?

After discussing the starter we reviewed the four hemispheres and the four parts of a good map.  We then worked on pages 2 & 4 in the Geography packet.  We corrected pages 1-3.

The packet will be due the next time we meet and the geography test will be the following class, September 3 & 4.

We began our discussion of the Maya, Aztecs, Inca, and Mound Builders.

"Uxmal, Nunnery Quadrangle" by Mesoamerican - Own work. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Uxmal,_Nunnery_Quadrangle.jpg#mediaviewer/File:Uxmal,_Nunnery_Quadrangle.jpg

25 & 26 August

Today's starter was: How does geography affect the way you live here in Utah County.  Give me at least one specific example-

Today we completed our look at the question, "What is history?"  We practiced identifying the difference between a primary source and a secondary source.  We also practiced making observations and logical inferences based on those observations.

We then began our study of geography by looking at major physical features of the United States.  We started identifying these features on a geography assignment that we will finish next time.

21 & 22 August

Today's starter was: What is the difference between a primary source and a secondary source? 

We reviewed the disclosure document - this does not need to be signed.

We also read an Encyclopedia Brown mystery - these are to help us to make better observations and develop better inferences.

We then continued to practice observations and inferences by looking at primary sources - photos from my own family history and photos of the history of Disneyland.

19 & 20 August

Welcome back to Vista Heights after your summer break - my name is Mr. Smith, and it is a pleasure to have you in our class this year.

Today in class we  reviewed the roll to make sure that we were all in the right place and that I was pronouncing your names correctly.  We also did a short "get-to-know-you" activity and made name tags to place on your desks so that I can get to know your names more quickly.

We then created our first starter - "What is history?"  We discussed this for the rest of the class period.

The supplies that you will need for this class are:

• Paper - every day
• A pen or pencil - every day
• A way to keep track of work from this class - a folder, a binder, or part of a binder

Here is a link to my webpage.  I will also send out a short version of this blog entry on Twitter. Follow me @VHMS_MrSmith