English Class / Social Skills

Social Skills December Updates:
The 8th graders have been working hard in class to finish the lessons on bullying. To tie it all up, we have started to read The Bully, by Paul Langan. So far, the students have seemed to enjoy it. This will carry us through Winter Break. They will have a variety of reading checks (quizzes), journals, and discussions. When we are finished reading, the students will do a final project to sum up the previous lessons and the book.
I hope everyone has a peaceful Winter Break 

11th Grade
The 11th grade has been reading The Crucible by Arthur Miller which is a play about the Salem witch trials. Each student is reading multiple roles and they’ve been having fun with it! Once we finish the play, we will watch the movie so they can see the characters from a different perspective. They will then test their knowledge of the play and the movie by competing in a friendly game of The Crucible Jeopardy. We will finish this unit by designing “wanted” signs for different characters in the play. Students will also participate in an interactive website called the Salem Witch Hunt by National Geographic.

12th Grade
The 12th grade has been working very hard researching their transition options for after they graduate from high school. We have had visits from Cincinnati State, Mt. St. Joseph, Great Oaks, ITT Tech, and the Army. Students have filled out FAFSA forms for financial aid, explored scholarships and grants, registered for the ACT, examined different degree programs and their requirements, and are requesting applications from the schools or programs they want to pursue after graduation. They are compiling information for a Plan A and a Plan B that they will then use to create a personal Transition Plan. Once they have their plan in writing, they will bring it home to share with their families. These activities will keep us busy until Thanksgiving break, however, when we return we will focus on their writing skills using the Pearson Writing Lab that goes with our textbooks.

November Updates: Social Skills

Happy November! Social Skills is going well. I cannot believe
1st Quarter is over already. We have begun to work on the career planning program, Kuder. Each student has registered and has their own log-in. They took an interest inventory and a skills assessment, which generated fields of interest for them to think about as a career. We have spent two weeks taking the inventories and exploring the website. We will spend about another week doing so, however, in the future this is an activity that will be updated and worked on yearly with our performance coach, Ms. Smith.
We are also spending a lot of time discussing bullying. We are indentifying forms of bullying, strategies to dealing with bullies, and participating in several activities and discussions to help enforce what we are learning. This is a topic that we will be spending several weeks discussing, so that we can help create a safe-feeling environment for everyone.

Senior Visit to Cincinnati State

8th Grade Social Skills Updates for October:

The first month of school has gone well for the 8th grade students. We have established relationships within the classroom and have had our first “Free Friday Discussions.” Both classes brought up topics relevant to their own lives. They quickly developed a clearer understanding and a new appreciation of one another. It was amazing to watch their faces as they realized that for many of their personal struggles, they are not alone 
We are currently discussing the importance of accepting ourselves and others as we/are. We are talking about character development and working to figure out our values and beliefs. This unit will take us into the 6 pillars of character. We will then take each of those pillars and study them in detail.
I am extremely proud of the growth I have seen thus far and look forward to much success throughout the year!