Tricks and Treats Via 7th Graders at Lab

Halloween is here again, and along with it a wide array of ghouls, goblins, Gumbies, and goodness knows what else. My advisory put forth a particularly strong showing in the annual 7th grade costume contest, and with various parades, scary music groove-a-thons, and ghost stories happening, this is shaping up to be quite a day here at Lab. Here's a selection of some of the costumes--the creativity and humor of the kids here is so wonderful to see (and there's a great shot of my whole advisory at the bottom):

Seventh Grade Boys Soccer Season Comes To A Close

This afternoon the seventh grade boys soccer team capped off a wonderful season with a convincing win over Latin. Thanks to the guys for all of their hard work throughout this autumn. They persevered through some difficult stretches, and they all made impressive strides in terms of both skills and fitness. Here are a few pictures to sum up the season . . .

Dunes Day!

This past Monday the entire 7th grade traveled to the Indiana Dunes to see succession in action and to make observations about biotic and abiotic factors. Their science teachers know more about what that data will become upon analysis. The day itself was beautiful, with blue skies, breezes, and all sorts of interesting flora and fauna to see. Here are a few pictures that tell the tale of the day . . .

Now that you have read over half of American Born Chinese, you should now be able to see certain themes emerging that appear in all three different story lines within the graphic novel. Your assignment is to describe one of those emerging themes and explain, using specific examples from the text, how you see each of the three story lines embodying or developing that theme. Your post should be at least six sentences long. You may choose to write your answer in paragraph form if you wish. If you are unsure on what the definition of "theme" is, consult your literary term glossary at the back of Social Justice. Your comment is due by the start of class on Wednesday.


Remember--read the post, and then click on the word "comments" just below that post. After you have written your post, add your first name, then "Nekrosius," then your period (so, Frodo Nekrosius 12). Then, select "Anonymous" for your identity and click "publish your comment." Also, remember to click "Publish your comment" twice to be sure that it gets sent to Mr. Nekrosius to moderate.

First Blog Posting Assignment for 2011 -- "The Box"

We have spent the past week and a half discussing questions surrounding identity. As part of those discussions, we have read several stories, listened to music, performed poetry, written in journals, and created identity collages to express your own unique cultural identifiers. We have also discussed various examples of "the box," which is a metaphor for any obstacles or barriers that might isolate, frustrate, enclose, or sometimes protect someone from a larger world.

Think back over everything we have read so far for this unit ("Theme for English B," "High Yellow White Trash," "Crickets," the "Phone Booth" poem, "and "Sylvia's Story" from National Public Radio). Your task now is to write and post a comment in this forum in which you describe a connection between TWO of these works, focusing on the role of "the box." Think about how different characters face similar or different challenges. Think about similarities or differences in the kinds of disguises characters wear. Do you think these characters will escape from their boxes?

When you have made a connection between two works, write a post describing that connection. Make sure to mention specific characters/narrators, and to be clear about how the "boxes" they experience are similar. Your post does not have to be long; four or five sentences is plenty. You should feel free to respond to your classmates' posts, as well as to ask your classmates questions.


*** Remember to use your first name, "Nekrosius," and your class period number when you sign your post (do NOT put your last name). Also, if you choose to respond to what another classmate wrote, please do so in a respectful manner.

Choose ONE of the online newspapers created by Mr. Nekrosius's project groups and spend fifteen minutes browsing through the various pages (you can find links to the two newspapers here). When have finished reading the newspaper, create a post that contains three things you learned from your reading and one question you have for the authors. If you are in Mr. Nekrosius's project groups, you should post on the other class's newspaper.

Remember:

You should include ONLY your first name and your class period (NO LAST NAMES) at the end of your blog post.

Also, remember to be positive and detailed in your responses! Your posts are due Thursday, December 2nd.

American Born Chinese Themes Assignment

Now that you have read over half of American Born Chinese, you should now be able to see certain themes emerging that appear in all three different story lines within the graphic novel. Your assignment is to describe one of those emerging themes and explain, using specific examples from the text, how you see each of the three story lines embodying or developing that theme. Your post should be at least six sentences long. You may choose to write your answer in paragraph form if you wish. If you are unsure on what the definition of "theme" is, consult your literary term glossary at the back of Social Justice. Your comment is due by the start of class on Wednesday.


Remember--read the post, and then click on the word "comments" just below that post. After you have written your post, add your first name, then "Nekrosius," then your period (so, Frodo Nekrosius 34). Then, select "Anonymous" for your identity and click "publish your comment."

First Blog Post Assignment for 2010 -- "The Box"

We have spent the past week and a half discussing questions surrounding identity. As part of those discussions, we have read several stories, listened to music, performed poetry, written in journals, and created identity collages to express your own unique cultural identifiers. We have also discussed various examples of "the box," which is a metaphor for any obstacles or barriers that might isolate, frustrate, enclose, or sometimes protect someone from a larger world.

Think back over everything we have read so far for this unit ("Theme for English B," "High Yellow White Trash," "Crickets," the "Phone Booth" poem, "and "Sylvia's Story" from National Public Radio). Your task now is to write and post a comment in this forum in which you describe a connection between TWO of these works, focusing on the role of "the box." Think about how different characters face similar or different challenges. Think about similarities or differences in the kinds of disguises characters wear. Do you think these characters will escape from their boxes?

When you have made a connection between two works, write a post describing that connection. Make sure to mention specific characters/narrators, and to be clear about how the "boxes" they experience are similar. Your post does not have to be long; four or five sentences is plenty. You should feel free to respond to your classmates' posts, as well as to ask your classmates questions.


*** Remember to use your first name, "Nekrosius," and your class period number when you sign your post (do NOT put your last name). Also, if you choose to respond to what another classmate wrote, please do so in a respectful manner.

Welcome Back Autumn 2010

The 2010-11 school year officially begins tomorrow. I'm excited to get back into the classroom and to meet all of my new students. I have had a wonderful summer--I've posted some pictures here of some of my favorite adventures from the past three months--but the weather's getting cooler, soccer practices have already started, and my thoughts turn to the year ahead. We will start off with the identity unit, one of my favorite units to teach, and there's a lot to look forward to. For students and parents who have found there way here, you can look forward to periodic posts and occasional assignments for my advisees and Humanities students. For now, if you have any questions or comments about 7th grade Humanities, me, or anything at all, feel free to post them as comments!

Babysitting for my parents' cows and their puppy in Wisconsin:



A (more or less) successfully built and launched rocket, nicknamed "The Flying Dutchman":




My sister and I brave the dinosaur exhibit at the Wisconsin State Fair:




Beautiful views at Dinosaur National Monument:



Mills Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park:

Go West, Young Seventh Graders!

This past week my two seventh grade humanities classes have been learning about Lewis and Clark. Having read about, mapped, and discussed the Corps of Discovery, the time came for them to set out on a voyage of their own. So, amidst lovely spring weather, we explored our way over to the Osaka Garden, just south of the Museum of Science and Industry. Along the way they kept maps of our journey, wrote notes about what they saw, and drew pictures of the flora and fauna they encountered. Here are a few pictures of the journey:

Salem Witch Trials Newspaper Blog Post

Choose ONE of the online newspapers created by Mr. Nekrosius's project groups and spend fifteen minutes browsing through the various pages (you can find links to the two newspapers here). When have finished reading the newspaper, create a post that contains three things you learned from your reading and one question you have for the authors. If you are in Mr. Nekrosius's project groups, you should post on the other class's newspaper.

Remember:

You should include ONLY your first name and your class period (NO LAST NAMES) at the end of your blog post.

Also, remember to be positive and detailed in your responses! Your posts are due Thursday, January 7th.

Little Buddies

On Monday, November 30th, our advisory joined Ms. Jacobs' advisory on a trip to the nursery school on Woodlawn to meet up with our new little buddies in Ms. Hamburg's class. The seventh graders paired up with little buddies to read stories and play outside. All of the kids (old and young) seemed a bit nervous at first, but everyone quickly became friends. The seventh graders' enthusiasm and kindness toward their little buddies was wonderful to see; we are all looking forward to getting back together with our buddies as soon as possible! Here are some pictures from the first meeting:

7th Grade Boys Soccer Season Comes To A Close

The seventh grade boys soccer season ended this week. The team finished with an impressive record of ten wins, one loss, and two ties. Highlights of the season included defeating rival Parker twice, defeating Latin at home, tough wins over talented North Shore Country Day and Lake Forest Country Day teams, and a big victory in their rematch at Elgin against the only team to defeat them. The boys worked hard all season and should be proud of what they accomplished. Here are some photos from the year:

The team working hard at conditioning during the last week of summer


Henry and Leo on the bus


The team hanging out on the Montrose turf field



Brownie and James get pumped for the cold weather


The team celebrates a cold, wet win with a cup of hot chocolate

Dunes Day!

On Monday, October 5th, the entire seventh grade headed to the Indiana dunes to conduct scientific experiments and learn about the concept of succession. The class arrived to find a beautiful early autumn day, with crisp blue skies and warm sun above. The students focused on specific areas of the dunes such as the beach, the cottonwoods, the pine forest, and the hardwoods forest, taking various measurements that they will bring back to their science classes to interpret. In between experiments they found time to chase lizards, toss footballs, and in general have a wonderful afternoon. Here are some pictures from the day (there's also a new picture of my advisory on my homepage):


The grade heading to the beach



Ms. Jacobs assisting with measurements



The path from the beach to the cottonwoods




The entire dunes (plus Carl!)

First Blog Post Assignment of 2009--"The Box"

We have spent the past week and a half discussing questions surrounding identity. As part of those discussions, we have read several stories, listened to music, performed poetry, written in journals, and created identity collages to express your own unique cultural identifiers. We have also discussed various examples of "the box," which is a metaphor for any obstacles or barriers that might isolate, frustrate, enclose, or sometimes protect someone from a larger world.

Think back over everything we have read so far for this unit ("Theme for English B," "High Yellow White Trash," "American History," "Crickets," the "Phone Booth" poem, "and "Sylvia's Story" from National Public Radio). Your task now is to write and post a comment in this forum in which you describe a connection between TWO of these works, focusing on the role of "the box." Think about how different characters face similar or different challenges. Think about similarities or differences in the kinds of disguises characters wear. Do you think these characters will escape from their boxes?

When you have made a connection between two works, write a post describing that connection. Make sure to mention specific characters/narrators, and to be clear about how the "boxes" they experience are similar. Your post does not have to be long; three or four sentences is plenty. You should feel free to respond to your classmates' posts, as well as to ask your classmates questions.


*** Remember to use your first name, "Nekrosius," and your class period number when you sign your post (do NOT put your last name). Also, if you choose to respond to what another classmate wrote, please do so in a respectful manner.

Back To School

Hello All,

The weather is (unseasonably) growing cooler, the days are growing shorter, and the soccer team has started practice, all of which means school must be right around the corner. For students and parents who have found there way here prior to the start of school, you can look forward to periodic posts of interest and occasional assignments for my advisees and Humanities students throughout the year. In the meantime, if you have done anything interesting over the summer that you'd like to share, feel free to do so. Among various other travels, I spent a couple of weeks out in New York this summer to catch up with friends and family. Here are some of the better pictures from the trip:

The Brooklyn Bridge, from the Manhattan side




The Gowanus Canal Superfund Site in Brooklyn (it did look like it needed some cleaning up, but it did not look all that fun)




Excellent dinosaur skeleton at the museum of natural history--my favorite museum





Sunset on Long Beach