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

Exploring the Color Line: Chicago's South Side

Read the essay and view the attached photo essay in Mother Jones Magazine. Then write a paragraph response in which you connect issues discussed in this article to many of the issues of racial boundaries that we read about and discussed in class in the past few weeks. Write about your own thoughts in response to the information and images you see.

You many want to write about A Raisin in the Sun, Our America, or any of the articles, stories, and poems we have read. You might also consider the images we discussed such as The Great Migration series from Jacob Lawrence or the photographs in 12 Million Black Voices.

As always, please remember tp sign your post with your first name and class period.

Colonial Project Blog Post Assignment

For THURSDAY, 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.

Alternatively, you can choose to write a post on one of the documentaries on Anne Hutchinson produced by Ms. Doyle's project groups. To do so, first view one of the two documentaries, and then write a post containing three things you learned and one question you have for the producers. You can view the documentaries on Ms. Doyle's blog.

Remember:

You should include ONLY your first name and your class period (NO LAST NAMES) at the end of your blog post. All of Mr. Nekrosius's students should post their responses on THIS blog, not Ms. Doyle's.

Also, remember to be positive and detailed in your responses!

The Chief is Resurrected

The Chief is Resurrected

The Chicago Tribune reports that Chief Illiniwek, the former University of Illinois mascot, has been resurrected by a group of students who have elected a new mascot to perform for students and the University community this year.

Please read the story and respond. Write your first name and class period at the end of your post.

What do you think of this new manifestation of Native American mascots? Should the students be allowed to do this? Is the University responsible? Are they condoning the practice and how does this fit with the NCAA ruling that no teams that host tournament play are allowed to have Native American mascots?

Webquest Blog Post Assignment - Due Monday, 11/17

Each 7th grade humanities class now has a set of web pages answering specific questions about the American Indian culture they studied. You will need to read/explore at least one web page from each class (one from Ms. Doyle's class and one from Ms. Jacobs' class). Post a response to the webpages on my blog, including information about the following:

1. Write three things you discovered about the cultures explained in BOTH of the web pages.

2. Note at least one similarity or difference from the culture you studied for BOTH web pages.

3. Ask at least one question that you think should be answered about the TWO cultures you read about.

4. Make one comment about the design and layout of the TWO web pages you visited. Be sure your comments are constructive/helpful. Be polite but truthful.

The Democratic Process

Tuesday night I went down to Grant Park with Charlotte Jacobs, one of the other 7th grade Humanities teachers, to watch the election results come in. The rally was an interesting, at times powerful experience. The crowd, I thought, was excited and positive, but also somewhat anxious. When the jumbotron displayed a leading news network's decision to call the election for Obama, the cheering seemed to contain as much relief as excitement. The jumbotron (pictured below) really held a powerful sway over the crowd. There were several moments where I found myself looking around at the crowd and seeing nearly every face turned upward toward the screen--and those who weren't were busy talking into or tapping away on their cell phones. There was talking, and laughing, and storytelling, but less than I expected. I spoke briefly to several strangers but had no meaningful discussions. I don't know that the digital age is entirely to blame (perhaps my own crankiness at staying out late on a school night played a part, as well) but I did often feel like the constant stream of information fed to us from high above, filtered through arc lights and the constant drone of the helicopters, inserted an odd distance between my focus and the communal experience I had expected.

On the other hand, when Obama finally took the stage around eleven thirty, the speech he gave transcended that digital divide. People listened, but they listened together, their emotions swelled together, and by the end of the speech the crowd had reached a very different place. We discussed this speech as an example of public speaking in class on Wednesday, looking at how Obama moved from one theme to the next, emphasizing unity, responsibility, and possibility. We discussed the way he modulated his pace and tenor to build those themes into a cohesive message. We discussed his repeated references to Abraham Lincoln and the intent behind such a strategy. And we discussed how this speech in and of itself represents another step in the historical narrative Obama described within that speech. Regardless of where one stands politically, participating in such an event does provide an interesting sense of what it means to be part of a democracy these days--the dangers of too much information mediated by too much flash and dazzle, but also the potential for the personal to reinsert itself into the process at the most crucial moment. I'm glad that I was there on Tuesday evening, and I'm glad that I'm a part of a country where such an event is possible.


Here are some (blurry) photos from the event, in case you weren't able to make it yourself:

Happy Halloween!

This past Friday a veritable horde of horrors, haunts, and heebie-jeebies descended upon the Lab School for Halloween. Several members of our advisory donned various disguises, ranging from calculators to baseball players to cartoon characters to, well, whatever it was that Dante was supposed to be. My thanks to everyone who dressed up for making this wonderful holiday as special as it was, and also to the parents who helped us start the day off with a seasonal feast--here's a look at the advisees who dressed up (supervised under the watchful eye of the Sheriff of Grammartown):




Special recognition to Eleanor and Julie for their roles in an award-winning group costume of Alice and the March Hare from Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland.

2008 Relay Races!!!

Our advisory competed in Monday's third annual advisory relay races, performing impressively in all legs. Special mention goes to Dante for his superhuman effort at crabwalking--jaws were dropping left and right. Although our advisory didn't win, we had one heck of a good time, and I'm particularly proud of the good spirits and good sportsmanship our advisory displayed throughout. Here are some pictures to give you a sense of the action:


AND THEY'RE OFF!!!


Sam carrying a tennis ball on a spoon with total focus



(Blurry because he is crab walking too fast for technology to capture clearly)



A strong finish!

In Whose Honor?

Write a paragraph response to the movie In Whose Honor? Respond to the following statement: Native American mascots are always a sign of disrespect toward native groups of people. If you agree, give supporting statements from the movie to illustrate your point. If you disagree, use specific examples to show your point. Be sure to follow the "hamburger" method of paragraph writing. Think carefully about your topic sentence and your conclusion.

*** 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.

To The Dunes!!!

This past Monday the entire seventh grade visited the Indiana Dunes for a science field trip. The weather came through, with light winds and beautiful views of the lake. The kids took several different measurements of humidity, biodiversity, and other metrics across different zones of succession. And along the way, they also ran into some giant insects, sunshine, and an overall wonderful afternoon:

Our Amazing Advisory

Well, I had hoped to be able to post some pictures of my advisory with the duck trophy from the advisory relay races, but the relays got rained out--stay tuned to results following the rescheduled event on October 20th. In the meantime, though, here are some pictures of my 2008 advisory in all their glory. Truly a talented bunch:

First Blog Assignment of 2008

(REMEMBER TO PUT YOUR FIRST NAME FOLLOWED BY "NEKROSIUS" AND YOUR CLASS PERIOD NUMBER ON ALL OF YOUR POSTS!!!) 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," "Black, White, and Jewish," "Those Who Don't," "Sylvia's Story" from National Public Radio, "Alone and All Together," and "Two Kinds"). 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.