I am really sorry.
This post today is for yesterday’s (Monday) class. I had a lot of homework to
do yesterday, and only managed to finish half of my blog.


What We Did

On Friday, Ms.Lees had announced that we would be spending
all of today’s class in the library. So, the whole class met there when the bell
rang. Once we were settled and all sitting, Ms.Lees explained our upcoming
project. We are/were all going to be individually given key roles from the
middle ages and are going to do a project on the roles. Everyone from the class
took turns picking from a bucket a slip of paper with the role on it. Some were
happy with their role; while others weren’t. A few examples of what people got
are monk, lord, bishop, merchant, and so on. Some jobs will be easy to research
because they are very famous roles, therefore they will be difficult to find
information on. A few people had jobs (I think one was a falconer,) that were
very tricky. Those people got to exchange for a new role. Once everyone was
organized and knew what their jobs was, Ms.Lees quickly gave us a basic
explanation on how to do a bibliography for books, articles and websites. We
also took notes while she spoke. Ms.Lees then handed out a sheet with four
sections on the front. They were:
1.
A Day in the Life of _________
2.
Role-Play Meeting
3.
Bibliography
4.
Getting Started on Research
We read over the sections, and then got into groups that had
to do with our roles. For example, there was a “royal family” group and another
group was “religion.” We chatted with our group for a few minutes, but then
Ms.Lees informed us that we needed to fill out #4 of the sheet. For number 4,
we had to choose 4 main topics that we would focus on for our project. These
had to do with information on our role. Some common topics that my fellow
classmates chose were Jobs, Education, Clothing, Food, Shelter, Rights, Home
Life and Family.
After we had decided on our projects, Ms.Lees gave us the
rest of the class period to find notes on our role. She had a big cart full of
at least 30 different books about the Middle Ages and the different roles. Some
were on churches, while others were on clothing. There was a large assortment
and many different ones to choose from. If we weren’t in the mood to look
through books, then we were allowed to use the computers instead. Ms.Lees
strictly explained that we are required to use at least one book and at least
one website in our bibliography. So if you didn’t use a book, then you are
expected to use one tomorrow. The class was pretty well behaved, but the
library is a whole new environment, so some of may have gotten off task. We
were allowed to choose what type of method for note taking we wanted to use;
although most of us chose the “Outline” method.
Right before class ended, Ms.Lees told us that she expects
us to do a 30 Day Challenge progress report, although I am not quite sure when
this is due. She also told us that our notes for our role are due Friday, so if
you don’t finish your notes in class, it will be homework

Why We Did It

We worked in the library today because we needed to use the
internet for researching our roles. Some of us used books on the Middle Ages
from the library, and it would have been a huge hassle for us to check them out
and take them back to the class. We have gone to the library as a class several
times before, because unlike Elementary school; our school doesn’t have laptops
for us to take to the classroom. Some people aren’t always reliable, and Ms.Lees
knew that if she asked us to find ALL of the notes at home; then many people
probably wouldn’t do them. We also need at least one book in our bibliography
and I am guessing not many people have a “The Life of a Lord’s Son in the
Middle Ages” book lying around at home. ALL of our notes are due Friday, so if
she asked use to get a book from the public library, many of us wouldn’t have
time. A lot of us get more work done when we are in the library because we know
that if we are loud, we will disturb the older kids. And let me tell you, some
older kids can be REALLY scary.
The reason we each
have individual roles is because there were so many different jobs, lifestyles
and classes in the middle ages and it would have been a huge struggle for us to
learn all of them. This way, we can become an expert at one of the roles. The
way we are going to present our roles is even a little fun. People tend to
remember and learn new things better when they actually like learning it and
are paying attention. That’s why this project is such a great idea; because in
the end we will have learned about the life and responsibilities of each key
role.
Ms.Lees taught us how to do bibliographies because it is
very important in the future for us to know how to do them. Many projects that
we will be doing in the older grades require a bibliography; might as well
start young! We also need to do a bibliography so that Ms.Lees can make sure we
don’t plagiarize. We need to write down EVERY single source of information that
we use so she has proof. If you do happen to not be a good little child and you
plagiarize, then you could get in big trouble.
I firmly advise you NOT to cheat. There are serious consequences.


Connections/Reflections:

I was really excited on Friday when Ms.Lees announced that
on Monday we would all get our roles. In my mind I was going over all of the
possible roles I could get and pros and cons of them. At first I wanted to be a
monk; mostly because I was thinking that I could really rock the bald look. But
then I realized that a monk probably wouldn’t be the best role for me because I
am not religious whatsoever, and religion can be really complicated. If I were
a monk, I would have to have a lot of knowledge on religion, or else I would
have a TON of studying to do for the project. Then I considered being a Merchant,
and it seemed like a pretty good job, but there are so many different types of merchants
and it would get really complicated. In the end, I didn’t have a certain role I
wanted to be. I was the last one to get my role, and the suspense was killing
me. I got Bishop/Archbishop. At first I didn’t even know what it was, but I
guess that is the whole point of the project!
In Elementary school we did bibliographies in the later
grades (mostly grade 6 and 7), but they weren’t as intense as the ones in high
school. We usually just wrote down the name of the book and author or the URL
of the website. I remember that once in grade 6 we learned how to do them, but
no one really remembered. I am glad that Ms.Lees went over the format again. I
am still a little uneasy about the format, but practice makes perfect.
Whenever Ms.Lees announces that we will be spending the
class in the library, I jump for joy! I really enjoy the working environment in
there because we are allowed to talk quietly with our peers; but we also manage
to get a lot of work done. I, personally am very frightened of the older
students, and I wouldn’t want to do anything to disrupt them and make them mad
at me, so I tried my best to be respectful. I also love when we have free time
to take notes and get out work done. So I really enjoyed finding notes today. I
spent a lot of the session planning out the sections and what types of notes I
needed, so I didn’t have a lot of time to actually find a lot of websites or
facts. I did, however get a chance to skim through the books and many of them
had a lot of useful information. I suggest that if you are struggling to find
information online,then be old fashioned and try to find what you need in one
of the books. There were so many available; at least one has to talk about your
role.
Being able to find notes on a specific topic independently
is a very important skill for the future. In higher high school grades and
University/College, you are constantly jotting down notes. We use notes as a
study guide for tests and to help us with projects.


Homework (This is due tomorrow--- Wednesday)
-Finish There Will Be Wolves Chapter 9 Questions
-Finish role-playing notes for FRIDAY
-Study for There Will Be Wolves quiz

Tips:
-If you did not manage to finish your role-playing notes in
the library, then they are due Friday. Try not to do it last minute, because
your notes won’t be as accurate or important
-It is hard to study for the There Will Be Wolves quiz, but
just make sure you have read all of the required chapters
- If you have NOT done at least 10 learning blogs, then you
need to use this week to do some make up ones so you can catch up
- You should have 10-12 learning blogs
- Make sure to comment at least twice a week on your group’s
learning blog
- Try to support your group members by reminding them to do
their blogs if they need to catch up. Sometimes they just need a helpful push
in the right direction
- If you need to use the Middle Ages book(s) from the
library, then go in during lunch and Mme.Monk will probably help you find them
-Look at your notes from Ms.Lees or look up online the
proper citation frormat for bibliographies if you have forgotten
- If you ever need help, you can email Ms.Lees or ask one of
your Humanities buddies
- FLEX is usually on Mondays and Thursdays, make sure to go
if you are struggling or need to catch up
-If you ever miss a day, make sure to call the office or
bring a note in.
-Many sports are starting up, so make sure to check up on
them in the P.E. area
-Find all of the school news and upcoming on the school
website. http://www.firehawks.ca/
-Here is a link for the school library: http://sites.google.com/site/fhlibrarysite/Home
It includes lots of helpful websites and tips.
- If you ever need to check a book out from the library,
remember to bring your Go-card.