Background Information

I am a graduate of Sacred Heart Academy, class of 2001.  From there I attended the University of Kentucky where I earned my Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science (go CATS!).  I then graduated from Spalding University with my Master’s Degree in Secondary and Middle School Education.  I have been married to my husband Matt for three and a half years.  We have two beautiful children; Caroline, who is two, and Charlie, who is still a newborn.




 

8th Grade Social Studies

This eighth grade year will be a busy one.  In American History we will be studying Colonization, The American Revolution, The Constitution, and The Bill of Rights. And as preparation for their Washington D.C. trip at the end of the year we will also cover a unit over The Holocaust (and causes of WWII).  We will be discussing civil rights and the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960’s.  Throughout the year this class will have a weekly focus on current events.  Your child will be assigned a Friday out of the trimester in which they will have a report due covering a current event of their choice.  They will be responsible for finding a news article about that current event (from assigned resources), writing a 1 page paper summarizing the event, and then presenting their report to the class.  Your child will keep a Social Studies folder throughout the year that holds all of their Social Studies work in an organized manor.  If your child can keep all papers in order in their folder I will give them an extra credit score before conferences and before the trimester ends.  This 100/100 usually helps to raise each student’ score an entire letter grade!

To view your Social Studies book online (and use online resources at the textbook's Student Center)  Please visit this website:
                                                   http://glencoe.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0078746779/student_view0/

 

8th Grade Literature

  I feel very fortunate to have the eighth graders for both Social Studies and Literature.  In Lit. your child has begun to work on their Summer Reading Projects (due Sept. 3rd!).  In class we will be reading novels that include To Kill a Mockingbird, The Devil’s Arithmetic, Daniel’s Story, and Number the Stars.  We will also be reading multiple selections from the Literature text.  Please do not be alarmed if you do not see a lot of papers coming home from Literature.  Students will keep folders to help organize their work from their readings in my classroom.

            The kids will also be participating in Accelerated Reader again this year.  They will be given an AR sheet that includes their reading level and reading goal for each trimester.  This paper also has great AR resources for the kids to use.   AR is an “easy” grade to receive in my class, so encourage your child to READ, READ, READ!  I will always set aside class time for the kids to visit the school’s library and silently read.  Students in 8th grade should be reading about 20 minutes a night at home.

A great website to use to help find books:  www.teenreads.com

KYA and KUNA

I am so proud of my kids who participated in KYA and KUNA.  Kudos to Austin Johnson from 6th grade who won an award for Outstanding speaker at both conferences!  Our costumes also won an award at KUNA (thank you Jeri Johnson and Ms. Edwards from the office at North.  The kids put so much effort into their bills this year, I am looking forward to what St. Nicholas will bring to the conferences next year!