O' Canada

Here are the links for 12/3/08

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html

http://educationcanada.com/facts/

More on "We are Marshall"

Behind the Scenes

Actor Interviews

Here is a little more background on the movie we watched in class.

For character and movie info go to http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0758794/

Landform In a Box 2008

The "Landform in a Box" project will require students to use sand, rocks, foam, and other materials to create a landform in a shoe box. An example is on display in class.
A landform is a feature of a planet's surface, such as an island, mesa, volcano, mountain, waterfall, peninsula, swamp, or valley. (etc...)

This project is due on Friday, October 24th.






Here are some links to landforms on the internet
http://www.edu.pe.ca/southernkings/landforms.htm
http://earth.jsc.nasa.gov/sseop/efs/land.htm
http://www.earthkam.ucsd.edu/public/students/activities/landformations/

Battle at Kruger

Here is a link to the video we watched in class today.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LU8DDYz68kM

Chapter 1 Notes

The PowerPoint with notes from chapter 1 can be downloaded from the orange box.net widget on the right-hand column. A Geographer's World.ppt

New School Year

Welcome back to another wonderful year at Bluefield Middle School. If you are on this site it must mean that you are in my seventh grade world geography class. I just want to let you know that this is going to be a very interesting year, and I hope you are up to the challenge. Throughout the course of the year we are going to work on several different types of projects that will require you to work with your hands, think critically, and work cooperatively with your peers. I am excited to see how creative each and every one of you are in your approach to learning this year, and I hope you are just as excited.

As one of your first assignments I would like you to contact me via email (homework@mikemccormick.net) or MySpace (Mr. McCormick), and let me know who you are and what class period you are in. Communication is a key part in knowing and understanding what is going on around you and in this class I am all about helping you become more geographically aware.

Example:

Mr. McCormick,
This is John Smith and I am in your 1st period class. I missed class on Monday and wanted to know if I had any work to makeup.

Thanks,
John

Note to parents: If you have any questions or concerns do not hesitate to call the school or email me personally.

Mr. McCormick

Have a good spring break

Be safe over the holiday break, and I'll see you back in class in 10 days.

Mr. Mc

The Three Branches of the US Government

Here are some links to more information on the brances of government

• http://www.congressforkids.net/Constitution_threebranches.htm
• http://www.usa.gov/Agencies/federal.shtml
• http://www.trumanlibrary.org/whistlestop/teacher_lessons/3branches/1.htm

I'm ok, its just a level 4 concussion

It looks like I'm going to be out for a few days. Small accident @ baseball practice.

• Level 4 concussion
• Sprained wrist
• Cracked elbow
• 5 stitches
• Big knot on my head
  

The Spatial Perspective Project

It has come to my attention that there is some confusion about our next project. The idea behind the Spatial Perspective project is to better understand the structure of our global society by evaluating and exploring the interconnections between people, places, and their environment. As a presenter, it is your job to express to the class what your perspective is on our community, by showing and sharing with them your interconnections and ties to the community. To understand your place in the community, you must first at yourself and answer the following questions:

1. What/where is home?
2. What is your role in this classroom, school, community, and society?
3. How do you define your region?
4. How are you connected to…?
5. How is our community different than that of (another community)?
6. How is our community similar to that of (another community)?

By answering these questions and discussing them with others in your family, you will begin to understand how you are connected to the community and others within it. Self-reflection is an essential step in developing an understanding of perspective. The goal of this inquiry is to develop a 3-6 minute presentation on how you view the community and are connected to it. The presentation may take any format that you feel comfortable with. It could be something as simple as a speech to the class using note cards or an elaborate video presentation that you have compiled. The information should be familiar to you because it is about how you connect to others. The reason I am giving such a long period of time is not because this is a difficult project, but I wanted to give as much time as possible for those students who need the time to create, edit, or modify digital content like videos or picture slideshows.

If you do not have a computer at home to work on this project, you may come during advisory time to work in my room or simply ask you advisory teacher to use their computer. There are also a few online sites that will allow you to create, edit, and share presentations online.

http://www.zoho.com/

http://docs.google.com/

http://www.onetruemedia.com/

http://voicethread.com/

Did you Know 2.0