8th Grade Images of Greatness Topic Search

As you 8th grade GOAL students are choosing your topics for Images of Greatness this spring, consider the following sites for reference:

Famous Biographies (Many categories)

Influential Americans

Time's 100 Most Significant Figures in History

The Most Important Leaders in World History 

Biography Online's 100 Most Influential People in the World 

The Greatest Scientists of All Time 

Famous Peacemakers

100 Greatest Mathematicians 

Greatest Human Achievements 

Successful Business Leaders 

Highest Paid Celebrities

Famous Women in History

100 People Who Changed the World 

Famous Military Leaders

 

Images of Greatness Reflection

 This quarter has been all about Images of Greatness.  Using elaborated communication, reflect and respond on a new blog post to the following:

1. Upload an image of you with your display board. 
   
2. Who was your Image of Greatness?  Why are they great, and what about them do you admire?
3. What part of your work on this unit makes you most proud?  Explain.
   
4. How does your project meet each letter of our Class Mission Statement?
• We Grow by challenging ourselves and each other.
• We Overcome our limits and failures.
• We Advance our thinking and our expectations.
• We Learn today to improve tomorrow.
5. How could you improve your work on this unit?  What would you do differently?

Publish, and then comment on the posts of others in GOAL when you're finished.

2019 Images of Greatness Field Trip Reflection

Write a blog post reflecting on our field trip last week to Des Moines to visit the Des Moines Art Center, the State Historical Museum, the Iowa Hall of Pride, Des Moines University Medical School, and Charlie Hugunin's house.  Answer the following questions.  Include pictures to illustrate your points.  You can use this link to access Mrs. Edlin's pictures, and/or you can add any of your own personal pictures: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1ExVkLqzLdqEkkyyHOxb-r169S5nG_qyS?usp=sharing

1.  We made 5 educational stops on the trip.  Rank them from least favorite to most favorite, and explain why you gave the rankings you did.

2.  At the art museum, you had to find 4 things: your favorite piece, best example of "art," famous artist(s) you saw, and an example of a piece that made you wonder why it is "art?"  Give titles and artists, reflect, and include pictures if you'd like.

3.  What was the most educational part of the trip, and why?  What is something specific that you learned?

4.  What was the most fun part of the trip, and why?

5.  How, in your opinion, does this trip fit the theme "Images of Greatness?"  

6.  If you could improve the trip in any way for the group of 8th graders next year, what would you change?  Explain.

Publish and comment on the posts of others.

Images of Greatness Reflection

This quarter has been all about Images of Greatness.  Using elaborated communication, reflect and respond on a new blog post to the following:

1. Upload an image of you with your display board.  You can find the images here: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1EskPddvLGmdT6tIHt6xD1pWvSiftj3JT
2. Who was your Image of Greatness?  Why are they great, and what about them do you admire?
3. What part of your work on this unit makes you most proud?
4. What part of the unit was the most challenging?
5. How did you grow as a student/learner/person because of this unit?
6. How could you improve your work on this unit?  What would you do differently?
7. What was the best part of the actual Images of Greatness Celebration?

Publish, and then comment on the posts of others in GOAL when you're finished.

Images of Greatness Exhibit Examples

The following links will show you some examples of how former GOAL students have designed their exhibits.  Use these for inspiration!

http://www.fairfieldsfuture.org/vnews/display.v/ART/4d9e002669658

http://nelsonuniverse.blogspot.com/2011/03/images-of-greatness-exhibit-examples.html

https://youtu.be/d7HACcKOoRQ

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1NM78-CtnSHi4iTyw0mb-XYGhTCS9d4fH?usp=sharing

Images of Greatness Reflection, 2018

This quarter has been all about Images of Greatness.  Using elaborated communication, reflect and respond on a new blog post to the following:

1. Upload an image of you with your display board.  You can find the images here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1mImmb61Uc2_dguN3WGRc5BX0Fo8oz-m6?usp=sharing.  Feel free to include any group pictures, as well.
2. Who was your Image of Greatness?  Why are they great, and what about them do you admire?
3. What part of your work on this unit makes you most proud?
4. What part of the unit was the most challenging?
5. How did you grow as a student/learner/person because of this unit?
6. How could you improve your work on this unit?  What would you do differently?
7. What was the best part of the actual Images of Greatness Celebration

Publish, and then comment on the posts of others in GOAL when you're finished.

8th Grade GOAL: Des Moines Trip Reflection

Write a blog post reflecting on our field trip last week to Des Moines to visit the Des Moines Art Center, Drake University, the World Food Prize Hall of Laureates, and the Science Center of Iowa (Crime Scene Lab, Dream Big IMAX film, Fire and Ice Demonstration, and Independent Museum Exploration).  Answer the following questions.  Include pictures, if you'd like, to illustrate your points.

1.  What was your favorite part of the trip, and why?
2.  At the art museum, you had to find 4 things: your favorite piece, best example of "art," celebrity award, and an example of Why is it "art?"  Give titles and artists, reflect, and include pictures if you'd like.
3.  What was the most educational part of the trip, and why?  What is something specific that you learned?
4.  What was the most fun part of the trip, and why?
5.  How does this trip fit the theme "Images of Greatness?"
6.  If you could improve the trip in any way for the group next year, what would you change?  Explain.

Publish and comment on the posts of others.

Images of Greatness Resources

As you 8th grade GOAL students are choosing your topics for Images of Greatness this spring, consider the following sites for reference:

Famous Biographies (Many categories)
Influential Americans
Honor Roll of Notable Women
100 Greatest Men of All Time
Time's 100 Most Significant Figures in History
100 Scientists Who Shaped World History
Great Artists in History
Spotlight: Inventors
A&E's 100 Most Influential People of the Millennium
The Most Important Leaders in World History

2018 Images of Greatness Project Requirements

Images of Greatness... THE BIG REFLECTION!

This quarter has been all about Images of Greatness.  Using elaborated communication, reflect and respond on a new blog post to the following:

1. Upload an image of you with your display board.  Mrs. Edlin will send it to you through e-mail.
2. Who was your Image of Greatness?  Why are they great, and what about them do you admire?
3. What part of the unit makes you most proud?
4. What part of the unit was the most challenging?
5. How did you grow as a student/learner/person because of this unit?
6. How could you improve your work on this unit?  What would you do differently?
7. What was the best part of the actual Images of Greatness Celebration?

Now, think of our Images of Greatness field trip.  Upload a picture or two... ask for Mrs. Edlin or a friend to send you some if you don't have any of your own.

1. What was your favorite educational part the field trip?  Explain.
2. In which part of the field trip did you learn the most?  Explain.
3. What about the trip surprised you?  Explain.
4. Discuss one of the categories you listed on your paper from the art museum.
5. Did you break out of your Escape Chamber?  Why or why not?
6. What part of the trip was the most fun?  Explain.

Now, think of your four years (or less) in GOAL.  

1. What's the best part of GOAL?
2. What advice would you give students for how to succeed in GOAL?
3. What would you warn them about?
4. What should they be excited about?
5. What will you miss?

Images of Greatness Reflection

Now that the big night is history, reflect on your process and project.  Write a blog post that includes the following:

1. a picture of you with your project (you can also include the group photo, if you'd like)
2. a description of your person and how they were/are important in their field or in history
3. how the person ties with your own personal definition of greatness
4. a description of the food you brought and how it tied with your person 
5. what part of your project made you the proudest
6. what you'd improve about your project and/or challenges you faced completing your project

Then, comment on the blogs of others.  Share your observations about their projects and performances.

8th Grade GOAL: Documentary Self-Evaluation & Trip Reflection

Compose two different blog posts.

For Post #1, answer the following questions in a blog post about our overnight Images of Greatness trip.  We made the following stops:  Des Moines Art Center, Pappajohn Sculpture Park, Drake University, State Historical Museum, Iowa Hall of Pride, IMAX: Journey to Space movie.

1.  What was your favorite part of the trip, and why?
2.  At the art museum, you had to find 4 things: favorite, best example of "art," Why is it ART?, and celebrity award.  Write about them and include pictures if you'd like.
3.  What was the most educational part of the trip, and why?  What is something specific that you learned?
4.  What was the most fun part of the trip, and why?
5.  If you could improve the trip in any way for the group next year, what would you change?  Explain.

For Post #2, embed your documentary into your blog post.  Then, answer the following questions:

• Describe the process you went through to make your documentary.
• What are some specific interesting facts you learned about your topic?
• What are some specific things you learned about filmmaking?
• Which parts of your documentary make you proud?  Why?
• Which parts of your documentary would you improve if you had more time?  Explain.
• What is your advice for the group next year on how to successfully complete this unit and to make stellar documentaries?

Images of Greatness Essay Grabbers

Click this link for examples of great grabbers for your introductions!

Weekly Preview: 2/18-2/22, 2013

I hope all you students enjoyed your day off from school on Friday.  I enjoyed meeting many parents at conferences last week.  If you parents and guardians didn't get a chance to stop in, e-mail me at tena.nelson@fairfieldsfuture.org, and we can set something up.

Here's what is happening this week in room 101:

6th GOAL:  This is our final week of preparation before the Jefferson County Science Fair on Saturday, February, 23.  Display boards are due on Tuesday at the end of class, and we'll spend the rest of the week practicing our presentations and getting ready for judges' interviews.

7th GOAL:  Students will be working hard on National History Day projects this week.  We have websites, performances, documentaries, and exhibits all in the works.  History Day is one month from Tuesday, so the deadline is quickly approaching!

8th GOAL:  Students finished researching last week for Images of Greatness.  This week, they'll be taking all they've learned and writing a historical paper about their Image of Greatness.  Papers are due Friday.

8th Critical Concepts:  After taking a week off from career explorations to complete the Design-An-Ad for the Fairfield Ledger, students will be presenting their posters and career information to the class and then to another group of students in a career fair-type setting.

Also, don't forget to mark your calendars for this year's musical, The Little Mermaid, Jr.  It will be presented on February 28 & March 1 in the FMS Cafetorium at 7:00 pm.  Admission is $2 for adults and $1 for students, and activity passes will be accepted.  Bring the whole family to enjoy this fun show and to support the kids' hard work!

Weekly Preview: 1/27-2/1, 2013

It's January in Iowa, so that means crazy weather.  It's only Tuesday, and we've had an ice storm, dense fog, and a high of 65 degrees.  Tonight we're expecting 2-4 inches of snow.  It feels a little crazy in school too, so it's only fitting.  Here's the scoop for room 101 this week:

6th GOAL:  This week, we're learning how to graph data on Google docs, and we're going to be analyzing the results of our Science Fair experiments.  Experiments should have been done last week, but we have a few stragglers.  Get those experiments done so we can start getting the data ready for our display boards!

7th GOAL:  This week, we're up to our eyeballs in History Day research.  Friday is the last day we have a computer lab reserved for this, so extra work will need to be done at home to find enough resources to make a good History Day project.

8th GOAL:  This week, we're finishing the creation of 4-year plans for high school, and then we'll transition into researching for Images of Greatness.  Topics should be chosen by the end of this week.

8th Critical Concepts:  This week, we'll also be finishing 4-year plans, and then we'll move into an in-depth career exploration.  Students will becoming an expert on a career, and they'll be sharing what they learn in a project.

Weekly Preview: 3/12-3/16, 2012

This week is really going to give us a taste of spring with temperatures in the 70's. I hope it doesn't give us an unmanageable taste of spring fever as well! Here's room 101's week in preview:

6th GOAL: Students will be continuing literature circles. They seem to be enjoying the discussion with their groups. Remember, there is daily homework during literature circles. :)

7th GOAL: Projects are done, process papers and annotated bibliographies are handed in, and History Day is next week! This week, students will give each other mock interviews to prepare for judging, and they'll also show their projects to the class.

8th GOAL: Students are hard at work on their Images of Greatness display boards. These boards are due Friday, and also by Friday, I'd like to see their costumes (or a picture of their costume) so I know if anyone needs help before the big night next Thursday.

7th Language Arts: Students will be typing their epidemics research papers this week and having peer conferences. The final draft will be due next Wednesday. I've never seen some of the students in this class work harder than they have writing this paper. I'm excited to see the results! Spelling for week 26 focuses on Greek Forms "gram," "chron," "phon(e)," and "scope." Pretest corrections and book p. 160 are due Wednesday. The posttest will be Friday.

Week 26 Spelling words:

phonics

telescope

chronology

diagram

microphone

stethoscope

headphones

telegram

chronic

anagram

symphonic

grammatical

synchronize

telephone

periscope

chronicle

megaphone

earphones

microscope

saxophone

Weekly Preview: 3/5-3/9, 2012

The beginning of March has already brought a snowstorm with an early dismissal and 60 degree temperatures. I don't know what else is in store with the weather, but here is what's happening in room 101 this week!

6th GOAL: Students will begin literature circles. Their theme is Moral Dilemma, and we have groups reading the following books: Wish Me Luck by James Heneghan, Nothing But the Truth by Avi, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, and Holes by Louis Sachar. Students will meet each day for discussion and talk about the section they've read. They will bring their book and completed discussion sheet to class. After discussion, they will decide how many pages they will read for the next day, and then they'll have the rest of the period to read.

7th GOAL: Students are finishing up process papers and annotated bibliographies for History Day. The big day is approaching!

8th GOAL: Students should be done with Images of Greatness essays, timelines, and bio-riddles. This week, they'll start to work on their display boards. It's time for that artist to come out in everyone!

7th Language Arts: Students will be finishing up the epidemics research paper rough drafts this week. They'll finish the body on Wednesday, and write introductions and conclusions at the end of the week. Next week, we'll be ready to type! Spelling for Week 25 focuses on the prefixes -uni, -mono, -duo, and -bi. We'll actually take the pretest on Tuesday, and the corrections & book assignment (p. 154, 1-20) will be due on Wednesday. Posttest will be on Friday.

Week 25 Spelling Words

monopoly

dual

unique

biennial

monotony

duplication

unite

monocle

unify

duo

binoculars

university

monorail

duplex

unison

monotonous

biannual

monotone

universe

monogram

Weekly Preview: 2/27-3/2, 2012

Here's the scoop this week in room 101:

6th GOAL: Students will be finishing up the Great Ocean Rescue activity this week. We'll discuss the oceanography resources on the other side of the DVD, and then we'll be moving into literature circles. 6th grade literature circles will center around the theme of Moral Dilemma. This will be the only time in GOAL when students will have daily homework. They will participate in daily discussions with their group, and they will have a small sheet of 4 questions to prepare for that discussion.

7th GOAL: Students will be finishing up their projects for National History Day, and we'll be moving on to annotated bibliographies and process papers. The big day is approaching quickly, so we need to move on these written parts of the entries. Students doing website projects have an earlier deadline and must be done with everything by March 6, so time is of the essence.

8th GOAL: Students will be handing in Images of Greatness essays on Monday. The rest of the week will be spent completing timelines, creating bio-riddles, and finding quotations. All of these are due on Friday.

7th Language Arts: Students will continue working on their epidemics research papers this week. Toward the end of the week, we'll discuss introductions and conclusions and how to add them to the body of the paper. It's a maintenance test week for spelling this week, so students will not have a pretest on Monday. They'll be reviewing weeks 19-23, and completing book pages 147 (1-20), 148 (1-20), and 149 (1-10) which will be due on Wednesday. On Friday, we'll take the maintenance test.

Weekly Preview: 2/20-2/23/2012

It's Parent/Teacher Conference week! Don't forget about this fantastic opportunity to touch base with teachers about how things are going in class. Conferences will be held in the Fairfield Middle School Commons on Tuesday and Thursday (February 21 & 23) from 4:00-7:30. There will be an early dismissal on both Tuesday and Thursday for students and no school Friday.

Here's what's happening in room 101 this week:

6th GOAL: Students are still working on the Great Ocean Rescue activity. They finished one mission last week and still have three to go.

7th GOAL: Students are working hard on their History Day projects. Our goal is to have these completed by Wednesday of this week so we can go on to working on process papers and annotated bibliographies. If students need to come in before school to work, they just need to let me know the day before so I'm sure to be here.

8th GOAL: Monday and Tuesday will be the last research days for Images of Greatness. Then, students will work on their essays which are due next Monday, February 27.

7th Language Arts: We extended the deadline, so Design-An-Ad papers will be due at the end of class on Monday. For the rest of the week, we'll be working on sharing Writer's Workshop stories and starting our epidemics research papers. Students have been working in social studies and science classes to get all the facts needed for this paper. Spelling for Week 23 focuses on different suffixes. Pretest corrections and book page 142 are due on Wednesday. The posttest will be on Thursday, since there is no school Friday.

Week 23 Spelling Words

abstract

complicate

persist

attractive

strict

replica

distract

consist

restrict

insistence

duplicate

resist

constrict

detract

resistance

complication

attract

insist

retract

consistent

Weekly Preview: 2/13-2/17, 2012

Happy Valentine's Week, everyone! Hope you have a little love in your heart as you jump into this week. Here's what's happening in room 101:

6th GOAL: Students are starting their Great Ocean Rescue missions. They're learning about oceanography, and they're learning to defend their positions. They're also learning to compare individual observations to make the best group decision.

7th GOAL: Students are working hard on their projects for National History Day. We'd like all projects to be finished by the end of the day on Wednesday, February 22.

8th GOAL: Students are researching their Image of Greatness. It promises to be a great show on March 22, full of authors, scientists, philosophers, athletes, musicians, and more! We'll be in the library researching all this week. Students have detailed project timelines, and they received two copies of this (one for school and one for home).

7th Language Arts: We've wrapped up Writer's Workshop (students can still get pieces in if needed... late is better than not at all!), and we'll be working on the annual Design-An-Ad contest for the Fairfield Ledger. Ads will be due Friday. Spelling this week focuses on frequently misspelled words... always a challenging list! Pretest corrections and p. 136 (1-20) are due on Wednesday.

Week 22 Spelling Words

laboratory

auxiliary

mischievous

salary

temperature

accidentally

remembrance

veterinarian

disastrous

athletic

separately

laundry

temperament

principally

miniature

partially

hindrance

incidentally

privilege

maintenance

Weekly Preview: 2/6-2/10, 2012

Where has this year gone? We're at the 3-week reporting period for the 3rd quarter already! Check that portal, and make sure you (or your child) is caught up. Here's what is happening in room 101 this week:

6th GOAL: Students are finishing up with Independent Research Project presentations. We've had many amazing projects so far! When we're done, we'll begin the 6th grade oceanography unit extension activity called The Great Ocean Rescue. Teams of students will be solving mysteries based on video and written information. They'll get to debate their findings, and the class will try to find the correct answer while trying to spend the least amount of imaginary money possible for each mission.

7th GOAL: Students are moving out of the research phase of National History Day competition and into the project phase. We have exhibits, documentaries, websites, and performances, so every project will be branching off into its own territory. We'll have a little over 2 weeks to complete these projects, so some students will need to work at home to finish by the deadline.

8th GOAL: Students are finishing their Independent Research Project presentations this week and moving into the unit called Images of Greatness. Students will choose a person who exemplifies the concept of greatness to them. We'll be researching in the library for two weeks, and we'll be using that new knowledge in many ways in the next 6 weeks. Stay tuned for more details.

7th Language Arts: This is our last week of Writer's Workshop. All final drafts are due on Friday, February 10. To make the deadline, some students will need to be typing and/or conferencing at home with their writing. Spelling Week 21 words are all words that come from names or places. Pretest corrections and book p. 130 (1-20) are due on Wednesday.

Week 21 Spelling Words

tangerine

suede

gardenia

calico

frankfurter

tuxedo

angora

cardigan

damask

cheddar

magnolia

denim

hamburger

cantaloupe

satin

currant

leotard

cashmere

hyacinth

camellia