High School Quizzes

Objective: Students will assess their readiness for high school by taking two quizzes and reflecting on the answers.

1. Open a Word Document

2. CLICK HERE for Quiz One

In your WORD document, write down 3 sentences what you think about the quiz. What does the quiz tell you about yourself?

3. CLICK HERE for Quiz Two

In your WORD document, write down 3 sentences what you think about the quiz. What does the quiz tell you about yourself?

4. Do you think that playing games helps you learn anything new about computers? Be honest.

5. Do you have any regrets? (Things that you wish you could do over again?)

6. CLICK HERE and write 3 sentences about one thing that interests you.

Reasoning behind “Using your Brain”

Objective: Students will decode the differing views out in the world and on the web by analyzing several websites and determining for themselves what they believe.

This assignment is intended to make you think. When a movie came out that said the world is going to end in 2012, a lot of people blindly believed it. What do you believe?

1. Open a word document.

2. Find two sources that say the world will end in 2012.

• Type the title of the web sites and the URLs (the web address)
• Type two sentences describing the websites.
  

3. Find two sources that say the world will NOT end in 2012.

• Type the title of the web sites and the URLs (the web address)
• Type two sentences describing the websites.
  

4. Find one source that says the world will end in a different year, other than 2012.

• Type the title of the web site and its URL (the web address)
• Type two sentences describing the website.
  

5. Explain why you think there are so many different ideas about when the world will end.

6. Which source do you trust the most? Why?

PSAs Continued

Please continue your work on the PSAs. Look below for reminders about what to do. You should be:

Planning:
1. Working in Word
2. Have an idea, "What do you want to tell people?"
3. Researching information: statistics (numbers), data.

Producing:
1. Finding pictures to help tell your story
2. Working in iMovie to create a 30-45 second clip.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE IDEAS

Public Service Announcement (PSA)

What is a PSA?
PSAs are intended to let people know about specific issues. The most common topics of PSAs are health and safety.

What do PSAs do?

• Gets the viewer's attention
• Convinces the viewer that they can make a difference
• Makes every word and image count
• Uses emotions to compel your viewer
• Clearly calls the viewer to action

What are some examples of PSAs?

• Drug Abuse Prevention
  
• Nutrition
• High School Dropout Prevention
• Stop Bullying
• Hearing Loss
• Wearing your seat belt

Source: http://www.ivieawards.org/categories/psa/psa.html

Guidelines for your PSA:

• be serious
• have a clear message
• be no longer than 30-45 seconds
• have important information
• have accurate information
• use someone who looks believable
• use someone famous (but does not have to be)
• use someone who is likeable and respected
• use someone who can act ( is credible)
• use someone who is dressed appropriately for the part he is playing
• give statistics (when appropriate, e.g. number of people that die because they were not wearing seatbelts)

Source: TeacherNet

Assignment:
Create your own PSA. It could be about one of the topics listed above or you could make it about something here at school.

• What do you want people to know?

Things you will need:

• Research from the internet (remember where you found it)
  
• Photos that you take or from the internet
  
• You will need to write out what you are going to say and how you are going to say it.
• Video
• Use iMovie to produce your PSA

Objectives:
Students will be able to discuss topics that affect them and others and give information through the use of PSAs and iMovie. Students will be able to analyze topics and create ways to get a specific message out to others through the use of PSAs and the iMovie editing process.

Current Events 4/8

Answer these questions, then free time.

CLICK HERE for today's Current Events questions.

Please use full sentences.

Please list your source. Where did you find the answer?

Ethics

Ethics addresses questions about good and bad, right and wrong.

How will we address ethics in our stories, articles, photos and videos?

Please finish these sentences and then write three reasons why each is important.

1. Responsibility. A storyteller will always...

2. Freedom/Independence. A storyteller will...

3. Truth and accuracy. Every storyteller will make sure to...

4. Impartiality/Fair play. In every controversial issue, the storyteller will make sure to...

If you do not know the meaning of a word, please look it up! Click here for dictionary.com

Observing again

10,000 hours to mastery. That's what it takes to be really good at something. So if this assignment feels familiar, don't worry, perfect practice makes perfect. Try it again, see what you can learn new this time around.

As writers/photographers/videographers of Castro Middle, we need to OBSERVE what is going on around us and report the truth.

Go to Time

or

National Geographic

• Look at five pictures
• For each picture, make five observations.
  
• Write your observations in WORD or PAGES.
• Drag the picture into WORD or PAGES with your written observations.
• Remember to record where you got the photo from.