Week of September 14th

Dear Gators,

Please watch this week's video for announcements. Please study for the exam :-)

Mr. Taylor

Week of September 8th

Dear Gators,

This week, you will be taking your second quiz on Friday. This will cover the Maya, Aztec, and Inca along with the "Expanding Horizons" notes that we took in class. The moodlehub is not working very well. I am going to try and find an alternate by next week. I'll post it in next week's update.

If you have any questions, please let me know.

Thank you,

Mr. Taylor

Week of August 31st

Please listen to the audio for this week's update. Have a great week!

Mr. Taylor

Welcome to a New School Year

Dear Gators,

Welcome back to school. I look forward to a great year of learning history. We will be doing many exciting things with our history and with technology throughout the school year.

This week, we will focus on the procedures of how to have a successful and productive year in my class. Please remember that your Rules and Procedures sheet is due by Wednesday. Also this week, we will begin by looking at some of the different theories of how the Early Americans arrived.

Throughout the year, we will follow the county's curriculum map. Here is the link to that information. I hope you find this helpful.

If you have any questions, please email me at mctaylor@volusia.k12.fl.us. Again, I am looking forward to a great year :-).

Mr. Taylor

Civilization IV Project Blogspot

Dear Students,

This is where you will respond to your experiences of playing Civilization IV. I will ask the question and then you need to type a response equal to a short response on the FCAT. About 4-5 sentences. Finally, then please respond to three of your classmates' responses. I hope you enjoy this :-).

Mr. Taylor

First Question:

What were the advantages and disadvantages of having a government based on despotism?

Dear Gators,

This week we are QUICKLY going through the unit for Manifest Destiny. We analyzed the famous painting about Manifest Destiny (the one with the angel) and discussed what this concept meant and why it was important to our history. Students are completing the Cornell Notes study guide from Tuesday through Thursday. The unit exam will be Friday.

If you have any questions, please let me know at mctaylor@volusia.k12.fl.us.

Thank you,
Mr. Taylor

Dr. Dawson,

This was just in case my other attempt did not work. I hope this is okay. Thank you again for your help.

Chris Taylor

The Week before Spring Break....

Dear Gators,

This week we are watching the 2004 version of The Alamo. Those of you who are John Wayne fans, I apologize. His version is much too long for class. However, the Disney version from 2004 does an excellent job of analyzing the lives of David Crockett, William Travis, Jim Bowie, and Sam Houston. At the end of the week, students will create a Venn diagram for David Crockett. Then, we will have spring break :-). If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at mctaylor@volusia.k12.fl.us.

Thank you,
Mr. Taylor

Week of March 23rd

Dear Gators,

It has been a little while since I posted. I apologize for that. This is our last week for the 3rd nine-week period. Just nine more weeks and our Gators will be Bulldogs or Wolves. Please take a look at the video for this week's agenda.

I hope you have a wonderful week and I will see you back here next week. Please leave me any comments or questions. You may email me at mctaylor@volusia.k12.fl.us.

Thank you,
Mr. Taylor

Week before FCAT

Dear Parents and Students,

This week, we are doing a group activity from Tuesday through Thursday. It will cover the last seven questions of the curriculum map for the Jefferson Era. On Thursday, we will do a test review and then the test will be Friday.

Next week, we will have the FCAT on Tuesday and Wednesday. Then, we will watch and analyze the video Davy Crockett: King of the Wild Frontier.

Also, I have asked students to take their projects from the Social Studies Fair home this week or they will be discarded on Friday. Please remind them.... :-).

If you have any questions, please let me know by emailing me at mctaylor@volusia.k12.fl.us. Thank you and have a wonderful week.

Mr. Taylor

First Attempts

Dear Parents and Students,

This is my first attempt at blogging. Therefore, please be patient with me as I learn more about this incredible tool for the classroom. I will be posting weekly to update you on what we are doing in class. If you have any questions please, let me know. My goal for this endeavor is to communicate with you more (both parents and students) to better ensure an "open" classroom.

I look forward to future posts to the Taylorville Post and to future communications. It has been a huge year of transition for our new school. However, I think things are started to settle down and we are definitely becoming "Gators." Hopefully, this blog will be just one more tool to assist both you the parents and the students.

Quick look ahead: Thursday 2/26/09 There will be a quiz on Chapter 9 Sections 1 and 2
Friday and Saturday 2/27-2/28 District Social Studies Fair (Deland High)

Thank you and have a wonderful week.

Mr. Taylor