2014+-+2015


 * Here are documents, slideshows, etc. that will be used during Homebase for the 2014-2015 school year.**

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 * CHARACTER STRENGTHS **


 * Monday 9/22 - Wednesday 9/24 **

PRE-SURVEY : present the "24 Character Strengths" sheet to students so they can consider what they think their key strengths are. Have them identify their "top 5" so that they can compare their perceptions with the results of the survey. Next, have each student identify their "Core strength" (#1), and have each student place a tally mark/magnet under their strength on the whiteboard. (Project the "HB Character Strengths - Class PreSurvey.key" Keynote onto your whiteboard. Record the results of the pre-survey so that it can be compared with the results of the Via Me survey.
 * [|Details]
 * [[file:8homebase/HB Character Stengths - Class PreSurvey.key|Download]]
 * 685 KB

1. Students take the "Via Me" Character Strengths **survey for Youth**: http://sites.saschina.org/pudongteam8/2012/10/08/homebase-discover-your-character-strengths/ http://www.viacharacter.org/Survey/Account/Register

2. Students complete a whole grade level survey stating their Homebase teacher's name and their "top strength": [] (Link takes you to previous year)

3. Students individually list their 24 character strengths in rank order on the "My Character Strengths" worksheet. After completing this individually, the whole Homebase participates in a "scavenger hunt" on the reverse side of the paper: "My Homebase's Character Strengths".
 * [|Details]
 * [[file:8homebase/HB My Character Strengths .pages|Download]]
 * 105 KB

4. Students individually write/respond to the "My Character Strengths Reflection" prompts that are listed on the blog. This reflection will be a component of their SLC portfolio: http://sites.saschina.org/pudongteam8/2012/10/08/homebase-character-strengths-reflection-for-slc/ = = =** Wednesday October 15th **= =** GOAL SETTING- getting SMART **=
 * [|Details]
 * [[file:8homebase/HB Character Strengths Reflection.key|Download]]
 * 244 KB

Objective: 1. Students will reflect on the benefits of goal setting in their life. 2. Students will apply the S.M.A.R.T. goal setting process to a goal of their choice. Goal setting is an important skill and one that every successful person has practiced.

Table talk and share out The benefits of personal and academic goals
 * Discussion: Why is it important to set goals? (5 mins) **

Read some or all of the examples provided in the attachment Ask students for examples that they have heard about in the news or they know personally
 * Share: Goal oriented people (10 minutes) **

See attached worksheet (creating a SMART goal and a final goal statement)
 * Draft a goal (10 minutes) **

See attached worksheet (why it is important, the benefit, potential obstacles, people who can help, and action steps)
 * Action plan! (10 minutes) **


 * Share goals – if time ** **allows**

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==================== =**Monday, 10/13**= =**Getting Organized, Staying organized**=

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 * Outline for Organizational Strategies lesson (~40 min overall) **
 * **Opening discussion: Are you organized?** (turn & talk: self-assessment) **(5min)**
 * Students share out. Suggested questions:
 * what does it mean to be organized?
 * Is there only one kind of way to “be organized”?
 * What are the signs of disorganization?


 * **Consequences of disorganization** (pose questions, students share out) **(5-10 min)**
 * Question: Have you ever been disorganized? It what way? What happened because of it?
 * Students share their own stories


 * **Sharing example:** What work/assignments/appointments do you have over the next day, week, and month for all of your classes and activities? **(5-10 min)**
 * Students compare with each other, particularly with those in the same classes/activities
 * Essential question: how do you keep track of your homework?


 * Organizational strategies **(10 min)**
 * students share their methods of keeping organized
 * be sure to focus on more than one type or organization, e.g. physical (loose papers in the backpack?), electronic (multiple accounts, files poorly named & scattered throughout their computer & elsewhere), calendar/assignments, etc.
 * try to elicit self-assessment and critical comparisons/pros & cons of various strategies


 * Reflection: Which of these strategies can they implement/adopt to help them stay organized? What do they need to do to get these strategies in place? **(5 min)**

**Putting Calendars into iCal**: See following from Simon (email sent 10/9)

Please use the unformatted following link to subscribe to the Student Events Calendar… Highlight the link, copy it and subscribe in ical.

__ [] __ (you can get the link here: http://tinyurl.com/kle9gvb)

The MSPudong site has a [|__Calendar page__] with the desired links updated for our community.

Detailed Subscription Instructions... 1. Open ical 2. Go to “File” at the top of the page 3. Click “New Calendar Subscription” 4. Copy and paste the above Calendar url. 5. Choose "remove Alerts and Attachments" and your desired "Auto-refresh" option…once a week is fine.

=**October 20 - November 7**= If you were to look at the calendar, you would see that the next 3 weeks are dedicated to SLC prep. On Monday, student blogs were rolled out. There are several things that students need to do today.

1. Students need to take a survey. Here is a [|link] to the survey. The survey will also show up on the blog at 12:30. It is a survey that was created for students going to camps and boarding school looking for teacher recommendations, but we figured the survey could give all our kids a chance to reflect on who they are as a learner.

All homebase teachers can access the results of the survey. Karisti has enabled all grade 8 homebase teachers as collaborators, meaning that everyone has access and is also able to manipulate the document. She will give a quick tutorial on how to sort through the information during today's team meeting. For the specialist teachers, I know you probably cannot attend the meeting. But, you should be able to talk to any of the core teachers to get a quick tutorial on sorting through the results of the google doc. Since all homebase teachers are able to manipulate the data, there is the chance that accidents can happen and data disappears. Please be careful when you are sorting through the data.

2. Students need to start working on their blog. They need to go their new blogs. Their address is the same as ours, but the ending will have their onyen. When they log on, their username is also their onyen and the default password is shanghai. Once they have logged in, they need to go to their profile and create a new password. Simon is also going to send out a screen cast that is going to explain how to create new pages on their blogs. They need to have one for every class.

3. It is very important that students stay on task during homebase. There is a lot for them to do. For Grade 8 students are supposed to be reflecting on the 4 Cs for each of their classes and providing evidence on the blog. They are supposed to be doing this in their class, but we need to provide some additional time for them to complete the work. They will have time in homebase to do this for the next couple of weeks. Here is the screencast.

I know this is a lot of information, but there is a lot for them to do. Let me know if you have any questions.

Loren = = =**November 17 - 24**=

Starting on Monday we are going to have our values auction. This is another activity meant to encourage students to think about who they are as individuals by asking them what they consider important to themselves. As you start downloading the following documents, you will see a list of values. Talk about each of them with your students. (It is best remain neutral during this part of the exercise.) After you have talked about each of the values, have the students rank them. After they have them ranked, have them work in pairs to come up with a ranking for the values that they can agree on. (This is part of where the magic happens.) Once they have a ranking, have them figure out how many of their "credits" they are willing to spend on each of the values. This is probably as far as you will get on day 1. Day 2 and 3 is when you auction off each of the values. It is a standard auction, each value goes to the pairing that is the highest bidder. This explanation will make a lot more sense when you have the open documents in front of you. If it doesn't make sense, even with the documents in front of you, I am happy to explain it. This activity typically takes between 2 - 3 days. We are giving an extra day because there is the possibility of an assembly during homebase this Wednesday. If there is an assembly, the calendar will be modified.

Values Auction Catalog (for teacher use - display this to introduce items) Values Auction Group Pack (for student/group use). This file will be available on the 8th grade blog. This Keynote contains the instructions. Students will download it, and then use it to assess, budget & track their bidding.
 * Values Auction DAY 1 (in HBs) **
 * [|Details]
 * [[file:8homebase/1-Values Auction CATALOG.key|Download]]
 * 12 MB
 * [|Details]
 * [[file:8homebase/2-Values Auction Group Pack.key|Download]]
 * 758 KB


 * Values Auction DAY 2 **

Values Auction - Auction Day Pack. This file should only be used during the actual auction, as it contains a resequenced version of the catalog so that students don't know the order of the sale items.
 * [|Details]
 * [[file:8homebase/3-Values Auction - Auction Day Pack.key|Download]]
 * 12 MB

Values Auction - Auctioneer Records. Each Homebase teacher can print this file to keep a record of the sales on Auction Day.
 * [|Details]
 * [[file:8homebase/4 Values Auction - Auctioneer Records.key|Download]]
 * 270 KB


 * Values Auction DAY 3 - REFLECTION **

In groups, students will complete the last page of their "Group Pack": "Post Auction Analysis. After groups have completed this, the whole class can go through the questions to share their responses to the exercise.

= 11/26 Wed - Gratitude: Showing Video and using it to reflect (empathy) =

Intro: "Coming to the City" (Shanghai component) - 14 mins

Teacher instructions and template


 * [|Details]
 * [[file:8homebase/Gratitude Project 2013.pages|Download]]
 * 124 KB

"Coming to the City" video excerpt:

Link to download

Gratitude Project cut-outs to print out/cut out for classes (5 students/page)


 * [|Details]
 * [[file:8homebase/8 Gratitude Project - Cutouts.pages|Download]]
 * 86 KB

= 11/28 Fri - (Thanksgiving - no Homebase) =

============================================================ = December 8 & 10 (Monday & Wednesday) = = Team Building (part 1 & 2) =


 * Day 1**
 * Paper Tower activity
 * Divide students into teams of 3 and place them at tables with each other, and--without explanation--distribute the following to each team:
 * **Materials for each team**
 * 1 piece of A4 paper
 * 1 pair scissors
 * 1 piece of scotch tape (50 cm or so)
 * 1 ruler
 * Once students are seated and materials are distributed, give them the following **instructions**:
 * "With // **absolutely no** // **talking**, you must work together with your team to create the tallest structure (measured from top to bottom) using only the provided materials. You have 5 minutes. Go!"
 * After 5 minutes, measure the structures & declare a winner.
 * Activity Reflection/Discussion
 * Have students examine their process.
 * What worked?
 * What could you have done differently AS A TEAM to operate better, within the rules?
 * How important is good communication and planning to a team activity?
 * **One of SAS's //Core Values is "//Collaboration is key to overcoming complex challenges and achieving common goals."**
 * What are some things that a team can do that an individual can't? Why?


 * Introduction to Part 2: Solving a Problem as a Team
 * We'll be spending the rest of the period today identifying problems in this room and in the school that WE CAN SOLVE TOGETHER. Look around... what could be better?
 * Brainstorm and make a list of at least 10 things about this room, this hallway, or this school that you wish were better. It doesn't have to be a physical or structural problem.
 * Choose 1-3 of these problems (depending on their size/scope) and break into teams to begin planning a solution that is achievable by the end of the next homebase class.
 * The rest of day 1 is devoted to planning a solution that you will be implementing together on Wednesday during homebase.


 * Day 2 (Wednesday 12/10)**
 * Remind students of their goals and check in on planning, and students will spend the rest of class working on it.

January 14, 2015 Passion Project - Asking students to discuss their passions and what they are doing to further these passions.

Homebase Calendar as of 1/27/15

1/27 - SLC Rollout 1/29 - SLC Prep 2/2 - Discussion based on Karl’s Talk with Gr 8 team (Stress, Calendars, New Kids, Decision Making, Community) 2/4 - 2/6 -  2/9 - CNY Assebly 2/11 - SLC Prep 2/13 - China Alive Rollout 2/16 - 2/24 - No School 2/25 - HS Planning Meeting with HS Counselors 2/27 - Recognition Assembly? 3/2 - CA Q and A and SLC Prep ¾ - HS Registration in LLH 3/6 - CA Forms due and CA sign up 3/9 - 3/11 - CA Groups revealed at the end of homebase 3/13 - 3/16 - CA Groups and forms go home 3/18 - CA Forms Due 3/20 - 3/23 - 3/27 Spring Break 3/30 - Reconnecting 4/1 - SLC Prep 4/3 - SLC Prep 4/6 - No School 4/8 - SLC Rehearsal 4/10 - No School for SLCs 4/13 - ID Unit/CA Prep 4/15 - ID Unit/CA Prep 4/17 - ID Unit/CA Prep 4/20 - ID Unit/CA Prep 4/22 - ID Unit/CA Prep 4/24 - Million Solar Stars? 4/27 - ID Unit/CA Prep 4/29 - ID Unit/CA Prep 5/1 - No School 5/4 - ⅝ - China Alive 5/11 - 5/15? - ID Unit Prep and (Presentations?)