End-of-Year Class Pictures with the Lunch Section

Our Students Enjoyed Reading A Midsummer Night's Dream

Our students really immersed themselves in the reading of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Reenacting some of the scenes in class, you can see the type of fun we had!

Students Are Enjoying the Subscription to Upfront Magazine

The Hancock cluster subscription to The New York Times Upfront magazine has been a great addition to our studies and curriculum during the second half of the school year. The Hancock teachers and students appreciate the time we can dedicate to reading about current events, developing our nonfiction reading skills, and furthering our critical-thinking skills, to help us better understand the world we live in.

Students have voiced that they have appreciated such articles as “Emmett Till Revisited,” which some students were able to reference as a resource for their To Kill a Mockingbird research projects. Another popular article that students have read include “Walled Off,” which provided students with information about the proposed southern border to Mexico and the politics surrounding the project. In ELA class on Friday, May 12th, students will have an opportunity to read the April 24th issue with the feature article “Friend, Enemy, or Frenemy?: President Trump wants better relations with Russia. But can Russian President Vladimir Putin be trusted?” The following week in Humanities class, students will have an opportunity to read the May 15th issue that features the article entitled “The Art of Protest.”

A special thank you to all the parents who contributed to the fundraising and donations in February that made this subscription possible:

Hankwitz Family Giordano Family

Maziarka Family Pinchera Family

Lei Family McAllister Family

Groh Family Rosenthal Family

Stylianopoulos Family Ward Family

Golden Family Catalano Family

McCarthy Family Leahy Family

Percac Family Amadeo Family

Gutlerner Family Trapanick Family

Roy Family Huska Family

Dietch Family Furlonge Family

Guarnotta Family

**The remaining funds donated will be put to use towards a Hancock cluster end-of-year celebration during the month of June.

Audio and Text of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

Hi Students,

I stumbled upon this website that provides both the text and audio recording of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. I hope it helps some of you out! Please let me know how it goes, if you do indeed use it to assist in your nightly reading. Here is the link: Tom Sawyer: Text and Audio Recording.
Here is a link to the text online: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (Text Version).

~Mrs. Callum :-)

Important Due Dates for Term I 2015-2016

Hi Students,

Here is a list of important due dates for the remainder of Term I for the 2015-2016 calendar:

ASSIGNMENT	DUE DATE
The Pearl Test	FRIDAY, OCT. 9TH
Vocabulary Quiz	WEDNESDAY, OCT. 14TH
Practice Declamation Submission	WEDNESDAY, OCT. 14th
The Pearl Binder Packet	MONDAY, OCT. 19th
Practice Declamation	MONDAY, NOV. 2- WEDNESDAY, NOV. 4th

Patent Medicine Project	TUESDAY, NOV. 3rd
Multiple-Choice Test on The Adven. of Tom Sawyer	FRIDAY, NOV. 6th

Make certain to do your homework on time, study in advance, and plan accordingly!

~Mrs. Callum

The Pearl by John Steinbeck

Forgot your book at home and need an electronic copy? Visit this url for the text: The Pearl as a PDF

Joining Google Classroom

This school year, I will periodically be using Google Classroom with you. In order to make this happen, I need you to sign up for your class. Here are the four simple steps to make it happen.

Step 1) Visit the class blog at: http://callumcorner.blogspot.com

Step 2) On the homepage of the blog on the right-hand-side, click on the link to Google Classroom.

Step 3) Using your Boston Public Schools (BPS) Google e-mail address, “Sign-Up” for Google Classroom. Your e-mail address will look something like this: xxxxx@bostonk12.org. If you don’t know your BPS e-mail, for now, you may use your current address.

Step 4) Once you sign up on Google Classroom. You will need to “Join” the class. Each class has a different code. Each code is case sensitive. The code is based on your Reading section number. Please look at the following list of codes and select the appropriate one:

Mrs. Callum’s Reading Class Section #s:	Google Classroom Code
Section 01	hui4rz
Section 05 - updated	2ixn25
Section 07	xqih45
Section 09	ydd76i
Section 14 -- updated	zk4sl6 (lower case L)

Please complete this task by September 23rd! 

Thank you!

~Mrs. Callum

Always make some waves.

June Due Dates

Hi Students,

Here are a few important dates to remember:
June 3rd- Paperclip Challenge (Bring in your final trade to show the class :-)
June 4th - Patent Medicine Project is Due
June 5th - The Adventures of Tom Sawyer Test
June 8th - The Adventures of Tom Sawyer Vocabulary Quiz
June 19th - The English Final Exam (Reading & Writing are combined).

Best,
~Mrs. Callum

Studying for the Bible and Its Influence Test...

Hi Hancock Students,

Hopefully, you are busy studying for Tuesday's upcoming test on The Bible and Its Influence. Just in case you are looking for online study buddies, as in a study group, Feven, along with students in her Reading section, have compiled an online study document to help. Here is the link that they have shared: Study Group Document for the Bible and Its Influence Test. Dina from a different class section has offered her study guide document for others to view, edit, and study. Here is the link to hers: Study Group Document 2 for the Bible and Its Influence. One suggestion is to take their work, along with your own, and make flashcards on quizlet.com. There is a link to that website on the homepage of the blog. You could then share your flashcards with other students, which would be helpful to you all!

Merry Studying!

~Mrs. Callum

Forgot Your Copy of The Bible and Its Influence...

Hi Students,

Just in case you forgot your copy of The Bible and Its Influence at school and you are searching for a way to get your reading assignment completed, click on this link:PDF of The Bible and Its Influence . One of your fellow classmates found the URL and forwarded the information on to me to share with all of you! It is only a sampling of the textbook. The pages you may need to read may be one of the selected in this file. Good luck!

~Mrs. Callum

Test on A Midsummer Night's Dream

Hi Students,

The date for your test on A Midsummer Night's Dream will be next Wednesday, November 5th! Make certain to study your summary charts for various acts and scenes, handouts, and the quotation packet. You may see any one of those quotations on your test. Beware and study hard! Also, check out this great You Tube video that explains iambic pentameter, which we covered in class on Tuesday, Oct. 28th. Here is the link: Iambic Pentameter.

~Mrs. Callum

Major Due Dates!

Hi Students,

Here are the list of important due dates for this week:

Thursday, Oct. 2, 2014 -- Dragonwings Test

Friday, Oct. 3, 2014 -- Vocabulary quiz on Dragonwings

Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2014 -- Dragonwings Project.

~Mrs. Callum

Dragonwings Project: Kites and Gliders

Hi Students,

After today's introduction to the Dragonwings kite and glider project, which is due October 6th, I thought it would be helpful if I posted a few links. These links provide step-by-step video instructions on the making of simple kites and paper gliders. Here is a link to an e-how demonstration of how one can craft a kite out of plastic: http://www.ehow.com/videos-on_4467_make-kite.html. Obviously, you can probably use similar techniques demonstrated in the series of video demonstrations to use with plastic or other materials, such as paper or cloth. Here is another ehow demonstration of how to make a kite out of paper: http://www.ehow.com/video_4790375_make-paper-kite.html. Here is a demonstration of how to make a paper glider: Making Gliders. I hope these links are helpful in your endeavors. Remember that the informational sheet and rubric for the project are available for download on the handouts page of the blog. Good luck on the project and remember that it is due on Monday, October 6th!

~Mrs. Callum

Joining Google Classroom

This school year, I will periodically be using Google Classroom with you. In order to make this happen, I need you to sign up for your class. Here are the four simple steps to make it happen.

Step 1) Visit the class blog at: http://callumcorner.blogspot.com

Step 2) On the homepage of the blog on the right-hand-side, click on the link to Google Classroom.

Step 3) Using your Boston Public Schools (BPS) Google e-mail address, “Sign-Up” for Google Classroom. Your e-mail address will look something like this: xxxxx@bostonk12.org. If you don’t know your BPS e-mail, for now, you may use your current address.

Step 4) Once you sign up on Google Classroom. You will need to “Join” the class. Each class has a different code. Each code is case sensitive. The code is based on your Reading section number. Please look at the following list of codes and select the appropriate one:

Mrs. Callum’s Reading Class Section #s:	Google Classroom Code
Section 11	5i5wgw
Section 31	(lower case L)l66zkb
Section 41	x2ml33n
Section 51	srrs5w
Section 71	q1cfvm

Please complete this task by September 22nd! I have extended the deadline.

Thank you!

~Mrs. Callum

Always make some waves.

Capstone Story Board and Vocabulary Portion of The Giver Test Postponed

Hi Students,

Due to my early dismissal today, I have chosen to postpone the due date of the Capstone Storyboard until Friday, April12th. The Giver test will still take place on Thursday as scheduled ( please bring your copy of the novel to class); however, the vocabulary portion will take place when I return to school.

Make certain to study and continue to work on the storyboard with your group members.

Mrs. Occean Callum

Biblical Allusions Mini-Project

Hi Students,

As you know from class I introduced the Biblical allusions mini-project today. The project is due Monday, February 11th. Make certain to refer to the instruction and rubric packet. (I have made the packet available under the "Handouts" tab of the blog as Google docs.) There is also an extra-credit component for those whom are interested.

Enjoy the weekend and I look forward to reading and viewing your work :-)

December Updates

Hi Students,

Remember to follow the December calendar I distributed in class earlier this week. It states the assignments for the next two weeks. Remember your Alice's Adventures in Wonderland test (will include content and vocabulary) will be on Friday, December 21st.

Read The Hobbit over the course of the month. It is an expectation that you complete the reading by January 3rd, 2013. The reading of The Hobbit is for pleasure. No note-taking is required!

Check out this website, sponsored by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC): Victorian Britain
Here you can discover what it was like to live in Victorian England as a child, since Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is set in this time period. Feel free to click around and explore!

All the best with your studies,
~Mrs. Occean Callum

Test on A Midsummer Night's Dream

Dear Students,
Make certain to study for the test on A Midsummer Night's Dream. The test will be on Tuesday, November 6th. It will cover character identification, plot development, and quotations.

Study and be prepared!

~Mrs. Occean Callum

A Midsummer Night's Dream - The Hancock Cluster 2012

Check out the great work students have been doing with A Midsummer Night's Dream. In this video of photos, you will see students performing lines from Act 2 Scene 2 of the play :)

Enjoy,
~Mrs. Occean Callum