DC American Government
(Or Mrs. Snook's seniors Fall Semester)
Introduction
My name is Tanya Snook and I am your child's teacher. I am currently the Engineering teacher for West High School and West Middle School. You can see my vita on my website at www.thesnooknook.com . I am very excited to have the seniors at West High School. Even though I teach at West High School, this class is offered through McLennan College. As a parent, you should expect a newsletter from me to tell you what is coming up both in my class and at West High School.
Expectations
While most of our work will be through a PBL mode of instruction, there will be some papers they will write. This is to prepare them for the university environment they will soon be entering. Most government classes will utilize a Chicago or Turabian citation style, and this will be the one I will utilize.
What is PBL?
PBL stands for Project Based Learning. Essentially, PBL allows for more engagement of the students, while also giving them ownership of their learning. I utilize the PBL protocol used by most STEM schools and endorsed by the University of Texas at Tyler Ingenuity Center. Students will always have an entry document, and from that document we will discover our guiding question. This focuses the students on what they need to learn. We will work on a know/need to know list, and we will have multiple workshops or opportunities for in depth learning throughout the project. The students will then come up with their final presentation, which will also include a writing assignment. Most of the students enjoy this type of learning. If you have ANY questions, please feel free to contact me.
Contacting me
Everything I do will be on Schoology (which is live now). You will go to westisd.schoology.com and your username is your Skyward username and your password is "Trojans.1". I do not have a conference period, but I am available most days before or after school. I will return emails in the evening. My contact info will be listed at the end of the newsletter.
First Assignment
Please sign your syllabus acknowledgment form (which will go home on Monday) so I have complete contact information for you. I would also appreciate you filling out my google form so I can know more about you and your student. The form is located here https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScWxBa5_nyH8VleLELGQl4zKIyt4uZP2xTTOppDj3Nmz9A79A/viewform?usp=sf_link
Upcoming
We will start a mini project titled, "Can You Believe This?" in order to introduce polling and statistical validity. This will be an in-class assignment that will also help introduce students to the PBL environment. Your student will also be assigned a collegiate level article to read and analyze. I will work with them on reading techniques to make sure that they understand the importance of notes while reading in the college environment.
Tanya Snook
PLTW Engineering Teacher
DC Government Teacher
Email: tsnook@westisd.net
Website: www.thesnooknook.com
Location: 1008 Jerry Mashek Drive, West, TX, United States
Phone: 254-981-2150
Twitter: @tanyapsnook