Welcome to Rancho San Joaquin Middle School’s TriCore Humanities Class

7^th grade World History

8^th grade U.S. History

Taught by

Mrs. Kay Gee (7^th)

and  Mrs. Christine Alfonso (8^{th )}

The Program:

This is a three period class which includes one period of history with 2 periods of Literature/ Read 180.  Mrs. Alfonso and Mrs. Gee volunteered to teach this program because they are dedicated to helping student to reach their potential and beyond. 

In history, students not only learn the state standards for their grade level (World History and Cultures for the 7^th grade and US History for the 8^th grade) but also work on improving time management, study skills and become better test takers.

Students will be working on their writing skills through the Read 180 program as well as in History and the added component of Literature as the class grows through the year.  These will make students better prepared for when they will matriculate to the next grade level or into the mainstream Humanities classes.

Mrs. Alfonso and Mrs. Gee have teamed together for several years and will work hard to make the curriculum not only understandable but fun, with simulations and other projects.  They are looking forward to getting to know you and your students this year. 

Please feel free to contact them with questions or concerns:

Mrs. Gee kgee@iusd.org or 936-6537 (voicemail)

Mrs. Alfonso CAlfonso@iusd.org  or 936-6537 (voicemail)

When students reach middle school they are expected to be competent readers; discrete reading instruction is no longer a priority. But where does that leave the 67% of students reading below proficiency levels? They cannot decode grade-level text, and the text they can decode fails to contain interesting or age-appropriate content. These struggling readers become discouraged and fall further behind in school.

READ 180 is a proven solution that produces quantifiable learning gains among struggling readers whose reading achievement is below the proficient level. It is working in thousands of middle school classrooms across the country. Is it in yours?

The READ 180 Instructional Model provides a simple way to organize instruction and classroom activity. The session begins and ends with whole-group teacher-directed instruction. During the 60 minutes between the whole-group meetings, students break into three small groups that rotate among three stations.
 

Source: http://teacher.scholastic.com/products/read180/

 Our goals for the TriCore students are that they will:

1. become confident grade level or beyond readers
2. become better organized and build on their study skills
3. take on more of a leadership role in class 
4. be more comfortable at taking risks in class discussions and reading aloud, as well in writing
5. be better prepared to enter the mainstreamed or College Prep classes in 8^th grade and high school