Hello all, and welcome to Week 3, Q1!
Please be aware that next Wednesday, September 1st, ALL 7th and 8th grade students have their first graded Map Quiz in Social Studies.
7th grade:
8:30-9:25= U.S. States
9:30-10:25= U.S. State Capitals
8th grade:
10:30-11:25= World Continents and Oceans
11:30-12:25= U.S. State Capitals
You can view or print off labeled or unlabeled study guide maps on the following FREE (!) website:
http://www.eduplace.com/ss/maps/
Or, you could take the quizzes on this website:
http://www.ilike2learn.com/
There are plenty of other study options out there, I know, and please feel free to utilize whatever works best for your child! These are just a few that I know of and think are good sites.
Besides reading on in our historic novels, this week we are beginning to think about and work with the following terms, which are one way of categorizing what all human societies "do":
Business
Transportation
Socialization
Environment
Education
Technology
Recreation
Government
Religion
Fine Arts
We will be working with these categories a lot in Social Studies! The purpose is to give us a manageable system for breaking down how human societies function; hopefully, we will be able to think more holistically by using this system of categorization.
Please note that I will be out this Thursday and Friday (I'm going to the Boundary Waters!); students will be watching historical documentaries about the time periods we are studying.
As always, if you have any questions, concerns, or comments, please feel free to email me at: lhood@paideiaacademy.org
Take care,
Leah Hood
Monday, August 23, 2010
Thursday, August 19, 2010
7th grade in-class COW assignment:
7th grade students:
Copy and paste the address below into your browser bar:
http://www.pbs.org/crucible/
Get out your 4-Source Comparison Packet;
Turn to the back pages with the graphic organizers;
Explore the website (above);
Record facts you learn about this time period in your graphic organizer;
Raise your hand if you need my help, or have a question!
Copy and paste the address below into your browser bar:
http://www.pbs.org/crucible/
Get out your 4-Source Comparison Packet;
Turn to the back pages with the graphic organizers;
Explore the website (above);
Record facts you learn about this time period in your graphic organizer;
Raise your hand if you need my help, or have a question!
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Suggested Reading!
Here are a few books that I have either read or heard of, that would be a great supplements to our studies in Social Studies:
7th grade:
Daughter of Madrugada, by Frances M. Wood (U.S. Empire/U.S. Becomes a World Power, Mexican-American War)
Cuba 15, by Nancy Osa (U.S.-Cuban relations)
Mexican WhiteBoy, by Matt de la Pena (Biracial identity issues)
How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents, by Julia Alvarez
Before We Were Free, by Julia Alvarez
In the Time of Butterlies, by Julia Alvarez
8th grade:
When My Name Was Keoko, by Linda Sue Park (Japanese occupation of Korea during WW2)
Gandhi (DK Biography), by Primo Levi and Amy Pastan
Nelson Mandela (DK Biography), by Lenny Hort and Laaren Brown
Haroun and the Sea of Stories, by Salman Rushdie (India)
7th grade:
Daughter of Madrugada, by Frances M. Wood (U.S. Empire/U.S. Becomes a World Power, Mexican-American War)
Cuba 15, by Nancy Osa (U.S.-Cuban relations)
Mexican WhiteBoy, by Matt de la Pena (Biracial identity issues)
How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents, by Julia Alvarez
Before We Were Free, by Julia Alvarez
In the Time of Butterlies, by Julia Alvarez
8th grade:
When My Name Was Keoko, by Linda Sue Park (Japanese occupation of Korea during WW2)
Gandhi (DK Biography), by Primo Levi and Amy Pastan
Nelson Mandela (DK Biography), by Lenny Hort and Laaren Brown
Haroun and the Sea of Stories, by Salman Rushdie (India)
Monday, August 16, 2010
Week 2!
Hello there!
Last week in Social Studies we discussed the issue of "power"-- at the middle school level, as compared and contrasted to at the governmental level. Why do people want power? How do they get (or attempt to get) power? Once they have power, how do they keep power? And how might they lose power where they once had it?
This week, we'll take that issue into a discussion of "human nature."
We are going to start the year with some basic geography, such as world continents and oceans, and states in the U.S. Below are some good online study tools (please try copying and pasting these websites; I haven't yet had success in making the web addresses into links! Sorry!):
http://eduplace.com/ss/maps/
http://ilike2learn.com/
I have no doubt that there are many more great resources out there! These are just two that I know of, and have used in the past.
We will be reading an interview with one of my favorite historians, Howard Zinn; in this interview, Zinn discusses his ideas about "Why Students Should Study History." This interview can be found at:
http://www.zinnedproject.org/posts/1493
(We will also be using his U.S. textbook for young people!)
In 7th grade, we are starting to learn about the Cuban Independence Movement(s) at the end of the 19th century; we are currently reading the novel, The Surrender Tree, by Margarita Engle. This novel puts some characterization and imagery into our study of U.S. Imperialism/Expansionism.
In 8th grade, we are starting to study the U.S. government, including documents such as the Bill of Rights; we started reading the novel, Year of Impossible Goodbyes, by Sook Nyul Choi; this book takes us from the end of WW2 into the Cold War era, through the eyes of a Korean family in Pyongyang living under Japanese (and then Soviet) occupation.
This week we will also start in on what I refer to as our "4-Source Comparison Packets." Since I believe that History is a collection of recorded perspectives, I do not believe in looking to only one source as the "be all and end all" of History; I always try to present each unit from no fewer than four different sources, all of which speak to the same historic event, person, or era. We will always ask the following questions of each source, before comparing and contrasting:
Whose perspective (side of the story) is heard in this source?
Whose perspective is not heard in this source?
Who-- if anyone-- is made out to be the hero in this source?
Who-- if anyone-- is made out to be the villain in this source?
I like this activity as a way to teach students the habit of analyzing sources for perspective and bias. I will always try to provide a spectrum of perspectives and opinions, whenever possible. If you know of any good sources to supplement our studies, please let me know!
So that's where we're headed in Social Studies this week!
As always, if you have questions, comments, or concerns, please feel free to email me at:
lhood@paideiaacademy.org
Thanks so much for your support!
Take care,
Leah Hood
Last week in Social Studies we discussed the issue of "power"-- at the middle school level, as compared and contrasted to at the governmental level. Why do people want power? How do they get (or attempt to get) power? Once they have power, how do they keep power? And how might they lose power where they once had it?
This week, we'll take that issue into a discussion of "human nature."
We are going to start the year with some basic geography, such as world continents and oceans, and states in the U.S. Below are some good online study tools (please try copying and pasting these websites; I haven't yet had success in making the web addresses into links! Sorry!):
http://eduplace.com/ss/maps/
http://ilike2learn.com/
I have no doubt that there are many more great resources out there! These are just two that I know of, and have used in the past.
We will be reading an interview with one of my favorite historians, Howard Zinn; in this interview, Zinn discusses his ideas about "Why Students Should Study History." This interview can be found at:
http://www.zinnedproject.org/posts/1493
(We will also be using his U.S. textbook for young people!)
In 7th grade, we are starting to learn about the Cuban Independence Movement(s) at the end of the 19th century; we are currently reading the novel, The Surrender Tree, by Margarita Engle. This novel puts some characterization and imagery into our study of U.S. Imperialism/Expansionism.
In 8th grade, we are starting to study the U.S. government, including documents such as the Bill of Rights; we started reading the novel, Year of Impossible Goodbyes, by Sook Nyul Choi; this book takes us from the end of WW2 into the Cold War era, through the eyes of a Korean family in Pyongyang living under Japanese (and then Soviet) occupation.
This week we will also start in on what I refer to as our "4-Source Comparison Packets." Since I believe that History is a collection of recorded perspectives, I do not believe in looking to only one source as the "be all and end all" of History; I always try to present each unit from no fewer than four different sources, all of which speak to the same historic event, person, or era. We will always ask the following questions of each source, before comparing and contrasting:
Whose perspective (side of the story) is heard in this source?
Whose perspective is not heard in this source?
Who-- if anyone-- is made out to be the hero in this source?
Who-- if anyone-- is made out to be the villain in this source?
I like this activity as a way to teach students the habit of analyzing sources for perspective and bias. I will always try to provide a spectrum of perspectives and opinions, whenever possible. If you know of any good sources to supplement our studies, please let me know!
So that's where we're headed in Social Studies this week!
As always, if you have questions, comments, or concerns, please feel free to email me at:
lhood@paideiaacademy.org
Thanks so much for your support!
Take care,
Leah Hood
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