Oh my goodness gracious! I cannot believe it's the end of First Quarter. Conferences were a great time for me to slow down a bit (even in the midst of hurried conferences!) and synthesize all those bits of information I have been learning about my students so far this year, and articulate where I think we need to go. It feels so promising to realize that we have, in fact, been moving through material, and getting to know one another. I feel really positive heading into the rest of the school year.
Second quarter, 7th graders will continue reading The Kitchen Boy, while learning more about The Russian Revolution, within the broader context of WW1; then we will learn about The Roaring Twenties, and The Dust Bowl and Great Depression; I'd like to use some poetry from the 1920s, and we'll read The Truth About Sparrows alongside our study of 1930s.
Coming up in 8th grade, we will continue our study of U.S. Government through the upcoming election, go deeper into the Decline of European Colonialism, and then learn more about the Cold War era. We finally finished reading Year of Impossible Goodbyes, and next quarter we'll read Animal Farm, which is one of the Core Knowledge novels.
And please meet me at the MN History Center in downtown St. Paul, on Saturday, October 30th, from Noon-4:00, for the "Dia de los Muertos Celebracion"! This will be the second event featured in our MN Historical Society Club.
I hope you're feeling good about Q1, and enjoy Fall Break! (I'll be in India with my mom and friend!)
Take care,
Leah Hood
