Hello, Paideia families!
This week in Social Studies we continued to read in our historic fiction novels (The Truth About Sparrows in 7th grade; Animal Farm in 8th), and to complete reading packets for each chapter; reading packets include Pre-Reading, During Reading, and Post-Reading activities. The novels supplement what we are studying in U.S. and world History. We also have the audiobook versions of both novels, which allows for some nice variation and choices for students; some days students read independently, some days they are allowed to read in small groups of their choosing, and some days we will read aloud all together as an entire class.
We also took a pretest over countries and capital cities in Southeast Asia & the Pacific; both 7th and 8th grades will be tested next Friday over 14 countries in that region. Students have been given a study guide, and next week we'll do another round of "Geography Choreography", which seemed to be a big hit last week!
Before heading to Orchestra Hall (which was a great experience!) on Thursday, 7th graders got to read from the latest issue of Upfront magazine; as a whole class, we read an article about child-brides in Afghanistan, and compared the rigid (and often cruel, in the eyes of most Americans) expectations in that country to the significantly more liberal Islamic culture for women in Tunisia; we listened to a short NPR clip about women and women's rights in Tunisia. This is the first year I have had a subscription to Upfront magazine, and I have been really, really pleased at how the kids have responded to it.
In 7th grade we are learning about the Women's Suffrage Movement in the United States; we are comparing and contrasting four different secondary sources on the subject, as well as watching a PBS documentary for about 15 minutes per day, until we finish it.
In 8th grade we are doing the same thing, only for The Russian Revolution, as a part of our introduction to the Cold War.
We also edited return letters to our pen-pals in Thailand-- I will get those in the mail within the next few days.
If you are wondering about the Legislative Draft project, here is what you and your child can be working on: Find articles that have to do with the environment IN THOSE 3 STATES, from local news sources in the three states your child drafted. Example: An article from The Des Moines Register about wind farms in Northeast Iowa.
If you want to keep up with Social Studies homework assignments and due dates, please refer to my class Twitter account: MsHoodsHoodlums@twitter.com
I have also taken to posting homework assignments on this blog, in the right-hand column, under the "About Me" section; unfortunatley, I can't change the header from "About Me" to "Homework", but please know that it is posted here for you and your child, as well.
Please let me know if you are interested in any supplementary reading or study materials, and as always, please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions, concerns, or general feedback!
Hope you have fun at the all-school dance tonight!
Take care,
Leah Hood
P.S. Re-registration forms for next year should be coming home today with your child!! Please return those to the Office ASAP! Thank you!
