We're halfway through the year! So far this has been the best year yet for me in my teaching career; I have great students, a supportive parent/guardian base, and some years of teaching experience under my belt. Although I'm looking forward to the break, I'm full of ideas for next quarter!
Here's how we're finishing out the semester in Social Studies:
7th Grade
Students were tested just today over the 50 states in the United States; it's a big quiz, but they had three weeks to study and lots of study tools to use.
Last Friday we did a Readers' Theater piece about the Russian Revolution, which prepped us for the movie Nicholas & Alexandra; it's an old film, but it does a good job of accurately conveying the events of the Russian Revolution in sequence; the portrayal of real historic figures by actors is always questionable, but I feel that this film captures much of the spirit and complexity of the revolution; students are recording key events and facts as they watch, and we pause every so often to do quick-writes in response to critical thinking questions posited verbally; hopefully these exercises keep students accountable to learning from the chosen medium, and more actively engaged in watching the movie.
8th Grade
This week we finished reading George Orwell's classic "fairy story", Animal Farm, an allegory for totalitarian rule. Today and tomorrow we are watching a movie version of the book. We'll reference the characters and events often next quarter when we study more in-depth Maoist China, Soviet Russia, and McCarthyism in the U.S.
Earlier this week we used credible internet sources to learn about Nelson Mandela and the Apartheid system in South Africa; we also read and analyzed some Apartheid-era poetry, which is pretty powerful stuff.
7th and 8th grade students have another opportunity for extra credit over Winter Break; it is basically the same assignment as was offered over Fall Break, but with different titles to support next quarter's Social Studies content; students can receive the equivalent of one quiz worth of extra credit points by reading (or listening to) a novel related to our upcoming units and completing a basic book report or other pre-approved project which demonstrates comprehension and learning.
Please always feel free to contact me with questions, concerns, or constructive feedback.
Enjoy the break and any holidays you might celebrate!!
Take care,
Leah Hood
