Hello, Paideia families!
First, my apologies for not having updated this blog with a new post in the past few weeks! This quarter has really gotten away from me. But it's going really well-- I will describe it below :)
7th Grade:
Where We've Been:
We have been studying The Roaring (19)20s! I think this is a fascinating decade in U.S. history; it includes the Labor and Women's Suffrage Movements, as well as Prohibition, and it is these three movements that we've covered so far. We watched a PBS documentary about the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire and have been using a variety of sources (songs, video clips, readings) to learn about Women's Suffrage. Just today we started formally discussing Prohibition. Today's Journal entry in 7th grade was a set of questions about stereotypes, rights, and attitudes about women and men in the U.S. and in other parts of the world today. Students made some great observations and First Period in particular had a lively and engaging whole class discussion!
Where We're At:
We are currently working on discussing the connection between Women's Suffrage and the Temperance Movement in the U.S. We made timelines of important events in the Women's Suffrage Movement and used one of our three textbooks as a source for consideration in our 4-Source Comparison Packets, analyzing the chapters about Women's Suffrage and Prohibition for perspective and bias.
Where We're Going:
Tomorrow we'll be rotating through stations, all of which use different sources to teach about Prohibition, but each of which uses different types of sources; next week we'll discuss the gangster culture that arose out of Prohibition, speakeasies, flappers, The Charleston, and later the Harlem Renaissance, stock market speculation and crash, and finally the Dust Bowl, Great Depression, and New Deal.
8th Grade:
Where We've Been:
We made some really great looking flow charts (on display now in the hallway) describing the roles and relationships of key figures of the Russian Revolution, watched documentaries about Lenin and Stalin, rotated through stations teaching about life in the Soviet Union and the gulag system, did a brief reading about Chairman Mao, and reviewed communism and capitalism.
Where We're At:
Today we are doing a simulation about the redistribution of wealth during the communist experiments of the mid-20th century; we are also watching some old propaganda footage from the Cold War, and working to answer student questions/confusion about these different economic systems. Mr. Mitsch and I have been truly impressed with the students' eagerness to learn about and understand these theories, and at the high level of student questions!
Where We're Going:
We will be learning more about Chairman Mao and communist China next week, then moving on to discuss the Red Scare and McCarthyism in the U.S., along with the concepts of Containment, the nuclear arms race, the Space Race, the Korean War, and all the exciting events of JFK's presidency.
Also in 7th & 8th grades we continue to focus on Independent Research; each student has chosen a country (not the U.S.) to research throughout this school year, and is currently conducting more focused, teacher-guided research each week, in preparation for a 5-Paragraph Essay and Oral Presentation at the end of Q4. Students have been using the CIA World Factbook and other credible, online sources to find out about Business/Economy, Transportation Systems, and Population Issues in the country of their choosing. Next week student research will be focused on Environmental issues, followed by Education and Technology.
I really feel like we are building some good foundational skills this year, in history and geography, as well as more generalized thinking and research skills. This year is flying by for me, but it has been one of the best years ever for me as a teacher. This group of students and families is so wonderful to work with. Thank you.
Please keep in mind that I continue to post homework and quiz due dates on my class Twitter account (@MsHoodsHoodlums), and that many resources are available via our class Gmail account.
As always, if you have any questions, concerns, or constructive feedback, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Thanks and take care,
Leah Hood
