Update-- long overdue!! I have been delinquent in updating my blog this month! I'm so sorry. I feel like I've been so busy, focusing each moment on what needs to get done in the next hour... The end of the year is always a bit of a crunch! Here's what we've been up to: 7th: We are learning about WW2 right now in 7th grade Social Studies. We finished up learning about FDR's presidency (e.g. Fireside Chats, the New Deal programs) and transitioned naturally into learning about WW2 (the transition being natural since FDR was president at the start of WW2). So far students have learned about the Axis Powers v. the Allies, and about the worldwide economic depression which contributed to the destitution of the German people leading up to Hitler's climb to power. We have gone over an overview of the war via PowerPoint and a video on United Streaming; students were able to choose in which format they received their intro/overview. We have discussed various world leaders during WW2 and done some work with maps of Axis v. Allied territories during the war. This week we will be learning more about why so many Germans were attracted to Hitler as a political leader, as well as more about the Holocaust. Next week we will be discussing the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the subsequent "internment" of Japanese Americans, U.S. involvement in the war, and the end of the war. (On a somewhat separate note, students have now completed map quizzes over all regions of Africa.) 8th: We have finished our study of the the U.S. Civil Rights Movement and have been focusing on the 1960s and 70s, namely the Vietnam War and the Counterculture Revolution. Students are in the midst of learning about how the Vietnam War began as a part of the "containment" policies with relation to the spread of communism, and the fear that the "Domino Theory" would prove true. To me, this is an exciting unit because of how dynamic and turbulent the 60s were! Students will be reading/listening to excerpts of The Things They Carried, by Tim O'Brien, and watching the documentary 1968. You would all be so impressed if you could hear some of the 8th grade discussions about A Raisin In The Sun!! Very high level. I nearly cried a few times, out of pride :) All 7th and 8th graders have their Independent Country Research Projects due next Thursday, June 7th; there is a 5 Paragraph Essay due, as well as an oral and visual in-class presentation. Additionally, all 7th and 8th graders have their DDI Social Studies quiz this Friday, June 1st! Study Guides have been distributed and there are many, many study activities in Quia. Thanks so much for a great year! I can't believe it's almost over!! -Leah Hood