Conferences Next Thursday and Friday!

Hi everyone! Guess what!? I am currently in the process of transferring all of my communications from this blog and my class Twitter account into my new class website! You can see the work-in-progress by going to the "Classroom Pages" section of the Paideia website. Our school-wide goal is for this process to be completed by the start of Q2. Here's a quick update: 7th: 7th graders have a map quiz coming up this Friday over countries in Central America; they made up their own Geography Choreography this time and did a GREAT job! I recommend this website as a great study tool: www.ilike2learn.com We finished our novel, The Surrender Tree! We have wrapped up our study of the Spanish Empire and Cuban Independence Movement and have now moved on to studying the Spanish-American War. So far this week we have worked with graphic organizers and the PBS website "Crucible of Empire"; Thursday and Friday we'll watching the documentary that complements this website. By the end of next week we'll be studying the presidency of Teddy Roosevelt and the Panama Canal. 8th: 8th graders continue to learn about U.S. government; we've been looking pretty closely at the documents that have helped our government evolve over hundreds and thousands of years. We've studied the Magna Carta, the Mayflower Compact, Common Sense, Declaration of Independence, and U.S. Constitution. This week we are looking at Articles 1-3 of the U.S. Constitution, which describe the three branches of government. Soon we'll start reading our first novel of the school year, entitled Year of Impossible Goodbyes, by Sook Nyul Choi. This is a work of historic fiction based on the author's real life experiences; the novel begins in Korea during the Japanese occupation during WW2 and ends with the division of Korea into North and South-- the Soviets in the North, the U.S. in the South and thus the start of the Cold War. Our next unit will be on systems of economics as we prepare to learn about different iterations of the Cold War for the remainder of the school year. DDI tests are already coming up in a few weeks!! Be on the look-out for a Study Guide at least one week in advance of the exam. Please remember that I continue to update my class Twitter account (@MsHoodsHoodlums @twitter.com) with homework and quiz due dates. Please feel free to contact me with any questions, concerns, or constructive feedback! Thanks and take care, Leah Hood