Below is a link to a fabulous new website put together by PBS to supplement its new American Experience piece, "Triangle Fire".
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/triangle/
Both grade levels have read about this famous and tragic incident in U.S. history in a Readers' Theater piece in Social Studies.
I will be showing this documentary to both 7th and 8th grades.
Check it out!
Take care,
Leah Hood
Monday, March 7, 2011
Thursday, March 3, 2011
In Social Studies lately...
Hello everyone!
Well, we are winding down with third quarter already! We only have tomorrow and Monday before the Chicago trip!
In 7th grade we are up to Chapter 23 (out of 30) in our historic fiction novel, The Truth About Sparrows, by Marian Hale. Parents/guardians, if you haven't read it, I really encourage you to-- it'd be a pretty quick read because it's not very dense, and it's a nice story. Some days the kids get to read independently (especially after finishing map quizzes), while other days we read aloud as a whole class, follow along with the audiobook, or read in small groups or pairs. On days when we have many other activities to try to get through I have us read all together (or with the audiobook), because otherwise everyone finishes at such different paces and that makes it difficult to move on together as a class to our next activity... tomorrow we'll be listening to Ch. 23 and "drawing what we hear". Not only does this give us a welcome change of pace to our usual near-daily reading, but it also gives more visual students a chance to show-what-they-know in a different way; this is especially nice for kids who doesn't enjoy the writing process.
Also in 7th grade Social Studies this week, we read aloud another Readers' Theater piece entitled, Child's Work, which gave us some information about child labor in the U.S.; after reading the script aloud together (with students reading the different characters' parts), each student had the choice of presenting the events and information from the script using Legos, Play-doh, storyboard drawings, or in skit form.
Next Monday (3/7) is the map quiz over countries in central and southern Africa, but the rest of the week I will be with many of the students in Chicago. The following week, however, we will be studying the Harlem Renaissance and the Dust Bowl. I think that we will have to push the Great Depression and New Deal off into Q4, but that's not a problem because the only other Core Knowledge unit we have left to cover is WW2, and we certainly don't need all 9 weeks of the quarter to cover it adequately (although we could certainly go on and on about it!).
In 8th grade Social Studies this week, 3rd Period finished watching The Singing Revolution, a documentary about the peaceful protests of the Estonian independence movement (against the Soviet Union). 4th Period watched a short documentary on the life of Vladimir Lenin; next week, 3rd Period will watch the Lenin doc. After the Chicago trip, we will learn more about Stalin's rule, as well as Chairman Mao and the Communist Revolution in China. After Spring Break we will learn about the U.S. in the 1950s, including McCarthyism, and we will read One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich. I had hoped that we would read that novel this quarter, but I think it would be better to read the whole thing straight through (it's not very long) rather than begin it and then leave it over the three week break. Students are working on completing posters or mobiles of the key figures of the Communist Revolution, including Adam Smith, Karl Marx, Friedrich Engles, Tsar Nicholas II, Aleksandr Kerensky, Lenin, and Stalin.
8th graders were pretested over either major world rivers or states and capitals in the Midwestern United States. Quiz is next Monday, 3/7.
Both grade levels have been working on their "This I Believe" assignment. We have been sharing them with each other, finding commonalities, and choosing a Top 10 list of the 30. We will continue to work with these beliefs throughout this quarter, and it will be expanded into a project due at the beginning of next quarter... details forthcoming.
On the Legislative Draft front, students can certainly be working on this outside of school; they could be looking up proposed and passed legislation relating to the environment in their three states' state legislatures; students should print out these bills and laws and keep them in their Legislative Draft manila folder, which I gave to each student in class a few months ago. My main goal for this quarter was for students to locate these documents; next quarter we will work on analyzing and writing about them.
If you have any questions, concerns, or general feedback, please do not hesitate to contact me here at school.
And please remember that I continue to post homework assignments and due dates on my class Twitter account: MsHoodsHoodlums@twitter.com
Thanks!
Leah Hood
Well, we are winding down with third quarter already! We only have tomorrow and Monday before the Chicago trip!
In 7th grade we are up to Chapter 23 (out of 30) in our historic fiction novel, The Truth About Sparrows, by Marian Hale. Parents/guardians, if you haven't read it, I really encourage you to-- it'd be a pretty quick read because it's not very dense, and it's a nice story. Some days the kids get to read independently (especially after finishing map quizzes), while other days we read aloud as a whole class, follow along with the audiobook, or read in small groups or pairs. On days when we have many other activities to try to get through I have us read all together (or with the audiobook), because otherwise everyone finishes at such different paces and that makes it difficult to move on together as a class to our next activity... tomorrow we'll be listening to Ch. 23 and "drawing what we hear". Not only does this give us a welcome change of pace to our usual near-daily reading, but it also gives more visual students a chance to show-what-they-know in a different way; this is especially nice for kids who doesn't enjoy the writing process.
Also in 7th grade Social Studies this week, we read aloud another Readers' Theater piece entitled, Child's Work, which gave us some information about child labor in the U.S.; after reading the script aloud together (with students reading the different characters' parts), each student had the choice of presenting the events and information from the script using Legos, Play-doh, storyboard drawings, or in skit form.
Next Monday (3/7) is the map quiz over countries in central and southern Africa, but the rest of the week I will be with many of the students in Chicago. The following week, however, we will be studying the Harlem Renaissance and the Dust Bowl. I think that we will have to push the Great Depression and New Deal off into Q4, but that's not a problem because the only other Core Knowledge unit we have left to cover is WW2, and we certainly don't need all 9 weeks of the quarter to cover it adequately (although we could certainly go on and on about it!).
In 8th grade Social Studies this week, 3rd Period finished watching The Singing Revolution, a documentary about the peaceful protests of the Estonian independence movement (against the Soviet Union). 4th Period watched a short documentary on the life of Vladimir Lenin; next week, 3rd Period will watch the Lenin doc. After the Chicago trip, we will learn more about Stalin's rule, as well as Chairman Mao and the Communist Revolution in China. After Spring Break we will learn about the U.S. in the 1950s, including McCarthyism, and we will read One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich. I had hoped that we would read that novel this quarter, but I think it would be better to read the whole thing straight through (it's not very long) rather than begin it and then leave it over the three week break. Students are working on completing posters or mobiles of the key figures of the Communist Revolution, including Adam Smith, Karl Marx, Friedrich Engles, Tsar Nicholas II, Aleksandr Kerensky, Lenin, and Stalin.
8th graders were pretested over either major world rivers or states and capitals in the Midwestern United States. Quiz is next Monday, 3/7.
Both grade levels have been working on their "This I Believe" assignment. We have been sharing them with each other, finding commonalities, and choosing a Top 10 list of the 30. We will continue to work with these beliefs throughout this quarter, and it will be expanded into a project due at the beginning of next quarter... details forthcoming.
On the Legislative Draft front, students can certainly be working on this outside of school; they could be looking up proposed and passed legislation relating to the environment in their three states' state legislatures; students should print out these bills and laws and keep them in their Legislative Draft manila folder, which I gave to each student in class a few months ago. My main goal for this quarter was for students to locate these documents; next quarter we will work on analyzing and writing about them.
If you have any questions, concerns, or general feedback, please do not hesitate to contact me here at school.
And please remember that I continue to post homework assignments and due dates on my class Twitter account: MsHoodsHoodlums@twitter.com
Thanks!
Leah Hood
Friday, February 18, 2011
This Week in Social Studies
Hello, Paideia students and families!
I could really tell that it was nice outside this week, because everyone had so much more energy! It really felt great.
In 7th grade Social Studies this week we read to the end of Ch. 14 in The Truth About Sparrows, by Marian Hale. The best way I can think to describe this book to adults who haven't read it is to say that it is kind of like The Grapes of Wrath for younger readers; it portrays some of the main issues American families faced during the Dust Bowl and Great Depression, but is from a child's perspective (12-year-old Sadie Wynn). Depending on the day, students read independently, in pairs, small groups, or as a whole class; we also have an audiobook version, which makes for a nice change of pace some days. We have been incredibly lucky to have Mrs. Kohler and Mrs. Munson (who happen to both be teachers!) volunteering to help lead small reading groups a few days a week. It's really wonderful because it gives students the opportunity to work with an adult reader, as well as in a small group where each student has more of a chance to share their thoughts with the group.
Students were quizzed over countries in Northern Africa, and pretested over countries in Northwest Africa; the next map quiz is next Friday, February 25th.
We also listened to some music from the 1920s, and watched a bit of some Charlie Chaplin silent films; more of that to come next week....
By the end of the quarter I aim for us to have discussed Women's Suffrage (check!), the Labor Movement (which we touched upon this week), Prohibition, the Harlem Renaissance, the Dust Bowl and Great Depression (which we are already learning about through The Truth About Sparrows, but will formally cover once we get to it chronologically); because of all the shortened weeks and the Chicago trip, I have a feeling the New Deal will have to get pushed off into Q4, but that's ok.
In 8th grade Social Studies this week, we almost finished reading Animal Farm. We will definitely finish it next week, and then we'll be ready to move on to One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, which is a Nobel Prize winning novel about a man's life in a gulag. As we have been reading Animal Farm we have been keeping a record of the allegorical connections between the characters and main events in the book and their symbolic counterparts in the Cold War era. We have also been watching a wonderful documentary (which you can rent from Netflix, if you're interested) entitled, The Singing Revolution, which chronicles the history of Estonian resistance to Soviet occupation. It is a really moving example of creative, peaceful protest.
Although we could go on and on and on learning about the Soviet Union, we will have to wrap it up at the end of next week, so that we can move on to learning about the Communist Revolution in China (Chairman Mao, etc.), and McCarthyism in the U.S.
Next quarter we will learn about different manifestations of the Cold War, such as the Korean War, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Space Race, Vietnam, and modern day North Korea.
8th graders were tested over states and capitals in the Northeastern region of the U.S., as well as Central American countries and capitals; they were pretested over states and capitals in the U.S. South, as well as major mountain ranges around the world. As we were pretesting we listened to music from the 1950s.
All 7th and 8th graders can be working on their "30 Things I Believe" assignment over the long weekend; basically the only requirements for this assignment are that the beliefs belong to the student, are positive, and are thirty in number. I already have a few turned in to me, and man! Are they inspiring. I really encourage you to read your child's when it is finished, and to share your own version with her/him.
Please remember that you can always view homework and due dates on my class Twitter account: MsHoodsHoodlums@twitter.com
Thanks so much for all your support! It was really fun to see so many of you at conferences!
Take care,
Leah Hood
I could really tell that it was nice outside this week, because everyone had so much more energy! It really felt great.
In 7th grade Social Studies this week we read to the end of Ch. 14 in The Truth About Sparrows, by Marian Hale. The best way I can think to describe this book to adults who haven't read it is to say that it is kind of like The Grapes of Wrath for younger readers; it portrays some of the main issues American families faced during the Dust Bowl and Great Depression, but is from a child's perspective (12-year-old Sadie Wynn). Depending on the day, students read independently, in pairs, small groups, or as a whole class; we also have an audiobook version, which makes for a nice change of pace some days. We have been incredibly lucky to have Mrs. Kohler and Mrs. Munson (who happen to both be teachers!) volunteering to help lead small reading groups a few days a week. It's really wonderful because it gives students the opportunity to work with an adult reader, as well as in a small group where each student has more of a chance to share their thoughts with the group.
Students were quizzed over countries in Northern Africa, and pretested over countries in Northwest Africa; the next map quiz is next Friday, February 25th.
We also listened to some music from the 1920s, and watched a bit of some Charlie Chaplin silent films; more of that to come next week....
By the end of the quarter I aim for us to have discussed Women's Suffrage (check!), the Labor Movement (which we touched upon this week), Prohibition, the Harlem Renaissance, the Dust Bowl and Great Depression (which we are already learning about through The Truth About Sparrows, but will formally cover once we get to it chronologically); because of all the shortened weeks and the Chicago trip, I have a feeling the New Deal will have to get pushed off into Q4, but that's ok.
In 8th grade Social Studies this week, we almost finished reading Animal Farm. We will definitely finish it next week, and then we'll be ready to move on to One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, which is a Nobel Prize winning novel about a man's life in a gulag. As we have been reading Animal Farm we have been keeping a record of the allegorical connections between the characters and main events in the book and their symbolic counterparts in the Cold War era. We have also been watching a wonderful documentary (which you can rent from Netflix, if you're interested) entitled, The Singing Revolution, which chronicles the history of Estonian resistance to Soviet occupation. It is a really moving example of creative, peaceful protest.
Although we could go on and on and on learning about the Soviet Union, we will have to wrap it up at the end of next week, so that we can move on to learning about the Communist Revolution in China (Chairman Mao, etc.), and McCarthyism in the U.S.
Next quarter we will learn about different manifestations of the Cold War, such as the Korean War, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Space Race, Vietnam, and modern day North Korea.
8th graders were tested over states and capitals in the Northeastern region of the U.S., as well as Central American countries and capitals; they were pretested over states and capitals in the U.S. South, as well as major mountain ranges around the world. As we were pretesting we listened to music from the 1950s.
All 7th and 8th graders can be working on their "30 Things I Believe" assignment over the long weekend; basically the only requirements for this assignment are that the beliefs belong to the student, are positive, and are thirty in number. I already have a few turned in to me, and man! Are they inspiring. I really encourage you to read your child's when it is finished, and to share your own version with her/him.
Please remember that you can always view homework and due dates on my class Twitter account: MsHoodsHoodlums@twitter.com
Thanks so much for all your support! It was really fun to see so many of you at conferences!
Take care,
Leah Hood
Monday, February 7, 2011
30 Things I Believe & Legislative Draft Check-in
Hello, Paideia families!
2 quick updates:
1) This week (in both 7th & 8th grades) we are beginning an assignment called, “Thirty Things I Believe.” It’s pretty much what it sounds like—students will create a list of 30 personal beliefs that they hold at this time in their lives. Over the past few years I have noticed a pattern at this point in the school year, when we’re halfway through the year and we all have a bit of a case of the winter doldrums: Everyone gets low on energy, and is unusually down or negative! I have also found that this little project seems to help restore our sense of purpose and positivity. This assignment was inspired by the following story, from NPR a few years back: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=99478226 . I really encourage you to listen to it, because the little boy’s voice is so darn cute :) I also encourage you to develop your own list of beliefs, to share and compare with your child’s.
2) Legislative Draft Project:
Here is roughly where your child should be at in this process:
*Should know the 3 states on her/his Legislative Team
*Should have found and printed off at least 6 articles and/or bills relating to environmental issues in her/his 3 states (students have had 2 class periods this quarter in which to complete this)
Next steps (have not been assigned yet):
*Find final 3 articles or bills (or some combination of the two)
*Begin written analyses of the issues reported in their news articles, and/or addressed in the action plans of the bills they have found
Hope that helps! Please get in touch with me with questions, concerns, or suggestions/comments.
Thanks!
Leah Hood
2 quick updates:
1) This week (in both 7th & 8th grades) we are beginning an assignment called, “Thirty Things I Believe.” It’s pretty much what it sounds like—students will create a list of 30 personal beliefs that they hold at this time in their lives. Over the past few years I have noticed a pattern at this point in the school year, when we’re halfway through the year and we all have a bit of a case of the winter doldrums: Everyone gets low on energy, and is unusually down or negative! I have also found that this little project seems to help restore our sense of purpose and positivity. This assignment was inspired by the following story, from NPR a few years back: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=99478226 . I really encourage you to listen to it, because the little boy’s voice is so darn cute :) I also encourage you to develop your own list of beliefs, to share and compare with your child’s.
2) Legislative Draft Project:
Here is roughly where your child should be at in this process:
*Should know the 3 states on her/his Legislative Team
*Should have found and printed off at least 6 articles and/or bills relating to environmental issues in her/his 3 states (students have had 2 class periods this quarter in which to complete this)
Next steps (have not been assigned yet):
*Find final 3 articles or bills (or some combination of the two)
*Begin written analyses of the issues reported in their news articles, and/or addressed in the action plans of the bills they have found
Hope that helps! Please get in touch with me with questions, concerns, or suggestions/comments.
Thanks!
Leah Hood
Friday, January 28, 2011
This Week in Social Studies-- 1/24-1/28
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!
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!
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
This Week In Social Studies
Hello, all!
This week in Social Studies we honored Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by reading a chapter in our textbook about his life, listening to his "I Have A Dream" speech in its entirety while following along with a text version (students underlined the most powerful parts of the speech), and by considering the questions: "What is 'equality'?" "How far have we come since the days of MLK Jr.?" "What work still needs to be done?"
We also wrote back to our pen-pals from Thailand! The students were very excited about this. I told the kids that they are welcome to communicate with their pen-pals outside of school as often as their parents/guardians allow; we will, however, sometimes be requiring students to write to their pen-pals in class. We will use this as an opportunity to practice the drafting and editing process in a way that is (hopefully!) less dry and more authentic.
We also began reading our novels and completing reading packets, which include Pre-Reading, During Reading, and Post-Reading activities on a chapter by chapter basis.
On Friday, students will be quizzed over some countries in central and northern Asia. Please do not forget about the following online study tools for geography:
http://www.eduplace.com/ss/maps/
http://www.ilike2learn.com/
If you have any questions, concerns, or comments, please do not hesitate to contact me!
Take care,
Leah Hood
This week in Social Studies we honored Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by reading a chapter in our textbook about his life, listening to his "I Have A Dream" speech in its entirety while following along with a text version (students underlined the most powerful parts of the speech), and by considering the questions: "What is 'equality'?" "How far have we come since the days of MLK Jr.?" "What work still needs to be done?"
We also wrote back to our pen-pals from Thailand! The students were very excited about this. I told the kids that they are welcome to communicate with their pen-pals outside of school as often as their parents/guardians allow; we will, however, sometimes be requiring students to write to their pen-pals in class. We will use this as an opportunity to practice the drafting and editing process in a way that is (hopefully!) less dry and more authentic.
We also began reading our novels and completing reading packets, which include Pre-Reading, During Reading, and Post-Reading activities on a chapter by chapter basis.
On Friday, students will be quizzed over some countries in central and northern Asia. Please do not forget about the following online study tools for geography:
http://www.eduplace.com/ss/maps/
http://www.ilike2learn.com/
If you have any questions, concerns, or comments, please do not hesitate to contact me!
Take care,
Leah Hood
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Welcome back for Third Quarter!
Happy New Year, everyone!
I hope you all enjoyed your break and all the associated festivities. I had a great time visiting family in Fargo and Iowa, and spending three nights in Lutsen with friends for the new year.
We are moving forward in both 7th and 8th grade Social Studies this quarter, putting old studies behind us and looking into other ideas and time periods.
In 7th grade this quarter, we will begin by studying "The Roaring 20s", the post-WW1 era of celebratory rebellion, including the Women's Suffrage Movement, the Labor Movement, the Harlem Renaissance-- tempered, of course, by the Temperance Movement. We will read the novel, The Truth About Sparrows. This book is of the historic fiction genre, and presents the experiences of American farm families in the Dust Bowl and Great Depression through the eyes of a 12-year-old girl, Sadie. This will, of course, serve as a lens through which to view our units on the Dust Bowl, Great Depression, and New Deal.
In 8th grade this quarter, we will study the Cold War, focusing on Mao's China, the Soviet Union, and McCarthyism in the United States. Alongside these units we will be reading George Orwell's classic, Animal Farm (a Core Knowledge novel), as well as the Nobel Prize winning One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich. We will explore the philosophies of Marx and Smith, and debate the merits and drawbacks of Communism, Socialism, Capitalism, Democracy, and Totalitarianism.
In both grade levels we will continue with our Legislative Draft project, map quizzes, and our pen-pals from Thailand.
I really enjoy teaching the units on the slate for Q3!
See you back at school on Thursday!
--Leah Hood
P.S. Homework assignments are posted at MsHoodsHoodlums@twitter.com
I hope you all enjoyed your break and all the associated festivities. I had a great time visiting family in Fargo and Iowa, and spending three nights in Lutsen with friends for the new year.
We are moving forward in both 7th and 8th grade Social Studies this quarter, putting old studies behind us and looking into other ideas and time periods.
In 7th grade this quarter, we will begin by studying "The Roaring 20s", the post-WW1 era of celebratory rebellion, including the Women's Suffrage Movement, the Labor Movement, the Harlem Renaissance-- tempered, of course, by the Temperance Movement. We will read the novel, The Truth About Sparrows. This book is of the historic fiction genre, and presents the experiences of American farm families in the Dust Bowl and Great Depression through the eyes of a 12-year-old girl, Sadie. This will, of course, serve as a lens through which to view our units on the Dust Bowl, Great Depression, and New Deal.
In 8th grade this quarter, we will study the Cold War, focusing on Mao's China, the Soviet Union, and McCarthyism in the United States. Alongside these units we will be reading George Orwell's classic, Animal Farm (a Core Knowledge novel), as well as the Nobel Prize winning One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich. We will explore the philosophies of Marx and Smith, and debate the merits and drawbacks of Communism, Socialism, Capitalism, Democracy, and Totalitarianism.
In both grade levels we will continue with our Legislative Draft project, map quizzes, and our pen-pals from Thailand.
I really enjoy teaching the units on the slate for Q3!
See you back at school on Thursday!
--Leah Hood
P.S. Homework assignments are posted at MsHoodsHoodlums@twitter.com
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)