Last Week, Q1!

Hi all!

It was great to see so many of you at conferences this week! I truly enjoy conferences, and I wish that they didn't feel so rushed! If you weren't able to schedule a time to meet with me this week, please let me know if you're interested in meeting another time, whether next week or next quarter...

Here's the update:

7th grade:We finished The Surrender Tree! There is an extra credit opportunity for 7th graders over the Fall Break; if they choose one of the three book options to read over break and complete a basic book report they can get some extra credit towards their Second Quarter Social Studies grade. All of the book options are about WW1, which is what we will start off studying Q2.

Students have now been tested over countries in South America, and their last map quiz of this quarter will be this coming Wednesday, October 5th, over countries in Western Europe (preparing us to study WW1).

We are wrapping up our study of the late 1800s; this week we'll talk more about Teddy Roosevelt and the Panama Canal...

Next quarter we'll be reading Out of the Dust and The Truth About Sparrows, both about the Dust Bowl and Great Depression. I recommend watching the new PBS special, Prohibition, which I believe airs this Sunday evening; it will preempt our study of that part of U.S. history.


8th grade:This coming week 8th graders will finish the novel, Year of Impossible Goodbyes; we will watch some of those good old fashioned Schoolhouse Rock videos about U.S. government (i.e. "I'm Just A Bill") and learn more about the law-making process, as well as amendments 11-27 to the U.S. Constitution.

Students took their last vocab quiz last week, and next quarter it's back to map quizzes.

8th graders have been doing regular homework assignments (reading and writing) about controversial topics in U.S. politics, such as the death penalty debate, religion in politics, and homeland security "vs." civil liberties and individual privacy rights. Many of the students have been really agonizing over their positions! I'm so impressed by their thoughts and commitment to making the right decision in their own minds.

Next quarter we'll be reading Animal Farm as part of our study of the early Cold War. 8th graders also have an extra credit reading opportunity over fall break; if they check out the book The Good Earth from my classroom and do a basic book report over it, they can earn extra credit towards their Q2 Social Studies grade; this is a Core Knowledge book about the Chinese revolution, and will support our learning about Communist China during Q2.

It's been a truly great quarter! I can tell that the rest of the year will be great, as well.

Please remember that I'll be at the Museum of Russian Art (in Minneapolis) this Sunday at 2 PM. Hope to see you there!

Thanks for reading,
Leah Hood

Social Studies Update

Hello!

Here's what we've been up to in Social Studies lately...

7th Grade:
*Central and South America map quizzes; we've used Geography Choreography as a kinesthetic study tool.

*Part 5 (which is the last section!) of The Surrender Tree.

*Graphic Organizers researching and compiling important details about The Cuban Independence Movement, The Spanish-American War, The U.S. War with the Philippines, The U.S. Annexation of Spanish Colonies (e.g. Puerto Rico, Guam) and Hawaii; and The Panama Canal.

*4-Source Comparison Packet about the Spanish-American War.

*Charades to review terms (e.g. Rough Riders, Teddy Roosevelt, Jose Marti, Anti-Imperialist League).

*We've done journal entries such as, "In your opinion, do we still have 'yellow journalism' today? Why or why not? Explain. Use specific examples."

*Original sheet music (primary source documents) from the Spanish-American War era.


8th Grade:
*Vocab work using the Frayer Model (Definition, Characteristics, Examples, Non-Examples); our current terms include "Natural Rights", "Constitution", "Checks & Balances", "Limited Government", and the three branches of U.S. government.

*A website and graphic organizers to compile important details about the three branches of U.S. government.

*History Tunes about U.S. government (very, very corny, and very, very informative ;) ).

*Journal entries such as, "What is your favorite of the rights in the Bill of Rights? Why? Explain."

*Charades to review government related terms.

*Written response homework assignments about "When Rights Collide", and "Theocracy and Democracy in Iran".


Please sign up with me for conferences next week! If you weren't able to get a spot through VolunteerSpot, please let me know and we'll work something out via email.

Have a great weekend!
Leah Hood

This Past Week in Social Studies

Hello, all--

First off in today's post I feel it appropriate to take a moment to acknowledge the tenth anniversary of 9/11. My heart goes out to the loved ones of all the victims, as well as to all the servicemen and women, and their loved ones, as well.

It has now been ten years to the day since the 9/11 attacks, and there has been a lot of discussion in the media surrounding how we address this historic event in our collective memory, in the media, in physical memorials, as well as in classrooms around the country. What's somewhat interesting about teaching 9/11 is that our legislature hasn't yet included 9/11 in the state standards, so there's no law about covering (or not covering) 9/11 as historic content; although it's been ten years since the attacks, it's still so new that our interpretation of it is still "under construction", even moreso than historic content reaching further back in time. So what's a teacher to do?

In keeping with my philosophy of teaching history (and current events), I have decided to give my students an opportunity to decide what, in their opinions, is the "best" way to remember (and study) 9/11 by comparing and contrasting different sources. On Friday, I assigned a short article from my college-level American Government & Politics textbook to 8th graders as homework; the article is entitled, "Terrorism and Information Awareness", and presents readers with the debate surrounding "national security" "v." "civil liberties". I've asked that students read the article and write a minimum of one paragraph in response to the ideas presented. Tomorrow (9/12) our daily journal entry will ask students to reflect on 9/11 and its aftermath; I reserved the COW (laptop cart) on Wednesday so that we can look at online news sources from around the world (e.g. CNN, Fox News, NPR, MPR, BBC, India Times) and compare/contrast the various angles taken by reporters.

I hope these activities will provide my students with an opportunity to participate in the public discourse surrounding the issue(s), as well as to reflect on both the losses and the future.

And now on to the week in Social Studies...

7th Grade: 7th graders watched a series of short video clips about the late 1800s and paid attention for what they all shared in common; we continued reading The Surrender Tree, and pretested over countries in Central America (quiz next Friday, 9/16).

8th Grade: 8th graders handed in their "break-up letters" to King George III, and watched a series of short video clips about the U.S. Constitution and did a variety of learning activities to help solidify our second set of vocabulary terms. All the vocab terms from last week had to do with different systems of government (e.g. autocracy, democracy), and students took their quiz on Friday. Next week 8th graders will be pretested over the third set of government-related vocab terms.

This past week, all 7th and 8th graders wrote their first letters to our pen-pals in Honduras! We're waiting on Ms. Abbott's 6th graders to finish up with their letters and then I'll put them in the mail! Very fun stuff. (Next week we'll write another set of introductory letters to our pen-pals in China!) Students always love writing to pen-pals; it's a wonderful way to learn about world geography and to foster international connections, friendships, empathy, understanding, and respect.

Tomorrow (Monday, 9/12) I will discuss with all 7th and 8th graders this year's year-long research project, which is an in-depth study of a country (not the U.S.) that is of interest to the student.

As always, please feel free to contact me with questions, concerns, or constructive feedback.

Thanks for reading,
Leah Hood

Midterm?! Crazy.

Hi all!

I CANNOT believe it's midterm already! That feels nuts. This year has truly started off better than any other year so far-- and it's going fast!

Sorry I was delinquent on my post last week; I was out of town for quite a few days in a row for a wedding, my 10-year high school reunion, and a bridal shower...

Here's the update:

7th Grade:
In 7th grade Social Studies we continue to learn about the late 1800s; this includes the Gilded Age with such figures as Carnegie and Rockefeller (the "Robber Barons") and such issues as monopolies and the Sherman Anti-Trust Act, and the Spanish-American War era, which includes the Cuban Independence movement. We are about halfway through The Surrender Tree; we have been doing lots of Listen-and-Draw activities along with this novel, as well as written summaries and reactions. Students are being tested this week over countries in the Caribbean (including Cuba and Puerto Rico, which we are studying as part of the unit); we have been reviewing for the quiz this Friday by practicing Geography Choreography, which seems to be going really well and helping to solidify the kids' mental maps of the region. We have been working through our 4-Source Comparison Packet, examining four different sources on the same topic (Topic: Late 1800s) and analyzing those sources for perspective and bias by asking the following questions: Whose voice is heard in this source? Whose voice is not heard? Who or what is made out to be the hero? Who or what is made out to be the villain? This exercise is challenging for students at first, but eventually they get the hang of it and I believe that it really sticks with them as a tool for historic (and contemporary!) analysis. Next week we will begin discussing the Spanish-American War, the sinking of the USS Maine, Teddy Roosevelt and his Rough Riders, the Anti-Imperialist League, Cuban Independence, and the U.S. war with the Phillipines, among other things. We have been examining some PBS websites about Andrew Carnegie and the Spanish-American War; in the next week or two we'll be watching some documentaries about the late 1800s. We're also in the process of writing to our pen-pals in Honduras!


8th Grade:
In 8th grade Social Studies we continue to learn about the U.S. government; after taking more time to study for our first vocab quiz, 99% of the students nailed it! I'm glad we slowed down and worked at solidifying the definitions and concepts some more. More government-related vocab quizzes to come...
We also continue to read through the novel, Year of Impossible Goodbyes; we're on Ch. 4 right now. We have been studying the Declaration of Independence this week, as well; students will be assigned to write a break-up letter to England and King George III, which is generally a fun assignment for them. We also got our new issues of Upfront Magazine, which the kids absolutely go bananas for! As we wrap-up our Declaration of Independence activities and begin our study of the U.S. Constitution, we'll be using the Upfronts to learn vocab terms by doing a text scavenger hunt. Next week we'll talk more about the Constitution and have a brief discussion comparing it to the Articles of Confederation; we'll also look into the influential works of Thomas Paine, John Locke, and Jean Jacques Rousseau, among others.


As always, if you have any questions, concerns, or constructive feedback, please do not hesitate to get in touch with me.

Thanks for reading!

Leah Hood

P.S. Thanks so much to our fabulous student teacher, Lisa Schmid! We miss her already, but we wish her well as she begins her teaching career!

Second Week Success!

Hi all!

Only week two and we're well underway! I'm so pleased with how focused we have been so far this year; we are really moving through content, and it feels like the students are learning. All of my classes have a positive class dynamic; every single student is respectful and ready to learn.

7th Grade:
In 7th grade Social Studies this week, we wrote about and discussed journal assignments such as, "What might be some causes of a revolution? Why might people want to revolt against their leader or government?" And, "Why do you think the author chose to write this novel entirely in poetry form, rather than prose? What effect do you think it has on her readers?" I continue to be impressed by the quality of student responses to these daily journal entries! Typically students write independently for 3-5 minutes, share their responses with classmates in pairs or small groups, then come back together as a whole class to take some responses on a volunteer basis. During this sharing time we practice respectful listening skills, as well. Most days we compile our shared responses on the white board (and in students' notes) in a graphic organizer. (Students are expected to write 5-8 complete sentences about the assigned topic in the time given.)

7th graders also tried their hands (and arms... and legs... and feet...) at Geography Choreography, a kinesthetic study tool for map quizzes. Since it was the first time they had practiced this learning strategy they needed quite a bit of structured guidance, but I know from past experience that after a few times students get the hang of it and many really look forward to it! Our first map quiz was today, over the provinces of Canada.

We did some listen-and-draw activities with our novel, The Surrender Tree, which is helping us to learn about the Cuban Independence movement; we also used multiple strategies to clarify and solidify the 5 Elements of Fiction (Characters, Point of View, Setting, Plot, and Theme) in students' minds early on in our reading-- we don't want anyone to be confused! Students were especially impacted by the descriptions of how the Spanish authorities treated runaway slaves. Just today (after testing), students worked for the first time with the "4 Source Comparison Packet", which we will complete for each unit of historical study; in this activity (which spans several days) students read four different sources about the same topic and record "Whose voice is heard in this source? Whose voice is not heard? Who or what is made out to be the hero? Who or what is made out to be the villain?" This activity aims at building awareness of perspective and bias in sources-- historic or contemporary. It is often a challenging concept for students at first, but we helped each other through it and I could tell that it was becoming more clear in their minds as we moved through the lesson.

Next week we will continue to read on in The Surrender Tree, take a map pretest over countries in the Caribbean, read some textbook chapters about the Spanish-American War era, and listen to some History Tunes.


8th Grade:
In 8th grade Social Studies this week we did a lot of vocabulary building work. We were planning to take our first vocab quiz today, but by the end of class yesterday it had become clear to me that-- while the students were truly trying to understand the terms and the concepts they embody-- they simply needed more time, practice, and guidance before being tested. We will take the quiz next week instead to ensure student learning and success. Students made mini-posters of Examples and Non-Examples of each vocab term; we added to our Frayer Model packets (which we started last Friday); students built, drew, or acted out the vocab terms, and wrote crossword puzzles, haikus, word associations, or short stories that correctly used each of the six vocab terms. The 8th graders also read Chapter 1 of the novel, Year of Impossible Goodbyes, by Sook Nyul Choi, which is about the start of the Cold War in Korea. We created a graphic organizer to help map out key elements of the book, and students wrote reactions to Ch. 1 and predictions about Ch. 2 in their journals.

Next week we will finish up with our first set of vocabulary terms about government, read on in the novel, and discuss key documents such as the Articles of Confederation, the Declaration of Independence, and the U.S. Constitution.


Please remember to check Twitter (@MsHoodsHoodlums) for homework assignments and due dates, and please do not hesitate to contact me with questions or concerns.

Thank you and take care,
Leah Hood

GREAT First Week!

Hi all!

What a fantastic first week back! Truly, this has been the best start to a school year I have ever had. The class dynamics of each one of my class periods is focused and positive; the students are so precious and polite, and we are off and rolling! It feels good. We're actually well into content and it feels like we've been together for longer than one week.

7th Grade:
This week in 7th grade Social Studies we discussed The Gilded Age, which is the time period at the end of the 19th century, following the U.S. Civil War. The Gilded Age is defined by big, unregulated business (laissez-faire economics, the Gospel of Success, the Gospel of Wealth, the Sherman Anti-Trust Act) and robber-barons/tycoons such as Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller.

We start each class period with a 3-6 minute writing assignment that leads us into the day's topic and lesson. Some examples from this week were: "What might these images tell us about The Gilded Age? Describe what you see. Compare and contrast this set of images and analyze what they might symbolize about the era." And, "In your opinion, what might be some positive effects of imperialism? Some negative effects? Is the U.S. imperialistic today? In the past?"

7th graders also did some reading from Flocabulary, and performed sections of a hip-hop song about The Gilded Age.

Today (Friday), 7th graders took a map pretest over Canada; the quiz is one week from today, Friday, August 19th; the quiz will cover the Canadian provinces. Students have two Study Guides for reference, and I'll be sharing with them some other study tools early next week.


8th Grade:
This week in 8th grade Social Studies we jumped right into learning about the U.S. government. Students wrote and shared journal responses to questions such as, "What words, phrases, facts, opinions, or images come to mind when you think of the term, 'Government'?" And, "Write down anything and everything you know (or think you know) about the U.S. government." I have been so pleased at the high level of student participation in our group discussions, as well as the high level thinking the kids have been bringing to the table about this topic!

8th graders did some reading from Flocabulary about the American Revolution and performed a hip-hop song that summarized the reading; we're not going to spend any more time covering the Revolutionary War (because our unit is really about U.S. government), but I think it's extremely important (if not necessary) to review and discuss the basic historic context from which the key documents (the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and Bill of Rights) arose.

There are a TON of vocabulary terms that go along with this unit; because of this we will be laying aside our regular map quizzes and temporarily replacing them with vocab quizzes. 8th graders took a pretest today over six terms: Government, Politics, Anarchy, Ideology, Sovereignty, Federalism; the quiz will be next Friday, August 19th.


Please be aware that I am continuing to post homework assignments and upcoming quizzes and due dates on my class Twitter account: @MsHoodsHoodlums

This week was truly one of the best weeks of teaching I have ever had! I am so looking forward to the year-- I can tell it's going to be a positive and productive one!

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Have a great weekend!

Take care,
Leah Hood

7th & 8th Grade Curriculum Maps for 2011-2012 School Year

7th Grade:

This year in 7th grade Social Studies we will cover as much as we can of early 20th century U.S. and world history, as well as some basic physical and human geography. The 7th grade curriculum spans from The Gilded Age in the U.S. (late 1800s) to the end of WW2 (1945). We will start off the year by reading the book The Surrender Tree, by Margarita Engle; this piece of historic fiction is a book written entirely in free verse poems, about the Cuban Independence Movement (from Spanish colonial rule), told from the perspectives of a traditional Cuban nurse, her husband, the Spanish General Weyler ("The Butcher"), and his son. We will use this novel as a pivot around which we will discuss the decline of European colonialism, Teddy Roosevelt and his Rough Riders, Yellow Journalism, the Panama Canal, and American Imperialism/Expansionism (take your pick). Roughly the second half of First Quarter we'll be covering WW1; along with this we'll read some excerpts from All Quiet on the Western Front, and we may even watch a movie or documentary about the Christmas Truce; we'll also be learning about the Russian Revolution (which took place during WW1), and that's always a good time to go over the basics of capitalism, communism, and socialism.

Second Quarter we'll be learning about the Roaring 1920s! There's a lot to this era, including the Women's Suffrage Movement in the U.S., Prohibition, the Labor Movement, and the Harlem Renaissance. The more years I teach this decade, the more I love teaching it. It is such a rich subject area. (Last year's 7th graders enjoyed learning to dance The Charleston!) We'll be reading the book The Truth About Sparrows, which will transition us into learning about the 1930s.

Third Quarter we'll be focusing on the 1930s, including the Dust Bowl, Great Depression, and New Deal. Along with this unit we'll be reading the book Out of the Dust, as well as some excerpts from On Hitler's Mountain, a memoir by Irmgard Hunt. We'll listen to FDR's Fireside Chats and watch the original movie version of John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath. Depending on our pace at this point in the year, we may or may not begin studying WW2 toward the end of Third Quarter...

Fourth Quarter we'll delve pretty deeply into WW2, learning about the infamous conflict from the perspectives of the U.S. Homefront, the European theater, and the Asian/Pacific theaters. Students will have the choice between three books about WW2: The Diary of Anne Frank, When My Name Was Keoko, and A Farewell to Manzanar.


8th Grade:

We'll begin 8th grade by learning about the history and processes of U.S. democracy and government. We'll study the First Continental Congress and Articles of Confederation, the Constitution and Bill of Rights, the three branches of U.S. government, and some landmark Supreme Court decisions; this will take us to about midterm. After we wrap up our unit on U.S. government, the 8th grade curriculum picks up right where we left off at the end of 7th grade (the end of WW2). We'll start off right away reading the book, Year of Impossible Goodbyes; this historic fiction novel set in Korea does a great job of transitioning us from the end of WW2 to the (simultaneous) beginning of the Cold War. While we read through the book we'll be learning about the decline of European colonialism, which was occurring at the same time as the early Cold War. We'll learn about Mahatma Gandhi and the Indian Independence Movement, Partition, Nelson Mandela and Apartheid in South Africa. (The kids always enjoy watching the film, Gandhi, with Ben Kingsley!)

Second Quarter we'll be learning about the Communist Revolution, the Soviet Union and its early leaders (Lenin, Trotsky, Stalin); we'll also learn about Mao's China and McCarthyism in the United States. Along with this unit we'll read the allegorical classic, Animal Farm (always one of my favorites!). These subjects will definitely take up the whole quarter!

Third Quarter we'll learn about the 1950s and 1960s, particularly in the U.S., but working in some world history wherever possible. We'll cover the Korean War, the U.S. Civil Rights Movement, Environmentalism, JFK's presidency and all that came with it, the counterculture... this unit continues to resonate strongly with students of all ages and is always a favorite! There are lots of famous speeches and songs from this time period, which we will examine.

Fourth Quarter we'll study the Vietnam War, Watergate, the Carter and Reagan presidencies, and work as far up to the present day as time allows! We'll read excerpts of The Things They Carried and read the classic American play, A Raisin in the Sun, readers' theater-style.


In both 7th & 8th grades we'll take regular map quizzes, work on geography skills, discuss current events issues, write to pen-pals in Thailand, China, and Honduras, and work on a year-long research project that is centered around a country (students can choose the country from a pre-determined list). More information about these activities to come...

Whew! And that's just the outline version! We're going to be really smart by the end of this year... :)