Welcome Back

To welcome you back, here are some videos about the first day of school:





And you may remember this one from the first day of Social Studies last year:



I'm very excited to be teaching 8th Grade Social Studies. While everything will be new to you this year, remember that it will also be new to me. I have never taught
8th grade, or this time-period before, so I am very excited about trying new things.

the curriculum will cover modern American history and Current Events. Here are a couple of videos that will serve as preview of what our focus will be this year:

The End

I just wanted to let everyone how much I've enjoyed this year. As I mentioned at our awards ceremony, this has been one of my favorite groups of 7th graders that I've had here at North Prairie. I hope that you have learned a lot about our country's history and that you had fun doing so.

Enjoy your summer!

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPod touch]

The Gettysburg Address

Math in Social Studies???

In order to better understand the differences between the Union and Confederacy at the start of the Civil War, we looked at the major resources for each side. Students took the amounts that each side had of each of these resources and converted them into percentage so that they could create pie-graphs showing the difference between them.

A Dividng Nation

Recently, students played the role of U.S. Senators in the first half of the
1800's. Some of them represented the North and some represented the South. They had to make compromises in order to keep the country together as issues such as slavery in the territories, the Dred Scott case, the Kansas-Nebraska act and the election of 1860 threatened to tear the country apart.

Gettysburg Address

The Lincoln-Douglass Debates

The Dred Scot Case

Frederick Douglass

Harriet Tubman

Slavery Story Quilts

We recently learned that slaves in the early 1800's used story quilts to pass on information to future generations. In order to show our knowledge of the conditions slaves lived under, and the things they did to cope with those conditions, we made our own "story quilts". The quilt squares convey information about such topics as; working conditions of slaves, living conditions of slaves, how slaves were controlled, how they resisted slavery, slave families and communities, slave churches, leisure time activities, and African American culture.

Into the West - World on Fire

This music video for the song "World on Fire" was used as a trailer for the Into the West mini-series. For extra credit, comment on this post explaining some of the ways that the film reflects the experiences of those who went west in the mid 1800's.

Life in the West

Life in the West

In order to learn about what life was like for the different groups that went West in the 1800's, students will be creating mini-dramas. The first step in this project involves each student group reading about the group of settlers they have been assigned and finding out why they moved West, the hardships they faced, and the legacies that they left.

Happy 200th Birthday Abraham Lincoln!

Manifest Destiny: A Review

**For extra credit, post a response answering this question: Which lands would you say were acquired in an honorable way and which ones weren't? Explain your answer.**


Here is the video "Elbow Room" from Schoolhouse Rocks:


Three of the major acquisitions that we discussed in class (Texas, Oregon, and the Mexican Cession) took place during the Presidency of James K. Polk. Here is a fun song about his term in office written by the band They Might Be Giants.



Lyrics:
In 1844, the Democrats were split
The three nominees for the presidential candidate
Were Martin Van Buren, a former president and an abolitionist
James Buchanan, a moderate
Louis Cass, a general and expansionist
From Nashville came a dark horse riding up
He was James K. Polk, Napoleon of the Stump

Austere, severe, he held few people dear
His oratory filled his foes with fear
The factions soon agreed
He's just the man we need
To bring about victory
Fulfill our manifest destiny
And annex the land the Mexicans command
And when the votes were cast the winner was
Mister James K. Polk, Napoleon of the Stump

In four short years he met his every goal
He seized the whole southwest from Mexico
Made sure the tarriffs fell
And made the English sell the Oregon territory
He built an independent treasury
Having done all this he sought no second term
But precious few have mourned the passing of
Mister James K. Polk, our eleventh president
Young Hickory, Napoleon of the Stump

12 Angry Men

As a follow-up to our study of the Constitution we are watching one of my favorite films; 12 Angry Men, and discussing how our rights, specifically those listed in the 5th and 6th Amendments often must compete with our human nature.

Here is a trailer for the film:


For extra credit, post a comment answering this question: In what way does the film show us the importance of the 5th and 6th Amendments, specifically when it comes to the role of "reasonable doubt"?

Springfield Trip

There is still plenty of room on the Springfield Trip for students and parents. E-mail me for details.

The 19th Amendment

Constitution Test

REMINDER: The U.S. Constitution Test will be taken on Wednesday, January 28th.