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Week Five: Friday, September 29

Welcome

Here's the video we watched this week--it's another Prince EA video and I think you'll enjoy it. This video is all about happiness and Albert Einstein's take on what it truly means to be happy. I hope you watch and enjoy it! 


Social Studies (1, 5 and 6)

This Past Week: 

  • Monday: No School! 
  • Tuesday: My period 1 and 6 classes spent today researching the events that unfolded on March 5, 1770, in Boston by completing the assignment called #020-Boston Massacre Eyewitness Chart. The students will be using this chart on Thursday to do their first graded in-class writing assignment. Period 5 students did this on Friday and went to the LGI to see the presentation by the CCIU that the other classes saw last week. 
  • Wednesday: Today was all about ensuring the students were ready for their writing tomorrow in class. First, we went over the #020-Boston Massacre Eyewitness charts, then the students were given time to plan their writing and complete a graphic organizer and we finished by playing a blooket to review key concepts. 
  • Thursday: The students spent time today demonstrating what they've learned about the Boston Massacre through primary sources by writing their Claim-Evidence-Reasoning piece in class. 
  • Friday: We dove into the American Revolution today by watching a short clip of America the Story of Us and then using emojis to make sense of some key terms (check out some of the examples here). The students were then given time to finish up the Boston Massacre writing assignment and EdPuzzle videos from yesterday (today was the last day to work on these assignments in class). 

Next Week: 

  • Mastery Check #1: The students will take a 12-question Google Form mastery check to see what they've learned so far. The check is worth 10 points so the students get two "freebies." There is a review game available to them under the Classroom Resources section of the Google Classroom. 
  • Declaration Iron Chef: We'll complete an activity called an Iron Chef--the students will work in collaborative groups to make sense of part of the Declaration of Independence & then present it to the class. 
  • Declaration of Independence By the Numbers: The students will make our first infographic of the year when we do this activity. Infographics are a very powerful way to share information and can be very thought-provoking when they are being created. 

Accelerated Social Studies (3 and 8) 

This Past Week: 

  • Monday: No School! 
  • Tuesday: The students spent today demonstrating what they know. They completed the #018-Mastery Check #1  today and then wrote their #019-Boston Massacre C-E-R writing assignment. 
  • Wednesday: The students started today with 15 minutes to finish their writing/mastery checks from yesterday and then moved on to our next content bursts--the very beginning of the American Revolution. While I love discussing history, I feel that this clip from America the Story of Us is very engaging and does a great job. The students were then asked to summarize what they learned using emojis--check out their work here. 
  • Thursday: We dove into the Declaration of Independence today--class started with a story of true love and heartbreak and then the students worked in small groups to translate part of the preamble to gain a deeper understanding of the founders when they drafted the new government.
  • Friday: We started today by playing a Blooket twice to introduce the students to the new content we will be discussing next week. Check out how much the accuracy improved for each class after just one game/brief discussion. The students then worked their way through "Chat Stations" to discuss some of the challenges our nation has faced living up to the ideas of the Declaration. It was great to hear the students actually engaged in some civil discourse in class! 

Next Week: 

  • American Revolution by the Numbers: The students will work in home groups and then expert groups to create infographics about four key events from America's war for independence. 
  • Iron Chef Presentations: The students will create presentations about four events that were pivotal in our early history: The Articles of Confederation, the argument over western land claims, Shays' Rebellion & Continental Congress 
  • The Principles of the Constitution: The students will dive into the principles and guiding beliefs behind our Constitution. 
  • Mastery Check: The students will take their second Mastery Check on Thursday, Ocboter 5. 

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