8/30/13

We began class with an open-notes quiz on the Native American cultural groups.  As students took the quiz I checked off their mapping homework.  Students who missed class must come see me after the long weekend and take this quiz.

We then began an lesson where we look at fact and bias.  Students first participated in a warm-up activity.  We discussed the warm-up, and students took notes on a few key terms. 

Fact and Bias PowerPoint

Fact and Bias Lesson Handout

We ended class by watching a quick video on Columbus.

Quick Columbus Video

On Tuesday we will read two different pieces of writing on Columbus, and examine how an author can change how individual or events are viewed.

No homework

8/29/13

We began class today with a discussion about the U.S. military and our involvement in the affairs of other nations.  I posed the following statement to the class:

Agree/Disagree

•The U.S. should use its military as a “police force” for the rest of the world.  We should punish countries, or groups, who harm innocent people or violate international laws.

 Students made a decision about this statement and we had a class discussion.

 Next, I gave students notes on the different cultural regions of the Native Americans. 

 Native American Culture PowerPoint

Students recorded information into their graphic organizers as I gave the lecture.

 Native Culture Graphic Organizer

Following the lecture students began to work on a mapping activity on the Native Cultural regions.

Native American Cultural Regions Map

They used page 33 of the textbook as a reference.

Textbook page 33

Homework is to finish the mapping activity 

8/28/13

Today we covered a lot of ground and had many transitions.

We began class by looking at the 50th anniversary of MLK's I Have A Dream speech and the march on Washington D.C.  We discussed the background to the situation and students watched CNN Student News.

Next, I gave students a pre-assessment quiz on the material we will cover this year.  Students will take the same quiz at the end of the year to track their growth.

Students then participated in a warm-up activity on the Native Americans. 

Native American Warm-up

Students then watched a quick video on the Native Americans before 1492.  As they watched the video they checked their warm-up questions against the actual information.

Native Americans Before 1492 Video

Homework is:

Check  the blog from yesterday (8/27/13) and complete the homework assignment.  I will check this in class tomorrow.

8/27/13

Welcome to the social studies blog!

Today in class we finished the syllabus scavenger hunt activity in small groups.

Homework is the following:

Write at least a paragraph explaining the following:

·             What you remember about U.S. history

·             One thing that interests you about U.S. history

·             One of your strengths as a learner

·             One thing you would like to improve upon as a learner

8/26/13

Happy first day of school.  Today I introduced the syllabus and students participated in a syllabus scavenger hunt.  Any students who missed class yesterday should see me before class so they can be assigned a group.

There is no homework assignment.