Reminder for 6th Graders

Students have a project due on Monday (Nov 3, 2008). Please see previous entries for further details. These projects are due in class on Monday with presentations shortly to follow.

5th Grade State Test

5th Grade students will finally take their test on the 50 states and their capitals. All students have review guides for each of the 50 states and should review this material in preparation for their test.

Tuesday - 5th Grade Boys
Wednesday - 5th Grade Girls

Information on Class Projects...

6th Grade Students have been assigned a class project on the region of Latin America. The Final project is due on Nov 3, 2008. This project will consist of 3 parts: Written, Oral and Visual.













7th Grade students have also been assigned a class project, which will be due on Nov. 12, 2008. Their projects focus on one of 10 African countries.












5th Grade students will be assigned a project on US History and Geography after their test on the 50 states and their capitals (next Monday and Tuesday)

The tests are coming...the tests are coming...

7th Grade students will be taking a test on Friday. Students were given a study guide today in class. The material on this study guide is REVIEW. All of this material has been covered in detail in class and for homework.

Prior to Friday's test, students should be able to define EACH of the vocabulary words and be able to answer each question in their own words. All vocabulary and questions can be found in the home and classwork that students should have in their notebooks. There will be an in-class review session during Wednesday's class.

The 50 States and their capitals:



5th Grade students will be taking a test covering the 50 states very soon. This test will come the week after Fall Break. In the mean time students should continue to study the states we have covered thus far. Students should be familiar with the states and their capitals.

Calling all speakers

I am working to bring in outside speakers to bring a different perspective to many of teh cultures and regions of the world we are studying.

If any parents have contacts with have extensive familiarity and knowledge of Latin America, Europe, Canada or Australia (6th Grade) and Africa, Middle East and Asia (8th Grade) please let me know, we would be happy to present them to our 6th and 7th grade classes.

5th Grade: Save the Date

Students in the 5th Grade Humanities classes will soon begin working on government and history. We will begin that transition during this unit. The history portion of this class begins with a study of the causes and effects of the Civil War. On November 4th (Election Day) we will have a special guest from the Atlanta History Center who will bring artifacts and discuss the civil war with students. This will not be a one-sided activity. Students will be actively engaged.

I am working to bring other speakers to talk on a variety of issues, included local political leaders, and those who can bring history alive.

New Units:

7th Grade: On Wednesday, students begin a new unit that will focus on the Nile River and the people and nations who draw their lives and livelihood from the River. This unit will focus on a broader understanding of human interaction with their environment as well as scientific concepts like the water cycle and use of hydro electricity.

Unit Checklist: Also beginning with this unit, students will be given a unit checklist with each assignment and activity that will be covered during this 2 and 1/2 week period.


6th Grade: Students will begin a brief unit on the history of independence movements in Latin America and will explore the continued impact on those nations today.

We will also be looking at the various cultures of Latin America.



5th Grade: Students will begin a review of the 50 states, learning both the states, their location on a map, as well as their capitals. For many students this will be review of their primary years social studies classes. Students will be given a review map along with other aides to assist in learning each of the states.

This unit will also focus on the influence of geography and how that has influenced some of the differences in each of the states (particularly between North and South). This unit serves as a segway into the next unit which begins our exploration of US history, beginning with the Civil War.


Outline Map of the USA can be downloaded from the link below:
http://www.eduplace.com/ss/maps/pdf/us_nl.pdf

Current Events

Approximately every other week, students are asked to complete a current events exercise.

This activity is designed to further our knowledge and understanding of the world around us, particularly of the regions of the world which we are currently studying in class.

5th Grade Students are to complete current events on US Geography, History or Culture of the United States

6th Grade Students are to complete current events on Latin America, Canada, Europe, Australia and Oceania

7th Grade Student are to complete current events on Africa, the Middle East and Asia


Guidelines:

1. Identify news source: Newspapers, News Magazine, Internet News Sites (Enclyclopedias and History sites are NOT news sites)
2. Chose an article that relates to the area we are currently studying: If we are studying Latin America, then your articles should cover that region, etc...
3. Students will summarize their article, making sure to answer the following questions in the process: Who/What (Who or what is the article about, describe the events or subject matter), When (When do the events take place), Where (Where does it take place). (4-5 sentences)
   
4. Your Opinion: Use your understanding of the article to describe your feelings of the subject. (2-3 sentences)
   

Humanities Quizzes

7th Grade:

Today 7th grade students will have a quiz on introduction to Africa. This quiz will cover: Physical and Human Geography (Culture), Climate and Vegetation as well as Population.

We will be reviewing this quiz in class and the corrected quiz will be returned later in the week.

On Friday, students will be working on current events (in-class) we will be reviewing the procedures for identifying articles that meet the current event criteria and how to correctly summarize those articles.


5th Grade (Girls):

Girls in 5th grade will have a quiz today on physical geography of the United States and Culture.

We will be reviewing this quiz in class and the corrected quiz will be returned later in the week.


5th Grade (Boys):

Boys in 5th grade will have a review exercise on Thursday in preparation for their quiz on Monday. Students should review their notes and prepare for their quiz on physical geography of the United States and Culture


6th Grade:

Students in 6th grade will have a review exercise on Thursday in preparation for their quiz on Physical Geography of Latin America and the Early civilizations of Aztec, Inca and Maya.