What Did We Do Today?
A quick look at what we did in the classroom each day - Start here if you are absent, but most importantly check your Google Classroom - not just assignments, but the material posted each day. I will post the classroom presentation from each day in the afternoon so you can see what you missed. For interested parents, here is where to find a better answer than the "Nothing" my kids told me when I asked the question, "What did you do today?" The day's presentation is also linked under the date.
6/18 - Half Day
6/17 - Graduation Practice and graduation! Congrats!
6/14 - In the pod for Smith vs. Mudge in a no questions barred citizenship contest
6/13 - Part 3 of Remember the Titans and our last Daily Question
6/12 - Part 2 of Remember the Titans after reviewing the Virginia 1960 law against interracial sports in school athletics.
6/11 - Part 1 of Remember the Titans after hearing from some of the real people involved in the integration of a Virginia high school 17 years after Brown v. Board declaration "separate but equal" unconstitutional.
6/10 - AFter an open notes Civics review we moved onto "the Road to Civil Rights" to setup a critical look and the movie Remember the Titans.
6/7 - Civics Project - Stage 6 "Reflection and Showcasing" - Out to the pod to review this year's projects.
6/6 - A moment to acknowledge the 80th anniversary of D-Day before continuing our civics review.
6/5 - We finished our look at the 19th Amendment and began a Civics Review.
6/4 - What's in a cartoon? We took a close look at pro and con women's voting rights cartoons.
6/3 - Women's right to vote was a hotly debated topic. We looked at a gallery of editorial cartoons from the time period
5/31 - An iCivics webquest following the efforts to bring up and pass the 19th Amendment.
5/30 - Sojourner Truth and the "Ain't I a Woman" speech.
5/29 - The Seneca Falls convention for women's rights and some of the people who attended.
5/28 - A 19th Amendment timeline from the Nation Park Service.
5/24 - An introduction to the 19th Amendment.
5/23 - A review of the Civics Project planning and the rubric for the next step - Stage 5 - Taking Action.
5/22 - MCAS - Civics Project : Stage 4 - A sample explained along with the actual actions taken by another 8th grade group.
5/21 - Civics Project : Stage 4 - creating an action plan.
5/20 - MCAS - In preparation for Stage 4 of the civic action project students played Neighborhood Good.
5/17 - MCAS - Finishing Media Literacy week students tried their hand at monitoring a web feed with News Defenders from iCivics.
5/16 - Day Four of Media Literacy week focused on who is behind the information we receive and to look for their purpose or bias.
5/15 - Day Three of Media Literacy with how to go beyond fact checking.
5/14 - MCAS - Day Two of Media Literacy with a look at reliability of social media posts.
5/13 - Day One of Media Literacy week starting with an introduction to reading the news.
5/10 - Amendments Test
5/9 - The final part of Ruby Bridges.
5/8 - Math MCAS - Non -MCAS classes got to play Branches of Power.
5/7 - Part 2 of Ruby Bridges.
5/6 - Math MCAS - Non-MCAS classes went on a webquest, The Constitution: Rules for Running a Country.
5/3 - We continue with the Ruby Bridges story today.
5/2 - After the last Study Check for next Friday's Amendments Test we looked at how the Brown v. Board decision was implemented using the the story of Ruby Bridges.
5/1 - We get a new Google Classroom for Term 4 (hopefully improves loading speed) - See original classroom for link to your new classroom if you didn't join in class today. We delve a bit deeper into Brown v. Board and some of its consequences.
4/30 - A day to explore the effects of Plessy that resulted in a new lawsuit - Brown v. Board of Education. Students read depositions and saw pictures used in the case to answer questions.
4/29 - After a study check, students worked on storyboarding Plessy v. Ferguson.
4/26 - How did Jim Crow come about? Plessy v. Ferguson.
4/25 - An introduction to the Jim Crow laws.
4/24 - Reconstruction continues and we look at some of the problems and find some quotes.
4/23 - More on Reconstruction and the 14th and 15th Amendments.
4/22 - Welcome Back! An introduction to how the Reconstruction Amendments (13-15) came about.
4/12 - An EdPuzzle and an Actively Learn assignment on the Civil War and Reconstruction before April break.
4/11 - Some more Civil War background to prepare for the next three amendments we will study using Oversimplified Civil War pt2
4/10 - Some Civil War background to prepare for the next three amendments we will study using Oversimplified Civil War pt1
4/9 - Civics Project: Stage 3: Students shared their research and ideas in small teams, discussed PROs and CONs, then picked one project idea to focus on.
4/8 - Civics Project: Stage 3: Students used posted links to research topics for their Civics Project.
4/5 - Judge Reardon came to speak to the 8th Grade today to discuss the importance of fairness in court, and the roles every has in the courtroom.
4/4 - SNOW DAY
4/3 - MCAS ELA pt 2 - Periods 1, 2, and 7 looked at Lyng v. Northwest Indian Cemetery as we continue exploring the First Amendment.
4/2 - Civics Project: Stage 2. Students previously ranked a variety of issues and the top four topics of interest were explored today with the goal of choosing a topic to do further research on.
4/1 - April Fools and MCAS ELA pt1 - Periods 2 and 7 looked at Bethel v. Fraser regarding more limits on student speech in school.
3/29 - Complete class time dedicated to working on the First Amendment One Pager
3/28 - Review of some of the common mistakes in our quotes and citations from this week before starting the First Amendment One Pager.
3/27 - Half Day - First Amendment: Student Freedom of Speech - a deep dive into free speech in school.
3/26 - What are your First Amendment rights regarding prayer in school? We look at the establishment clause in Engel v. Vitale today.
3/25 - What limits does speech have in school? Does a school newspaper have complete freedom of the press? We look at these issues with Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier.
3/22 - Do you shed your First Amendment right to free speech at the schoolhouse gate? We look at Tinker v. Des Moines to get an answer.
3/21 - A look at our free speech rights.
3/20 - More judicial review using a reading from iCivics to understand the power of the Supreme Court.
3/19 - Judicial Review - a power not listed in the Constitution, but gives the Supreme Court its power.
3/18 - Students looked at the power the Supreme Court has interpreting the Constitution via a webquest.
3/15 - TEST day - after the test students could work on their iCivics game or other school work.
3/14 - TEST tomorrow - handwritten notes allowed! Do I have a Right from iCivics started in class after a review of the first ten amendments.
3/13 - More on our first ten amendments and some terms like due process.
3/12 - A detailed look at the five rights granted in the First Amendment.
3/11 - A look at four First Amendment court cases before moving on to Lessons 23 & 24 from We the People in Actively Learn.
3/8 - A review of the Bill of Rights before a quiz then students worked through different scenarios to determine what right was denied.
3/7 - The Bill of Rights in words and pictures!
3/6 - The Bill of rights one at a time and a study guide passed out for a test Friday 3/15.
3/5 - PD Day / Primary Election Day
3/4 - The Bill of Rights - the first ten amendments to the Constitution - how they came into being and many of the newer amendments.
3/1 - The Federalist Papers, Hamilton, and historical fiction (the musical) to examine the challenges to ratifying the new constitution.
2/29 - Happy Leap Day! Ratification of the Constitution was not a done deal, lots a debate in the states so today we looked at a political cartoon from the day and Madison's connection to the Federalist Papers.
2/28 - The Constitution has left the convention and now must be ratified by the States. Lesson 18 in Actively Learn covers that difficulty in getting that done.
2/27 - John Green and Crash Course present Constitution, Articles, and Federalism. Kids took notes and then used them and the transcript to complete a worksheet
2/26 - Welcome back! The Constitution has been passed but can you get the States to adopt it? We'll try with iCivics' Race to Ratify.
2/16 - A webquest looking at the three branches rounds out the week - Enjoy vacation and Happy Presidents Day
2/15 - Don't judge, but we covered the third branch today - the Judicial Branch
2/14 - Today we went for a deeper dive into the biggest branch of government - the Executive Branch
2/13 - SNOW DAY
2/12 - We will be looking at the three branches of government this week in a little more depth - today is the legislative branch, Congress.
2/9 - Unit 3 test - Students have an extra credit option: Redo Actively Learn Lessons 13, 14, 15, 16 and earn a better grade on those than the first submission students will get the better grade in PowerSchool and an extra point on today's test for each one completed successfully.
2/8 - A little more thinking about the powers with an open notes quiz followed by the video Creating a Constitution to review everything before tomorrow's test.
2/7 - Practice sorting the powers of the legislative and executive branches.
2/6 - The powers of the executive branch today followed by Lesson 16 in Actively Learn which introduces both the executive and judicial branches.
2/5 - The bicameral legislature, the powers each house, and the requirements to a member were today's focus. Then students learned more about the legislative branch in Lesson 15 in Actively Learn.
2/2 - Our Constitution has many compromises. We looked at both the 3/5ths clause and the Fugitive Slave clause and the debate around them.
2/1 - Students tried a practice test with their study guides to prepare for next Friday's test then headed onto Lesson 14 in Actively Learn.
1/31 - Half Day - A Virginia and New Jersey Plans with the Great Compromise notes quiz.
1/30 - After a review of the New Jersey Plan and notes were given on the Great Compromise students worked on Lesson 13 in Actively Learn and their study guides.
1/29 - Snow Day
1/26 - The New Jersey Plan - what was proposed? Students practiced note taking focusing only on the plan (not names, dates, places) and we reviewed yesterday's notes
1/25 - The Virginia Plan - what was proposed? Students practiced note taking focusing only on the plan (not names, dates, places)
1/24 - The convention ended with many decisions made to guide the writing of a new constitution. Students picked up their study guides for the next Unit Test (2/9)
1/23 - The debate over the issues continues today, but most periods have settled the term of office questions.
1/22 - Our convention continues. Today, the length of each term in office for the legislative, executive, and judicial branches were /debated and voted on.
1/19 - Today students analyzed their charts for tracking issues at the convention looking for areas of agreement and identifying areas that need some persuasion to reach consensus.
1/18 - Powerful opening statements revealed the diversity of opinions on some topics as well as consensus on others. To be continued...
1/17 - State delegates met to craft their state's positions and opening statements for tomorrow's convention.
1/16 - A more detailed look at proportional representation examining the effect of counting the enslaved population with free people or just free people. Students received their state delegate assignments.
1/15 - MLK Jr Day
1/12 - Why were the states so concerned with how they would vote in the new national government? Students analyse the data to examine the shift in power depending on how states voted.
1/11 - What were some of the rules at the convention? We start to explore the setting for our own Constitutional Convention by looking at the rules the Framers set for theirs.
1/10 - Students continued their Philadelphia Convention One Pager - Test/Project grade due tomorrow.
1/9 - After reviewing yesterday's news choices we began a project - The Philadelphia Convention One Pager.
1/8 - 2 Hour Delay - Students explained which news source they liked better - CNN10 or The World from A to Z.
1/5 - We found out how well students understood their notes by matching them with an image that represented each. Then the finale of Liberty's Kids where they witness the product of the Pennsylvania Convention - the Constitution!
1/4 - Today we looked more closely at the Framers and took some notes about them.
1/3 - More Philadelphia Convention and some preparation before going on to Lesson 12 in Actively Learn.
1/2 - Welcome back from Winter Break! Some review and some preview of the Philadelphia Convention of 1787 to rewrite the Articles of Confederation.
12/21 - Our mock trial of U.S. v. Cinque et al. Students argued the case that was brought before the Supreme Court.
12/20 - Trial preparation for U.S. v. Cinque et al - lawyers and witnesses prepare strategy and statements.
12/19 - Students reviewed the Amistad case and then began working on their part in the trial.
12/18 - We look at our first court case - U.S. v. Cinque or better known as the Amistad case. Students got some background on the facts of the case in preparation for the mock trial and completed a form to make it known what part they would prefer to play.
12/15 - Episode #2 of Slavery and the Making of America from PBS.
12/14 - Episode #1 of Slavery and the Making of America from PBS.
12/13 - A look at how the Massachusetts' constitution was used to free Elizabeth Freeman (Mum Bett) before students gathered events to make a timeline of slavery in the United States.
12/12 - A review of yesterday's gallery walk before Liberty's Kids episode "Born Free and Equal"
12/11 - Beginning background on slavery as we get ready to tackle issues in our soon to be rewritten constitution. Students did a virtual gallery walk.
12/8 - TEST - Declaration and Revolution
12/7 - "December 7th, a date that will live in infamy..." An acknowledgement of this date in history before moving on to Shays' Rebellion.
12/6 - A look at a primary document - excerpts of the Northwest Ordinance - then on to Liberty's Kids episode #27 "New Frontier."
12/5 - Some more about the Articles of Confederation and how we managed our growth into the Northwest Territory.
12/4 - We practiced answering the open response question about the Articles of Confederation for Friday's test before moving on to the episode of Liberty's Kids discussing its creation and ratification.
12/1 - An introduction the the Articles of Confederation then on to Lesson 11 in Actively Learn as well as a bonus Jeopardy game to prepare for next Friday's test.
11/30 - We practiced the short answer for next Friday's test then on to Liberty's Kids "Bostonians" episode.
11/29 - Some practice preparing a short answer for next Friday's test (12/8) before Lesson 10 in Actively Learn about our early state constitutions.
11/28 - The battle of Yorktown and the end of the war through Liberty's Kids and Hamilton.
11/27 - Welcome back! Some test prep (Unit test 12/8) before heading on to Lesson 9 in Actively Learn.
11/21 - A review of the events that lead to the Declaration of Independence. No classwork going home today! Happy Thanksgiving!
11/20 - Some Schoolhouse Rock and Liberty's Kids about writing the Declaration.
11/17 - Translating the Declaration into modern terms - texting the break-up
11/16 - The colonists start to think about creating their own government and pen the Declaration of Independence.
11/15 - Thomas Paine's "Common Sense" unites the colonies.
11/14 - Students received the study guide for our next test (Friday 12/8) and had time to work on it in class.
11/13 - The Second Continental Congress meets as the colonies march toward war and independence .
11/9 - Tensions explode in the "shot heard 'round the world" and the beginning of the war for independence from Britain.
11/8 - Grievances build and the colonists meet at the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia.
11/7 - After a quick field trip to the gym to observe how people vote we returned to the classroom to learn about the grievances of the colonists whose number one complaint was "No taxation without representation."
11/6 - Tomorrow is Election Day and we prepared by playing "Cast Your Vote" in iCivics.
11/3 - People's opinions and views can change over time. We revisit the children of Promises four years after the original.
11/2 - We complete watching Promises today with more practice at note taking.
11/1 - A short bit of Middle East history and an incomplete fable - students created their own ending.
10/31 - Happy Halloween! Today we continued with Promises and focused on the various views on land rights.
10/30 - As the colonists prepare for war we will look at our current world and the views that drive some to war and some to peace using the documentary Promises.
10/27 - Test: Unit 2 - Prelude to War
10/26 - Liberty's Kids live through the Intolerable Acts in Episode 2
10/25 - An introduction to the Intolerable Acts (Coercive Acts) and a chance to practice Unit 2 knowledge before Friday's test.
10/24 - Phillis Wheatley's poetry and a timeline of events that lead to the Declaration of Independence.
10/23 - Some multiple choice practice (test Friday) and then a chance to find two quotes about the Tea Party and to properly cite the source. For folks who attended Monty Tech VIP day - all documents are posted in Classroom.
10/20 - More Tea Party - this time via Liberty's Kids!
10/19 - 1848 America looks back at the Boston Tea Party in today's lithograph.
10/18 - More images of current events of 1770s Boston. Today students compared images of the Boston Massacre and the court testimony of witnesses.
10/17 - A study guide key was passed out to those who had their homework done. Today we began analyzing some of the images colonists may have seen - today the tar and feathering of John Malcolm.
10/16 - The study guide for Unit 2 was passed out - the test is Friday, the 27th. Some map reading first to get everyone thinking about why some colonists were angry after the French and Indian War ended then time to work on the study guide.
10/13 - This week we have had 12 vocabulary terms as part of our Daily Question (3 each day) - and more experiences the colonists had that would lead them to revolution in Lesson 7
10/12 - The king (really the British Parliament) is getting the colonists angry with various acts that tax them without their having any representation with the article "Hey King! Get off our backs!"
10/11 - More ideas from our British past that will influence the Founders.
10/10 - Where did our Founders get their ideas? They looked to the past! The Magna Carta, the Mayflower Compact, and the English Bill of Rights.
10/5 - We finished with Parts 4 and 5 of "For Crown or Colony" with more discussion of viewpoints, bias, and intent.
10/4 - Part 3 of "For Crown or Colony" with some more discussion of Loyalist vs Patriot and how their viewpoints were expressed in the news of the day.
10/3 - Part 2 of "For Crown or Colony" with some discussion of Loyalist vs Patriot.
10/2 - We began playing "For Crown or Colony" today. The game is a simulation of 1770 and the events in Boston leading up to the Boston Massacre.
9/29 - Unit 1 Test
9/28 - A big review before tomorrow's test and then an introduction to our third branch of government - the judicial brand.
9/27 - Half Day - A quick review of the common mistakes on the study guide worksheet before heading on to an introduction to the executive branch of government.
9/26 - After some test practice (answering a question in sentence form) an introduction to the legislative branch of government.
9/25 - A review of the Study Guide and the expectations for the test Friday, then a vocabulary quiz (open notes) followed by a reading that tries to answer the question: How do we organize government to prevent an abuse of power? - in Actively Learn.
9/22 - Some practice with the vocabulary before Monday's quiz and a study guide KEY given to all students who handed in a study guide. Lesson 4 in We the People posted in Actively Learn - What is a constitutional government?
9/21 - Vocab quiz announced for Monday (9/25). Study Guide passed out for Unit #1 test (Friday 9/29). We learned what a constitution is and reviewed how to answer questions in sentence form. Open House Presentation HERE.
9/20 - More vocabulary! from Lessons 4 & 5 in We the People.
9/19 - Who was Cincinnatus? And what is a republic? These are the questions we answered today. Lesson 3 in We the People posted in Actively Learn - What is a republic?
9/18 - An introduction to John Locke's natural rights (Life, Liberty, Property) philosophy as a basis for government and Lesson 2 in We the People posted in Actively Learn - Why Do We Have Government?
9/15 - Constitution Day is Sunday so a few questions from Carl Azuz before we headed off to label a map of the colonies.
9/14 - Lesson 1 in We the People posted in Actively Learn - Life in the Colonies - after a deep dive into how to find quotes and reviewing the 9/11 worksheet's answers.
9/13 - We will be using our textbook, We the People, for a bit so today we looked at how it's structured and then students worked on the vocabulary needed to understand our starting point as a British colony.
9/12 - Rain Day (?!?)
9/11 - We discussed Sept 11th and how our experience of that day (or lack of it) changed our perspective as a group in the pod.
9/8 - Today's topic was more than a disaster - it launched us into war and made profound changes to our world - the attack on September 11th, 2001. Students read an article and found quotes explaining some of those changes.
9/7 - Today's disaster is the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire - the loss of 146 lives motivated the reform of building codes to install sprinkler systems and other workplace fire safety improvements. Students read two articles about it in Actively Learn and answered questions along the way.
9/6 - Why rules are made is often a reaction to events - like being stranded on an island or various disasters, natural or otherwise. We will look at three events that caused news laws and procedures this week. Today's event is the Great Molasses Flood in Boston. Students read two articles about the flood in Actively Learn and answered questions along the way.
9/5 - MTV Survival Island! You are stranded with a group of fellow students on a deserted island - Do you need any rules? Who gets to make the rules? How will you decide? We gathered into six islands and asked these questions. We will vote on the answers tomorrow...
9/4 - Labor Day
9/1 - First week under our belt and off to a great start. Today we tried a citizenship test and sadly, as a class, didn't pass. We have some work to do!
8/31 - What is government? What is civics? Who makes the rules? these were some of the questions we explored today.
8/30 - Welcome back! Students got signed into our Google Classroom where assignments and each day's presentation is posted (good to check when absent). Today was about setting classroom routines and expectations while we got to know a bit about each other.1/