7th and 8th Grade Homework Due 11 28 2012

7th Grade: The students are required to finish part two of their City Project which is answering the, "Creating a Brochure for a City." by Friday they need to have their Brochures complete and ready to present to class.

8th Grade: Students need to complete pages 5-10 of their Government book.  I made handouts for them so they can write the answers on the handout.

Homework due Tuesday November 13th 2012

7th Grade: The students are required to answer the following question demonstrating their understanding of what life was like after the Civil War.  Students need to approach the question thoughtfully, and put themselves in the shoes of African Americans who were once slaves, but had received freedom on paper once the Civil War was over:

• What do you think African Americans went through in the south after the Civil War? Now that African Americans had freedom was it an easy transition from slavery to freedom, or did they suffer? How did southerners treat newly freed slaves?  How did African Americans feel around whites in the south?

Second, 7th grade students need to answer 3 questions on a city in the United States of their choice.  A few students finished this for today, however, most were unprepared.  The following questions are the first part of their city projects. The City Project is tracing the history of a city and making a brochure to present to the class. The rest of the requirements will be handed out next week.  For Monday,

• Choose a city in the United States you are interested in learning more about.
• Name who founded the City and in what year the city was founded.
• Finally, name the jobs that most people in the city make a living from.

8th Grade:  Continue your government pages 10 - 15!

1. Read page 10 and 11 about the great Presidents of our History
2. Name who they are and 1 big issue they dealt with during their presidency.
3. Make sure you understand the terms Cold War and Arms Race.
4. Also, answer question on page 11.
5. Read page 12 and 13 and know, "words to know"
6. Take Political Quiz on page 14
7. Read page 15

Have a great weekend,

Ms. Van

Homework due October 30th 2012

7th Grade:  The students have a 2 page handout which is front and back on both pages, so a total of 4 pages that they have been working on since last week.  The pages have the following titles:

• Civil War Chronology & Review
• Read Andrew Johnson and Reconstruction
• Answer questions on Andrew Johnson and Reconstruction
• Final page is a crossword puzzle titled, A Civil War Review

We covered some of these questions in class today, however, most of this is review from the last few weeks, and the students should have no problem completing the assignment.

*STUDENTS WILL HAVE A TEST FRIDAY!

8th Grade:  As a class we have been discussing the two candidates for this years election.  The students have also completed an assignment from The Scholastic Journal on the candidates and their positions on the main issues. In addition, we have watched some of the debates.  Tonight they are responsible for two things:

1. They need to explain which candidate they support and why using facts to support their answers.  Also, they need to be prepared to debate the other side of the argument.
2. We have been analyzing the Declaration of Independence, the students need to write one page on ideas they have for a current form of The Declaration of Independence.

Homework due October 18th 2012

7th Grade:  Students have a handout on the Gettysburg Address due on Thursday.  This allows them 2 days to complete the assignment and ask any questions they have about the 7 questions on the back of the paper.

8th Grade:  Students have 3 questions to answer on Democrats vs. Republicans.  They are using the Junior Scholastic magazine for the questions as well as the rest of the assignment due on Thursday.  The following bullet points are the requirements:

• List the main differences between Democrats and Republicans
• Name the Presidential candidates and their running mates for the 2012 election
• In your own words explain each candidates position on the main issues facing our country.
• Have all definitions from both articles, the article on the presidential election and the article on China.
• Read Article on China pg. 8 -11
•  name 5 things you need to know about China and explain, in your own words, what you learned about each point.
• Answer the 5 questions on pg. 11 in complete sentences.
• On the back cover of the Junior Scholastics are 4 short answer questions and 5 multiple choice questions.  Answer all these questions!  You may answer the questions on the back cover of the magazine, however, I prefer the answers in your notebook.

Any questions let me know,

Thanks,

Ms. Van

Homework due October 12 2012

7th Grade:  7th grade students need to complete the Emancipation Proclamation Handout!

8th Grade:  Answer the following 2 questions:

1. Who is Thomas Pain?
2. Who is John Locke?

Have a good night,

Ms. Van

Homework due October 9th 2012

8th Grade: The students are beginning an in depth study of The Declaration of Independence. Tonight, each student needs to think of one relationship in their life that compares to King George III and the  American Colonists. Once they have decided on the relationship, they need to answer the following questions based on this relationship:

1. Who is the relationship with?
2. Why is it not working or did it not work?
3. What have you tried or are you going to try to make the relationship better?
4. Does the relationship need to end or change?

7th Grade:  The students need to re-write their journal entry based on their journey as a slave on the Under Ground Railroad.  Topics to discuss:

1. What does their first night of freedom feel like?
2. What are they afraid of?
3. What do they hope for?

Please make sure to be descriptive and thoughtful when writing your answers.

Have a good night,

Ms. Van

7th and 8th Grade Update!

7th Grade:  First Quarter is almost over and the students are preparing for their final test coming up this Friday September 21, 2012. The students have developed an understanding of all the issues that divided The United States prior to the outbreak of the Civil War.  This Friday they will demonstrate their mastery of the topics discussed so far this year.  Second quarter will start with a wrap up of the Civil War and then we will begin our Unit on Reconstruction.

8th Grade:  The students will have a Test this Friday September 21, 2012 on The Road to The American Revolution. The first quarter flew by and report cards will be sent home on the 28th of September.  The Second Quarter will continue with a focus on the American Revolution and an in depth study of the Declaration of Independence.  Also, the students will be participating in a debate to honor the 2012 election year.

Study Hard This Week!!!

Ms. Van

7th and 8th Grade Homework due 9 11 2012

7th Grade:  The students are required to finish their handout on the North and South Compared.  In addition, the students need to reflect on why tomorrow, 9/11, is an important date in United States History and then write a paragraph or two about why we need to remember the events of this day.

8th Grade:  The students need to write a reflection paper on the events of 9/11 and include in their papers why this day is an important date in United States History, one that we should never forget!

Homework Due September 6 2012

7th Grade:  Students need to finish their handout on Fort Sumter!

7th and 8th Grade:  Students will write a 5 paragraph essay on what it means to them to be trustworthy.  The essay should include what trust looks like, feels like and sounds like.  They need to answer this question thoughtfully and sincerely.  I would love for the students to give examples of times in their life where they have given trust and received trust.

Have a great night,

Ms. Van

PROGRESS REPORTS!

Hello  parents and students

        Just a quick reminder, progress reports will be sent home by all teachers on Tuesday September 4th 2012. 

Have a great Labor Day Weekend,

Ms. Van

7th and 8th Grade Homework Due August 22 2012

7th Grade:  The 7th grade students need to explain their understanding of, "Popular Sovereignty."

Hint:  During the 1850's new states were requesting to enter the Union as either free states or slave states.  This decision often came from the government.  However, in 1854 with the passing of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, the idea of allowing the people, of each new territory, to vote on whether they wanted to live in free or slave state was the new approach to this difficult issue.

8th Grade: The 8th grade students need to answer the following questions:

1. Explain why the Committee of Correspondence was important in the unification of the American Colonists.
2. How did the Committee of Correspondence work to get information to all the American Colonists?
3. What is the Committee of Correspondence?
4. Who created the Committee of Correspondence?

7th and 8th Grade Quiz Friday August 17 2012

7th Grade:  7th Graders will have a quiz tomorrow based on the division that plagued The United States in the mid 1800's leading to the Civil War.  The Questions will be straight forward and focus on the main ideas covered in class so far.

TOPICS TO STUDY:

• The divide in the country was between the North and the South
• The Southern Economy was based on agriculture (Farming)
• The Northern Economy was based on industry
• North was against slavery and the South was for slavery
• Henry Clay was known as, "The Great Compromiser"
• Dred Scott was a slave from Missouri who took his master to court
• Constitution is the Supreme Law of our Land
• First ten amendments of the Constitution are known as The Bill of Rights
• 5th amendment protects peoples right to own property
• Congress is both the House of Representatives and the Senate

8th Grade:  The 8th graders will have a quiz based on the 13 colonies!

TOPICS TO STUDY

• Define Colony:  A Colony is land in one part of the World that belongs to a country outside that territory
• Name the 3 sections the 13 colonies were divided into: New England, Middle, and Southern
• Name one Colony in each section
• The French and Indian War: Why did it start, Who was fighting, What was the outcome?
• The Ohio River Valley: The Life Source
• The Iroquois: Native Americans who lived in the Ohio River Valley
• Read through your notes!

Good Luck, study, and you will all do great!

Ms. Van

Homework 8/13/2012

7th Grade:  7th Grade students are required to go over and fix their answers on, "The Missouri Compromise," Handout.  This Handout was given to the students Friday for today, however, I would like the students to take a second look at their answers before we go over them in class.  Students should make sure answers are in a complete sentence and that they have the right answers. They can also look at their notes to help them with the last question on the handout.

8b: 8th grade students have a blank map of Africa.  8b has to fill the countries in and color the map for tomorrow, Tuesday August 14th. 8a will have this map due Wednesday August 15th. 

Any questions please feel free to contact me!

Have a great night,

Ms. Van

Homework 8/8/2012

8th Grade:  Students are required to answer the following question for class tomorrow:

                 How did the British gain French territory in North America?



7th Grade:  Students need to re-answer question #3 on the "Division" handout from last night.  I discussed the expectations for this question in class today.  Any further questions please feel free to contact Ms. Van.

Have a great night,

Ms. Van

Homework August 7th 2012

8th Grade:  No homework tonight, however, the students began chapter 5 on the Road to the American Revolution and the goal was to complete section 1 in class as well as the terms for section 1.  Students who do not complete this section by tomorrow August 8th will be required to finish section 1 for homework as well as the additional question which I will post tomorrow.

7th Grade:  7th Grade students have to complete the handout I gave them called, "The Division," they must read the handout and answer the 3 questions that follow in complete sentences.  In addition, there are a few students who did not have an opportunity to take the online United States Map test and these students will be required to take the test tomorrow with their groups.

Have a great night,

Ms. Van

Welcome Back 2012-2013 School Year!

Welcome Back students and parents.  This year is off to a great start and I am so excited to see familiar faces as well as all the new faces in the 7th grade and even a few in 8th grade. The students are faced with many new challenges in Junior High and I am positive all will rise to the occasion. 

Homework: 7th Grade Students need to finish United States Map States and Capitals as well as color. They will have a group map test tomorrow on the computer.

8th Grade Students have 2 questions to answer regarding the statue of liberty.  They are in their note books.

Finally, 7b and 7a have an assignment in Junior Scholastic on the Civil War article.  They need to write down the 10 facts of the Civil War, and define the terms in yellow.

Looking forward to a great year and seeing all families at open house on August 29th, 2012.

Ms. Van

7th and 8th Grade Update!

7th Grade:  7th grade students started presentations Monday May 7th and ended presentations today, Friday May 11th . Overall,  I was impressed with all the hard work the students put into their individual or group projects.  However, a few students were not prepared this week and this was a bit disappointing as I offered to help students at anytime, including staying after school or helping them in the morning.  With that being said, those that were prepared are right on course as we approach the end of the year.  Our next topic is the study of the 1920's with a focus on the Great Depression of 1929.  The students will be working through the end of the year as we have many things to cover and work to finish.  All 7th grade students know they need to complete all lessons in chapter 8 as well as read and finish all lessons in chapter 9.  I will update again this coming week as we get further into our Unit. Finally, I wanted to clarify for parents that the students are not required to turn in a final draft of their paper.  This was the only change made to their project.  I still need a typed Bibliography to go with their power points and all the other parts of their project.  Any questions please feel free to send me an email.

8th Grade: 8th grade students completed their World War II projects Friday May 11th.  The students who presented did an incredible job on their power points as well as their overall presentations to the class.  There are a few students who will be delivering their presentations Monday May 14th as we ran out of time this past week.  Once the last few groups are finished we will make an immediate transition into our current study of The Cold War.  This will be a busy week as we have a lot to accomplish before the year comes to an end.  One final note, I made one change to the project.  As long as students completed a paper, along with a bibliography and all other pieces of the project, I am not requiring a final draft.  However, if any student needs or wants extra credit I will be happy to give them points for turning in a final draft.  This is optional.  Any questions please feel free to send me an email.

4th Quarter History Project!

7th and 8th Grade Social Studies Project 4th quarter 2012!

Multi Model Project!
This Project is designed to help students develop their research skills, writing skills, critical thinking skills, technological skills, and unique creativity. 7th grade students may select any topic or event that occurred one year before, during, or one year after World War I (1913 – 1919). 8th Grade students may select any topic or event that occurred during World War II (1939 -1945). The concept is to pick your subject, develop your thesis and find evidence to support the thesis. Once you find a topic you are interested in the rest will fall into place. The only limitation is your imagination!

Structure

7th Grade: Your project needs to consist of the selection of a narrow and specific topic which you can develop through research. Your Project will contain several elements, a paper, poster board, power point, and presentation of your findings to the class. The paper needs to be a minimum of 2 pages and a maximum of 4 pages. Your paper must have a strong, well developed thesis, the body of the paper must support your thesis, and the conclusion must tie the whole paper together. The final draft must have a cover page, your name and page number in the top right hand corner, an end note page, and a correctly formatted bibliography page. Your final paper will be typed in 12 point Times New Roman font with 1 inch margins all around. This is a research paper it must be written in the past tense and absolutely avoid terms such as, “I believe,” “In my opinion,” etc.

You must have a minimum of 2 book sources and 3 website sources. Please use both Primary and Secondary Sources. Citations will be in the end note format with a correctly formatted bibliography.

At the completion of this project you will present the findings of your paper in power point format to the entire class. In addition, the students will have the opportunity to see your poster board and receive and explanation for the choices you made in the creation of the poster board. The presentation of your findings will detail your thesis and how your research supports your claims.

The power point should be 5 – 8 Slides

8th Grade: Your project needs to consist of the selection of a narrow and specific topic which you can develop through research. Your Project will contain several elements, a paper, poster board, power point, and presentation of your findings to the class. The paper needs to be a minimum of 4 pages and a maximum of 6 pages. Your paper must have a strong, well developed thesis, the body of the paper must support your thesis, and the conclusion must tie the whole paper together. The final draft must have a cover page, your name and page number in the top right hand corner, an end note page, and a correctly formatted bibliography page. Your final paper will be typed in 12 point Times New Roman font with 1 inch margins all around. This is a research paper it must be written in the past tense and absolutely avoid terms such as, “I believe,”

“In my opinion,” etc.

You must have a minimum of 3 book sources and 5 website sources or a combination of other sources. Both Primary and Secondary Sources are required for this project. Citations will be in the end note format with a correctly formatted bibliography.

At the completion of this project you will present the findings of your paper in power point format to the entire class. In addition, the students will have the opportunity to see your poster board and receive and explanation for the choices you made in the creation of the poster board. The presentation of your findings will detail your thesis and how your research supports your claims.

The power point should be 8 - 12 Slides


DUE DATES!

March 28th, 2012: 3 topic choices in order of preference and name or names on the project, also signed paper by parents and student on project guidelines.

April 5th, 2012: All research due and brought to class for points and for a research day

April 10th, 2012: Outline and Thesis Due!

April 13th, 2012: Rough Draft Due!

April 27th, 2012: Final Paper Due!

May 3rd, 2012: Poster board Due!

May 4th, 2012: Power point Due!

May 7th – 11th, 2012: Presentations

7th and 8th Grade Update!

7th Grade: As a class we are finishing up our Unit on Imperialism. This Unit has been a little more challenging in terms of material and the grasping of concepts. As always I am pleased with the majority of the students and their determination to master the information. The goal is to finish up any last notes by Monday or Tuesday March 6th at the latest. Following the completion of the Unit, the students will take a test on Thursday March 8th to demonstrate their mastery of the material covered. Our journey will continue with an in depth study of WWI. This Unit will include many different aspects one of which will be a multi-modal project. I will post the necessary information for the project including due dates for each piece in plenty of time for students and parents to prepare.

8th Grade: The 8th grade students are in the midst of our World War II Unit. So far, we have revisited material from last year so students understand what led to WWII. This review included a brief discussion of the ending of WWI, the resulting Treaty of Versailles, and a look at the role of the Great Depression. All of these previous mentioned events were causes of the next major World War. In addition, we have studied the rise of dictators in Europe such as Stalin, Mussolini, and Hitler and how these men and their type of leadership played a major role in the outbreak of the War. This Unit has many more exciting turns to take including a multi-modal project which will show the creativity and individuality of each student. I will post details of the project as we get closer to the forth quarter.

7th and 8th Grade Homework Due March 2nd 2012!

7th Grade: The students have the following questions to answer:

• What was the Boxer Rebellion


• Who was involved (people and countries)


• Why were they called Boxers?


• What was the result of the Rebellion?

7A: The students in 7A have an additional assignment, which is to write a page and a half to a page on what they learned the last 20 minutes of class today! This is to be done after they finish the above assignment!

8th Grade: The students need to read over their notes on the causes of WWII. Furthermore, they should be considering topic choices for their upcoming project.

7th & 8th Grade Homework!

* Just so it does not seem like I am giving some huge homework assignment with one day to complete, I was out sick Monday and Tuesday and the students in both 7th & 8th grade had two full class periods plus time last Friday to complete the requirements for tomorrow.

7th Grade: The 7th Grade students need to have all 6 lessons for chapter 6 finished in complete sentences, as well as chapter 6 review. The final piece of their assignment is to have all terms defined for chapter 6.

8th Grade: The 8th Grade students need to have section 1 and 2 of chapter 24 complete, including definitions for the terms in section 1 and 2. Question #5 of section 2 is not part of the assignment.

Extra Credit Opportunity 7th & 8th Grade!

Extra Credit!

Due by end of day Friday February 10th, 2012!

7th & 8th Grade: February is African American History Month! For 20 points extra credit the students may choose any Black performer, artist, historian, celebrity, or athlete and write a 5 paragraph essay about the person you chose. Your essay should include why you chose the person, and a short biography about the person's life. This biography should include where this person is now and where their life started. Finish with how you have been inspired by the person you chose and what qualities they have that you admire.

* Remember you can only receive credit for this project if you are caught up on all your regular in class work and home work.

January Update!

7th Grade: The students started the 3rd quarter with a quick review of the Reconstruction Unit covered before break. This was followed by two days completing the standards for the 1866 -1877 time period. Currently, the classes are in the midst of the Industrial Revolution. In this Unit students will focus on the rapid change from agriculture to industry and how this impacted the United States both at home and abroad. More specifically, students will gain an understanding of how industrialization impacted the growth of cities, immigration, political policies, and people such as John D. Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie who led the Industrial movement in the United States. In addition, students will gain knowledge on the concept of monopolies and why they are illegal in this country. Industrialization will lead to the next Unit on Imperialism. As a class we will study the race of first world countries to gain territories around the to aid in the progress of these nations. With new territories comes increased power, access to resources, and the many other things we will study. I am excited for this quarter and look forward to what the students bring to the classroom both in discussion and material.

8th Grade: The students are continuing the Unit on Government. We started the quarter with a review of the material covered before break and quickly moved to the new material needed to be covered. One recent class activity required students to work in groups with each group responsible for one core principle that is the foundation of the United States Constitution. The groups consisted of Limited Government, Separation of Powers, Popular Sovereignty, Checks and Balances, and Federalism. Each group had to demonstrate mastery of their principle by teaching to the class what the principle means and how it functions in the United States Government. Currently, the students are focusing on an in depth study of the Executive Branch. This includes everything from the duties of the President to the function of the Electoral College. As a class we still have a some topics to cover in government before we move to our next Unit. Great start to the 3rd Quarter!