What's in a Week?

Weeks 27 and 28- (3/22 to 3/26 and 3/29 to 4/2) - BACK IN PERSON!

Wow!  It is hard to believe, but here we are, beginning the FINAL quarter of the school year. We are back in school FULL-TIME with all students and it feels awesome! We did not hesitate to get right back to work. Students dove into  Triangular Trade and the Columbian Exchange and the impact these had on both the New World and the Old World. We will spend time investigating the Middle Passage and students will analyze primary sources about the life of Christopher Columbus, ultimately deciding if Christopher Columbus an EXPLORER or an EXPLOITER? 

Weeks 25 and 26 - 3/1 to 3/5 and 3/8 to 3/12

We are seeing the light at the end of the 3rd Quarter tunnel! To end the quarter,  Blazers are beginning the study of The Age of Exploration and they are intrigued by how European countries traveled to North America for the 3 G's- GOLD, GLORY, GOD. We will be learning about the colonization of North America, Columbian Exchange, and Triangular Trade. 

With the return of full-time in person learning coming up after Spring Break, we will also be revisiting classroom expectations. 



Week 24- 2/22- 2/26
 

It is the first full week back and we are deep into the study of the Inca civilization. Blazers have been discovering the incredible adaptations developed by the Inca in order to survive and thrive in the Andes Mountains. Terrace farming, suspension bridges, quipus, and chasquis are the favorites. 

Weeks 21 and 22-  2/8 - 2/11 and 2/15 - 2/18

We are back IN school and had an amazing week! It was AWESOME to see every Blazer in person! I missed them all so much! Getting back into the swing of things took some time. We reviewed classroom procedures and expectations for both in person and remote learning. New seating arrangements in class and getting notebooks in order took some time as well. Then we dove into the study of the Aztecs and what civilizations influenced their development. 

Next week we will continue the study of the Aztecs and move into the Inca!  


Week 20 January 25 to 29

The Blazers are moving through their study of the Maya. Last week we completed "The Mayan DBQ", analyzing primary and secondary sources to determine the most remarkable achievement of the Maya. Students supported their reasoning with text evidence from those sources. We also took some time to have some fun and played Kahoot! 

This week move on to "The Disappearance of the Maya" analyzing different theories in small groups. Blazers will also support their theory with text evidence from primary and secondary sources. The kids have enjoyed digging into these documents learning about source reliability and how to work together in small groups.  Ask your Blazer what they think happened to the Maya! 

WEEKs 18 and 19 - 

Blazer Social Studies is moving right along. The students have done a fantastic job adjusting to Remote Learning. I am so proud of their efforts and perseverance during this challenging time!

Since Winter Break, we have been diving into ancient civilizations of North America, Mesoamerica, and South America and how those civilizations came to rise and fall. We are currently learning about the Maya, analyzing primary and secondary sources to determine what we feel is their most remarkable achievement!  Was it trade routes? Could it be the Mayan calendar or number system? Or possibly the amazing architecture that was created and still stands today?



WEEK 13 and 14- Start of Remote Learning

We made it longer than anyone expected or even hoped. I am grateful for the 13 weeks that we had in school together. Knowing these Blazers, we will do a fantastic job with remote learning! They are all amazing and have the drive to do well. 

The week before Thanksgiving Break students finished up their National Parks Projects. They had a blast on this project and have done a fabulous job creating slide shows about their park!  PLEASE ask to see your child's project. 
 
This upcoming week begins remote learning. The first two days will be spent reviewing primary and secondary sources with the second portion of the week learning about timelines and how to create a historical timeline. We will ROK this remote learning!  

Please make sure your child has Elmer's Glue and colored pencils available to use for work being done in their notebooks. Thank you so much!  


WEEK 12 - 11/9 to 11/13

Well, that's a wrap on Canada! We finished up our small group presentations and maps today! We are moving on to our National Parks Projects. Students can work with a partner or individually on this project. They will choose a United States National Park they have NOT visited and research the parks unique features. Students will be expected to use a trail/road map to create a "journey" in the park, creating stops along the way. Please ask your child about this project! 

 

WEEK 11 11/2 TO 11/6-


Blazers are ROCKING the Canada Unit this week!  Small "groups" are researching one of the five regions of Canada. Groups are then presenting their information to the class. I will be modeling how to take notes using the paper map. These maps will then be placed into their interactive notebooks and used as references next week when students are completing their Canada processing questions! 

WEEK 10 10/26 to 10/30

Quarter 2 is off to a great start!  In Social Studies this week students will be completing the assignment "To Build or Not to Build".  We will begin this assignment together in class, discussing 4 different types of maps. Students will then analyze these maps and decide which maps are most useful to a Geographer who is looking to build apartment buildings in a certain area. Super fun using "Tools of Geography" to solve real-world problems! We will also begin our study of Canada, beginning a map, and reading about the regions and Canadian Provinces! Students will be doing small group work ( SOCIALLY DISTANCED OF COURSE) and become "experts" in one region of Canada. They will then share that information with the rest of the class! 

Week Nine - 10/19- 10/23

WOW! Fall Break is over and we are already in Quarter Two! This week brings a fresh start for everyone and the kids are all excited to get back to work.  It is WONDERFUL to see everyone back in school. This week our Blazers will continue studying regions of The United States. After many people traveled over Fall Break, it was awesome to discuss the different regions that families visited and making real-life connections with what we are studying! Discussing landforms, climate, and industries of regions, all students had something to contribute to the conversation.  We will end the week with a lesson on GPS and Google Maps allowing students to use different types of tools of geography and how we can use these tools to solve real-life problems.  

I would also like to thank parents and students for their generous contributions to our school fundraiser!  I am so grateful that my Advisement classes (Cohorts A and B) were awarded top earners in the fundraiser!  Your contributions are amazing and I thank you all! 


WEEK EIGHT- 10/5 to 10/9 

Fall Break is almost here and the end of Quarter One is close.  This week we will be finishing up learning the functions of types of maps and how we use them. Students will finish up our notes and put them into our notebooks. There will be an open note quiz taken on Google Classroom on Tuesday of this week. Students who are in Cohort B will take this on their AT HOME day and students who are in Cohort A will complete this as homework. It is short and to the point and this should be a breeze for everyone who worked on their notes last week. A copy of all notes are posted in Google Classroom for students to check their work if needed.  On Wednesday and Thursday of this week, we will begin discussing the different regions of the United States and the Physical and Human Geography of each region. Students will complete a map noting all of the information and placing it in their notebooks. 



WEEK SIX - 9/21 to 9/25

This week brings us to different types of maps and using a map scale to find the distance on maps. Students will learn and practice how to measure the distance between locations on a map. At home, students will use our Discovery Education Tech Book to read about political, physical, and thematic maps. Students will be comparing those types of maps on a Venn Diagram and placing that in their notebook!  Please ask your child about their notebooks. Take a look at their work!  They look AMAZING! Our first QUIZ will be next week on Monday and Tuesday. All students have a study guide for the quiz and should use that as well as the multiple resources in Google Classroom to study. 

WEEK FIVE- 9/14 to 9/18Globe.png

Week Five brings us to learning and using Tools of Geography! We will be discussing longitude and latitude, GPS, the difference between maps and globes, and using those tools to find locations on maps and globes. We will continue using and learning content vocabulary such as the Equator, Prime Meridian, hemisphere, parallels, distortion, and meridians while adding notes to our Unit Mountain as well as taking notes in our notebooks. Students will be reviewing continents and oceans at home using songs (YEAH, they are kind of c
heesy) and games! Our Geography quiz will be next week on Wednesday and Thursday, depending on the cohort. A study guide will be given to each student. 

The Blazer students are really doing an awesome job starting off this crazy year. Keep up the ROK Star work! Thank you parents for your continued support! We are all doing our best!  



WEEK FOUR- 9/8 to 9/11

This week in Social Studies we will begin elements of a map as well as Physical and Human Geography. Classes will begin their Unit Mountain on Geography, completing vocabulary tasks in their notebooks as well as vocabulary worksheets. Please ask to see your child's notebook!  They are really doing a great job!  I will be doing a notebook check next week for a Work Habits grade.

In class on Tuesday and Wednesday, students will complete a continents and oceans pre-assessment. This is not graded but used as a baseline to see where students start the year with knowledge of oceans and continents.  

WEEK THREE- 8/31- 9/4

Great to be back in Week Three!  This morning I had some tech issues on Google Classroom and I appreciate your patience as I fixed the issues. I am new to Google Classroom as a teacher, so I truly love that the kids are so understanding. Teachers are life long learners too!  : )

This week we are being introduced to the Unit Mountain concept and why we use it in Social Studies. Please look for this in your children's Interactive Notebook.

We are completing the assignments Unit Mountain Worksheet and Unit Glossary Vocabulary in class on paper and gluing them into notebooks. The What is Social Studies assignment is in Google Classroom on a slide show and will be done at home. On Friday we will be discussing the disciplines of Social Studies and writing them down in a graphic organizer.

In class on Wednesday and Thursday, students will be completing the Common Pre-Assessment. This is not a graded assessment. This is what we will use to show growth from the beginning of the year to the Common Assessment that is given at the end of the year. 


WEEK TWO
8/24-  8/28

THANK YOU to all families and students who donated glue and colored pencils for classroom use! I appreciate your generosity and the classes will put these supplies to good use.  If you would still like to donate any supplies, we need boxes of tissue. Thank you BLAZERS!

In Social Studies we are going over classroom procedures, expectations, Google Classroom, and Warm-ups. We are learning how to use our Interactive Notebooks. 

Homework and Work From Home Days this week:
1) All About Me (yellow sheet)
2) Classroom Values (yellow half sheet)
3) Decorate Interactive Notebook - See Notebook Resources in Google Classroom
4) Newsela Article and Questions - Week One on Google Classroom