WHAT'S HAPPENING THIS WEEKWEEK OF 10/22
This week we're mapping the battles of the War of 1812 to see where the significant portion of the war took place and how geography (mainly the Great Lakes and connecting rivers) played a role in the war. Later in the week we'll finish our documentary and compare it to what we learned from our mapping activity. WEEK OF 10/15 Students are beginning this shortened week with an introduction to the War of 1812. The focus of this unit is not on the details of the war as much as it is the role this war played in launching the United States into the industrial era and its "Manifest Destiny" up to the Civil War. We'll highlight a few of the key events, such as the burning of Washington D.C. and the creation of the Star-Spangled Banner, but ultimately students will answer the question about the psychological impact this war had on our country. This week students will understand how events in Europe and on the American frontier put us on a collision course for another war with Great Britain. WEEK OF 10/8 We're continuing our unit on the Lewis and Clark expedition this week. Students have finished up analyzing all the things President Jefferson asked of the expedition. This week students will learn about how it all went during the three year journey. WEEK OF 10/1 This week we begin one of my favorite units in all of American history: the Lewis and Clark (Corps of Discovery) expedition out west. First students will map the Louisiana Purchase and still some of the political debate surrounding it. Later in the week, students will begin to analyze portions of President Jefferson's letter to Meriwether Lewis outlining his instructions for what he wanted accomplished on the journey. WEEK OF 9/24 We are finishing up our unit on the early years of our republic as we connect the major political issues to the presidency of John Adams. We'll look at four different events acts of the federal and state governments that further divide our country. It is in these acts that we see how political differences begin to coincide with regional differences - mainly, North against South. There will be a test on this material, and that of George Washington's presidency, on Thursday, September 27. We go to Art Prize on Friday! WEEK OF 9/17 Students are critiquing several of the major issues that helped form political parties during Washington's administration. They will be responsible for creating a mock interview, song, poem, or poster after they pick the Cabinet member whose ideas they most support - Hamilton or Jefferson. This mini-project will be due on Thursday, September 20. WEEK OF 9/10 This week students are looking at the formation of America's first political parties through the personalities of the two Founding Fathers who helped create them: Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton. Due to our short week with the two retreat days, we won't get too far in this topic, but students will ultimately examine the key issues that these two men and their parties stood for. Several of these issues will be critical as we move throughout the material this year and into the Civil War. WEEK OF 9/3 We are examining America's foreign policy during Washington's administration this week. Students are evaluating whether or not Washington followed his own advice of staying out of alliance and wars with European countries. We'll also take a short look to see if another U.S. president, Woodrow Wilson, did or did not follow Washington's advice. WEEK OF 8/27 Students are taking a quiz on identifying the 50 U.S. states on a map. It's obviously a very simple quiz. I use it to start off with something rather simple, but also as a reference point to many of the things we'll discuss this year in U.S. history. It's worth only a small percentage of their grade...just don't tell them that! This week we'll also begin to examine the presidency of George Washington, including some of the precedents he set a few of problems he and his Cabinet had to resolve during the first few years under the U.S. Constitution. |
8th Grade - U.S. History (1789 - 1865)
This course covers the creation of the U.S. Constitution through the American Civil War.