Moving Forward!

Civil Rights Assessment - This Friday 5/22

Students should study the following notes/documents for the Civil Rights Assessment:

Civil Rights notes (4/30)

Brown v. Board notes (5/1)

Little Rock Nine notes (5/4)
On the Road to Civil Rights homework

Birmingham Jail Letter

Civil Rights Movement Packet

MLK/Malcolm X packet

(There will be an compare/contrast essay question on MLK & Malcolm X)

Students should have their own documents and notes and I've attached some copies of what we did in class.  Also, students can review the documents we used in class to take notes.  We watched the BrainPop videos of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X, and all of the readings are on Edmodo.

click on the photo to go to the BrianPop videos

Civil Rights Notes 

(Source:   "Some Brave Children Meet a Roaring Bull" - in A History of US)

(Source:   "Separate but Unequal" - in A History of US)

 

(Source:   "Rosa Parks Was Ready" - in A History of US)

Week of May 11th

We are continuing our reading of Son, and we are in the last section of the book!  Today students finished their outlines on the article we read about John F. Kennedy's goals and assassination.  We began a partner reading activity about Lyndon B. Johnson today.  Students worked with a partner to find information about LBJ's influences and actions.

Students are also continuing to work on their Exhibition research and this week they will write their central ideas.  Next week they will assemble their presentations and practice the verbal presentation portion of their projects.

Mrs. Smith talked to the students about summer reading.  Please click on the picture below to access all of the resources she's assembled to help students and parents.

Lastly, several students will be retaking the Cold War assessment on Friday.  I revised the test to not include an essay question and I've posted what to study on the board and in Edmodo.

Cold War Assessment

The Cold War assessment will be on Friday, May 8th.  Students should study their Cold War notes and class materials.  Here's a list of what they should review:  

1.  The definitions of communism, capitalism, NATO, Iron Curtain, the Berlin Wall & the Berlin Airlift
2.  Cold War leaders:  Vladimir Lenin, Joseph Stalin, Nikita Khrushchev, Mikhail Gorbachev, Harry S. Truman, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Joseph McCarthy & Fidel Castro
3.  Marshall Plan (What did Truman want to accomplish after WWII?)
4.  Korean War (Why did the U.S. get involved?)
5.  Joe McCarthy (Who is he and what did he do?)
6.  Vietnam War - (What were the causes, effects, and results of the Vietnam War?  Include information about communism, the Domino Theory, pro-war arguments, and anti-war perspectives.) - This is the essay question so plan/study accordingly!
7.  Cuban Missile Crisis (know the order of events)
8.  End of the Cold War 

Marshall Plan Notes 
(these are notes on the same lesson from two different students)

 

Korean War Notes 
(same notes, two different students)

Joe McCarthy Notes

Vietnam War Notes

End of the Cold War Notes

Tuesday, April 28th

We continued our Cold War unit with discussing the Cuban Missile Crisis.  We read, "Being President Isn't Easy" from A History of US:  All The People since 1945, and we took notes about the cause of the conflict.  We also discussed current events and how the events during the Cuban Missile Crisis are connected to what's going on today.  Students who are more interested can visit http://microsites.jfklibrary.org/cmc/ for a day-by-day summary of the events from John F. Kennedy's perspective.

During ELA we continued reading and discussing Son.  Students also completed a grammar snapshot.  I'll be using snapshots this term to determine which students need additional small group instruction to master specific standards.  I'll then reassess those students.

Lastly, students continued working with their Exhibition groups.  They worked on narrowing down their questions and they will begin researching soon.

This week's ELA/SS homework is due on Friday and students should read for 30 minutes daily.

Wednesday, April 22nd

Testing is going well.  Today students took the writing portion and I was pleased to see that students used the writing process to produce their essays.  Tomorrow students will take math, and on Friday they will take the science portion of the test.  On Monday, they will finish with social studies.

Our testing time is 10:00am-12:30pm and our lunch is at 1:00pm  Please feel free to send in a snack for your child since we are eating lunch later than usual.

We are continuing our study of the Cold War.  Yesterday we read about Joseph McCarthy and the causes and effects of his witch hunts.  Today we discussed the causes of the Vietnam War.

Source:  "Tail Gunner Joe"  History of US:  All The People since 1945

Source:  "French Indochina"  History of US:  All The People since 1945

We are continuing our work with Exhibition.  The groups are creating their research questions and organizing them into categories based on the concept lenses.  Ms. McFaddin and I are teaching mini-lessons to review proper research techniques, and next week they will begin researching and working with their mentors.  

If you are available to be a mentor, please let Ms. McFaddin or me know.  We still need one more person!

Week of April 20th

Today we continued our economics lessons and we should complete it within the next two days.  We will continue with our Cold War lessons and also review some geographic concepts.  This week's homework is a geography review and students can use the map below if they don't remember the state names and locations.

Lastly, thank you to the parents who have volunteered to be Exhibition mentors.  Also, we begin GMAS testing tomorrow.  If you would like to donate snacks or hard candy (the students like Jolly Ranchers), then we would welcome that.  Thank you!