The English Colonies

Today in class we talked about the three different groups of the English colonies:  the New England, Middle, and Southern colonies.  You can see what we discussed below:

Map Time!

Today in class we figured out we don't know a lot of the 13 original colonies.  Fortunately, we're making a map of them to help remember.  Here is a copy of the instructions, a copy of the map, and a link to all 50 states and their postal abbreviations.  Also, here are the pictures from the book that are needed to complete the map:

Have fun!

TEST DAY #2

MINDS WILL BE BLOWN!

TEST DAY #1

PART 2 IS MONDAY!

Review

Today in class we traveled to the Learning Center to work on the dry erase boards in preparation for tomorrow's test.  We took a lot of pictures today of student work to help study.  Be sure to click the link to check it out!

Jeopardy!

Today in class we played Jeopardy! as part of our review.  There was lots of cash and prizes on the line so be sure to ask all about it when students come home today!

DBQ Work and Test Prep

We continued working on our DBQ yesterday.  I handed out a copy of the rubric and also provided an example of a DBQ answer so students could visualize what I'm asking of them.  Additionally I have posted an annotated copy of the documents with some notes to help out!  DBQ is due next Tuesday.  We have a test this Friday to get ready for!  Here's a copy of the test to help prepare!

Additionally, here's some of the information I presented to the class today to help get our minds ready for our first test:

Later Exploration

Today in class we started discussing the settlement of North America by the Spanish, French, English, and Dutch.  You can see what we discussed below:

Our first test is scheduled a week from tomorrow.  More information to come on that in the coming days!

The English Begin to Settle

Today in class we watched the first half of episode #1 from The History Channel's "America:  The Story of Us."  We looked for INSPECT examples throughout the video to help sharpen our skills of identifying the forces of history.

We are still working on our first DBQ, which will be due next week sometime.  We will also be taking our first test next week as our first major demonstration of some of our classroom skills.

Learning from Primary Sources

Today the real fun began...

We are beginning to explore primary sources.  You know, those things written a long time ago that no one can understand.  But that's not going to stop us.

We are in the process of studying a few primary sources from the Era of Exploration to help answer our first document-based question, or DBQ.  Students have to answer one simple question:

"Why did the Europeans choose to explore the Americas?"

Except they have to base their answer in evidence from the primary sources as well as a source (or multiple sources) they find on their own.  Then they have to cite that evidence.  Yep that's right, they have to do a whole bunch of stuff with really tricky reading :).

We will be taking this process slowly as we work through it the first time.  The ultimate goal is a paragraph that makes connections to the sources as well as connections formed on their own.  It's going to be tough, and that's the point.  While we work to read tough texts and make meaning we are also learning to focus, keep trying, and ultimately persevere.

And we will.

Remembering 9/11

Today in class we took time to remember 9/11 but also to explore the topic of terrorism.  We watched a short video about modern terrorist attacks.  We then defined terrorism as well as examined it from our INSPECT themes.  You can see the video we watched by clicking the link.

Early Exploration

This week in class we have been discussing early European explorers.  You can see what we read about exploration or what we are reading about Columbus by clicking on the links.  Additionally, you can see what we have been discussing in class below:

First Boss Battle

Yesterday we had our first "boss battle."  Ask your child about that and see what they have to say!  Right now we are switching gears to exploration of the New World.  Students are going to be making maps of exploration today in class!  Here are some pictures of the maps from the book to help you out: