Lets travel
Students worked on learning more common phrases used in everyday conversation, especially when traveling, since the focus of the chapter for March was the airport and traveling.
Mr. Hernandez
Love
Students focused a bit on the attribute of love. The students worked on making Spanish cards for friends and family, expressing love. We also worked on learning the members in extended families.
Mr. Hernandez
Timeline
Together we constructed a timeline of events leading up to World War Two. Taking a big picture view, we traced events from World War One, the Great Depression, growing Nationalism, and even social Darwinism, and put them together to understand how the world became ripe for war in the early 1930’s. We talked about why dictators gain power, and how many people love them at first. This timeline helped us to look back and see how usually big events in history are a reaction against something else.
Miss Jensen
Propaganda
During our unit on World War Two, 8th grader Austin Ashton presented on U.S. propaganda directed at children during the War. He brought in Disney films produced during the 1930’s and 40’s, intending to education children about Nazism. They were funny to watch, but it made students think about how countries portray each other, in the way they are drawn, the way they speak, what they dress, eat, drink, sound like, etc.
Miss Jensen
The A Bomb
During our unit on World War Two, 8th grade student Keoana Arnett researched and presented on the creation and dropping of the Atomic bomb. She made her own powerpoint, showing pictures of the bombed cities, and describing the scenes in the words of firsthand witnesses. Her presentation, along with films watched in class, sparked discussions about when it is ethical to fight civilians, and whether there is a right and wrong way to wage war. Debates were heated, and the 8th graders proved their critical thinking abilities.
Miss Jensen
Students make their own movie
We began a long unit on World War Two with student projects. A few students visited New York’s Holocaust Museum, and created a movie to share their experience with the rest of the class. Using footage of what they saw, stories they heard there, and incorporating music into their short film, these students created a very moving presentation for the class to see.
Miss Jensen
Stock Market
During our unit on the Great Depression, students spent a long time discussing the Stock Market, and gaining insight into how markets function. During this time students worked together to develop their research and writing skills, helping each other understand and then write about the Great Depression. During this time students engaged in free-market vs. protectionist debates with each other. Some students were assigned their own businesses, and were given different scenarios to work with, developing understandings of supply-and-demand.
Miss Jensen
Roaring Twenties
During our unit on the Roaring twenties, students familiarized themselves with Jazz age performers, and the changing values of society. We watched films that showed how the Flapper girls defied social norms by cutting their hair short, smoking, and wearing dresses that showed their ankles. Students pretended to have conversations with their own children about new-fangled inventions like movies, Jazz music, and radios. Students gained an appreciation for how much technology changes everyday life.
Miss Jensen
Civil War Plays
Studying The beginnings of the Civil War, students had to write their OWN skit scripts, including specific names and events. Students shared these in front of the class, making the rawness and anxiety of the era come to life. Student Matteo Papacostas gave one of his characters a family member away at war, and had him try to convey to an indifferent character how much the war affected him personally. This unit helped students connect with each other as Americans, and with Americans long gone.
Miss Jensen
Civil War news
Extra! Extra! Early Civil War reporters writing up a storm! During this unit we wrote news stories on early Civil War events as if they were unfolding right before our eyes. Students wrote stories about the Missouri Compromise, the Kansas Nebraska Act, and John Brown’s Raid on Harper’s Ferry. Many included interviews with eye wittiness recalling sights, smells, and feelings.
Miss Jensen