November Update

Happy Thanksgiving all! Below is an update about Room 15 for the month of November. 

5th Grade

Over the last few weeks, the 5th Grade has finished their Amusement Park Projects, where they created rides and food stands based on states in the Northeast Region. They also started to explore the Southeast Region by studying the climate, landmarks, history, and natural resources. We also completed a puzzle map of the Southeast where they had to cut out states and glue them in the correct spot. Moving forward, we have our test on this region Wednesday, December 4. 

6th Grade

The 6th Grade finished their unit on Ancient Europe. Following the test, they completed a One-Pager on World War I, World War II, the Cold War, and the European Union. Their projects turned out awesome, as the creativity was out of this world! Currently, we are learning about modern day Europe. We started by covering European geography and types of government. Yesterday, the 6th Grade was tasked with building a tower using straws and tape. Each student was put into a group based on a type of government. Each group had specific rules to match how each government runs. For example, in the democracy group, each group member had a say; whereas, in the dictatorship group only one person was in charge. We had so much fun seeing each group construct their towers!

7th Grade

The 7th Grade concluded their Colonization Unit. We studied each section of the 13 colonies. We have rotated taking notes, analyzing texts, and group work! After we studied the colonies, the 7th Grade created their own paper coin with a slogan and two pictures representing one of the colonies. The last activity we did in the chapter was on mercantilism, or the concept of restrictions on trade between the colonies and other countries. The 7th Grade was split into six groups. Three groups represented the colonies and three groups represented countries. The colonies and countries had the opportunity to trade goods with each other in exchange for "gold." By the end of the activity, England had the most money because of trade restrictions! Moving forward we are tackling the 7 Years War and taxes on the 13 colonies. 

October Update

Happy Fall! Here are a few things that have been happening in Room 15 over the last few weeks.

Grade 5:
The 5th grade just had a test on the Northeast Region. We practiced taking notes and learning about the states in the region. To begin, the 5th grade participated in the famous backpack game! This game includes items in a backpack from all of the states we are covering in the region and groups guessing which items match each state. We always have so much fun doing this introduction to the regions! Discussion was great, as a majority of the fifth grade has traveled to the states we talked about! We colored in our first map and created a booklet which encompassed the main resources, landforms, and landmarks in this region. Moving forward, the 5th grade will be working in groups to create amusement parks with the theme being the Northeast Region!

Grade 6:
The 6th grade is about to finish their unit on Ancient Europe. There has been so much to learn with the history of Rome, Greece, the Byzantine Empire, and the World Wars. We have covered the first humans and even made cave drawings of our own! The 6th grade also researched Greek Mythology and created their own monsters. Finally, they made posters about the Byzantine Empire and learned about the Great Schism! With a combination of taking notes, reading the textbook, and activities we are coming to an end of this unit. Our test is scheduled for the end of next week.

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Grade 7:
Last week, the 7th grade concluded their chapter on Colonization. We discussed the Columbian Exchange, the Protestant Reformation, Jamestown, and Thanksgiving! We had a debate on whether or not Columbus Day should be a national holiday, and if so should it change its name. The 7th grade had some great ideas and opinions! Also, we created comic strips for the Columbian Exchange. Every student had an item and created a story for its journey. We are moving on to the 13 colonies which sets the scene for the American Revolution, whoo hoo! Finally, the 7th grade is looking forward to walking in the Halloween Parade because our costumes truly look fabulous!

September Social Studies Update

Hi Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Grade Parents! Welcome to our blog. This blog will keep you updated on all things happening in Room 15. Below are a few things that have been going on in social studies during the month of September!

5th Grade:
The fifth grade finished their unit on general geography (latitude, longitude, the continents, and the oceans). We started to practice taking skeleton notes. This is a transition stage to students taking their own notes in their copybooks. At the end of each chapter, I collect their notes to check them, so please, please, please do not throw them out! Throughout the unit, we listened to the "7 Continents Song" which became a huge hit. Additionally, we became familiar with how much there is to see in the world via maptangle, a map version of Twister! Finally, at the end our lesson on latitude and longitude we used a human size grid to locate things such as stuffed animals, DVDs, hats, and other objects. Moving forward, we will be diving into the different regions of the United States.

6th Grade:
The sixth grade completed their first chapter on general geography, landforms, and bodies of water. After reviewing general geography, the sixth grade was able to review latitude and longitude lines by playing Battleship! It was exciting to hear them call out coordinates and hear them yell, "I sunk a ship; I sunk a ship!" After Battleship, we discussed the different landforms and bodies of water. We started a project which had each student create their own map containing three countries, three cities, and a mixture of eight different bodies of water and landforms. It is amazing to see what they have created! From Sports Nation to Alien World they are creative and unique! Next we will be moving into Europe. The European Unit is a combination of ancient history and current European nations.

7th Grade:
The seventh grade is just about finished with Chapter 2. We explored Ancient Civilizations, Native Americans, the Silk Road, and change happening in Europe during 1300s. Throughout the chapter, the seventh grade was able to connect prior knowledge from sixth grade to Chapter 2. I was jumping up and down with excitement that they were able to do so! Additionally, they made their own Quipu, or string, that contained top secret messages used to communicate throughout an Ancient Civilization. To conclude this chapter, they were put into groups and were asked to create their own civilization. Each civilization had to include five rules, a village, marketplace, farmland, and government building. The rest was up to their imagination! It is awesome to hear chatter like, "We should have one of our rules be that everyone has to catch at least 10 fish," or "I want our civilization to have comfortable shirts, so we definitely need to grow cotton." It is great discussion that really makes the students think! Next, we will move to Chapter 3, Exploration and Colonization!

April Update

5th Grade:

In April, the fifth grade covered the Southwest Region and all the wonders it has to offer! They completed a Slides project that covered food, landscape, natural resources, and culture for each state in the region. Some students were fascinated with landmarks like the Grand Canyon and food such as Tex Mex, while others decided it was not the region for them! We are currently in the Rocky Mountain region. Each student completed a small research book on two states and taught their class the information that they found. Now, we are working on making state plates. Each student chose a state. They are decorating a paper plate with information and pictures related to their state! Our test on this     region will be next Monday. Following, we will
dive into our last region in the United States.

6th Grade:
This month in the 6th grade we learned about the different cultures and animals in Eastern Africa. We adopted a hippo, Moto Moto. Both classes have enjoyed learning about hippos in Africa and passing around the stuffed animal we received from the World Wildlife Foundation. Recently, we took a break from learning about Africa and have been looking into different world religions. We covered Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism. There were many practices that were new to the sixth grade. Great discussion grew from concepts such as reincarnation and the Four Nobel Truths. Moving forward, each student is going to create a book on the five religions that we discussed. Each page will represent a religion and cover the key ideals central to that faith.

7th Grade:
The 7th Grade spent most of the month of April learning about the Constitution and how our government is set up. Through a series of notes and activities we were able cover the branches of government, their responsibilities, the amendments, and the difference between state and local governments. They played a matching game for the amendments. In teams, they matched pictures up to the definitions of different amendments. Additionally, they loved rolling dice to learn about the Electoral College. Each class went through all 50 states to determine which candidate reached 270 Electoral Votes first and was the class president for the day. My hope is that they will remember this activity for next year during the presidential election. We finished the chapter with a review egg hunt which was very active and enjoyable! Now, we are in the middle of Chapter 9 which covers Washington's first years in office. Our test on this chapter will be next Tuesday.

March Update

I cannot believe it is already March! Winter has flown by and warm weather is finally here. Below are the updates in social studies over the last month.

5th Grade:
The 5th grade finished the Midwest Region at the beginning of March. They did very well on their twelve state test! They were ecstatic to find out that the next region we traveled to only had four states.  We have covered the different capitals and locations of the states in the Southwest Region. We also have discovered more about their culture and landmarks through a scavenger hunt around the classroom. The fifth grade will continue to learn about the Southwest Region for the next week.


6th Grade:
The 6th grade has virtually been in Africa for the last month. We covered Northern Africa, including the countries, the Sahara, the Nile, and Ancient Egypt. Students were able to build pyramids out of sugar cubes (which they connected to math with perimeter). Both classes worked well with their partner(s) and even did a great job with sprinkling (dare I say it) glitter on their pyramids. Since Northern Africa, we have been in Eastern Africa. We virtually traveled to Mount Kilimanjaro using the VR glasses. It was an awesome experience and I hope to use them more in the future.

I am excited about a 6th grade initiative to adopt an animal in Africa! I have asked the students if they are willing to bring in $1 or $2 so that we can protect our animal and their habitat.


7th  Grade:
Over the last month, the 7th grade learned about the American Revolution and the troubles with starting our nation. We ended the American Revolution with a scavenger hunt around the school. Each group had to answer questions to unlock their next destination. It was a great and active review that both classes enjoyed. After the American Revolution, we dove into the beginning of the United States. We used a brick/fort building activity to help understand the Articles of Confederation. During this activity the students picked out of a hat which state they would join. The larger states had more people and bricks, and the opposite was said for the smaller states. By the end, both classes were creating alliances and plans for their forts to succeed. As the year progresses, we continue to prepare for 8th grade and beyond. As a 7th grade, we are working on critical thinking, analyzing, and note taking. My hope is that by the end of this year, every student is more comfortable taking notes and analyzing key concepts.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to reach out!