February Update

Happy Friday! Here are the exciting activities that have been happening in social studies this month. 

5th: Over the last two weeks the 5th grade has been discussing the Southwest Region, along with Native American cultures found in the region. We have learned about the Grand Canyon, the Battle of the Alamo, and the Four Corners. With each region, I become more and more impressed with the amount of traveling you all have done. It makes for great conversation in class! 

Last week we did a classroom scavenger hunt with clues around the room. The students had to find answers to questions using the clues. They enjoyed being able to move around the room! Currently we working on the Amazing Race Project. They are LOVING it. The conversations are hilarious! For example, "Miss Quigley does the $140 plane ticket cover all four of us or just one?" or " No, we cannot buy a stuffed animal sloth; we are going to be broke!" and finally, "Can't we just drink water from the stream?" All in all, they are truly learning how to use money and plan an itinerary! I am definitely looking forward to seeing their final projects! 

6th: The sixth grade has been learning about Africa. We have touched on so much in just a few weeks! They are now informed and understand that Africa is a continent filled with so many countries. We discussed physical features in Africa. Each student was put with a partner and they had the task of researching a feature (ex: the Great Rift Valley, the Sahara, or the Serengeti). After putting together a presentation for the class, they led their classmates in Virtual Reality. We are currently in the middle of stations for Ancient Egypt. By rotating through six stations, students are practicing their reading comprehension and analysis while learning about mummies, pharaohs, and the Nile River. Moving forward, we will be building pyramids and mummifying apples! 

7th: The seventh grade recently finished a chapter on the Articles of Confederation and Anti-Federalists/ Federalists. The short chapter was filled with a lot of information dealing with the foundations of our government. We discussed the Articles of Confederation and why they failed. Following the discussion, we played an activity that split the class into groups representing the newly formed states. They had the task of building a fort from blocks and using money to buy more blocks. Different states had different advantages based on their population, which was one key reason why the articles failed. They enjoyed the hands-on aspect of building forts using blocks. We finished the chapter with a new review game, that was similar to a relay race using social studies knowledge! Currently we are on Chapter 8, dealing with the different structures of our government and elections. I am so excited for this chapter because it will teach the 7th grade how the electoral college works! Hopefully, it will help them understand the upcoming election.  

January Update

Happy Catholic Schools Week All! This week has been so much fun. I have thoroughly enjoyed seeing all the different costumes and positive energy throughout the hallways this entire week. Below is what has been happening in social studies over the last month!

5th Grade:
The 5th grade finished the Midwest Region, our third region of the United States! Throughout the month we discussed different capitals, customs, and historical landmarks. The 5th grade started the unit with an online scavenger hunt trying to find random facts about the region. It ended with connecting our knowledge about Mount Rushmore into ELA with Mrs. Orsatti. They took their knowledge about the presidents on Mount Rushmore and were able to create their own Mount Rushmore with four of their heroes on it! Right now they are working on a project for the region. They will pick six of the twelve states and research a bit about each of them. Next, we are going to dive into the Southwest Region and learn about different Native American cultures!

6th Grade:
Throughout the month of January the 6th grade has been discussing the beginnings and history of Russia. They were eager to dive into the USSR and Cold War, since we touched on it with the unit on Europe! The discussion we had about Stalin and the transition to Putin was one of the best we have had all year. It was beyond awesome to see them connect current events to what has happened in Russia's past. Right now, the 6th grade is partnered up with a classmate and they have the task to make a board game based on their Russian knowledge. When all the projects are finished, we will be having a day to play everyone's different board games. Next, we are going to jump into Africa and Ancient Egypt!



7th Grade:
The 7th Grade is working on their final project for the American Revolution. They are in the process of completing a choice board where they have eight small scale items and they have to choose to complete at least 5 of them. Over the last month, we have learned the key battles, people, and outcomes of the American Revolution. It was amazing to see how they have better understanding of the freedoms that we originally fought for! Two of the highlights taken from this chapter were the Break Up Text Message with King George and the Capture the Flag simulation. The Break Up Text Message with King George was a project which allowed the 7th grade to "text" King George III and warn him that the 13 Colonies were breaking away from him, similar to the Declaration of Independence. The Capture the Flag Simulation dealt with splitting the grade into three teams: one representing the Patriots, one representing the British, and one representing the French. At first, the British thought they had it in the bag, but as the game went on, more went in favor of the Patriots. This eventually ended up in a Patriots' victory with the help from the French. Next, we are going to learn about how this country was formed!