Month in Review
September
7th Grade: This month we started with a discussion about history and the role of historians. We examined how historians uncover history. We talked about primary sources and why it is so important to understand point of view and perspective when analyze sources. We practiced historian skills with an activity where the students got to analyzed cancelled checks from a fictional person in order to develop a life story about the person based on what he purchased at various stages in his life. We spent some time also reviewing geography and learned the impact that geography has on how people live. These discussion led us to our lessons about the indigenous people of Pre-Columbian North America.
8th Grade: The school year began with a quick review of some of the important content we learned last year in 7th grade. We quickly moved into a series of lessons and discussions about the Reconstruction period immediately following the Civil War. For a more detailed description of what we learned check out the Reconstruction section of the US History Regent's Review page on this site. After Reconstruction we discussed the rise of Industry in America and America's evolution from an agrarian society to an industrial society. This led us into our current unit The Gilded Age.
October
7th Grade: This month we learned about Columbus' discovery of the "New World" and the European explorers who followed. We talked about the first settlements in North America (Roanoke - "The Lost Colony", Jamestown, Plymouth, etc). We examined the hardships faced by the early settlers and the interactions they had with the Indigenous People. We finished the month discussing and learning about the growth of the original 13 colonies.
8th Grade: We examine the Industrial Age in American and the problems that arose due to rapid industrialization. During this month we explored topics such as The Gilded Age and immigration. We argued whether some key figures were "Captains of Industry" or "Robber Barons". We learned about the Progressive Era and the social and political reformers who tried to raise awareness of and fix many of the problems that resulted from the rapid industrialization of America.