Week in Review

Scroll through the weeks below to see what we have learned each week.

Week 1: September 9 - September 14 

7th Grade:
This week we talked about the role of historians and why it is important to study history. We looked at the different ways we learn about the past. We discussed why reading and analyzing primary sources is more reliable than reading potentially biased secondary sources.

The students were given the opportunity to put into practice what they learned. We did a quick project to analyze documents. Each group of students was given a set of 18 checks written by an imaginary person. They were tasked with reviewing each check, arrange them in chronological order, and build a mini biographical sketch of the check writer based on his history of purchases over the course of his life. As groups, the students wrote mini-biographies of the person that included details that they were able to learn from analyzing the checks he wrote. 

8th Grade:
This week we jumped right into the 8th-grade curriculum as well as incorporated 11th-grade concepts to prepare the students for the Regent's exam in June, The topics we explored this week included:

• Industrial America and the role that science/technology and new inventions played in modernizing the US.

• We learned about the growth of big businesses and reviewed some economic concepts. 

• Key concepts/vocabulary from this week include:

  • • Captains of Industry/Robber Barons

    • Laissez-Faire

    • Capitalism

    • Supply and Demand

    • Social Darwinism

    • Speculation & The Stock Market

    • Monopolies/Trusts

Week 2: September 16 - September 20 

7th Grade:
We missed a couple of classes this week due to Field Days and MAP Testing. This week we began learning about the settling of the colonies in North America. We discussed the British policy of Mercantilism and what attracted them to North America for the formation of new colonies. 

8th Grade:
We missed a couple of classes this week due to Field Day and MAP Testing. We were still able to complete our unit about Robber Barons/Captains of Industry and start looking at some primary source documents related to this  topic. 

Week 3: September 23 - September 27 

7th Grade:
This week we pushed hard and learned about Jamestown, Plymouth, and the Massachusetts Bay Colony. We discussed the hardships the early settlers had to overcome to succeed (weather, food shortages, hostile environment, and conflicts with the indigenous peoples. We finished the week learning about the Salem Witch Trials and the difficulty of being "guilty until proven innocent".

8th Grade:
The 8th graders had a DBQ (Document-Based Questions) test this week. We sent a few days reviewing the background information and practiced analyzing primary sources (Documents and Political Cartoons) to prepare for the exam.