Social Studies 9/30 - 10/4

Social Studies 9/30-10/4

6th Grade:

6th graders will continue with Section 4 of Ch.1.  This is a long section and we will be spending several weeks on it.  There are many resources, including short videos, on my website that will help students better understand the material in this section.  We will also be using the laptop lab to research different types of governments.

Reminder that I need the field trip permission forms and $30 for the Medieval Times field trip by this Friday (October 4th).  I have had several parents inquire about attending the field trip as a chaperone.  I should be able to let you know this week if we will be taking parents.

7th Grade:

7th graders will finish watching the film Gideon's Trumpet.  We will also be practicing our First Amendment right to petition the government by writing letters to government officials.

Also, my 7th grade students will be taking the Ch. 6 Test (the Government/Constitution test) on Friday, October 18th.  Study materials are on my website.  I will provide a study guide when it becomes available.

Culver's Ice Cream Night!!!

Culver's Concrete Mixer Ice Cream Treats on sale at the PCMS volleyball game.  $5. We have Oreo, Cookie Dough, and Peanut Butter Cup.

Culver's Ice Cream Night at PCMS!!!

This Thursday, (September 26th) PCMS 8th graders will be selling Culvers Concrete Mixers (ice cream treat) at the middle school volleyball game against Shirland.  The mixers are $5.  Flavors are Oreo, Peanut Butter Cup, and Cookie Dough.  100% of the profits will go to helping 8th graders fund the Spring Break trip to Washington, DC.  The game starts at 4:45.  We will start selling the mixers at 4:30.  Thanks and we hope to see you there!

Social Studies 9/23 - 9/27

6th Grade:

6th graders will be starting section 3 of Chapter 1.  Course materials are available on my website.  We will take a quiz over Section 3 on Thursday.  This will be a fill-in-the-blank quiz.  Also, I will be sending home permission slips for the Medieval Times field trip on Monday.

7th Grade:

7th graders will be finishing up Section 2 of Ch. 6.  We will be taking the quiz on Thursday.  This will be a true/false quiz.  Also, I have the Supreme Court/Bill of Rights research graded.  Students can view their grades and the comments I made on the assignment by viewing the document on their Google Drive.

6th graders researching Native American culture areas...

What 4th Amendment?

7th Grade Students...good article about how the Fourth Amendment is supposed to prevent intelligence agencies from spying on citizens without a warrant or probable cause: 

What 4th Amendment? (link)

7th Grade Students and Parents - 

Just a reminder that the Supreme Court/Bill of Rights research we have been working on for the last two weeks is due by the end of class tomorrow.  When sharing the document with me, please check the following:

1)  All four questions for each of the 16 cases are answered in COMPLETE SENTENCES (this includes capitalizing important words and using correct punctuation).

2)  The summary for each case is NO MORE than two sentences.  DO NOT copy/paste.  I will know if you do.

3)  When discussing the Supreme Court's decision in the case, don't just tell me who won or lost the case.  Make sure you tell me WHY the Supreme Court ruled the way they did.

4)  When sharing the document with me, make sure that you give me Edit permission.

Please let me know if there are any additional questions.

Thanks!

6th Grade Parents and students - 

Just a reminder that we will be taking a quiz over Section 2 of Chapter 1 tomorrow.  This is a true/false quiz.  Students will be given 5 statements.  They will have to read each statement CAREFULLY and decide whether it is true of false.  If the statement is false, students will have to re-write it so the statement is true.

You can access study materials on my website under the 6th Grade Social Studies tab.  There is a link to my website in my signature below.  The resources students should most focus on are the intro reader, the presentation, and the notes worksheet answers.  Students should also review Section 2 of Chapter 1 in the textbook.

Thanks and have a great day.

6th Grade Field Trip Information:

On Friday, October 25th, 6th grade students will be taking a field trip to Medieval Times in Schaumburg, Illinois.  Students will eat lunch at the castle and then view a performance based on cultural aspects of the Middle Ages.  We will be leaving from the middle school at 8:30am and will be back by 2:30pm.  Cost of the trip will be $30.  I will send permission slips home later this week or early next week.  I will need the permission slips and $30 by Friday, October 4th.  

Here is a link that gives more information about the meal and programming at Medieval Times:

Chicago Castle (link)

Quiz/Test Re-Take Policy:

Parents and Students...this is a reminder that I am accepting re-takes on quizzes this year as well as tests.  Any quiz or test in which the student scores below 70% qualifies for a re-take.  Re-takes must be taken within a week of receiving the graded quiz or test back.  The re-take WILL NOT be in the same form as the original quiz or test.  It will most likely be in short answer/essay format.

Sharing and editing....

These students are all working with each other, in real time, on the same document.  Google Apps allows students to share a document with other students with edit permission.  It is really cool!

6th Grade Social Studies:

6th graders will continue with MAP testing this week.  We will also be using the school laptop lab to study Native American culture areas.  On Friday, we will take the Section 2 quiz from Chapter 1.  This is a true/false quiz.  On this quiz, students will be provided with five statements.  Students must read the statements CAREFULLY and the decide whether the statement is true or false.  If the statement is false, they must be able to re-write the statement so it is true.

7th Grade Social Studies:

7th graders will continue to work on the school laptop lab to research landmark Supreme Court cases and the rights guaranteed to citizens under the Bill of Rights and the Fourteenth Amendment.  Students will need to turn their research in for a grade by Friday.  7th Grade students will also continue with MAP testing this week.      

Uncovering America's Pyramid Builders | DiscoverMagazine.com

6th graders...great article about the Mississippians and the city of Cahokia:

Uncovering America's Pyramid Builders | DiscoverMagazine.com  (link)

Researching Supreme Court cases and the Bill of Rights...

7th graders using the school laptops to research important Supreme Court cases and the Bill of Rights.  Students are watching video clips and working together to learn about the Court's role in shaping the Constitutional rights of American citizens.

3rd period...

More 7th graders working on the laptops...

Here are 7th graders working on the school laptop lab. They are watching video clips shared to them on their Google Drive and reading articles about important decisions made by the US Supreme Court.

Social Studies 9/9 - 9/13

6th Grade:

6th graders will be finishing up Section 1 of Chapter 1 this week.  The quiz will be on Wednesday.  This is a very challenging fill-in-the-blank quiz.  Students will need to study!  Please review all Section 1 materials (can be found on my website), especially the intro reader, the presentation, and the notes worksheet.



7th Graders:

7th graders will be working with the Bill of Rights and several landmark Supreme Court cases.  I have several short videos the students will be viewing.  Please bring headphones or ear buds if you have them.  I will be handing back the quiz we took on Friday to students on Monday.  Reminder that I am allowing students to re-take quizzes this year.  Any student who wants to re-take their quiz must do it by Friday.  They will have to come in during ISP to do that.  

This Friday night, Pecatonica Community Middle School 8th graders who are going to Washington DC this spring will be selling Culver's Concrete Mixer ice cream treats at the Pecatonica-EPC football game.  Cost of the treats will be $5.  Hope to see you there!

Social Studies 9/3 - 9/6

I hope everyone enjoyed the 3-day weekend and is ready to get back to school.  Here's what we are doing this week:

6th Grade:

6th graders will continue with Section 1 of Chapter 1.  We will be discussing some of the theories about the origins of the first Americans and some of the prehistoric advanced societies that were established by Native Americans in Mesoamerica and other parts of North America.  We will be taking a quiz over Section 1 next week.  It will be a true/false quiz.


7th Grade:

7th graders will continue with Section 1 of Chapter 6.  We will continue to study the three branches of the federal government and the system of checks and balances.  We will also look at the process for how a bill becomes a law.  Students will take a quiz over Section 1 on Friday.  It will be a matching quiz.