Laurelhurst SchoolRivers and the Land: A Preview
Our current unit, Rivers and the Land, is underway. Click here on "Unit Draft" to see what we'll be studying (it may go to your downloads). Daily objectives, lesson plans, and homework will be on the side bar as usual.
Period 3 students and parents are invited to contact our Lewis & Clark pre-service teacher, Jill Atkinson directly by e-mail: atkinson@lclark.edu. Ms. Atkinson will be leading Period 3 through the remainder of the school year while she completes her master's degree in education. Please also welcome Hannah Strout to Periods 4 and 5. Hannah is doing an undergraduate practicum through Warner Pacific College.
Looking for a new book for the American History Book Project? The basic criteria are as follows: fiction and non-fiction; refers to events between 1800 and 1900; must be based in the United States; no more Revolutionary War. A list of recommended books from the Multnomah County Library Corps is linked here.
Here are some recommended topics based on what we'll be studying the next 12 weeks: Lewis & Clark; Oregon Trail; War of 1812; Mexican-American War; continental railway; western expansion; all things Native American (western); territorial acquisitions; Northwest Territories; president biographies; all things Thomas Jefferson; Manifest Destiny; Monroe Doctrine. For daily objectives, lessons, and homework, please go to the sidebar.
Current homework is to prepare your cost/benefit persuasive speech about a problem and a solution for it on your river. Cartographers will be giving an introductory speech about the river and its basin, and they will serve as the emcees for their group. All students are to be prepared to present on Tuesday, January 24th. You will be scored using the state scoring guide for ideas and content, organization, language, and delivery. If you lost your purple speech outline, you need to download at home by clicking here.
The Rivers and Mountains crossword puzzle was due on Monday, January 9th, and there were small daily homework assignments during week.
See the list of gradeable assessments on "Rivers and the Land" in the sidebar.
Priority Standards for Language Arts 7/8 and Social Studies 8
Portland Public Schools maintains priority standards for all core content. Please click on the links below to learn what is expected of students in language arts and social studies.
Priority Standards, Language Arts, Grade 7
Priority Standards, Language Arts, Grade 8
Priority Standards, American History: Constitution to Reconstruction
Background Information about American History: Constitution to Reconstruction
During 4th and 5th grades, students learn a great deal about the colonial and revolutionary periods of the United States as well as the Oregon Trail saga. The sixth grade content focuses on prehistory through the beginning of Rome, and the seventh grade teaches the medieval world from the fall of Rome through the Enlightenment. At eighth grade, we delve into the origins of the Constitution and we explore our pivotal 19th century. Exploring means looking at all viewpoints, not just those of the victors. We ramp up on the critical thinking skills that will cause Laurelhurst students to be evaluators of past events that shape our world today. American history in the 20th century is a required high school class.
This year, all 7th and 8th grade students take the American history class. Next year, all 7th and 8th grade students will take the medieval world course. Please click on Social Studies 8 under the priority standards listing here to see the key objectives for this year's social studies class. I was part of a districtwide team that aligned the district social studies standards for American history to the standards of the state and the National Council for Social Studies. If you want to know more, please e-mail me for links to key sites.
Our student teacher for 2011-12 is Jillian Atkinson who is taking her master's degree with a social studies endorsement from Lewis & Clark College where I studied in 1999-2000. As Jill becomes more active in the classroom, she will be sending you information.
On the side bar you will see tabs for the following: overview of social studies units/grading; lessons and homework; and, student behavior/organization expectations. Please learn how to use these tabs. If they don't have the information you are looking for, e-mail me at cberkley@pps.net.
About Me, 2011-12 School Year
In case you haven't heard, I'm passionate about the subject of American history. But our social studies class isn't just about history. It's also about anthropology, economics, geography, government, sociology, psychology, and current events that relate to these disciplines. At the heart of these subjects, I care deeply about a future world that welcomes diversity of opinion, thought, and action. During the next year, you will learn how to think critically about our country from the time the Constitution was ratified through reconstruction after the civil war. In a mere one hundred years, amazing things happened here -- we have quite a story. What do you feel proud of; what would you change if you could?
When I'm not daydreaming about how to deliver a lesson, you will find me in one of three places. I adore the river, and you may notice that my kayaks are up on the top of my car until the water is too cold to be safe. This summer, I paddled 100 miles on the Willamette with Willamette Riverkeepers: I now have just about 20 miles left until I can say I've paddled it all. The Columbia River to Astoria is my next big goal. If I'm not on the river during my free time, you'll likely find me in garden where I have (literally) put in two and a half decades of toil. It's looking pretty good, and our dogs love it, especially when they can snatch some vegetables without my notice. My latest acquistion is a worm bin that just doesn't quit. Garbage in; compost out. On those days when I'm not kayaking nor gardening, you'll find me hanging with the people I love the most -- some wondeful girlfriends and my dear family. Our daughter has graduated PSU in communications. Our twin boys are in their last year at OSU. GO BEAVS!!!
