Laurelhurst School

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During the school year, students will learn specific habits of thought and learning, which will help them to comfortably transition from Laurelhurst to high school.  During the first several weeks of school, we  work with Bloom's Taxonomy of Knowledge to develop essential questions.

Objective on 9/13:  Big questions, little questions:  learning how to think critically

Objective on 9/14:  Use historic thinking for to build essential questions.

Objective on 9/15:  How to use data bases to find multiple sources of information

Objective on 9/20:  Review priority standards for 8th grade social studies.  Analyze and apply standards 8.09 and 8.10 to the Scientific Revolution.

Social Studies Content, Weeks 1 and 2

 Revisit the "Age of Exploration" and "The Scientific Revolution" to understand the setting in Europe at the dawn of the "New World."  Create a partner poster that summarizes key European contributions to the foundations of America.

Objective on 9/14:  Who were the winners and losers of exploration, and why?

Objective on 9/15:  Use multiple sources to answer essential questions about exploration.

Objective on 9/17:  Summative assessment on Ch. 33, Exploration.

Objective 9/21:  How did the scientific revolution impact society and the natural world?  Respond in your spiral.

Objective 9/22:  How might science and technology impact the social and antural worlds in the future?  Use the essential question matrix to generate your ideas.

Objective 9/24:  Summarize European influences on America by creating a poster with a partner.  Follow the rubric for the poster.;

Social Studies Content, Weeks 3 and 4

 Learn about how "The Enlightenment" provides the basis of political thinking in our American democracy. 

Objective for 9/27:  Conduct a jigsaw exercise to understand elements of the Enlightenment.

Objective for 9/28:  Consider this:  if we were going through an Enlightenment period today, what would it look like?  (discussion activity)

Objective for 9/29:  Respond to this essay in your spiral:  Wat would a new period of enlightenment be like?  This is an opinion essay.

Social Studies Content, Weeks 5 and 6

Content focus is on the purpose and nature of government.  Study John Locke's philosophy of natural rights and social contracts in-depth in order to explain why government is necessary.  Apply the Greek drama of "Antigone" to Lockian theory.  We are now using the textbook We the People.  Each student has his/her own copy, which is needed in class everyday for this unit.  Note the homework assignments listed below for each day.

Objective for 10/1:  Std. 8.06 "Determine how individuals, groups, and organizations can influence government policy or decisions" by doing a deep read of the Declaration of Independence.

Objective for 10/1:  Std. 8.11 "Use and evaluate research from various primary and secondary sources" by stripping down the Declaration of Independence to its key concepts.  Finish at home if needed.

Objective for 10/4:  We the People, Ch. 1, "What were the British colonies in America like in the 1770's?  Read aloud in class for a review of this subject matter.

HOMEWORK FOR Monday, October 4:  Make sure questions 1 – 5 on page 12 have been written.  Your answers should be enough to respond to the question.

Read Lesson 2:  why do we need government? Pp. 13 – 18.  There will be an entrance quiz tomorrow.

Objective for 10/5, Lesson 2, "Why Do We Need Government?"  Be ready to explain the relationship between the state of nature and social contracts.  You will be using this material for a skit.

HOMEWORK FOR TUESDAY, OCTOBER 5:  Read Lesson 3, "What is republican government?"

Objective for 10/6:  Random Acts of Poetry:  Create an alphabet poem using the key concepts in the Declaration of Independence.  Apply 24 words in a poetry layout (doesn't need to rhyme) to show why the Founders wrote the Declaration of Independence.  Title the poem "The Break Up."

HOMEWORK:  "The Break-Up" is due typed (at least 21 lines) by Friday, October 15th.  One grade down for each day it's late.

 Objective on 10/6:  Join a group to show by skit, song, or other creative process the following key ideas:

                                1)  What might life be like in a state of nature?  (Direction on p. 15)

                                 2)  What rights do you think all people should have?  (Direction on p. 19)

                                 3)  Why should citizens promote civic virtue?  (Cincinnatus:A  Model  of  Civic Virtue)  Directions of pp. 26 - 27. 

HOMEWORK FOR WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 6:  Read Lesson 4, "What is constitutional government?  Write and answer questions 1 - 4 on p. 40.  Be prepared for a quick quiz on this section Monday, October 11.

 Objective for Monday, October 11:  State of nature, social contract, civic virtue.  Groups practice and perform skits.

HOMEWORK FOR MONDAY, OCTOBER 11:  Read Lesson 5, "How can we organize government to prevent the abuse of power?  Write and answer questions 1 - 4 (p. 46)in our spiral.  Be prepared for a quick quiz on this section Tuesday, October 12.

Objective for Tuesday, October 12:  Practice "judicious discipline" by judging what should be done with Antigone..  See pp. 35 - 37.

REQUIREMENT FOR GRADE:  TURN IN YOUR SPIRALS ON TUESDAY, OCTOBER 12TH FOR YOUR PROGRESS REPORT

 HOMEWORK FOR TUESDAY, OCTOBER 12:  On lined paper, write the definitions of the key concepts on page 2.  You will be using these terms in context to answer the essential unit question "what were the Founder's basic ideas about goverment?"  This assessment will take place on Friday, November 15th in class.  Please do not write it before then.

Objective for Wednesday, October 13:  Understand how "judicious discipline" works in school.  Reflect on your own "judicious discipline" in a writing assignment.  Study your key concepts as homework for Friday's test.

Objective for Friday, October 15:  Using the key concepts in Unit 1 and your answers to all of the  lesson questions, respond to this main essential question:  "What were the Founder's basic ideas about government?"  You will use all eleven key terms on p.2 correctly and in context to answer the question.

Social Studies Content for Weeks 7 and 8 (October 18 - November 2)

Prepare for an in-class public hearing that focuses on the hot issues of the current governor and congressional races.  Five students will be nominated by their peers to attend the Youth Summit on Elections 2010 sponsored by the Classroom Law Project on November 2.

Social Studies Content for Weeks 9 and 10 (November 4 - November 12)

"Knowing Your Rights" is a unit that gives students hands-on opportunities to learn how the Bill of Rights affect their daily lives.

Social Studies Content for Week 11 (November 15 - 19)

NO SCHOOL THE WEEK OF NOVEMBER 22 THROUGH 26

November 8 - 15 UNIT  After the Elections:  How is the Government Responsible for the Economy?

Main essential question to answer:  How and when do the various branches of government respond to a weak economy?

Homework:  This is a five day unit, which is designed to follow up on the pressing issues we found in our election research.   During the first five minutes of class, there will be an "open mike":  you have the chance to present news about the economy and government or something of interest from the Great Depression era.  You are required to speak at the mike at least once for a presentation score.  Each additional time will yield from 10 - 50 points depending on the quality and depth of the presentation.  We will need time to look at video and to hold discussions, so each speaker will be limited to one minute.

Questions?  Ask  Ms. Lozano and me. We'll give you the answers daily in class.

Social Studies Content for Week 12 and Week 13 (November 29 - December 10)

Chapter 9, History Alive, "The Constitution:  A More Perfect Union," led by Ms. Lozano 

Social Studies Content for Week 14 (December 13 - 17)

Preparation for and debriefing of Mock Trial