Portland Public Schools
Portland, Oregon

Image of Lion coming through a frameMarysville School

"Respect, Relationships, Results"

Marysville School K-8
7733 SE Raymond | Portland, OR 97206
Phone: (503) 916-6363 | Fax: (503) 916-2656

Constitution Convention! (9/25)

The constitution convention went great!  Tomorrow we will vote on whether to abolish slavery, and suffrage for women and the underclass.  Here are a couple pictures from 3rd period!

Role Play Speeches (9/21)

Just a reminder that our Constitutional Convention Role Play will be taking place next week, and you need to have your character speeches ready.  Your speeches must include a paragraph about your background (name, family history, etc...), a paragraph about how your character feels about slavery, and a paragraph about how your character feels about suffrage.

Here is a sample speech that I wrote to help you:

My name is Tobias Piltch.  I am a shoemaker in New England.  I was born in England and my family was killed when I was 4 years old.  I grew up in an orphanage, and had no money.  I decided when I was 18 that I wanted to go to the 13 English Colonies across the ocean.  Since I had no money for the trip, I agreed to work for a wealthy man for seven years to pay for my ticket.  Those seven years were awful.  My boss worked me to the bone, and I had very little to eat.  I slept on the stone ground.  During the revolutionary war, I was a soldier.  Although I am now a shoemaker, I will never forget the time that I spent as an indentured servant and soldier. 

Slavery:

            I believe that slavery should be outlawed!  When I worked as an indentured servant, I was treated like a slave.  Luckily, after 7 years I was able to leave because I had white skin.  I can’t imagine being stuck doing that for my entire life.  No one should have to do that! 

Suffrage:

            I believe that everyone should have the right to vote, especially slaves.  If slaves didn’t have the right to vote, I would worry that there would be too much power in the hands of the rich.  The rich are always trying to take advantage of the poor.  I know, because when I was out fighting on the battle field, I was surrounded by poor people just like me.  The rich paid for other people to fight in their place.  Well, I think that’s disgusting.  Slaves, women, rich AND poor should have the right to vote.  Decisions for the country should be made by everyone, not just those who have money!

 

 

Constitution Vocabulary

As we start our unit on the United States constitution, all students should know the following vocabulary terms.  Please have them listed in your social studies notebook.

Justice

Wealthy

Merchant

Suffrage

Constitution

Abolish

Abolitionist

Fugitive

Convention

Indentured Servant

Plantation

Personal Flags!

A personal flag is a flag that uses symbols, pictures, and colors to represent you.  Check out the awesome flags that were created by the 8th graders!   

Welcome Back 8th Graders!

Welcome to the website for Mr. Miller's 8th grade Social Studies class.  I'll be posting class notes, work, and study guides here, so check back often.