Week of April 8-12, 2024

Reminder:   Each day for 14 days (April 2-22),  students will review the 11 units we have covered this year.   The following is the format we will use until April 22, which is the day before our Social Studies STAAR Test.

  • Warm-ups – A warm-up is used at the beginning of class as an opportunity to formally assess their understanding of the day’s identified TEKS and targeted content.  There are 3 sections—matching, questions from the unit, and released STAAR® questions. 
  • Lessons – A lesson is a PowerPoint presentation designed to review the most tested content on the Grade 8 Social Studies STAAR®. Each slide provides visuals to aid in your understanding of essential content. (bridge between warm-ups and assignments)  
  • Assignments – An assignment is used after the lesson to allow the students an opportunity to practice and reinforce necessary content associated with the day’s identified TEKS and targeted content. 
  • Assessment– A quiz will be administered at the beginning of the class period each day covering the previous day’s unit of study.  Then, the next unit will begin with the warm-up, lesson, and assignment.  Each day will begin with a quiz over the previous unit.  You are responsible for each day’s lessons if you are absent.

Monday:   Unit 4 Part 2:  Writing the Constitution

U.S. Constitution: Articles, Ratifying & Summary

Tuesday:   Unit 5:  Early Republic

Early Republic Content Module

Wednesday:   STAAR Reading Test

Staar You Got This Png, Staar Test Png, Staar Sublimation, Staar Test Png - Etsy Israel

Thursday:   Unit 6:  Age of Jackson

The Age of Jackson [ushistory.org]

Friday:   Unit 7:  Westward Expansion (Manifest Destiny)

Manifest Destiny | Summary, Examples, Westward Expansion, & Significance | Britannica

Week of April 1-5, 2024

Monday:   No school

Tuesday:   Complete reporting category chart and introduce STAAR Blitz:  An introduction to the process for our STAAR Review covering units 1-11.  8th Social Studies STAAR test is April 23.  The following is the plan for each day: 

  • Warm-ups – A warm-up is used at the beginning of class as an opportunity to formally assess their understanding of the day’s identified TEKS and targeted content.  There are 3 sections—matching, questions from the unit, and released STAAR® questions. 
  • Lessons – A lesson is a PowerPoint presentation designed to review the most tested content on the Grade 8 Social Studies STAAR®. Each slide provides visuals to aid in your understanding of essential content. (bridge between warm-ups and assignments)  
  • Assignments – An assignment is used after the lesson to allow the students an opportunity to practice and reinforce necessary content associated with the day’s identified TEKS and targeted content. 
  • Assessment– A quiz will be administered at the beginning of the class period each day covering the previous day’s unit of study.  Then, the next unit will begin with the warm-up, lesson, and assignment.  Each day will begin with a quiz over the previous unit.  You are responsible for each day’s lessons if you are absent.

Wednesday:  Each day for 14 days (April 2-22),  students will review the 11 units we have covered this year.   

Today’s unit to be covered is Unit 2:  Colonial America.

13 colonies - Students | Britannica Kids | Homework Help

Thursday:   Each day for 14 days (April 2-22),  students will review the 11 units we have covered this year.   

Today’s unit to be covered is Unit 3:  American Independence

American Revolution - Wikipedia

Friday:   Each day for 14 days (April 2-22),  students will review the 11 units we have covered this year.   

Today’s unit to be covered is Unit 4:  Writing the Constitution (Part 1)

The US Constitution: Facts about the country's founding document | Live Science

August 14-18, 2023

Monday:  Teacher Workday

Tuesday: Introduction to 8th Grade Social Studies and expectations for the class.  (Including but not limited to assigning students’ Chromebook, teacher blog,  Google Classroom, online textbook, journals, etc)  The expectations addressed will continue throughout the year.  

Concept of education. School background with hand drawn school supplies and comic speech bubble Concept of education. School background with hand drawn school supplies and comic speech bubble with Welcome Back to School lettering in pop art style on blue blackboard. Greeting stock vector

  • Welcome; overview of class; expectations in regards to assignments, class participation, etc;
  • Seating chart, Assigning each student a Chromebook; class expectations, misconceptions  of homework and tests.

Wednesday:  Student expectations that relate to the critical thinking skills associated with historical inquiry. A rigorous study of history requires that students employ strategies for the close reading of historical sources, both primary and secondary.  Mastery of the skills used by historians is necessary for students to become resourceful consumers of information readily and abundantly available in twenty-first century society. (Judge the reliability of a source.)

  •  Students will be introduced to the process of correctly/accurately defining terms in detail.  (They will refer to the handout on defining terms and define the terms in the context in which we are studying; within the era we are covering) 
  • *Introducing Vocabulary terms: Primary Source, Secondary Source, Sourcing, Contextualizing, Corroboration, Close Reading, Point of View, Frame of Reference, Historical Context (Era), Collaboration, Bias, Compare and Contrast, Inference, Cause and effect (If/Then)   Push/Pull, Sequencing, Summarizing, Categorizing, Generalization, Plagiarize.  (Writing styles:  Expository, Persuasive)
  • Examine and discuss the quote (most likely attributed to writer and philosopher George Santayana) ‘Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it.’ 

Thursday: Students will analyze and be able to identify various examples of documents as well as evaluate the authenticity of those documents.

A Cautionary Tale About Getting Your History Lessons From Internet Memes – BillMoyers.com

  • Discuss/distinguish ads from news stories, corroborate information, evaluate claims, or judge the reliability of a source.  Pawn Stars Video (https://youtu.be/nY0E7fNmSS4)
  • Terms.  Checking the validity of the source; Internet, Facebook, Twitter, news sources, etc. “Save The Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus” news hoax,  Fake News.  Counterfeit money (FBI), National Enquirer and other “news” magazines.

Friday:  Students will analyze and evaluate the text, intent, meaning, and importance of historical documents, including the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution .

United States Constitution: Laws & Sausages: Primary Source Documents: Engaging Congress: Indiana University

  • Examine the following primary documents:  Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.(other documents will be examined as well.)