7/8 Social Studies Newsletter
30 Weeks Mr. Cook Mr. Perez    February 2004

Each ten weeks we will send home a newsletter that will update everyone on our activities in 7/8 Social Studies.  This information will include what we have been doing over the past ten weeks, what we plan to do in the next marking period, and provide important dates and other information.  This newsletter is also posted in my Folder in the MS Staff Collections on the Internet.  You can get there by going to www.keshequa.org !

A Note from Miss Skinner, our Student Teacher!

Hi, my name is Jessica Skinner. I am looking forward to working with your children in the upcoming months. I am currently a senior at SUNY Geneseo; my major is history and secondary education certification. I just  completed my first student teaching placement at Livonia High School. This past summer I taught in Brooklyn, NY through the Summer in the City Program, and I had a wonderful experience. I look forward to getting to know your students and working with you to ensure a successful social studies experience!

Where we have been….

7th Grade – We continued our Social Studies adventure by exploring the Age of Exploration and Colonization.  We started this Packet (Unit) with a look at conditions in Europe that led to the Age of Exploration.  Then we looked at the major explorers and the regions they claimed for France, Spain, England, and Holland.  We then turned our attention to analyzing the early settlement experience of the English colonists – how did they survive in the New World?  This included Internet work on the Mayflower and her passengers.  We finished our study with group projects in which teams explored the New England, Middle and Southern Colonies and shared their findings with their classmates. We also took a field trip to the Rochester Museum and Science Center to expand our knowledge of the Seneca People and see a GREAT film on the Lewis and Clark Expedition!  As always, we worked closely with Miss Szykowny and Mrs Gehrig on building our reading, writing, and analytical skills. We also would like to thank Mrs. Therrien Borgus and Mrs Clancy for all their help.

8th Grade – Our Social Scientists have been hard at work refining their skills as they investigated the time period from 1850 to 1890.  This critical time included the Rise of Sectionalism, the Civil War, Reconstruction, and the Settlement of the West.  The Students used a variety of approaches to build their historical understanding – including role playing, learning stations, reading, writing, analyzing music, and timeline work. Many students showed an improvement in their study skills, and most did a good job on the first formal DBQ  (Document Based Question) of the year. We continued to work closely with Mrs. Gerhrig and Mrs. Camuto on our reading and writing skills, and would like to thank Mrs Therrien Borgus and Mrs. Boehm for all their help!

Where we are going…..

7th Graders have begun their study of the American Revolution.  They will then complete an in-depth study of the United States Constitution and our Federal Government.  This work will include work in the computer lab and the Library Media Center.  We will also be taking a field trip in our Distant Learning Lab!

8th Graders will be investigating the time period from 1890’s to the Great Depression. This will include a special family research project that will help students connect to the Twentieth Century events we will be studying for the rest of the year.  In addition to working on Social Studies skills, we will also using the Distant Learning Room for a field trip to the Albany Institute of Art and History.

Both our classes will continue to work closely with Mrs. Gehrig and the rest of the 7/8th team, as well as Mrs. Keough in the Library!

Important Dates

Feb 18th– 3 wk Social Studies report home
Feb 27th – 5 weeks end – SS report home on 3/2
March 16th– 8 week Social Studies report home
March 26th – 30 week ends

Please Remember…

You can keep track of your student’s Social Studies Progress through the Social Studies Reports.
You can contact me at 468-2541 ext 2065 or at my email:  tcook@keshequa.org
Weekly assignments and other information are available in my folder in the MS Staff Collections at www.keshequa.org.  Look for the calendar in my folder!
I can send home reports at the 3, 5, 8, and 10 weeks via email using my grading program – if you are interested, please email me!

Thanks for your continued support and cooperation!