The week of September 26th saw the conclusion of our Cold Case Investigation, the conclusion of our lessons on explorers and a quiz on Chapter Two: Exploring the Americas. On Monday, September 26th students collaborated with their investigation teams to hypothesize possible reasons for the decline of the Inca Empire. Using the Ed Puzzle application on their iPads, students watched a final piece of evidence that portrayed the Battle of Cajamarca. On Tuesday, students worked with their groups to create a rough draft for their final theories. Please be sure to check out some of our students’ theories on our Cold Case Investigation Blog at this link! On Tuesday, students also downloaded and began to read an iBook that I created on Hernan Cortes and his conquering of the Aztec Empire. If you are unfamiliar with iBooks, please be sure to check this program out! The iBook program allows for individuals to make their books interactive and more engaging compared to a traditional textbook. For example, I was able to load several videos and a 3D model on the iBook I created for Hernan Cortes. Students were also provided with an extra-credit assignment that called for the comparing and contrasting of the conquistadors Francisco Pizarro and Hernan Cortes. I am very excited by the amount of students who completed this opportunity. On Wednesday, we concluded our discussion of explorers with a Prezi Presentation on explorers who represented England, France, and the Netherlands. Famous explorers like John Cabot, Jacques Cartier, and Henry Hudson were examined closely. Students were also introduced to the economic concept of mercantilism and we identified the importance of the Columbian Exchange. On Thursday, students participated in several forms of review for the Chapter Two Quiz. Students first used a feature from the platform called Quizlet to review key explorers. The feature is called Quizlet Live and it’s a very engaging and competitive review that the students really enjoyed. Essentially, the game begins with students being assigned to random teams. On the iPad, each student is asked the same question, however only one student has the correct answer displayed. The students work together and select the correct answer. The game is fast-paced and very fun! Students also used the platform called Quizalize on their iPads to review vocabulary terms on their iPads. Quizalize looks very similar to Kahoot, but the questions are projected on each student iPad. Finally, students had the opportunity to play “Slap-The-Board” a review-based game that requires students to recall key information about a particular subject. I created a giant grid with answers to questions on the front board. I then asked students a question and they used the meter stick to “slap” the correct answer on the board. Once again, the students found this game to be very enjoyable and competitive. Friday was quiz day in American History Class. I was very impressed by the final scores on this assessment and the number of students that demonstrated growth from the previous exam. Please check Power School for the results of the Chapter Two: Exploring the Americas Quiz! Next week we will begin Chapter Three and specifically begin another investigation of the Lost Colony of Roanoke.
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On Monday, September 23rd, I was out of the classroom due to a Technology Liaison Committee Meeting. While I was away, students had the opportunity to complete their Pokémon Explorer Trading Card designs from last Friday. In addition, students began investigating several more explorers who will be featured later during our Age of Exploration unit. On Tuesday, students were provided with an excerpt from the book, Lies My Teacher Told Me that pertained to Christopher Columbus. Students began the class with writing down prior information on Christopher Columbus on Post-It Notes. Students placed their Post-It Notes on chart paper and we reviewed these as a class. Many students wrote down the famous saying, “In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue”. Students were shocked to find out a information about Columbus that they were not aware of. We finished class with a discussion on whether or not Columbus is a "hero" and if Columbus should have a holiday or not.
On Wednesday, students were introduced to more explorers, such as Amerigo Vespucci, Ferdinand Magellan, and Leif Eriksson. In addition, students utilized the Google Earth and eBackpack applications to design maps of different explorer routes. Thursday began the cold case investigation related to the fall of the Inca Empire. Students were introduced to the main suspects (Francisco Pizarro and the Inca Ruler, Atahualpa). Students used a website that I designed through Weebly to introduce themselves to the case. Students then examined several pieces of video evidence that were found on the Ed Puzzle application. On Friday, students collaborated with their Investigation Teams to share key information about the evidence they watched that pertained to the Cold Case. Students then began to theorize possible explanations to the fall of the Inca Empire. Next week, students will put all the pieces together and write a final response to the Cold Case Investigation on our American History Blog page. Be sure to check these responses here! The week of September 12th – 16th saw the first exam in American History class. On Monday, September 12th, students participated in a review for the Chapter One: The First American exam. To review, students put the finishing touches on their foldables and also participated in a Kahoot Review. If you are unfamiliar with Kahoot, please check their website here! I was very impressed with the results of the Chapter One Exam! The exam, which was given on eBackpack, consisted of vocabulary terms, multiple choices questions, and document based questions. Students were provided with numerous resources to study including:
Be sure to check Power School to see the results of the Chapter One: First Americans exam! Following the completion of Chapter One, we moved right into Chapter Two: The Age of Exploration. We began Chapter Two with a virtual field trip through Near Pod of the Gobi Desert. Students were able to see the environment in which Marco Polo made his famous journey to China. Through the same Near Pod presentation, students were introduced to technological advancements that ushered in the age of exploration. You can check out the Near Pod at this link! In conjunction with this topic, students created posters on the Pic Collage application of these technological advancements. In honor of the Pokémon Go craze that has swept the globe, students began to create Pokémon cards of famous explorers. Students used several resources to research three different explorers of their choosing and then utilized the information to make Pokémon cards for each explorer. I was highly impressed with the level of creativity on display during this activity. This upcoming week students will continue to investigate the Age of Exploration, specifically looking at individuals such as Christopher Columbus, and will explore the fall of the Inca and Aztec Empires by the Spanish conquistadors. The shorten week because of the Labor Day Holiday was still very busy in American History Class. On September 6th, we concluded our investigation of the ancient civilizations of North, Central, and South America. Be sure to check out the Prezi Presentation on the Olmec, Maya, Aztec, and Inca civilizations. In addition to completing Section 1-2, we began our Chapter One Foldable. The Chapter One Foldable will serve as a summative assessment for the First Americans unit. Students utilized directions on eBackpack to set up the Foldable and identify migration routes, early civilizations, and sites of the mound builders. Students also used the Foldable to record accomplishments of the Olmec, Maya, Aztec, and Inca civilizations. Be sure to look out for the finished Foldable Projects next week! Thursday and Friday was dedicated to a QR Code Web-Quest on early Native Americans of North America. Students traveled between the classroom and the 8th grade hallway and utilized QR Code Scanners to access a wikispace on the early Native Americans of North America. In addition to the QR Codes, students used the Ed Puzzle application on their iPads to watch videos on specific groups of Native Americans. The two Ed Puzzle videos were screen recordings of myself presenting information on an Emaze presentation. Thank you to all of the parents who were able attend Open House on Wednesday Night! If you were unable to attend, please feel free to contact me at [email protected] if you ever have a question, comment, or concern. Next Tuesday we will have our first Chapter Exam and will dive right into the Age of Exploration. Enjoy the weekend! Welcome back everyone! Let me be one of the first to say that I am very excited to start the 2016-2017 school year! The first few days in American History class have been very exciting and busy. During the first two days of American History class (August 25th & 26th) we took care of a few house-keeping items such as downloading apps and reviewing the class syllabus. Be sure to check out the Team 8-1 American History Class Syllabus at this link. On Friday, August 26th students collaborated with one another to complete an American History Scavenger Hunt. My classroom is full of American History, sports, and other random items… some students call it a museum! Students were given a list of clues and worked with a group of their peers to locate as many items as possible. The week of August 29th – September 2nd marked the first wave of NWEA Testing. Students completed the NWEA Tests in Language Arts, Mathematics, and Science. I was very impressed by the scores that I saw! We will work throughout the school year to improve these NWEA scores. In American History class, students were introduced to the first section titled The First Americans. Students worked on an in-class investigation that asked the essential question: How did early humans populate the Americas? Students utilized several resources to answer this essential question:
Students utilized these resources and used Post-It Notes to post their final responses on a large piece of chart paper. On Friday, September 2nd students were introduced to early civilizations of the Americas, including the Olmec, Maya, Aztec, and Inca. Students participated in a Thinking Routine titled See-Think-Wonder when looking at several examples of Mayan Hieroglyphics. A Prezi Presentation was also used to introduce these early civilizations. As you can see, it has been a very busy and productive week in Team 8-1 American History class. Please feel to contact me if there are any questions, comments, or concerns! If you would like to receive daily updates from the Team 8-1 teachers, including the Team 8-1 homework website, please sign up on the Remind platform. Please see the the attachment below for instructions on how to sign up.
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Mr. Steve Hartnett
Mr. Hartnett will update the Room 212 Blog with classroom updates on a regular basis. Be sure to follow me on Twitter @ MrHartnett212 Archives
July 2019
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