The Road Ahead

With Conferences now a thing of the past, our attention must turn to what lies in front of us in February. It is a challenging road, one that can prove treacherous if our students do not take the proper steps and heed all warnings. For seventh grade students, the focus is the Constitution and the upcoming five day exam which will start on the 22nd and go until the 26th. Students should be reviewing their notes on a nightly basis. Here is what will be on the exam:
* Thinkers behind the Constitution
* Goals of the Constitution
* Principles of the Constitution
* Branches of the Government
* Structure to the Constitution
* Checks and Balances
* Amendments to the Constitution
Students will be given a study guide and I will also have sample questions posted on the blog next week. Yet, the best defense is a good offense and proactivity in studying for this assessment will be quite beneficial.

The 8th graders will be embarking on a Primary Source study of Chapter 21, the First World War. They will have a two day exam on Chapter 21 on February 25 and February 26. Day I will be strictly from the book, relating to fact recall of the conflict while Day II will be a multiple choice analysis of the Primary Sources. Students should be reading on a nightly basis, as this will be the last assessment of the trimester. Students' digital portfolios will also be due by the 26th and students will be given in class time to work on them, but should also be working on them outside of class (Adding/ Starting a Social Studies class blog, creating glogs on Social Studies topics, or posting on Moodle or Wallwishers.)

As always, please know that if I can be of any help or assistance, I will be happy to assist. The Lord Buddha was quite accurate in articulating that there are only two mistakes on the road towards truth: Not starting and not finishing. Indeed, while this might be very true of cosmic reality, it has some relevancy to where our emerging 7/8.3 Social Studies scholars are at this time.

Happy hunting and all best.
Mr. Kannan