Final Academic Day of 2015-2016: Congratulations + Looking Back & Forward + Obama Presidency + Imperialism Debate with 6th & 7th Graders

On the last day of regular classes, the First 8th Grade Class in CCS History:

• Received congratulations and thanks for their hard work and cooperation the past two years
• Discussed their plans for next year
• Looked back on some of the highlights of the past school year
• Viewed a short video, Obama Presidency in 2 Minutes
• Were alerted to a longer video called Obama's First Term - PBS Frontline - 45:05
• Participated in the Grade 6/7 debate over U. S. Overseas Imperialism

Assignment for Wednesday: Enjoy the final academic night of 2015-2016 despite having no assignments to work on!

Debate: Reagan & the Cold War + President G. H. W. Bush

Today the Men of the 8th:

• Did an excellent job of debating the question, "Did President Reagan end the Cold War?"
• Compiled a chronology of the presidency of George Herbert Walker Bush
• Began reading a summary of their choice of the Bush I Presidency

Assignment for Tuesday

1. Finish the Chronology of Bush I's Presidency
2. Finish reading the summary of Bush I's Presidency - Send me the link you read.

Making Sense of the Sixties - Vietnam + The Outsiders-Ch. 5

Today the 8th Graders:

• Viewed and discussed the episode from Making Sense of the Sixties called Vietnam Touched Off a Firestorm
• Began reading Ch. 5 of S. E. Hinton - The Outsiders

Assignment for Wednesday - Finish reading Ch. 5 of The Outsiders.

WW II Video, cont'd + A-Bomb Debate

Today the 8ths:

• Watched the WW II in Color video from right after D-Day to Okinawa
• Continued the Atomic Bomb Debate, today doing it online

Assignment for Wednesday -

1. Finish the A-Bomb Online Debate by the time you arrive for class
2. Read and come prepared to discuss Ch. 12-14 in Code Talker

Organizational Matters + WW II Video, cont'd + A-Bomb Debate

Today the 8th Graders:

• Spent a while making sure all required assignments were available for grading
• Watched the D-Day portion of the World War II in Color video
• Debated, without being fully prepared, "Should the United States have dropped the atomic bombs?"

Assignments for Tuesday
1. Continue the a-bomb debate. Read back over the a-bomb packet and come fully prepared.
2. Read Ch. 7-11 in Code Talker. Come prepared to discuss these chapters.

New Deal Debate + Stories from the Great Depression

Today the Gr8s:

• Debated brilliantly the question, "Was the New Deal effective in dealing with the Great Depression?"
• It was students vs. teacher, as both students wanted to defend the New Deal.
• The teacher was barely able to hold his own against the well-prepared, cogently argued case presented and defended by the students. (Some might say he was not even able to hold his own.)
• Read and analyzed Stories from the Great Depression found on The Frugal Farmer blog

Assignment for Friday

1. Finish reading the Stories from the Great Depression. The reading shows a variety of experiences, both favorable and unfavorable.
2. Make a table showing ways in which the Great Depression was bad, good, or neautral, as seen in these stories.

World War I Debate on U. S. Entry

Today the 8th Graders did an excellent job of debating the question, "Should the United States have fought in World War I?" They went in depth, clashed vigorously, and made effective use of the information they have been gathering and organizing.

Assignment for Thursday
1. Read here & here on U.S. military involvement in World War I. Read each page twice.
2. Look back over Ch. 3 & 4 in Will's War and come to class prepared to discuss them.

Crash Course Vids + Silent Debate on the Causes of World War I

Today the Great 8's:

• Viewed, periodically stopping to discuss, two Crash Course Videos on the Causes of World War I

• Held a Silent Debate on the question, "What was the most important cause of World War I?"

Assignment for Friday: Quiz over both sides of A Brief Summary of World War I

1. Learn all the textual material (words).
2. Learn the symbols at the top of p. 1.
3. Learn the opposing sides (Allies vs. Central Powers) on the map, plus what the other pictures show on the back of the handout.

Imperialism Debate + The Call of the Wild Reading, My Map, Buck Changes

Today the 8th Graders:

• Debated strongly and effectively the question, "Was it right for the United States to carry out a policy of overseas imperialism." Great job, students!
• Read Ch. IV of The Call of the Wild and worked on their My Map & Buck Changes Google Docs.

Assignments for Thursday

1. Read Ch. IV of The Call of the Wild, post 5 discussion questions at your blog, and come prepared to discuss Ch. IV.
2. Be caught up on your The Call of the Wild My Map and Buck Changes documents.