8th Grade Government Project

United States Government Project
1. Form groups of 3
2. Decide/Assign the 3 branches of government between group members (each person is responsible for 1 branch of government)
3. Use the Social Studies textbook as research reference for your branch of government
4. Discuss as a group to clarify meaning and connections between branches as necessary

Individual Visual Project—Group Creative Project: Directions: • Each group member is responsible for contributing to a visual aid that contains all of the information from his or her summary in a creative manner. • Visual aid should be part of a larger group creative project—this is to be decided upon as a team and must all go together. Be creative!
• REQUIRED: Detailed information and hand-crafted visual images (no computer generated or printed photos)

In your group of three, you will design and create a display that shows how the United States government works. This should include the three branches of the government, who/what is included in that branch, their responsibilities, and the power they have to check and balance the power of the other branches.

 Format - A group may decide to get a giant piece of butcher paper and find a creative way to represent their branches of government, or create a graphic novel with drawings and descriptions. They could also create a sculpture, flow charts, dioramas, collages, etc. Be creative.

Research Speech Expectations

Research Paper 2016

ADV SS Revolutionary War Project

-We're starting a small group project that will last a few days.  The idea is to use the internet and reliable sources (not wikipedia, blogs, etc) to gain some insight into a specific topic from the Revolutionary War. You CAN use wikipedia to get sources from the bottom, or just search your own.
-Keep track of your websites and list them at the end of the presentation.
-Stay focused on how this topic, thing, or person related to the cause of the war, the war, and or the conclusion of the war.
-This should culminate in a 3-4 minute speech with every member speaking for AT LEAST a minute.
-Should have a visual presentation aspect to it (google presentation, presi, or hand made posters)
-Speeches shouldn't be more than 6-8 minutes.

TOPICS (selected in class)

Small Firearms

Artillery

Soldiers’ Food

Soldiers’ Supplies (non-firearm)

Battle of Saratoga

Battle/Siege of Yorktown

Winter at Valley Forge

The Swamp Fox

Benedict Arnold

Marquis de Lafayette

Casmir Pulaski

John Paul Jones (not the Led Zeppelin Bassist)

The Outsiders

For the next 3 weeks, we'll be reading The Outsiders in class.  Students will keep a journal and write summaries and reflections, vocabulary, predictions, and more. They'll also discuss themes and cite evidence in the book when explaining themselves.
We'll have a couple quizzes along the way and finish with a small project.

Colonies Comparison

Compare and Contrast 2 Colonial Regions in 18th Century America OR 
English and French Colonies/Territories in 18th Century America Due Friday, November 20th
**SUMMATIVE**

-Design a Chart or Some Template for Comparison
-Include a few pictures that represent some ideas you write
-Use a Venn Diagram, something like below, or create something unique yourself
-Government, Religion, Population, Geographic Areas, Economies, Relationship w/ Natives, etc
-FINAL COPY FORM

Persuasive Essay

Hooray, we are starting our persuasive essay.
Here are a couple quick reminders:

Outline is due Tuesday, November 17th
Essay is due Wednesday, December 2nd (this might slightly change)

We Shall Remain - Social Studies

For the next few days, we're watching the PBS series - "We Shall Remain" and having an ongoing discussion about it in class. Students are expected to watch the entire episode 1 - "After the Mayflower" and complete the video notes/questions. Here is a link to the videos online if a student misses a day or two.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/weshallremain/the_films/episode_1_trailer
 After watching the trailer, click on "Browse More Video" when it pops up. Then select the appropriate episode.

This Week in Language Arts

We'll be covering the basics of a solid 8th grade essay this week. We'll review formatting, thesis sentences, and topic sentences. A link that covers the basics - http://public.wsu.edu/~campbelld/topic.htm We'll go into more detail in class, so take good notes!

Speeches Friday!!

Make sure to have your note cards ready Thursday so you can practice your speech before Friday. Remember, the key to this speech is keeping your audience engaged and getting across some good information for 90 seconds.

Region Project Instructions

Or Click this link for a more printer friendly version.

2014-2015 Class Pictures

Research Paper Time!

We are now one week into our month-long research paper. 
As you're researching your topic, remember this: a research paper is not a report because it has a narrative, driven by change, causes and effects.  If you don't focus on those important pieces of the puzzle, then your paper is just a report.

Basic Info:
Minimum 10 Sources
.gov | .edu | .org (not wiki), or books are the best sources of information
ONLY 3 .com sources allowed

Notes Check Dates: Wednesday, January 14; Friday, January 16
First Rough Draft Check: Friday, January 23rd

RESEARCH PAPERS!

There are four topics from which you have to choose regarding our papers.  They are the following:

1. The College Experience - How has college access changed from WWII through today?

2. Women's Role in Modern Society - How has women's role in society progressed and changed since WWII?

3. Technology in Sports - How has technology changed sports over the last 50 years?

4. The Panama Canal - How has the Panama Canal changed international trade?

Please see your handout sheet or ask Mr. Gallagher for more detailed information regarding focusing your paper.

CURRENT EVENT PROJECT PRESENTATION SCHEDULE

Monday, December 15^th:

AM CORE: Robbie’s Group, Bryana’s Group, Mitchell’s Group, Alden’s Group, Thomas’ Group

PM CORE: Jose & Jonathan, Seth’s Group, Bryce’s Group, Sean’s Group, Vanessa’s Group

Tuesday, December 16^th:

AM CORE: Jackson’s Group, Arianna’s Group, Hadley’s Group, Kaitlyn’s Group

PM CORE: Kayla’s Group, Riley’s Group, Anthony’s Group, Cass’s Group

Wednesday, December 17^th:

AM CORE: Drake’s Group, Mary’s Group

PM CORE: Alex’s Group, Sierra’s Group

DECEMBER 2014

The year is wrapping up, but we're not done yet!

2014 Current Events Project Dates:

Paragraphs (Rough Drafts) Due: Monday, December 8th

Computer Time: Through Wednesday, December 10th

Presentations: December 16th-18th

Persuasive Essay Information

Your Essay is on one of the following topics:

MVMS should have 8th grade students mentor 6th grade students

Newberg School District should (or should not) have a one week Autumn Break.

Due Dates:

Rough Draft - Friday, October 17th
Final Copy - Friday, October 24th

PERSUASIVE ESSAYS!

We're starting persuasive essays in WRITING on Monday, October 13th!!
Stay tuned for important dates and information regarding the essay...

Clean Slate 2014-2015

WELCOME BACK and WELCOME TO MY BLOG

The term "Clean Slate" is an idiom. Its origins lie in the fact that people (mainly students in the 18th and 19th centuries) used small rectangular slates (like small chalkboards) for their work as pencils hadn't yet been perfected and as we all know, students need to erase a good amount.  The idiom, "Start with a Clean Slate" comes from erasing all previous problems and issues and starting over again.



This applies to my classes because this is a totally new year.  For the most part, your teachers don't know you.  Even if they do know you or are aware of a reputation, for good or bad, you get a second chance at a first impression this year.  Be sure to take advantage of your fortune and let's all start off on the right foot.

I'm looking forward to a great year, and hope you are as well.

2013-2014 Class Photos!

Here are our class photos. We had a great year; enjoy high school!