Greetings 8th Grade Families!

This week students have discussing the meaning of the words hero and villain. Next we will look at the life of Thomas Jefferson by reading two essays: Thomas Jefferson the American Hero and Thomas Jefferson the American Villain. Students will gather evidence from both essay and then determine if they think Jefferson was an American hero or villain. In this analysis, students will also look at the word presentism: the concept of judging a person from history by the standards, morals, and laws of today. They will understand the dangers of doing this and apply this learning to the life of Jefferson so that they will be making their decisions based on Jefferson's life in context to the time he was living. Students will then participate in multiple mini debates where I will assign them the position they will be arguing so that they have to be prepared to argue either side. We will then pivot to the founding of our country as we uncover our nation's first constitution: The Articles of Confederation.

Jefferson: Hero or Villain due Thursday 8/14

Please email with any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

Mr. Rowan

 

Greetings 8th Grade Families,

This week in Social Studies we went over the syllabus and I asked students to take that home, go over it with you, sign it and bring it back. If you haven't see it yet, please ask your student to show it to you. We then analyzed 6 reasons why it is important to study history. Students read the quotes and then in their own words, explained why that reason was important. Students then ranked the 6 reasons. Finally students wrote two paragraphs using their #1 and #2 rankings. This assignment is due on Monday, so students who did not finished put the assignment in their blue folder and should complete it over the weekend.

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

Mr. Rowan