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Mr. Rowan, Social Studies A

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Social Studies Update Week of 5/4/26

Greetings 8th Grade Families,
Students finished up their Civil War Challenge Competition and learned a lot about the Battles, People, Events, Technology, Life of a Soldier, Medical Care, and other aspects of the Civil War.
This week students are going to analyze multiple sources to answer the question: Did Lincoln and the US Army free the enslaved people, or did the enslaved people free themselves? Many people view Abraham Lincoln as the great emancipator, but is there more to this story of emancipation? Students will get a chance to look at this question from different perspectives and decide for themselves. We will then look at the complicated history of the Confederate Battle Flag.
8th grade will be going on a field trip Thursday, so please look for the permission form in your inbox.
May the 4th be with you,
Mr. Rowan

Social Studies Update Week of 4/27/26

Greetings 8th Grade Families,
After analyzing primary sources and writing a RACECES response on why the Southern states seceded from the Union, students are now learning about the Civil War. To do this students were divided up into three groups and they will be competing in a competition by completing challenges. The challenges include a wide variety of topics and products. Each challenge has a point value and the team with the most points at the end of the week will win the competition. 
Topics Covered
  • Ft Sumter
  • Strengths, weaknesses, and strategies of each side
  • First Battle of Bull Run
  • Battle of Hampton Roads
  • Life of a soldier
  • Civil War technology
  • Prison camps
  • Medical care
  • Battles of Shiloh, New Orleans, and Antietam
  • Emancipation Proclamation
  • African American Soldiers
  • Draft and draft riots
  • Women in the war
  • Battle of Gettysburg
  • Vicksburg
  • Sherman takes Atlanta
  • Appomattox
At the end of the competition, teams will present their challenges to the class.
 
Students will be taking MAPS test Tuesday and Wednesday during the morning.
 
Please email with questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Mr. Rowan

Social Studies Update Week of 5/6/26

Greetings 8th Grade Families!
Last week, students learned about the history of the Eli Whitney's cotton Gin and how it changed the United States. With this invention the nation was able to become the leading producer and exporter of cotton, which made the country very rich. The unintended consequence was it also drove the increase of enslaved people from around 700,000 in 1794 to 4 million by 1860 which was the thing that drove our country to civil war. Students also learned about the Second Middle Passage and what life for the enslaved was like by listening to a Podcast that told the story of Charles Ball, a formerly enslaved person who sought his freedom and then wrote an autobiography describing his experiences while being enslaved. 
This week, between CMAS testing, students will be learning about different people and events that caused tension between the North and South and raking their top 5 with evidence as they learn what led to the Civil War. They will then read the documents that states wrote describing why they were seceding, or leaving the country, to learn about what those states said themselves. 
Please let me know if you have an questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Mr. Rowan

Social Studies Update Week of 3/9/26

Greetings 8th Grade Families!
Students will have class Monday - Wednesday this week. There is not school Thursday and Friday due to Parent-Teacher Conferences. The following two weeks there is no school due to Spring Break. School will resume on Monday, March 30th. 
Students have been working hard creating newspapers of the North and South to better understand the differences between these two regions in the decades leading up to the Civil War. Students will complete their newspapers by Tuesday and then will read and give feedback on each other's newspapers on Friday. This will be the final grade of the Quarter 3.
If you have any questions, please let me know.
Sincerely,
Mr. Rowan

Social Studies Update Week of 2/17/26

Greetings 8th Grade Families,
This week students will finish presenting their Civil War Biographies. We will then transition into learning what it was like in the North and the South before the start of the Civil War. In this activity, students research the geography, economy, transportation and society of either the North or the South and then create a newspaper that could have existed in that region. Students will learn how the differences between the regions contributed to sectionalism prior to the Civil War.
Please email with any questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Mr. Rowan

Social Studies Update Week of 2/1/26

Greetings 8th Grade Families!
Last week students created their Biography PowerPoints of the person they have been researching. One of the assignments had them determine which chess piece their person would be based on what their person did during their life. This week students will create a likeness of their person using a 2-liter bottle, a Styrofoam ball, paint, fabric and other crafting supplies. These "bottle people" will end up being chess pieces that students will use to play chess as a representation of battle strategy. 
Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Mr. Rowan
 

Social Studies Update Week of 1/25/26

Greetings 8th Grade Families!
After researching the childhood, early life, adult life, and accomplishments for the biography of an important person during the Civil War Era, students will now turn that into a biography PowerPoint presentation. Students will learn tips for making a good PowerPoint like less is more and how to create a presentation that isn't just a list of facts, but one that tells a story. Student will also learn about brain science and how to create a presentation that is memorable where the audience has to listen to the presenter rather than reading all the information off of the slides. Students will also learn how to create a bibliography using MLS format. Finally, students will study various public speaking skills as they get ready to present their biographies.
Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Mr. Rowan

Social Studies Update Week of 1/19/26

Greetings 8th Grade Families!
Two areas of focus for this quarter will be the skills of researching and presenting. Because our focus this quarter is on the Civil War, students will be researching and presenting a biography about a famous person that had an impact during the Civil War era. We began last week by studying Monroe Doctrine and the history of US intervention in Latin America to better understand the current events in Venezuela.  Students then learned about what a credible source is and how to determine if a source is credible. This week, students will begin researching their biography. This assignment will be divided into two parts: childhood and early life and adult life and requirements. The requirements for these assignments can be found in our Microsoft Teams Class Notebook. 
For this assignment students will need a 2-liter bottle. Students will use this bottle to craft a likeness of the person they are researching. As part of their research, students will need to determine which chess piece their person would be based on what they did during their life. We will then play a game of chess with these bottle characters to simulate the strategies of battle.
Please email with any questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Mr. Rowan

Social Studies Update Week of 12/15/25

Greetings 8th Grade Parents!
Exam
Monday students will review for their Manifest Destiny and Westward Expansion exam which will be held on Tuesday. This will be the final grade for Quarter 2 as final grades will be posted Tuesday.
 
Field Trip
On Thursday students will be going on a field trip to the Denver State Capitol. Remember to have your students bring a lunch that doesn't need a microwave.
 
Holiday Party
On Friday, the 7/8 Pod will have a holiday party in the afternoon. Students should bring any snacks they would like to have for the party on Friday. We will have different themes and activities in the four classrooms.
 
Spirit Week
Monday: Pajama/Onesie Day
Tuesday: (Ugly) Sweater Day
Wednesday: Anything But A Backpack
Thursday: Dress Like Your Favorite Element (Earth, Air, Fire, Water)
Friday: Dress for Success/Quarter Zip Day
 
Happy Holidays!
Mr. Rowan

Social Studies Update Week of 12/8/25

Greetings 8th Grade Families!
 
This week students will be taking their Winter MAPS tests on Thursday and Friday mornings. Good sleep, a good breakfast or snack, and the right attitude will go a long ways in helping your student be successful. 
 
Speaking of next week, Friday is the last day to turn in any late or missing work that has been assigned within the past two weeks. All current assignments should be completed by their due dates. 
 
Last week students started to learn about the Oregon Territory, the Oregon Trail, and the rallying cry of Manifest Destiny. Students will analyze a folk song and complete logic puzzles to better understand why people emigrated to Oregon and what the journey along the Oregon Trail was like. We will finalize our study of westward expansion by learning about the causes and effects of the Mexican-American war.
 
This Friday I will be passing out the study guide for the Quarter 2 Social Studies final test. We will have a review day next Monday the 15th and students will test on Tuesday the 16th. 
 
Please email me with any questions or concerns.
 
Sincerely,
Mr. Rowan

Social Studies Update Week of 12/1/25

Greetings 8th Grade Families!
 
This week students will be working on their Growth of US Map project where they will be completing Section F which focuses on how the US acquired Texas. Students will then analyze primary sources to answer the question: Why did Texas rebel against the Mexican government? They will use evidence from these sources to answer this question. We will then turn our attention to the Oregon Territory, the Oregon Trail, and the rallying cry of Manifest Destiny.
 
Please email me with any questions or concerns.
 
Sincerely,
Mr. Rowan

Social Studies Update Week of 11/17/25

Greetings 8th Grade Families!
To begin the week students will use the interactive Smithsonian Native Knowledge 360 degrees website: How Did Six Different Native Nations Try to Avoid Removal? Students will work in groups to analyze primary and secondary sources to understand that different Native American tribes resisted removal from their homelands in different ways. Each group will focus on one tribe and then teach the rest of the class about what they learned. 
Next we will begin in section E of the map project as we learn how Texas evolved from a Mexican state, to it's own republic/country, to becoming the 28th state in the Union. 
Please email with any questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Mr. Rowan

Social Studies Update Week of 11/11/25

Greetings 8th Grade Families!
Last week students explored the theme of who discovered America by watching a documentary called View From The Shore that includes several Native Americans from tribes along the Lewis and Clark expedition offering their perspectives and thoughts on how the expedition should be remembered. This week students will use the notes they took to re-write a standard textbook description of the Lewis and Clark Expedition adding the Native American perspective. 
Next, students will continue working on the Growth of the US Map Project: Section C. They will learn how the United States acquired Florida. This will lead to a mini-unit on the causes and effects of the Indian Removal Policy and what the different Native American tribes did to resist this policy of removal. 
Please email with any questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Mr. Rowan
 
 

Social Studies Update Week of 11/3/25

Greetings 8th Grade Families!
Students completed Section D of their Growth of the United States map project last week. This section covered the Louisiana Purchase. This week students will be using Google Earth to follow the Journey of Lewis and Clark and their expedition. Students will be writing diary entries in the perspective of Lewis, Clark, Sacagawea, or one of the Native American tribal members who encountered this expedition. We will continue to explore the theme of who discovered America by watching a documentary called View From The Shore, that includes several Native Americans from tribes along the Lewis and Clark expedition offering their perspectives and thoughts on how the expedition should be remembered. 
I wanted to remind you that this Friday is a half day, and there is no school on Monday in observance of Veteran's Day.
Please email with any questions or concerns.
Sincerely, 
Mr. Rowan

Social Studies Update Week of 10/27/25

Greetings 8th Grade Families!
At the end of last week, students took a pre-assessment where they were able to review the different topics we are going to learning about, and reflecting on what they already know and what they what to learn. Students will begin by looking at president Thomas Jefferson's decision on whether or not he should by the Louisiana Territory from France. Students will work in groups of 4 with roles of president, two advisors, and a press secretary to determine what to do about this amazing opportunity and to decide if the purchase is constitutional. Students will then be introduced to the Growth of the United States map project they will be completing over the course of the quarter.
Please email with any questions or concerns.
Sincerely, 
Mr. Rowan