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Mr. Rowan, Social Studies A

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Social Studies Update Week of 10/20/25

Greetings 8th Grade Families!
 
Welcome to Quarter 2! This quarter students will be learning about how the United States grew from 13 Colonies to the land that we now call the United States. Like a puzzle, students will piece together the history of the United States came to be. To begin this journey, we will be analyzing the painting American Progress by the artist John Gast. This painting will resurface throughout the quarter as we discuss different themes and subjects from the painting. As part of this quarter, students will create a map that outlines the growth of the United States that we will add to throughout the quarter. This map and the notes we take will serve as a study guide for the final essay that students will write at the end of the quarter. 
 
Please let me know if you have an questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Mr. Rowan

Social Studies Update Week of 9/29/25

Greetings 8th Grade Families!
 
This is the last week of Quarter 1 and I want to share the schedule with you.
  • Monday: This is a regular day.
  • Tuesday: This is also a regular day.
  • Wednesday: 8th grade students will go on a field trip and will need to pack a lunch that does not require a microwave.
  • Thursday: This is a half day. Carline begins at 11:30.
  • Friday: No school due to parent-teacher conferences.
 
To end the quarter students will be analyzing different Supreme Court cases to answer the following question: Are student's constitutional rights inside of school the same as their rights outside of school. Students will read the summary's of the court cases and make judgements on those decisions. 
 
Please email with any questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Mr. Rowan
 

Social Studies Update Week of 9/22/25

Greetings 8th Grade Families!
 
I wanted to first remind everyone that grades are due this Friday and all late and missing work is due this coming Wednesday.
 
This week in Social Studies students will be taking their end-of-quarter test on Thursday and Friday. Students will be presented with their study guide tomorrow and will be able to use that to prepare for the test. This test will cover The Articles of Confederation, The Constitutional Convention, The Preamble, Articles 1 - 6 of the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. 
 
Tuesday and Wednesday, students will be representing the right they think is most important symbolically.
 
Which Right Is Most Important To You due Wednesday 9/18
End-of-quarter test due Thursday 9/25
Symbolism and the Bill of Rights due 9/24
 
Please email with any questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Mr. Rowan

Social Studies Update Week of 9/15/25

Greetings 8th Grade Families!
 
This week in Social Studies students will learn about the first 10 amendments to the Constitution: The Bill of Rights. Students will learn about the rights and protections these amendments provide as they take notes from a video. Students will then choose which of the 10 amendments is most important to them and research and summarize a current event news article that deals with that amendment. Finally students will represent that right symbolically.
 
Which Right Is Most Important To You due Wednesday 9/18
Symbolism and the Bill of Rights due Friday 9/20
 
Please email with any questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Mr. Rowan

Social Studies Update Week of 9/8/25

Greetings 8th Grade Families!
This week in Social Studies students will deepen their knowledge of our government by playing an iCivics game called Branches of Power. In this game, students will learn how the three branches of government work together to pass a law. They will also learn about the checks and balances that each branch has on the other so that one branch does not become too powerful. Students will then participate in a simulation on how a bill becomes a law. We will divide up into four states where students will learn about the demographics of their state, the influence of constituents when trying to create laws. Students will then debate the bill and see if they can reach a consensus and  pass a bill to ban headphones and earbuds when walking in public. 
 
Constitution Graphic Novel Study due 9/5
How a bill becomes law due 9/11
 
Please email with any questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Mr. Rowan

Social Studies Update Week of 9/2/25

Greetings 8th Grade Families!
This week in Social Studies students will complete their  investigation of the preamble to the Constitution to uncover what we can learn about the goals our Founders had for the country as they created the Constitution. Students will then read excepts from a graphic novel to learn about the seven articles of the Constitution and how they lay out the framework for our government. They will also be reading to understand the roles and responsibilities of the the three branches of government laid out in Articles 1 - 3.
 
Preamble to the Constitution due 9/2
Constitution Graphic Novel Study due 9/5
 
Please email with any questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Mr. Rowan

Social Studies Update Week of 8/25/25

Greetings 8th Grade Families!
This week in Social Studies students will complete their analysis of Constitutional Convention and some of the debates that happened as the Founders decided how best to replace the Articles of Confederation. These include whether the federal or state governments should have more power, if states with larger populations should have more representation, what to do about slavery, and if a list of individual rights and protections should be included in the Constitution. Students will then investigate the preamble to the Constitution to uncover what we can learn about the goals our Founders had for the country as they created the Constitution.
 
Debates of the Constitutional Convention due  8/27
Preamble to the Constitution due 8/29
 
Please email with any questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Mr. Rowan

Social Studies Update Week of 8/18/25

Greetings 8th Grade Families!
This week in Social Studies students will learning about the Articles of Confederation: our nation's first government. They will be looking at different vocabulary words and then studying the weaknesses of this document. As they analyze each weakness, they will be brainstorming possible problems that these weaknesses will cause. Following this lesson, we will look at the Constitutional Convention and some of the debates that happened as the Founders decided how best to replace the Articles of Confederation.
Articles of Confederation due Wednesday, August 20th.
Email with any questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Mr. Rowan

Social Studies Update Week of 8/11/25

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
 

Social Studies Update Week of 8/4/25

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