Mrs. Slaviero's Blog

Today we discussed the Preamble and the topic of United States currency came up. Students were really interested in how our money is printed and we talked about the state quarter collection and the US Mint. The US Treasury has several links that are worth viewing: the "Currency--Popular Topics" section has information about the redesigned paper bills and the "Coins--Popular Topics" section has information about, among other things, the new Presidential dollar coins mentioned in class. (Did anyone look at the new Westward Journey Nickel Series?) Please tell me what you've learned! http://www.treasury.gov/services/Pages/coins-currency.aspx

Students will begin their study of the US Constitution this week. This important document can be challenging for students to understand and here are some links to help: Ben's Guide to Government: http://bensguide.gpo.gov/ The United States House of Representatives: http://www.house.gov/ The United States Senate: http://www.senate.gov/ The Supreme Court: http://www.supremecourt.gov/ The Executive Branch/The White House: http://www.whitehouse.gov/our-government Students, please take some time to become familiar with these sites so that you're comfortable with them before we visit them online in class.

Thanksgiving is a time to share with family and friends. It's also an opportunity to think about all that we have in our lives. My students wrote letters of gratitude today to an influential person in their life and they'll be giving those letters to them this weekend. Enjoy your break and we'll see you on Monday! I've found a history of Thanksgiving from The History Channel--here is the link: http://www.history.com/topics/thanksgiving/videos#history-of-the-thanksgiving-holiday

A Veterans Day tradition continued today during 8th Grade History classes. Students were once again able to hear from people that protected and served our country in World War II, the Vietnam War and Operation Desert Storm. The students were fascinated by stories about boot camp and military police operations and also asked insightful questions. Please take time out today to remember the sacrifices our service men and women have made for our country.

Learning about the Constitutional Convention is often a challenge for students. They sometimes struggle with the different plans discussed and the concept of balance of power. This year my students will be learning about this very important event by completing a simulation. Students are taking on the role of delegates at the Convention and will be attempting to compromise on the plans and, hopefully, come up with a government that is beneficial to all involved. Learning by doing is a powerful way for students to deeply learn material (and they get to have some fun at the same time). Let the debate begin!

Students previewed the American Revolutionary War this week by watching an excerpt of "America: The Story of Us" created by The History Channel. My students felt that one of the most fascinating parts of the video was about the American spy network during the war. The University of Michigan has an online collection devoted to this topic and students will be analyzing primary sources and researching methods used to spy on the British while we study the war. Here is the link to the collection: http://www2.si.umich.edu/spies/

Students are currently learning about the Declaration of Indpendence and its impact today. Groups matched excerpts of the document with examples written in modern language and compared the two. They also selected which excerpts illustrated four key principles of the Declaration (and of our government today): all people are created equal, all people have basic rights that cannot be taken away, the government gets its power to make decisions and to protect rights from the people and when the government does not protect the rights of the people the people have the right to change or remove the government. The ideals of the Declaration of Indpendence are truly keystones of Government in the United States.