Mrs. Slaviero's Blog

Students today learned about the many roles of the head of the Executive Branch, the President of the United States. I found several images of former Presidents in these roles--can you guess which is which? Post your answers below or email them to me. Choices: Commander-In-Chief Chief Executive Political Party Head Chief Diplomat 1. President Eisenhower 2. President George HW Bush (on the right side of the picture) 3. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt 4. President Reagan meeting with British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (this one's a bit of a giveaway!)

We spent a few minutes today discussing the impact the Kennedy assassination had on America and in the 1960s. Students in middle school have little knowledge of 20th century history, I try to incorporate it into class as much as possible.

Students used their understanding of the events surrounding the Battle of Trenton today and "stepped inside" an iconic painting of George Washington. Washington Crossing the Delaware (1851) by Emanuel Leutz is one of the most famous images of George Washington and a wonderful subject for my fellow historians to analyze in class. Students thought about the beliefs and concerns of the people (or even objects!) in the painting and this examination deepened their knowledge of  the importance of the battle and of Washington's leadership. I am looking forward to our discussion of this activity next week. (Students: share the "triangles" with your parents!) :)     For more information: http://www.metmuseum.org/collections/search-the-collections/11417

Historical documents are one of the most important resources for learning History. The complex language in many of these documents can make understanding them a challenge, however. The historians in my 8th Grade US History classes have done several activities with two very important documents, with success.  My students have studied Thomas Paine's "Common Sense", one of the most persuasive writings for the fight for American freedom and the Declaration of Independence, a document that formally stated the colonists' move to separate themselves from England. These documents are complex but we studied them and wrote parts of both in modern language. Processing activities allowed students to analyze the works, as well. 

Students spent some time this week learning about changes in colonial America during the time of the French and Indian War by completing a graphic organizer web. After the webs were complete students had to create a headline to summarize and synthesize their learning. We discussed the role a headline plays in a newspaper story and examined actual headlines from the newspaper before starting the assignment. The students should be very proud of their work and we will be using this thinking routine throughout the year.

I'd like to welcome my students and parents to an exciting year! This blog will highlight the classroom activities we will be doing throughout the year as well as discuss current events and historical happenings. Thank you for following this blog and I look forward to what's in store! Mrs. Slaviero

Happy Summer!     Today marks a special anniversary--it's the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington, culminating in Martin Luther King Junior's "I Have a Dream" speech.  Many people have traveled to Washington, DC to commemorate this moment in our nation's history. Here is the official event link: http://50thanniversarymarchonwashington.com/