28 & 29 November

I hope that you had a great Thanksgiving Break.  Today is Mrs. Lindorf's last day with us, she has done a terrific job and we will miss her.

Today we worked with our groups to finish up the Boston Massacre Webquest that we started last time.

21 & 22 November

Today we worked together in teams of three to examine the facts behind the Boston Massacre.  We looked at the event from a C.S.I. perspective and tried to decide if the evidence indicated that the British Army acted in self-defense or if they committed murder.

17 & 18 November

Today's starter was What is the benefit of being united in a group instead of being divided?

Mrs. Lindorf discussed the starter with you and then we looked at the vocabulary words of the day, which were: Liberty, Coercive, Intolerable and Duties.

The class then looked at some of the taxes imposed on the colonies by Great Britain.  We then participated in a simulation that looked at the affect of the taxes on the colonists.

14 & 15 November

Today's starter was: How would you describe a hero?  What characteristics do they have?

Mrs. Lindorf discussed the starter with the class.

The vocabulary words for today were: "encounter," and "inflation."

The class looked at the Ohio River Valley and the clash between British and French military forces there.

10 & 11 November

The starter for today was: How does "balance" make life easier?

Mrs. Lindorf had volunteers come and try to balance a marble on a certain part of a racquetball  racquet.  The trick was that the racqet had to be kept between the participant's knees.

This activity was to help the students understand the importance of balance.

This was used as a segue into The French and Indian War and the rivalries between Britain, France, and other European nations.

The vocabulary words for today were: surveyor, rivalry, militia, and alliance.

We also read an Encyclopedia Brown mystery.

8 & 9 November

Mrs. Lindorf's starter for today was: Who is a modern day inventor you admire?  What did he or she invent that you like?

 Mrs. Lindorf showed a video on inventions created by Benjamin Franklin.  After the video there was a discussion on the questions that went along with the video.

4 & 7 November

Our starter today was: What does "revolution" mean to you?  Name one revolution you know of.

The vocabulary words for today were: enlightenment, great awakening, design, and coverted.

Mrs. Lindorf handed back last term's work - you don't need it, it is just if you want it.

Mrs. Lindorf also reviewed the test that was taken last week  If you would like to re-take the test you are more than welcome to.  Please study beforehand and come in before or after school or during T.E.A.L. time.

We completed a worksheet on ways that the culture of the colonies was changing and then discussed the changes.

2 & 3 November

Today you had 15 minutes to review for the colonization test.  We took the test and then worked on a colonial food assignment.

We changed seats today.

28 & 31 October

Mr. Smith reviewed the Salem Witch Trials today.  We discussed why it is important to avoid labeling people and why we need to defend others who are being treated poorly.

We briefly discussed the origins of Halloween and then looked at Washington Irving's 1820 ghost story, "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow."