September 2016
We're makin' maps... And a lot of them. Students have been learning to read, study, and make maps for the past several weeks in order to be able to apply those skills to upcoming units. Social Studies teachers will sometimes debate which of the sub-disciplines of our subject is more important... Which should we devote the majority of our efforts? In my teaching, my focus is geography. I really believe that it is the glue that connects and guides economics, history, civics, and government. Overall, we know that people move, trade, organize, and relate to one another based upon their location, resources, and needs. Once students are able to find 'where on Earth' something can be found, happened, or moved, they can answer or infer the answers to so many more questions. We're going to be thinking deeply--- asking some pretty tough questions--- taking chances with ideas and theories... but all the answers can be linked to their understanding of Earth's geography.
So to start off, students will be assigned to learn how to identify and locate Earth's seven continents and five oceans. The assessment for will take place every Friday, until all students earn a score of 100%. Once each respective student has earned that score, that student no longer needs to participate in the assessment.
We're makin' maps... And a lot of them. Students have been learning to read, study, and make maps for the past several weeks in order to be able to apply those skills to upcoming units. Social Studies teachers will sometimes debate which of the sub-disciplines of our subject is more important... Which should we devote the majority of our efforts? In my teaching, my focus is geography. I really believe that it is the glue that connects and guides economics, history, civics, and government. Overall, we know that people move, trade, organize, and relate to one another based upon their location, resources, and needs. Once students are able to find 'where on Earth' something can be found, happened, or moved, they can answer or infer the answers to so many more questions. We're going to be thinking deeply--- asking some pretty tough questions--- taking chances with ideas and theories... but all the answers can be linked to their understanding of Earth's geography.
So to start off, students will be assigned to learn how to identify and locate Earth's seven continents and five oceans. The assessment for will take place every Friday, until all students earn a score of 100%. Once each respective student has earned that score, that student no longer needs to participate in the assessment.