Ms. Manderville's 7th Grade Social Studies Class Blog: March 2020

Monday, March 30, 2020

Monday 3/30

Good morning everyone!☺
While I had originally hoped I'd be seeing all of your faces today, it seems we've got a bit more time to go. Until we're back, please keep checking in here for resources and assignments and remember you can always contact me by email (mandervillet@springfieldpublichschools.com)or through class dojo!

*I will also be holding virtual 'office hours' every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 10-11am! This time is especially reserved for specific questions, issues, or even individual or small group zoom calls to check in or help with assignments. Please reach out!*

In the News: Unfortunately, the country lost a prominent Civil Rights leader late last week. Please check out this 30 second video & attached article on Reverend Joseph Lowery's outstanding life and his achievements here: Civil Rights Icon Rev. Joseph Lowery Passes Away .

CLICK HERE PLEASE - Would you like.... POLL

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Since we might be feeling a bit tired of the spaces we're a bit stuck in right now, I've decided to have us go on a tour of some historical homes... using the Tenement Museum website!

A tenement is a building where lots of different people live on different floors and in different rooms, similar to an apartment building. The Tenement Museum in New York City has recreated two of these buildings so that each room or floor looks just like it did when someone lived there years and years ago! Each space is from a different time (1800's to 1970!) and shows you how a particular immigrant and their family lived. I think it is super super cool, and I hope you all enjoy!

tenement: a room or a set of rooms forming a separate residence within a house or block of apartments.
immigrant: a person who comes to live permanently in a different country

To start, click here:
Tenement - Experience the Museum from Home

Scroll down just a bit, and you'll have the option to choose from two different families living down the street from each other. Please choose the option on the left, 'Stories from 97 Orchard Street'. (although, feel free to explore the other building stories as well!!!)
Once on this page, you will see many photos and stories of the people that lived there, as well as historically accurate (fake, but well researched to look as realistic as possible) photos of the various apartments during different years and different families.

So that I know you've explored these spaces, I'd like you to choose at least 3 different families to examine.

over here ^

You can simply scroll through the page and choose the stories that stand out to you, or you can click on the arrow that says 'Explore Timeline' in the bottom right hand corner to pick a certain year(s) to explore. There are so many!

Using the pictures and stories included, please answer the following questions for each of your three families:

Give a gist statement for the information provided!
How many people lived in the space?
What types of jobs did the people who lived there do?
What challenges did these people face?
What types of activities did these people do in their daily lives, or for fun?

(I know that not all of the stories answer all of these questions exactly, but do your best with the information you're given)

Then, think about the one story that stood out most to you and answer the following questions:

What made this story stand out to you?
Can you related to this family at all? If so, how? If not, how do you see your life being different from theirs? Please be thoughtful!

Some of theses stories bring up historical events or other terms that may be confusing, so please feel free to reach out to me with questions! I'd love to discuss. Of course, you can also do some smart Googling for terms or unfamiliar words.

If you'd like to read through more please go ahead! I'm only requiring you answer questions for 3, but I'd love for you to explore more and would be happy to chat about them.

FYI - I have created assignments on Unified Classroom to submit your work to! They are simply labeled Week 1 & 2 (past weeks) and Week 3 (this stuff) blog assignments.
Enjoy!!

Stay healthy and safe everyone!

Monday, March 23, 2020

Monday 3/23

Hello week two of school shutdown!
I hope everyone is staying healthy and safe.

Although it can be a bit hard to think about the future beyond the next couple of weeks right now, this year is still an election year and in just a few short months the country will be voting to elect a president!

To take a step away from Greece for the moment (although we'll see how their democracy -type of government- relates to ours...) I thought it might be interesting to give you guys a look at what's been happening to get ready for election time in November!

This awesome page from the New York times has some great quick info and facts on the people still trying to become president, links to their profiles, and shows you just how many people were trying to become president that have had to stop!
----> Who's running for President in 2020? <------

Now let's take a look at what needs to happen for these guys to get there...

Take a look at this video explaining How to Become President of the United States !
It uses this poster to help illustrate its ideas ---> poster version

Do you think you'd ever want to become president?!

Think of three people you think would make a good president.

Do some research (or some careful googling): Would these people be able to run for president, based on the 3 necessary requirements? (these were mentioned in the video!)

Now, pick one of those people - who is able to run - and create a slogan and bumper sticker to help with their campaign. Think about what issues they'd want to talk about or change, and what kinds of colors or designs they'd want to use!

Image result for presidential bumper stickers

Have some fun designing - do some googling for ideas if you need!
If you want to design a slogan and bumper sticker for yourself instead, go for it! I'd love to see what you'd want to do while president!

Monday, March 16, 2020

Monday 3/16

Hello everyone! I'm hoping everyone is staying healthy.
Here are some resources to explore while we're at home.
I'll keep updating!

First off, it looks like we'll be starting our study of Greece online!

Here is an online lesson on the father of history! Follow this link: The Father of History to view a short video, answer some questions, and participate in an online discussion! There are also links for further reading included if you're interested.

If you liked this kind of lesson, feel free to explore these other Greek TedEd online lessons! I haven't created or customized these, but they are awesome! ---> Various Greek TedEd Lessons

next up...

I've collected some myths for you to explore and a task of your own!

“The ancient Greeks believed in thousands of gods, goddesses, and magical creatures. They built temples to honor their gods. They prayed at home. They prayed all the time. Honoring their gods was part of their daily life and part of just about everything they did. That's because they believed their gods controlled the heavens and earth, and could interact with humans and cause all kinds of trouble!

A huge mountain range ran down the middle of the Greek peninsula. The people believed that the ancient Greek mystical world was ruled by a small group of powerful gods called the 12 Olympians, who lived at the top of the highest mountain, Mount Olympus. You could try to get to the top, but you'd never make it. The top of Mount Olympus was hidden in fog and snow and magic. When things had to be decided in the mythical world, the council met on Mount Olympus to discuss things, which was a very Greek thing to do - talk it over first, then go to war or get even!

The Greeks told wonderful myths about their gods. Poseidon, lord of the sea, could raise his hand and a new island would appear! Apollo brought up the sun every day, and his twin sister Artemis brought up the moon. Most of the gods avoided Ares. Nobody liked him much, but he was the god of war, so you had to keep him on your side if you could. The mighty Zeus, king of all the gods, probably caused more trouble than any of them, even more than Aphrodite, the goddess of love. The Greeks did not limit their myths to stories about the 12 Olympians. They told stories about nearly all the magical, mythical creatures in which they believed.

Many of their mythical beings looked like people, but some looked like monsters, because, well .. they were! Fortunately, the ancient Greeks found a way to beat monsters, nearly always with trickery and cleverness, two skills that were greatly admired by the ancient Greeks." (Donn)

I've created a Google Folder for you to access Greek God & Goddess materials!

Use these google folder materials to read several ancient Greek myths.

A myth is a story that tries to explain something, which the people of Ancient Greece usually attributed to the gods and goddesses. We saw this when we discussed the beginnings of religion!

Some myths have questions for you to answer after reading - please do so! You can just use loose leaf paper, or type if you're so inclined. Pick a few myths (3 or so) to read, or explore them all!

If you'd like to read or research any additional myths and tell me about them, go ahead!!!

Then, consider the structure or parts of a myth – a hero, a task, a difficulty (or two) and some help along the way! Use this structure to create a myth of your own! The 'Make a Myth’ chart (in the google folder) will help get you started.

Greek Gods & Goddesses and Myths Google Folder

I can't wait to read your myths!!!

Stay healthy everyone. See you soon!

Wednesday, March 11, 2020

Wednesday & Thursday 3/11 + 3/12

Ancient Greece Today:

Olympics - on paper!

Alphabet - on paper!

Columns - on paper!

Life in Greece/Sparta & Athens - resources on paper!

Monday, March 9, 2020

Monday 3/9

It was great to see you present your projects - don't forget the reflection due Wednesday! It will be a HOW 3 grade & a homework check!

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