6th Grade Debate

This week, the 6th grade class had their first Social Studies debate.  The students have been learning about ancient Chinese dynasties. The learned about the Qin emperor Shi Huangdi this week.  He was a ruler that unified China and brought a lot of advancements, but he was also cruel and eliminated anyone who disagreed with him.  The students were broken up into two groups.  One group argued that Shi Huangdi was a brilliant ruler.  The other side argued that he was a terrible tyrant.  The 6th graders did a great job expressing their opinions!

Constitution Unit

This week, the 7th graders started their Constitution unit.  Today, they learned about the Preamble, which is the introduction to the Constitution.  The Students learned what all the different parts mean and then learned a song to help them memorize it for the test.

 Mark, Diego, and William look at different services the government provides and decide which part of the preamble the service falls under.

Haley, Olivia K. and Olivia W. work together to piece together the preamble.

The students sing the Preamble with a little help from School House Rock.  Pretty soon, they will be able to do it on their own.  Here is the link if students want to practice:

School House Rock Preamble

Buddhist Temple

Today, the 6th grade class went to the Quang Minh Buddhist Temple to learn more about Buddhism. They have spent the last few weeks learning about religions that started in India. It was great for the students to see some of the things that they have been learning about and hear about the religion from someone who practices it.

The monk is telling the students the story of Siddhartha Guatama, who became the Buddha, using the pictures on the wall.

The whole class inside the temple.

Student Creations

This week in 6th grade, we finished up our unit about ancient Egypt.  The students created their own cartouches with hieroglyphics.  A cartouche is like a name tag that people in ancient Egypt would put on their tombs and anything else that belonged to them.

Here are some of the cartouches that the 6th graders made.

In 7th grade, the students have been learning about the Scientific Revolution and the Age of Discovery.  Student created journals as if the were one of the major European explorers or their crew.  They wrote about what they thought the goals, feeling, and sights of these travelers might be.

 Sophie's journal explains what it might have been like to travel to India with Vasco Da Gama.

Georgia's journal tells of the adventures of Magellan's crew as they attempt to circumnavigate the globe.

The 8th graders recently began a unit about the Great Depression.  They learned about the stock market crash by acting out several scenarios.  Then, they created a comic strip to show the cause and effects that led to the Depression.

 This comic was drawn by Olivia S.

 Morgan uses captions, pictures, symbols, and speech to explain the stock market crash.

Ask your middle schooler about what they have created in Social Studies lately!

Have a great winter break and see you in January!

Oriental Institute

On Wednesday, the 6th grade class traveled to Hyde Park to visit the Oriental Institue Museum on the University of Chicago campus.  The museum has an extensive collection of artifacts from ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt.  Students got to see artifacts that they have been learning about first hand.  Ask your 6th grader about their favorite part of the trip.

 Students look at a replica of the Code of Hammurabi, a law system that they learned about when they studied the Babylonians.

This group is looking at Mesopotamian cylinder seals, which were like stamps used to press a signature into clay.

One group in front of a statue of King Tut.  Students were amazed to find out that this statue is an original from Ancient Egypt!

The students show off infront of one of the Lions from the Gate of Ishtar.

The whole class with a statue of Sargon II.  This 40 ton statue is also an original from the palace of an Assyrian king.

The students really enjoyed this experience.  I encourage you to check out the museum as a family sometime soon.  You will be amazed with how much your 6th graders could teach you about ancient history!

Prohibition Party

The 8th graders just finished up their unit about the 1920s.  To celebrate and show off what they learned, Mr. Palmieri threw a Prohibition Party.  The room was set up like a speak-easy, with the windows boarded up.  Each student came dressed as a character from the 1920s and gave a speech about their contributions to the era.

Bugs Moran (Sam Russo) looks through the secret door and asks for the password to enter.

 Izzy as Babe Ruth, Sam M. as Lou Gehrig, Quinn as Charles Lindbergh, and Adam as Henry Ford.

 Our politicians: Ben as Nellie Tayloe Ross, Lindsay as Herbert Hoover, Nora as Albert Fall, Katie as Calvin Coolidge, and Isaiah as Warren G. Harding.

 Our Entertainers:  Felix as Bessie Smith, Elena as Louis Armstrong, Hunter as Ella Fitzgerald, and Jannat as Charlie Chaplin.

 Our writers: Eva as F. Scott Fitzgerald, Olivia as Gertrude Stein, Theresa as Ernest Hemingway, and Morgan as Langston Hughes.

Al Capone (played by Karl) gives a speech about his life.

The whole class.  Thanks, Mr. Palmieri for a great event!

History Happenings

This week, the 6th graders have been studying ancient Egypt.  On Wednesday, students had the opportunity to play some games on the internet to apply their knowledge about Egypt.

 Joe and Sam are experimenting with the mummy maker.

Erin is taking a virtual tour inside the great pyramid of Khufu.

If you are interested in seeing the games, or if 6th graders want to play them again, here are the links:

Pyramid Challenge or Mummy Maker

Virtual Tour of the Pyramids

After the 7th graders took their Renaissance and Reformation test this week, they took a break from history to focus on current events.  Our newsmagazine, Upfront, publishes a yearly world almanac that helps give students information about all of the world's countries.  The students used maps and charts to look up information about what is going on in the world right now.

This week, the 8th graders finished up their unit about the 1920s.  Students in this class really enjoy debates, so Mr. Palmieri had them debate the benefits and consequences of Prohibition.  They debated in a fishbowl style, where only half of the class could speak in the inner circle, while the other students in the outer circle listened and took notes about the arguments.

This afternoon, the 8th graders will be having their Prohibition Party.  Check back soon to see some pictures!