Hello, America!

USII Students,

Choose a few of these links and skim through the information to further investigate the adaptations settlers used on the Great Plains.  Write a response that tells me two new facts you learned and which website you liked visiting the best and why.

Enjoy!

1. Barbed Wire
2. Sod Houses 1
3. Sod Houses 2 (Check out the links at the bottom, too!)
4. Cattle Ranching (Also see the barbed wire and windmills sections at the page’s bottom.  Try out the games as well.)
5. Windmill Pics
6. Wheat Farming (Click on the photo by the paragraph called, “The Age of Machinery.”)
7. Transcontinental Railroad
8. Steel Plow

Wow, we’ve gotten a lot done in the last few weeks!  Each student now has his or her own Social Studies Pop-Up Book, decorated and laminated. They look awesome, but that’s not all they’re good for.  These books will be our tool each day for organizing our knowledge and understanding new concepts.

Please take 5 minutes to write a clear response to this post.  Answer the questions below, and be sure to follow the check list before submitting.

1. What do you like most about your Pop-Up?  How do you make your Pop-Up unique each class? Why?
2. How do you think your Pop-Up will help you be more successful this year than you’ve ever been?  Why?
3. What suggestions do you have for me about how we could make our Pop-Ups even better?

Before submitting, check this list:

• Does your response include your first name and last initial?
• Does your post have correct grammar and spelling?
• Did you clearly answer each question in a complete sentence and is this your best work possible?

Click submit!

Students,

I thought you might enjoy reading this article and looking at the multimedia parts, too.  Check out what the New York Times tells us about how much mail arrives for President Obama every day, and what happens to it once it arrives.

Click here to read the article.

Respond to this post by telling me what you would write to the president if you wrote him a letter.  Be sure to edit your comment before submitting!

-Ms. Hedstrom

Civics Class,

Today I have some controversial material for us to cover, so prepare to discuss topics that may make you laugh, feel squeamish, or a bit uneasy. It’s OK to feel these things, but please remember to be mature and reasonable – act like the 8th graders you are!

The first step is to read the directions below. The second step is to visit the website and search for answers to the questions. Finally, please post a comment about one issue and the side you agree with. Be sure to answer why you think the conservatives are right or why you think the liberals are right.

Directions for website:

1. Read the definitions of conservative and liberal at the top of the page.
2. Scroll down and read at least 3 of the issues and each side’s views about the issue (read more if you have time).
3. Think about what issues are the most controversial and which ones are not.
4. When you finish reading your 3 issues, think about one issue and the side you agree with, and post a comment here about why you think the conservatives are right or why you think the liberals are right.

Here is the webpage: Conservative vs. Liberal

Enjoy,

Ms. Hedstrom