Sixth grade students have begun their first research projects of the semester on topics that cover a wide range from 1865 to 1900. Some students elected to work in pairs, while others preferred to work individually. We had a short Kahoot over historical research and ways in which it is conducted, including the differences in primary and secondary sources and the need to seek out as many sources as possible to answer a research question well. For this project, sixth grade students have been asked to utilize a minimum of three sources for the content of their presentations, but they will advance to a higher number and more reliable sources through the course of the year. These students are doing beautifully in class discussions, making strong connections to past lessons and drawing new conclusions.

Seventh and eighth grade students have successfully completed their first research and presentation project of the semester. Students chose topics of their choice from the Civil War era and completed a 2-4 minute presentation for their classmates. Upon completion of their presentations, students filled out a self-evaluation, which proved challenging but constructive. I’m very excited to see students’ growth this year, as they build on last year’s skills. Cobalt and Gold groups are now discussing Reconstruction, with yesterday acting as an introductory class and today building further content. Reconstruction is a wonderful time to tie U.S. government and civics into a historical discussion, and students are doing a fantastic job making connections through this content. We had a rousing discussion of pocket vetoes yesterday. 🙂 

High school students are wrapping up their first projects on pre-European and early European settlement in Missouri. Their research covers a broad range of topics, from the Osage nation, to the “founding” of St. Louis, to Lewis and Clark’s Corps of Discovery. The first presentations began today, and they were excellent. Upon completion of each student’s presentation, classmates are engaged and asking questions for further understanding. 

Geography had a fantastic first class on Friday of last week, and I’m excited to meet with students again tomorrow morning. We began by discussing what components are studied in a geography class, discussed physical and cultural geography, and discussed different vocabulary and map projections throughout our 45 minute class.

Advisory:

Advisory has been a really great time to connect with students and build strong relationships across the grade levels. Teachers have been collaborating on team-building activities, which we have done as the whole middle school outside, and students have done wonderfully in tasks so far. Today, 7th grade and I walked outside for advisory and checked in with each other. This group loves to spend time outside, and walking the track was a great way to start our day.