This week in social studies. . .

We’ve had a busy week in history classes at The Summit! We started on Monday with a new high school and 8th grade blended elective: World Religions. Students each have a book to read as part of this elective, and we had a wonderful discussion about how studying religion can help us build empathy and understand our neighbors better. Our first topic is Hinduism, which we will discuss this afternoon.

Early in the week, sixth grade students worked hard to prepare for an assessment on Wednesday. As a class, we’ve worked hard to build our study and research skills over the past several months. These students are doing a fabulous job of taking and organizing their notes, and they’re learning how to approach a short essay question with confidence.

Middle school students began a new project this week on world architecture. This unit is meant to be collaborative among upper school classes and will integrate many content areas. Each student is first tasked with choosing a structure or an architect and answering some essential questions to guide them. We’ve had some interesting conversations about what constitutes architecture, about how architecture interacts with the environment (the Leaning Tower of Pisa has an interesting story connected to this!), about resources utilized, about historical context (for example, the Chrysler Building was completed in the midst of the Great Depression), and about costs.

Political Science students began a new, short project on Wednesday related to change makers in world and American history. In honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day on Monday, and in recognition of and connection with our current unit on the cultural foundations of democracy, students are researching a person who has effected change and are writing a one-page biographical sketch OR presenting to classmates. It’s been fun to see their choices which so far include Malala, Malcolm X, Ida B. Wells, Upton Sinclair, and several others.

Finally, thirteen seventh and eighth grade students woke up early on Thursday to drive to Morrisville and compete as The Summit’s inaugural History Bowl teams. After a few months of study, these students put their historical knowledge to work to answer questions in thirteen categories. Our teams learned a lot from this experience, and they’re excited to use this knowledge to improve upon their performance next year.

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The Summit Preparatory School is a fully accredited, non-religious, private school offering a full-time seated independent education for students in Springfield, Ozark, Nixa, Rogersville, and the greater Southwest Missouri area. Our preparatory school setting offers an enriching early childhood, elementary, middle school, and high school curriculum in a supportive environment. We have state of the art facilities, highly-qualified teachers and staff, and a large range of educational programming. Interested in enrolling your child? Learn more about our admissions process.

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