Mr. B here with an update on Newell-Fonda Social Studies. The quarter is flying by and semester break is right around the corner.
In World Geography class, we just finished up our unit on the United States and Canada. Students learned about major landforms, climate regions, and governments in both the U.S. and Canada. The kids made videos that covered United States history in 2 minutes or less. The objective for this project was to find the major themes and events in American history. Next year, I think I'll be bumping the time limit up to 3 minutes. 2 minutes seemed to be just a little too short.
In United States history class we spent time discussing America from 1800-1860. This was a turbulent time in American history that is often overlooked. We studied the American expansion westward, the treatment of Native Americans, and the issue of slavery and how our leaders dealt with it. Students also played a railroad simulation game where they put themselves in the shoes of a railroad boss and attempted to take over the railroad companies of all their classmates. It was a great way to learn about the history of the railroad and also work on some math skills as students bought supplies and put companies up for auction.
In World History class, students are studying Ancient Rome. The Romans had a vast empire that contributed a lot to the world in form of architecture and government. Students have made a green screen video as a class showing the era of Rome known as Pax Romana when it flourished. A green screen video is where students are able to super-impose themselves in front of historic sites like the Coliseum or the Senate. The kids had fun and learned about Rome as well as working together.
There is a lot going on in Newell-Fonda Social Studies!
