Week 15- Dec.5-8

Friday and Monday

  1. Watch this video and take Cornell Notes regarding the main parts of the impacts of the disease.


  1. Create an ACROSTIC Poem to show your learning and interpretation of the disease.


  1. Watch the film, GUNS, Germs and STEAL to understand the conquest of the Spanish in the Inca Empire.  Make a T-Chart that looks at “haves and have nots” in the two worlds.  Continue this film on Wednesday.  Students should have a completed page of notes and work in small groups to explain the role that disease played in the ‘fall’ of the Inca Empire.


  1. Inca Disease Learning Stations- Document Based Questions: All stations are in paper form except the following.  This source is an overview of disease in the Inca Empire.: https://colonialdiseasedigitaltextbook.wikispaces.com/1.4+Smallpox+in+Peru 
  2. Students are expected to examine various sources on disease, medicine and technology in the Inca Empire.  With each source they view, they will work in small group to answer one or more document-based questions.  At the end, they will work to complete an ACES response in which they INCLUDE evidence from 2 or more of these sources.

Week 13: 11/14-11/18

Thursday and Friday, 11/17-18

  1. Complete ACES response.
  2. Watch FUEDALISM video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxDDg0wQkRg
  3. Take C-Notes and then go back and HIGHLIGHT your assigned Feudal Perspective.
  4. Read the Perspectives Handout and PUKE on the article.
  5. Work to create a: video, rap, poem, skit, or choice that shows your team understands the role of your feudal group, and the costs and benefits of being in that group.
  6. LAUNCH: Include in your performance what you would change (improve, develop or get rid of) with the feudal system.  Also, use an online resource to further develop your understanding of the law, order and society.

Wednesday, 11/16

  1. Work on a poster to show your understanding of the ‘instability’ of the Middle Ages.
  2. Work on an ACES prompt: To what extent did people in Europe experience stability during the Middle Ages?

Tuesday, 11/15

  1. Finish cartoon video and circle map.
    1. Share out what you “notice” or “wonder” about Europe in the Middle Ages.
  2. Begin PUKING on an article about FEUDALISM.

Monday, 11/14

  1. Make a T-Chart in small groups (collectively and individually) identify the characteristics that we know about INCA government and society and the USA government and society.
    1. Share out the things we “notice” as a whole group
  2. Begin a cartoon about EUROPE in the Middle Ages. Take notes in a CIRCLE Map to identify, “what it looked like” “felt like” and ideas about “government and society.”  We will finish this on TUESDAY: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7No3JNxnC6E

Week 12: Nov. 7-10

Thursday, Nov. 10

  1. Watch CNN Student News. Take notes identifying the different stakeholder groups and how they responded to the election results.


Wednesday, Nov. 9

  1. Debrief election results in a CIRCLE discussion.

Monday and Tuesday, Nov. 7/8

  1. Finish researching two ballot measures.  Make sure you have a THINKING MAP that represents your notes in an organized way.


Week 11: Oct. 31- Nov.4

Thursday, Nov. 3

Continue Research: SHARE YOUR INITIAL FINDINGS WITH YOUR FAMILIES!  Produce a second Thinking Map to organize your notes from your voting research.  On the back of your poster, please write:

My job is to share what I have learned so far about ONE race for an elected official and ONE initiative or ballet measure.  Parent/Guardian Signature: ______________________

Wednesday, Nov. 2

  1. Students will continue their research of ONE initiative that is currently on the ballot and one elected official position.  They will begin research by using the WA VOTER Pamphlet Guide from the Sec. of State and then move to other resources.





Tuesday, Nov. 1

Students took care of their priorities. See below- they are listed in the order that they should be completed:

  1. Social Studies REFLECTION for CONFERENCES.
  2. ACES response: How effective were the laws of the INCA government?
  3. CNN Student News Notes completed.


Monday, Oct. 31

  1. Discuss basics of ‘issues’ that impact Washington Voters.

Week 10: Oct. 24-28


Thursday, Oct. 27

  1. Read and “PUKE” on an article about INCAN LAWS.  Ms. Stromme will lead the class in a Socratic Seminar focusing on how the Inca worked to keep law and order.  Students should walk away with an understanding of the different laws and a critical analysis of those laws they agreed and disagreed with and why…Students might also consider how or why these laws could or shouldn’t be applied in our world today.

Tuesday and Wednesday, Oct. 25-26

  1. Today in class we looked the different ranks or ‘classes’ of Incan society.  Based on a set of in-class readings, students drew a pyramid and identified the ‘ranks and organization’ of Incan society.  Students who ‘Launched’ evaluated the effectiveness of the ranking system and/or made connections to our society today.

incan-pyramid-of-power CLICK HERE TO SEE THE ACTIVITY SHEET.

inca-society-made-kid-friendly CLICK HERE TO SEE the INCA SOCIETY READINGS

Monday, Oct. 24

  1. Today we continued out theme of social justice by taking our first look into the INCA CIVILIZATION.  Students visited ‘learning stations’ in which they collected WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN, WHY and HOW information about this civilization.
  • ONE: Inca Interactive Website- Rituals and Beliefs


  • TWO: Primary Source Analysis/Agriculture


  • THREE: Inca Geography


  • FOUR: Textbook pages: 65-67
  • FIVE: In-class text resources.

Week 9: Oct 17-21


Friday, 10/21

  1. Continued the EUROPE Stations work.

Thursday, 10/20

  • STATION ONE: Feudal Pyramid


  • STATION TWO: Overview of Europe- sketch animation

The Middle Ages in 3 1/2 minutes

  • STATION THREE: Role of the Church


  • STATION FOUR: Trade in the Middle Ages


  • STATION FIVE: Children’s Book
  • STATION SIX: Textbook

Wednesday, 10/19

  1. Both classes debriefed the film. We talked about questions we had, parts of the film that really resonated and made connections to Malala’s life experiences.  In both classes, we began to talk a little bit about the role of government in the United States (structure of political parties and the ideologies of political parties including the political spectrum and where CLINTON and TRUMP fall on that spectrum).

Tuesday, 10/18

  1. Irregular school schedule today.  Students went to the Pickford Cinema to watch a documentary about girls fighting for their right to education in Afghanistan.  Great connection to our book read about MALALA.

Monday, 10/17

  1. Today in class, students received their MALALA unit tests back.  They were asked to write a reflection of their learning for the first month of school- this reflection will be used at conference time in the coming weeks.


Week 8: Oct. 10-13


Friday- No school for students.

Thursday, Oct. 13

  1. 1/2 Day- Malala Test.

Wednesday, Oct. 12

ACES response- review for test.

Tuesday, Oct. 11

  1. Today we finished I AM MALALA.
  2. We read Ch. 34, 35 and the Epilogue (see link below).
  3. https://goucher.box.com/s/thfs4z55m62h9b988rbaimw6sqr3wbe6 cro_electronics_beatswirelessheadphones_04-14


After reading, students posted their FRIDAY “CHOICE WORK” that they completed with the substitute.  Students who did not have this completed, were not invited to participate in the following activity.  In a GALLERY WALK format, students were able to read the work of their peers.  For each work that they viewed they “replied” to the person by using one of the following sentence starters:

  1. I agree when you said…because…
  2. I disagree when you said…because….
  3. I would add that…because…
  4. I wonder…because…
  5. Other/Choice…

Monday, Oct. 10


  1. Hand out progress reports. Highlight *missing or below standard scores.
  2. Catch up on missing work/below standard OR make a review timeline to prepare for Thursday’s test.

Chapters 31, 32, 33