This week middle school students began writing for our school newspaper, the Davidson Gateway. Our writing for the Gateway will be a part of a larger expository writing unit that will include descriptive, process, informative, and argumentative writing. As a class we learned about the different genres of print media, clarifying writer's purpose, and constructing strong headlines. Students then identified what type of article they would be writing and began the brainstorming and pre-writing process with their writing partners. In addition to beginning the drafting process, students had to reach out to adults and classmates in our community to coordinate interviews.
In social studies we are discussing the ways in which historians periodize history. At the beginning of this unit students learned about the eight major thresholds, starting with the theory of the "Big Bang" and ending with the Anthropocene. This week we analyzed other ways to periodize history and the big ideas that need to be considered when attempting to periodize history. Students did a great job of constructing alternatives to thresholds, including periodizing history according to the evolution of tools and the evolution of transportation. Students completed a "Day in the Life" activity that followed a person in a certain location and the ways in which this person's daily activities would change depending on where they exist on our big history timeline. All of these activities will help students consider multiple perspectives as we begin to examine the global unrest the defined much of the 20th century.
Students also began the brainstorming process for our Extended Learning Field Trip (ELFT). With Ms. Kathleen, students generated a list of potential destinations and conducted research that they will share with the class next week. After this students will attempt to narrow their choices with the goal of identifying a specific destination and beginning to plan their trip.
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