Miss Pieczyski's Class – Social Studies Connections

Next week, we will participate in an interactive videoconference program, Don’t You Know There’s a War On?  This program explores the effects of World War II on North Carolina and her citizens.  Whether they saw combat or collected scrap metal, North Carolinians joined countless Americans who served, sacrificed, and persevered during the War.

In preparation for this event, you will research one of the following military people or units associated with North Carolina and report your findings in your blog post.  Your summary should be at least 5 sentences. 

Navy B-1 Band

Thomas Ferebee

Marion Hargrove Jr.

George Preddy

William C. Lee

Robert Morgan

Terry Sanford

555th Parachute Infantry Battalion (known as the Triple Nickels)

101st Airborne Division

82nd  Airborne Division

In addition to this summary, you must also include 2 websites: 

1.) an article informing us about the North Carolina homefront in WWII and

 2.) a primary source, such as an image of the North Carolina homefront in WWII.

As we continue to explore the government, economy and citizenship of different countries around the world, please create a blog post with 5 clues pertaining to your selected country of study.  Do NOT put the name of your country in any of the clues.  Also, your first clue should not reveal the answer.   This blog post should serve as the first slide in your PowerPoint presentation due Monday, January 2, 2012.

 The following is an example entry:

Clue #1:  This country’s GDP per capita is $6,600.

Clue #2: Its people once grew unhappy with imperial rule which eventually led to a violent civil war.

Clue #3:  Mao Zedong was once an important leader of this country

Clue #4: This country has a Communist government.

Clue #5: This is the 4th largest country in the world.

What is the country? 

CNN is conducting a poll to honor everyday people making a difference.  Ten remarkable individuals have been selected as the Top 10 CNN Heroes.  Now, it’s your turn to help choose the Hero of the Year. 

Please read the stories of the 10 heroes and watch their videos at:   http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cnn.heroes/archive11/index.html

Then you should

1) Select the hero whose accomplishments and personal story inspires YOU the most.  Then, post your blog about the CNN Hero you chose.  In your blog, tell us why your selection is the best choice for Hero of the Year.  Convince us!

2) Take action and VOTE for your favorite hero !  http://heroes.cnn.com/vote_en.aspx

At this moment, men and women from the Army, Navy, Marines, Coast Guard and Air Force are serving around the world.  On Veterans’ Day we reflect, remember and honor the nearly 25 million veterans living among us, in every state and territory and from every walk of life.  The freedoms we have are because of the men and women who put their life on hold in defense of our nation.

For your post due on Veterans Day, 11/11/11, please create a Top Ten list of reasons why you love the United States.  Also, remember the purpose of Veterans Day is to celebrate and honor America’s veterans for their patriotism, love of country, and willingness to serve and sacrifice for the common good.   

If you know a Veteran, please get their address and give it to Ms Pieczyski so we may send them a card.  Also, if you see a Veteran, thank him or her for all of us!

Please read “The New Colossus,” a sonnet by Emma Lazarus (1849–1887), written in 1883 and, in 1903, engraved on a bronze plaque and mounted inside the Statue of Liberty. 

As you read the poem below, imagine you are an immigrant sailing to America in the early 1900s to begin a new life.  In your post,

1. Describe your reaction as you first catch sight of the Statue of Liberty welcoming you into New York harbor. 

2. Share at least one thought in your mind.  

3. Use evidence from the text to describe how Emma Lazarus (the poet) felt about the role of the Statue of Liberty.

The New Colossus

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles.  From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame,
“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she
With silent lips.  “Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore,
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
by Emma Lazarus, New York City, 1883

http://www.statueliberty.net/images/statue-of-liberty-facts.jpg

“A cultural landscape is the human imprint on the physical environment—the landscape as modified by people. People and the plants they grow, the animals they care for, and the structures they build make up a cultural landscape. Even a deserted area could be a cultural landscape if its being vacant had been determined by humans.”

For this blog assignment, you will select 2 photos from around the world and make hypotheses about the similarities and differences of cultures, based on the photographs. Photographs may be selected from the following topics, but know you are not limited to these topics:

• buildings or other structures and their characteristics;
• people and their characteristics;
• means of transportation;
• signs; and
• pollution.

The following link will bring you to National Geographic’s “People & Culture” photo section.  From this link you have more than 200 photos to select from.   Choose 2 photos from the same topic.  Then, share at least 1 similarity and 1 difference between the pair of photographs you’ve selected.  For example, the 3 photos below all show a mode of transportation used in the desert, but they are different as well.   

Note: For your post, you may NOT use the photos mentioned in the blog examples posted.       

http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photo-of-the-day/people-culture/?page=7

As our nation remembers September 11, 2001, let us take a moment to thank the heroes we all have around us.  

For your blog post, please answer the following questions:

1. Why is it important to remember 9/11?

2. What does being a hero look like to you? Describe a hero.

3. Tell us about someone in your life who you consider a hero and share why. 

Students,

In 7^th grade Social Studies, we will delve into the past as we simultaneously embrace our future. In so doing, your first blog assignment will be to review and interpret famous quotes from our country’s fearless leaders.   President John F. Kennedy once said, “All this will not be finished in the first one hundred days. Nor will it be finished in the first thousand days, nor in the life of this administration, nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. But let us begin.” So students, let us begin our journey!

In your blog response, 1) select one of the following quotes that resonate with you; 2) explain why you’ve selected the quote over the other quotes and 3) explain how the quote could relate to our lives in America today.  

 PRESIDENTIAL QUOTES

John F. Kennedy
Let us resolve to be masters, not the victims, of our history, controlling our own destiny without giving way to blind suspicions and emotions.

Harry S. Truman
America was not built on fear. America was built on courage, on imagination, and unbeatable determination to do the job at hand.

Dwight D. Eisenhower
When you are in any contest you should work as if there were – to the very last minute – a chance to lose it.

Abraham Lincoln
When you have got an elephant by the hind leg, and he is trying to run away, it’s best to let him run.

Calvin Coolidge
Patriotism is easy to understand in America; it means looking out for yourself by looking out for your country.

Ronald Reagan
Double, no triple, our troubles and we’d still be better off than any other people on earth. It is time that we recognized that ours was, in truth, a noble cause.

Richard M. Nixon
A man is not finished when he’s defeated; he’s finished when he quits.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt
The country needs and, unless I mistake its temper, the country demands bold, persistent experimentation. It is common sense to take a method and try it; if it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something.

Theodore Roosevelt
It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed. In this life we get nothing save by effort.

Dear 7th grade,

For your last blog post, please take a few moments to think about everything you’ve accomplished this school year.  Your list should be long for you’ve conquered many new challenges in the 7th grade.   I’m proud of your accomplishments and I look forward to following your progress in the future.   

For your last Social Studies post, please create an ACROSTIC for your FIRST and LAST name summarizing your learnings this year.  You do not have to just include your learnings in Social Studies, but consider your entire 7th grade experience. 

I look forward to reviewing your responses and I wish each of you and your families a wonderful summer break. 

Sincerely,

Your teacher Ms Pieczyski

For EXAMPLE:

Just could not get enough of Social Studies this year

Envy no one for I had the best year ever

New Zealand and Australia are 2 of my favorite countries to learn about 

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