Greetings to one and all! Whether one is celebrating Leif Erikson Day, Indigenous People’s Day, or Columbus Day, I am sure we are all glad to have an extra day off to recharge for the busy week ahead. Here are the updates from my classes.
6th Religion
In sixth grade religion, we are nearing the end of the Book of Genesis. We will study the life of Joseph, son of Jacob. It is this story that explains why the Israelites fled to Egypt and were eventually placed in slavery. Next, we will study the life of Job, which is a separate book of the Bible, but takes place around the same time period as the end of Genesis. Both of these men exemplify having complete trust in God. There is no memory quiz this week.
6th Social Studies
This week we will study the empires of Mesopotamia- Babylon, Assyria, and Persia. We will also spend time studying the Code of Hammurabi- the first written set of laws in world history. The most famous of these laws is, “an eye for an eye,” but there is much more to explore.
7th Social Studies
In seventh grade, we are moving away from the Spanish colonies and getting into the exploration and settlement of North America by the French, Dutch, and English. As I tell the students, this is the lesson where we really get into United States history.
8th Religion
Much like sixth grade, eighth grade will be studying Joseph and the Israelites in Egypt. Toward the end of the week, we will get into God calling Moses. This is the second to last lesson in Unit 1, so we will review starting next Monday, and the unit 1 test will likely be on Thursday, October 21st. There is no memory quiz this week.
8th Social Studies
This week the students are working on group projects researching each of the main figures involved in the conspiracy to assassinate Abraham Lincoln, and several other government leaders. The driving question for this project is how one person can completely change the course of history, and we have talked about the fact that our country would likely be a very different place today if the assassination had not occurred. They will present their projects on Thursday, and then we will begin studying Radical Reconstruction.