Week of January 28th

Dear Parents,
First off, thank you so much for the wonderful feedback I've already received regarding the "How the Inca Fell" retelling homework. If you haven't heard the story from your child yet, their assignment is to retell the story they heard in class about how the Inca Empire fell (7B will be assigned this at the start of next week). The more detail, the better :-) Students have done exceptionally well conceptualizing and understanding the many factors that contribute to a stable empire, as well as acknowledging the various strands that lead to an empire's vulnerability and eventual descent. I've enjoyed the exceptionally high level of interest and participation.

This past week, a quiz was given that checked how carefully students read and comprehended the small National Geographic text. Several days were given to complete the assignment and prepare for the quiz. Grades were a little surprising as students were spread across the board. Overall, the 7th grade average was just that, "average" (a "C") . You may want to ask your son or daughter to see their quiz (these will be returned at the beginning of next week). I am hopeful any mistakes or "holes" in understanding what was read, will be corrected.

We have launched into a mini- research project to build on a few topics the text touched upon. There is an opportunity for choice in this project, however one component it to creatively construct a collage. Students now have a pretty good idea of what a collage is (after their South American Map Collages). As well, in each class, we have discussed what makes a good collage. A few notes I shared follow.

The word "collage" is comes from French and translates to mean, "to paste." A few ideas to keep in mind when making a collage include:

* Layering images upon each other helps the effect (use glue)

* Symbols, pictures of the person, drawings, words, newsprint--computer images, magazine cut-outs, drawings all will help. Mixing as much of these together can create a more inviting piece.

* Ultimately--THE GOAL IS CRAFT A MESSAGE OR FEELING THAT ANSWERS THE QUESTION--"Who is Evo Morales?" or "Who is Hugo Chavez?"

So, we've begun our research and will continue with this into next week. Due dates are: 7C=Tuesday 7A=Wednesday 7B=Wednesday

Looking over and talking with your son/daughter about this project could be very helpful.

Additionally, next week more will be explored in class discussions and pictures shown relating to two mysteries landmarks--Machu Pichu and the Nazca Lines. Students have shown a lot of intrigue in both topics and I am hopeful the curiosity and enormous potential of the ancients will continue.

On Friday, the 1st of February, the 7th grade will be visiting Kaloko fishponds. A wonderful connection can be made between this sacred place "right down the road" and the many sites we have seen in South America. The character, spirit, and mystic will all be touched upon in a discussion we will share in Social Studies class (so that explains the menehune at the top of the page :-) This should "prime" the students so their interest will be even greater the day of our trip.

As always, if there are any questions, please let me know. Thank you very much and enjoy the weekend!


With Warmth,
Matt Piercy
7th Grade Social Studies

Week of January 21st

This past week, students did a fine job researching and completing their cultural myth projects. Many new cultures and stories were learned about. Being able to identify similarities between stories also was highlighted. Similarities though the stories were often told thousands of years ago and thousands of miles apart from each other. The purpose of such stories was best summarized as:

Because the creation of the universe has made people curious for thousands of years, stories of “how it all began” were told to try and give answers to the BIG questions--how did the world come to be? And, why are humans here? People want to explain phenomenon (things that can be seen) and the unknown. Their stories of
“how it all began” help give a reason to the mysteries, no matter how bizarre and unrealistic the stories may be to us now. Every religion and every culture in the world seems to have its own story of “how it all began”. Often times, there are many similarities.

This week, the high point is sure to be when the story of "How the Inca Fell" is told. A power point will be shown and much discussion is sure to ensue. Students will be listening intently as well as taking notes. Their assignment will be to retell with as many details as possible, the complete story to a parent or other adult. Your assistance with this will be most appreciated.

Additionally this week, students will have a reading assignment as well as research topics that will be investigated more later on in the week. Topics include but are not limited to the following: Who is Hugo Chavez?
Who is Evo Morales?
Oil in Venezuela and its importance?
Brazilian Carnival--how does it compare to other culture's carnival celebrations?
Sustainable and Unsustainable resources in South America
Tourism in the Galapagos Islands

Last, you may have seen the following as it commonly has been passed around in chain e-mails. I shared it with students to emphasize not only the magnificence of the brain but also the last line--"the human mind does not read every letter by itself, but the word as a whole." From the beginning of the year and throughout, I will continue to stress the importance of the whole and connectedness. I thought this was a fun connection to this.

"Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe."

May everyone have a wonderful week and if there are any questions, as always I encourage your asking. Thank you so much.


Kindly,
Matt Piercy
7th Grade Social Studies

Week of January 14th

Dear Parents,

What a wonderful first week back! Students returned recharged and obviously happy to be back at school. This energy is a pleasure to share. We picked up this week where we left off before the break, learning more about South America. A component of our World Cultures course is history and this week and in the coming week, much emphasis is being placed on history.

At the start of this past week, we began with an exceptional BBC production titled, "Wild South America." This video highlighted the diversity of both the land and wildlife of the continent. Many students were awestruck seeing and learning how South America is a land of great extremes. With the Amazon, it hosts the greatest river system in the world, though on the other side of the Andes mountains, Atacama is the driest desert in the world. Appreciation for this diversity was a large reason why I wanted students to view this.

Also this week students shared in reading one version of the Hawaiian story of "how it all began". You might ask your son/daughter to retell you this story, as well you might enjoy hearing about the in-class demonstration of Kane throwing the calabash :-) The Hawaiian story was later compared with the Inca version of "how it all began." Students then worked hard to create their own creative versions. The point being that stories have been told throughout time, stories that help explain why human beings are here, how we came to be, and what our purpose is. In doing so, such stories not only helped explain but also created a sense of security.

In addition to being introduced to the Inca story, students have begun to learn more about the Inca civilization and the grandeur of their empire. Moreover, I am glad to hear students begin to question the enormous range of possibilities of advanced civilization that preceded the Inca. In the coming week, we will be viewing and discussing a video titled, "Lost Civilization--Inca." A lot more knowledge will be learned about who exactly the Inca were, who some "key players" were, and what were a few factors that led to the Inca's demise. What follows here is a list of a few objectives that students understand are expected.

Objectives:
--Where, what, and how are the countries and the land of South America?
--Who were the Inca?
--What evidence is there that the Inca and civilizations before the Inca were advanced?
--What are factors that contribute often times to the rise and fall of civilizations? (Are you able to reference the Inca specifically?)
--How do humans, resources, and geography affect each in South America? Also, how have they historically?


Last, one assignment students will have this week will require a little research. In an effort to expand their world view but also help make connections, students will be asked to choose a culture (from a list) and learn about their stories of "how it all began." It should be rather eye-opening for students to see how many similarities there are cross culturally. In addition to the research, there will be a very specific writing component. It would be helpful if you check in with your child sometime after Tuesday regarding this assignment.

As always, thank you so very much for your continued support. Have an enjoyable remainder of the weekend.


Kindly,
Matt Piercy
7th Grade Social Studies