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