As shared in an e-mail sent out this past week, students were asked who their top 3 heroes are and why.  The most common responses, IN ORDER, were:

​1. My Dad
2. My Mom
3. My Grandpa OR My sibling tied

Too awesome!  Where I anticipated seeing responses relating to celebrities or athletes based on conversations I hear in school, I was pleasantly surprised by the responses given by students.  Parents:  You ARE heroes.  Your kids are watching you carefully and love you deeply.  Keep it up!

In class this week, we also did an activity simulating TAXES.  As we learned about the French and Indian War, we learned that a major cause of the American Revolutionary War was, in large part, caused by this French and Indian War.  A major effect of the French and Indian War was TAXES.  The king demanded the colonists to pay for the war through a series of UNFAIR taxes.  Using M&M's or Skittles, students were asked to pay a series of taxes to the king, all of which were considered UNFAIR by students (which is true).  Students had no say in the taxes and zero representation to talk to the king about the unfair taxes.  All of this is building up to learning about the colonial taxes and how they contributed to the American Revolutionary War.  

As we wrapped up Term 1, we began learning about the 13 colonies and the reasons each were founded.  The assignment we completed in class  can be downloaded below or under Unit 2.  Students do NOT need to watch the videos to fill in this handout.  If they move to the end of the video the information will be provided there.  Students need to color code the assignment to reflect the 3 regions of the colonies:  New England, Middle and Southern.  We discussed the colonies in class in lieu of watching the videos.  Students were expected, however, to copy down the information while presented on the screen.  

This past week we wrapped up Unit 1 with learning about the Columbian Exchange and identifying some of the most important exchanges that have had, are having or will have on the world.  We then spent a class period working on our Unit 1 Essays.  We also began to look at Jamestown and a few of the heroes from Jamestown, including Pocahontas, John Smith and Bartholomew Gosnold.