History of Venezuela

Today the assignment was to read "The History of Venezuela", pages 228-229 in the textbook.  The reading is about six paragraphs.  After reading, the following questions needed to be answered.  The question did not need to be answered in complete sentences (although it kills me to tell the kids that.)

On Friday, kids who scored poorly on a map quiz taken earlier this month will have the opportunity to re-take the quiz.  The scores were low, and I'm not sure why. We had worked with the map of South America for a couple of weeks, and the map was used to answer the questions.  Before I put grades for the quiz in the grade book, I want to offer an opportunity for re-takes.

Thanks,
Cathy

Questions to answer page 228,229

1. Before the Spanish arrived in Venezuela small tribes of Indians survived by______________________________________

2. Spanish explorers forced S. American Indians to ______________________for pearls and _________________ for gold.

3. When S American Indians died off___________________ were brought in to work the plantations.

4. _______________________ led Venezuela to independence from Spain in 1830.

5. Throughout the 1800’s Venezuela was led by ____________________.

6. Since Venezuela relied heavily on oil and became wealthy for awhile you would say that it had a __________________________economy

7.  What is indigo and how did it impact Venezuela’s history?

Cartography Continues, Map due Tuesday 1/31

Today, the kids continued to work on their maps of Caribbean South America.  The map requirements were posted on the blog last Friday, just in case someone needs to complete their map at home this evening.

The map is DUE tomorrow at the beginning of the hour.  This map will be graded as a Test/Quiz/Project grade, so it's an important assignment.  That being said, the homework today is to complete the map.

Thanks,
Cathy

Good bye Facebook!

I have deleted my Facebook page entitled  "MrsWood Socialstudies".  I wanted to use it just to post assignments and answer questions kids might have about assignments, projects, and/or due dates.  I didn't want to see what kids had on their Facebook pages; I didn't want to know why someone wondered why orange juice didn't taste like oranges or that several girls thought Justin Beber was "So cute!".

It made me uncomfortable to see the Facebook pages of adults only because my "MrsWood Socialstudies" page was, in theory, connected to the school.  So......in the same way that Dorothy threw water on the Wicked Witch to protect her friends, I deleted my Facebook page to protect my friends.

I will continue to post on this blog, and I thank all of you who participated in the Facebook experiment. I'll look around and see if there is a way to do what I had envisioned; in the meantime, everything you'd ever want to know about 6th Grade Social Studies will be here.

Have a great weekend,
Cathy

Cartograhpy

Today, we started drawing maps of "Caribbean South America".  We will work on the map in class on Monday, too, so it is NOT homework over the weekend.  Listed below are the places  that need to  be included on the map.

We also corrected the open book quiz on page 11 of our CSA booklet, so look for a new grade!

Have a nice weekend,
Cathy

Draw a map of the area we call Caribbean South America. Please include the following:

__The names of the five countries

__Major Rivers

__Water features such as ocean, sea, rivers, and lakes.

__Colored in elevation and include a key

__Compass Rose

Label each of these                        

Colombia     Venezuela     Guyana     Suriname      French Guiana

Caribbean Sea   Atlantic Ocean     Pacific Ocean

Guiana Highlands       Llanos         Andes

Cities

Bogota      Caracas       Georgetown        Paramaribo       Cayenne

Interesting Places

Devil’s Island    Orinoco River    Cauca River    Magdalena River    Angel Falls

    Lake Maracaibo         Pacific Ocean         Caribbean Sea

Reading and Thinking

Today we corrected pages 9 & 10 in class. I am not taking a grade on these pages, but the expectation was that the pages be done on time.  This assignment required the kids to "apply what they had read", to make inferences, which can be difficult at times.

We did not sample tonic water today; that will happen tomorrow.  We started the Open Book quiz over Section 2 today, but it is NOT homework.  I'll give the kids time tomorrow to complete the quiz.

Cathy

Colombia!

Today the kids finished reading the section about Colombia and answered questions from pages 9 & 10 in their booklets.  This was offered as either partner or solo work.  I reminded kids that working with one's best friend might be fun, but might also result in homework.  Most of the kids completed the work by the end of class.

We watched two two-minute videos about Colombia,  Tomorrow, we will read about malaria, and perhaps have a sip of tonic water; it contains quinine!

Thanks,
Cathy

Chapter 10, Section 2 Questions

These questions were assigned today, and are due tomorrow.  Time was given in class to answer the questions, based on a 6 paragraph reading assignment.  The kids were allowed to read with a partner.

1.  Name 3 art forms practiced by the Chibcha.
2.  What did the Chibcha do to their new leaders?
3.  What is the English translation of "El Dorado"?
4.  When did the Spanish arrive on the Caribbean coast?
5.  Why did the Spaniards come to the Caribbean coast?
6.  How did the arrival of the Spaniards affect the Chibcha?

Thanks,
Cathy

Gung Hey Fat Chow!

Today starts the Year of the Dragon on the Chinese Calendar.  Although we call it "Chinese New Year" it's really the Lunar New Year because all Asian countries will celebrate this holiday during the next 14 days.

We did an Open Book Quiz over section 1 of Chapter 10 - Caribbean South America.  I asked the kids to write the page number where they found the answer.  Many kids don't know how to take an open book quiz, so I'm hoping that by asking for the page number ( it's only three pages of reading), they will ACTUALLY use the book.  It is very discouraging when kids fail an open book quiz.

There is no homework tonight unless the quiz is incomplete by the end of class.

Don't forget, the booklet pages are on my LMS website in the Classroom Documents Section; the booklet is entitled "CSA Chapter 10". 

All blog information is also on my Facebook page:  MrsWood  SocialStudies  (two words, like a first and last name).

Thanks,
Cathy

Secret Word!

The secret word for Friday, January 20 is:  tierra templada.

Tell Ms Lytle for a jolly rancher!!  Good Luck!

HOMEWORK!!!

Today, the assignment was to finish work started yesterday, January 18.  The assignment was:

Complete pages 3,4,5,6, & 7 in the Caribbean South America booklet.  The information needed to answer these pages can be found in Chapter 10, Section 1 (pages 221-223).  The textbook pages were read aloud in class on Wednesday.

I showed the kids my Social Studies Facebook page today, and explained that it is just one more site for them to check for classroom information.  There will be a "secret" word posted from time to time, and I will also put the secret word on the blog.

I also put the "Caribbean South America" booklet on my LMS website.  To access that website, one needs to go to the Lowell Area Schools website, select "Schools", LMS, my name, then "Classroom Documents".  It's listed as CSA Chapter 10.

South America!

We started reading Chapter 10, Caribbean South America, today. It's been a while since we worked out of our textbooks, so this may be a welcome change for some students. 

I was at a meeting all day today, so there was no homework assigned.

Tomorrow, I'll be telling the kids about my "Social Studies Facebook" page.  If your child has a Facebook page, I'll ask that he or she find my page and  "Like" me.  This will just be one more avenue for delivering information about homework, tests, or other events in the classroom.  I will not be "Friending" your child.

Thanks,
Cathy

Core Democratic Values

Today we took a pre-test on Core Democratic Values, also known as CDV.  We will be working in two areas simultaneously over the next few weeks; CDVs and Caribbean South America.  We decided to try and blend the two areas to allow variety for the kids. 

We are finishing the South America map work, which I believe will serve as a nice introduction to the chapter we will begin next week. 

There is no homework today.

Thanks,
Cathy

South America

We are continuing to work with the South American map.  Map reading is really reading for detail, so it's great practice, and it's different than "read a paragraph, answer questions".

Several kids had failed to turn in their paragraphs describing the Economy of their "Created Country".  I put names on the board, and those who had not turned in their paragraphs were not surprised.  The final opportunity to turn in the paragraph without getting zapped will be tomorrow, January 11, 2012.  This work was assigned December 5, and was due December 15.

There is no homework because I can't let the maps go home.  I have told kids that if they want to come down during lunch, with their lunch, and work on their maps, eat lunch, and listen to "old lady" radio, they are more than welcome!

Thanks,
Cathy

Welcome Back!

Ah...the second day of school; all the kids are pooped!  The first day back is full of excitement; you get to see your friends and talk about break and Christmas gifts.  The second day kids are tired and crabby.

We are starting the new year with map work.  I explained to the kids that doing any kind of map work is actually Informational Text reading.  The map  contains factual information and by correctly answering questions or doing the activities from the worksheets, the kids are learning how to read and interpert graphs, find and label specific areas on the map, and follow directions.  Some students don't read ALL the directions before attempting to do an activity; I will not give an answer, but I'm happy to re-direct and/or re-read a section with a student.  It is important that students begin to learn to function independently, and activities such as map work are perfect for allowing students to work independently.  There is no "hidden" information on maps, one need not make inferences.  The information is straight-forward, but one must read the map to find the information.  Perfect work for Sixth Graders :-)

There will be no homework this week!

Thanks,
Cathy