Revolutionary War Newscast

Revolutionary WarProject (click for PDF)

Television Newscast

In a group, you will be creating a television newscast story on a battle from the Revolutionary War.  Your group members will be chosen for you, as will the battle (so we don’t all do the same one).  Your newscast must include the following:

·         TWO news anchors

o   If you are a news anchor, your job is to set the scene of the story.  You give the background information of the people involved and the incident itself.  Remember you need to make it interesting—you want people to watch this.

·         ONE reporter

o   If you are the reporter, your job is to ask the important and interesting questions so the audience can fully understand what happened, from a personal point of view. 

·         Interviewee

o   If you are the one being interviewed, you need to answer the questions with correct information. There will need to be both an American and British/Loyalist/Hessian perspective.

Battles

Battle of Long Island

Trenton

Saratoga

War in the South

Yorktown

Checklist

o   Group has chosen parts

o   Group has written the “script”

o   Group has gathered any props/costumes (MUST HAVE)

o   Group has recorded the newscast

o   Newscast is AT LEAST 5 minutes long

Welcome, historians!

Please use this blog to get a first-hand view of what the 8th graders are studying in history class this year. I plan to post pictures/videos of activities and projects throughout the year so please check back frequently.

Please also note the tabs at the top of the page. As the year continues, I will be using them as a gathering place of any important links and student work.

Don't hesitate to contact me with any questions.

This past summer, Mrs. Brown and I were given the amazing opportunity to attend a teaching institute at Colonial Williamsburg. It was a rewarding and wonderful experience and I can't wait to share what I learned throughout the year of history. Below are some pictures to give you a small taste.

Lady Dunmore and Martha Washington

Mrs. Brown and I standing at Jamestown Island.

A pew in Williamsburg where George Washington likely sat.

Field of surrender at Yorktown

Some of you might recognize Thomas Jeffferson!

This artifact was mind blowing!

Field Notebook from Civil War explanation

History Paper

Parents, please make sure your child is up to date on the research paper. Next week Friday the first copy is due. By that time, it should be edited (for grammar so I only need to focus on the content and structure) by either a parent or a reliable adult/older sibling.

Rise of Industry

Yesterday, the kids participated in an activity that put them in a factory setting (as much as possible). For some reason, most of the students claimed to enjoy it. As they read more about conditions in real factories, I think they changed their minds.

Here is 8F in the factory. (I'm terrible about remembering to take pictures.
Sorry--there should have been more!)

Research Paper

The research paper is up and going. Students are to have at least four sources with them today so we can begin learning how to take notes. Please check the research links section of this page for the step by step guide that was emailed to the students.

We are taking notes by hand on notecards. While this does seem to go against technology, I have found that it is the easiest and best way to make sure kids are doing their best to write in their own words. When the notes are taken on the iPad/computer, the ability to copy and paste is just too enticing for many people. This way, they have to process the information in their own words. The actual paper itself, of course, will be done on the iPad.

Finishing Civil War/Reconstruction

We have finished our unit on the Civil War/Reconstruction, with a final take home quiz given later this week.

During the Civil War unit, we took notes, had discussions, watched clips from movies and documentaries, and participated in a few activities. It seemed to me that the students gained an appreciation for the struggles of that time period and why it is one of the most defining American events.

We will move on to do some preliminary research before beginning the unit on our research paper. Look for more information on that soon!

Here are some pictures of our field hospitals. Sadly, some students did not make it through the class period. The students were pretty grossed out to learn about the medical conditions during the war and thought it crazy that so many soldiers died from disease rather than on the battlefield.