what you know within the subject of United States history.  For most units, you will create a page that demonstrates what you learned.  This will be done using text, graphics, charts, pictures, video, music, etc. 

 

             When not working on your website, we will have a great time learning in different ways.  We will spend a ton of time analyzing primary sources from the events that we will study.  Because many of the primary sources that we will analyze are difficult, I want you to work in groups.  These groups will work like a team and not as a way to copy down information!  At other times, we will compete in what I like to call Socratic Smackdown!  You will be assigned to a team and will work together to form debates against the other teams within your class.  These debates will center around the units that we will study.  Examples of Socratic Smackdown's include the Constitution and the book The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass.  To top it all off, you will get to write essays using Document Based Questions (DBQ)!  We will complete at least one DBQ each marking period.  Each DBQ will be added to your website, so you can simply show off what you know.

 

             If you are interested in attending our 3rd annual 8th Grade Washington DC trip next June, look for information to come home.  The trip lasts for five days with sites including, Arlington National Cemetery, the Capitol Building, hopefully the White House, Vietnam War Memorial, Smithsonian Museums, Mt Vernon, Gettysburg, Hershey Park and many others. 

 

             If you are someone who is interested in golf, I will have a club after school in my classroom.  We are lucky enough to have a golf simulator, which is basically a virtual video game.  We can play as many as 13 courses all within the walls of my classroom.  Please visit my class, or contact me at bwetherwax@ioniaschools.org if you plan to join.

 

 

Classroom Layout

 

As mentioned before, I really like to have students work in groups.  My classroom layout will truly show what I mean. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My classes range in size from 28-32 students.  I have 8 separate groups of 4 students.  For classes that are smaller than 32 students, I make sure that each group has at least 3 students.  Because the students are grouped together, I expect to have slightly more noise compared to students in rows.  However, I want there to be noise, as long as students are discussing the lesson at hand.  Having the desk arranged in this manner also makes it easy to set up stations, have team games and provide help to other students within the group.

 

 

Class Wall of Fame

 

The class wall of fame is one aspect of the classroom that students really enjoy.  I will put certain criteria, such as receiving an A on an essay, to be put onto the class wall of fame.  If a student does meet the criteria, they are given a notecard that they can design.  Last school year we had some Michigan fans (GO BLUE!) attempt to spell out Michigan.  However, some Spartan fans showed the great defense that both football and basketball teams possess and put an end to spelling out the word.  I find the wall of fame as an extra incentive for students to do well in the class.  I have heard numerous times a student tell me that they are trying so hard to get their name on the board and after putting more effort into the class, they find themselves putting a card on the wall of fame.  I find that this drives kids in various ways, whether it be for personal satisfaction, or to prove not only to others, but themselves that they are a smart student.  It is also one way that students can create their own space in the classroom.  I will update the picture below after each test, essay, or project.  Please come back to see if your child got an A and if they did, how would they want to celebrate.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sample Lesson

 

To give you an idea about what your child is learning and how they truly get this information, I want to provide an exciting activity that I plan to use multiple times through the school year.  I call this Socratic Smackdown!  A fun way to debate, while learning the proper methods to ensure the debate remains respectful and rich with content.  Students are placed on teams that I have created.  You can probably guess that the groups that you saw earlier in my classroom layout, will be similar to the the teams that they will compete with.  A representative for each team will enter into a small circle of 7-9 desks, while the rest of the class is in a larger circle surrounding the smaller group.  The representatives will debate a topic that is given, while using sources that they have gathered to use as evidence.  If the representatives are stuck on providing an answer, a hot seat is available to anyone from the large group to enter into the debate and provide their views.  After roughly 10 minutes of debate from the first group, I will call on a representative from each group to start a new debate.  A point system added to this activity really engages the students interest.  Ultimately, the team that gets the most points at the end of the lesson will receive a prize.  Clicking on the PDF below will show the scorecard that I use while the students debate. 

 

 

 

 

 

The rest of the information below is a progression of a Socratic Smackdown used after we read "The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass," last school year.

• Have students organize into their teams if they aren't already with their team

• Hand out a set of questions from the book to use for the debate

• Provide 20 minutes for students to help each other answer the questions, provide evidence, or create questions that they want answered in the debate

• Give a 5 minute and 2 minute warning for when the debate will begin

• When time is up, have each team select one person to represent the team in the debate

• Have the selected students bring their materials and desk to the middle of the classroom and form a circle

• Add one more desk for the hot seat (this desk will start off empty)

• The students on the outside will get out their scorecards and keep score for their teammate

• If a student does not keep score for their teammate, the team will earn 0 points for the debate

• The teacher will start the debate with a question

• The first person to begin talking will answer

• Students will then have a debate that will resemble more of a conversation about the book

• As students get involved with the discussion, I will keep score

• If the debate stalls, a student from the outside can go to the hot seat to add to the discussion, or I will provide another question

• When 10 minutes have passed, students will end the debate

• I will select one student from each team to enter into the middle circle to start a new debate

• We will follow the same procedure as the first debate

• Once time has passed, students will tally up the points that they felt their team received

• We will average their points with the points that I felt they received to come up with the total

• The team that has the most points receives a prize