Social Science Update

Seventh graders recently wrapped up their study of Kansas history which covered topics like the Bleeding Kansas and the Dust Bowl. After completing their study the Dust Bowl the students wrote journal entries as if they were living during that time period. The last few weeks of school will be spent studying geography. The seventh graders have been surprised to find out that geography is more than just names of places on maps.

The eighth graders have spent the last several weeks studying the Civil War. They recently made a timeline showing the progression and importance of some of the Civil Wars main battles. Currently they are working with partners on power point presentation over a major battle of the Civil War.

The sixteen students I have for American history just concluded units on the Cold War and the civil rights movement and are currently studying the Vietnam War.

The eighth graders and juniors also took the social studies state assessments last week. It has been five years since the state has tested social studies. The social studies standards were in the process of being revamped and with their completion the state will resume regular testing in social studies. This year’s tests were given in order to set baseline scores for the years to come.

In sociology this semester we have covered a wide range of topics ranging from poverty to racism. Currently our discussion is centered on population growth and its global impact and the disparity between the growth rates in developing nations compared to those in industrialized nations.

Here are some web sites that explore the topics Satanta social studies students are studying.

Find out how Haskell County is linked to the worst pandemic in world history. A flu virus that killed an estimated 50 – 100 million people worldwide at http://www.translational-medicine.com/content/2/1/3

Learn about the Civil War at www.civilwar.com

Learn about the Vietnam War at http://www.vietnamwar.com/

See just how fast the world population is growing at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/worldbalance/