History on Tap

The 6th grade content review workshop will be held on Tuesday, March 23rd, at 4:15pm.  It will be in the library at John Tyler Elementary.  I need an RSVP from everyone attending by Friday, March 19th.  There are some materials I need to purchase this weekend, and I need a head count.  I will only have materials for those who RSVP.  Send your RSVP to mary.jones@pps.k12.va.us.

I uploaded two powerpoints to my Slideshare account.  (http://www.slideshare.net/sita0519/presentations)  One contains photos of Williamsburg and Jamestown, the other one contains photos of Yorktown.  I took these pictures during the Colonial Williamsburg Teacher Institute a couple of years ago.  I know it’s not timed very appropriately, but you can download the powerpoints and save them for review.  There is a brief descriptor in the notes section of the powerpoint for each photo, telling you what the photo shows. 

Since the files are large, I can’t email these out.  I’m also not going to embed them in the blog, since I don’t want to slow it down.  But you can download them to your desktop or a jump drive.  Hope they’re useful!

Diana Davenport shared this interesting link with me.  It’s a virtual tour of the White House.  The site shows you a floor plan, with certain rooms highlighted, providing more information on that room.  Some rooms (such as the Oval Office) also offer a 360 degree panoramic of the room.  You can look at the main part of the building, as well as the East and West Wings. 

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30932789/ns/politics-white_house

The Technology Department has been working hard on  Social Studies Resources for the district.  They are now posted in the Y drive on the shared network.  There are resources for grades K-3, and 5-6.   (Sorry 4th grade, you guys had quite a few resources so they concentrated on areas that were lacking.)

To access the materials, go to My Computer on your desktop.  Under Network Drives, click on the Y or Media Drive.  You should then see 2 folders (one for SS, one for Science) and you’ll find all the materials the TRT’s have put together in the SS folder.  If you have a question, or need help finding the drive, contact the TRT in yoru building.  Hope it helps!

Sojourner Truth has become the first African American woman to be honored with a bust in the US Capitol.  The statue was unveiled today. 

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/04/28/sojourner.truth/index.html

This might be a good way to show your students how the things they study in history are still relevant today!

Congratulations to Heather McCormick at James Hurst Elementary!  Heather has been chosen to serve on the 2009 SOL Assessment Review Committee for USI.  This year, the committee will meet in Glen Allen, VA.  Way to go Heather, we’re glad you’ll be there representing Portsmouth!

The 6th grade year in review workshop will be on Tuesday, March 17th, at 4:30 pm.  It will be held at Churchland Primary and Intermediate.  RSVP to Mrs. West at 393-8555 or mary.west@pps.k12.va.us.

CNN.com has a great article today about the role played by slaves during the Civil War.  They discuss William Jackson, a slave belonging to Jefferson Davis who spied for the Union.  They also mention Harriet Tubman and Robert Smalls.  This goes along particularly well with USI, but in general is great information to share with your students.

Thanks to Sandra Grey for sharing this website with me.  It’s called Powerpoint Palooza and has over 200 social studies websites.  A lot of them are geared towards high school (AP Am and Euro History) but you can download and manipulate them to suit USI and USII.  There are also student projects as well as a Jeopardy template.  http://www.pptpalooza.net/

The 6th grade USI questions of the day are finished for the second semester.  They go through week 34, which is the week of May 11th.  (SOL’s start the following week.)  Each week covers a different SOL, with some geography thrown in again in the final week before testing.  You can find them on the USI page.