8th Grade/ Skeletons Speak!

NO HOMEWORK- There is no physical evidence that human life originated in the Americas. No bones or fossils of the precursors of humans, such as those unearthed on other continents have ever been found in either North or South America. The earliest evidence of human presence in the Americas is at most only 30,000 years old. Our investigation of the America’s will begin with an examination of a skeleton found near Kennewick, Washington. Was this an unsolved murder? An accidental or natural death? What was the story behind this skeleton and how can it help explain the history of the early Americas? The investigation only gets deeper!

7th Grade/ Survival

NO HOMEWORK- Frank Borman, Commander of the Apollo 8 Mission once stated that “Exploration is really the essence of the human spirit.”  Imagine that you just spent 144 days at sea and have arrived at the location that will be known as Jamestown. Your mission is to establish a permanent English settlement at this site. You will receive 15 items that may help you survive. Your task in class is to rank each of the items, identifying those items that would be most important for human survival in the harsh new environment at Jamestown. You will then apply this skill in determining what would be necessary for a new exploration to the moon.

6th Grade/ What is history and why do we study history?

NO HOMEWORK- People who study history are a lot like detectives conducting an investigation. In this case, they investigate or study the past. They ask questions, study the evidence for clues, and form hypotheses for making future decisions. However, historians are unable to work alone, requiring the skills of archaeologists and geographers. As class detectives, we will explore these professions through authentic tasks in order to “uncover” important historical clues for explaining where humans have been, and where we are going! 

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