Miss Waks's Social Studies Class Update

Hello Parents-

I wanted to write you an update for my social studies class to keep you in the loop. My students have been working very hard on a variety of topics and projects lately. The last chapter we read focused on the differences between two ancient Greek city-states: Athens and Sparta. The students were asked each lesson, which city-state they would rather live in and WHY. This discussion is now culminating with a claim essay in which the students need to provide evidence to back up their claim. They have been working very hard on writing their essay and I'm sure they would love to share their drafts with you. Their final copies will be due this coming Friday, so make sure to check in with your children before that. We will have one more in-class day to edit/revise using my comments and a check-list, but other than that they will be finding time at home to perfect their essays. 

While they are writing, we moved on to Chapter 28 in our textbooks. This chapter is all about the battles between ancient Greeks and the Persians. We have been reading and analyzing videos about several battles between the two peoples. The students have been enjoying this chapter and really getting into being on the side of the ancient Greek people. As a wrap up the other day, the students created a phalanx of their own. A phalanx is the formation that the ancient Greek soldiers used to protect themselves. The students had Popsicle stick spears and were quite fierce.