Week 9

I hope you all enjoyed watching The Winter Patriots as much as I did! I know some of the battle details can get a little tedious if you're not into that sort of thing, but seeing the maps and troop movements can really give you some perspective on the war. Considering the size of our nation today, all the most popular battles of the revolution were fought in a relatively small land area, so the war was very close to home (sometimes at home!) for most colonists. I imagine every colonist probably felt they were personally involved in the war, which is probably why Thomas Paine's American Crisis paper inspired so many colonists to stay in the fight. Here's some food for thought, that maybe we can discuss in class next week: Have you ever felt connected to or affected by a situation that didn't involve you personally? Maybe a circumstance with a friend or family member, or an event that was making news? Think about it, and we'll share in class.

Assignments this week:

Opinion Paper: "For though the flame of liberty may sometimes cease to shine, the coal can never expire." Is this a true statement? What does this statement mean to you?

Parent Night: Please be thinking about a presentation idea for parent night that will wow them, make them laugh, cry, or all of the above! You had some good ideas last week; just remember that we'll only have about 10-15 minutes to present.

Declaration of Independence: Do your best to get as much of this document memorized as possible over the break! Looking at it only once or twice a week WILL NOT be enough! After speaking to teacher Genne, Mrs. Brennan and I decided we would let you pass off the Declaration one section at a time to make it a less formidable. So shoot to have through the Statement of "Petitioned" done by next Thursday, 12/1. Again, if you email me BEFORE then and tell me you have it memorized to that point, I will bring you a yummy treat!

Reading: Being George Washington by Glenn Beck. To be discussed on January 5th, with Leila leading our discussion.

Presentations: Thanks Reina, for the presentation on Betsy Ross! Now we know why the stars on the flag have 5 points! Next week, we look forward to hearing from Ethan on the role of the Navy in the Revolutionary War. The words "I have not yet begun to fight!" come to mind...

I think that's all for now! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, and in the spirit of the holiday I will say that I am very grateful for the opportunity I have to be your mentor for Key of Liberty, and for each of you and your participation in this class. You guys make learning and teaching really enjoyable for me! Thank you!

-Mrs. Hellyer

Week 8

This week we discussed overcoming roadblocks. You guys all had some really good suggestions of what to do when you face roadblocks, and now that we've studied about people who have overcome really hard things (the pilgrims, Ji Li Jiang, the American colonists, John Adams, the other 55 signers of the Declaration), you should have a lot of inspiration to draw upon when you hit roadblocks in your own lives. You all are a strong, intelligent, faithful bunch of scholars, and we have no doubts that you'll be able to achieve anything you set your minds to do!

**Remember Friday, December 2nd is the class pizza and movie night. We'll possibly watch April Morning at my house in Graham, but we'll let everyone know as soon as we finalize plans.

Assignments This Week:

 

• Presentations: Reina will give us a presentation on Betsy Ross and the first flag. We're excited to hear what you find out, Reina! I hear Lucy's and Dean's presentations were excellent, and I'm sorry I missed them...except for the moving rocks part!

• Opinion Paper: How do you overcome roadblocks in your life?

• Morning News Discussion: Be prepared with news tidbits to share!

• Reading: Make sure to read The American Crisis by Thomas Paine (in your binder) by next week and take note of any questions or comments you have so we can discuss them in class. Also, keep working on Being George Washington by Glenn Beck.

• D.o.I. Memorization: If you haven't memorized through the Statement of "History" yet, do your best to get it done this week! If you have, start on the Statement of "Petitioned," which comes right after the 27 Injuries of the King. I'll bring an extra special treat for those who email me before Thursday to tell me they have through the Statement of "History" memorized! 

 

• Other: Remember to come up with some ideas for a short skit or presentation that our class can do for parent night. We want to show all those parents, grandparents, siblings, etc. that learning about our nation's founding isn't stuffy or boring! (And we want to outshine the Sword of Freedom class!)

Have a great week, y'all!

 

-Mrs. Hellyer

 

Week 7

We learned about the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence this week; that they were men of fortune and reputation that had a lot to lose by putting their names to the document. They definitely were not changing their government for "light and transient causes!" Reading and discussing the John Adams book helped to give us a little more insight into the impact the path to independence had on these men, and also the influence they had on their fellow colonists. Thank you, Lucy, for having some thought-provoking questions prepared for our discussion! I encourage you all to read and study more about these men, because the few minutes we spent talking bout them in class really did them little justice. You will find their stories are both humbling and inspiring...

"We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately."

 -Benjamin Franklin, encouraging the delegates to the Continental Congress to unite and vote for independence from Britain.

 

Here is a link to the video we watched in class for those who were absent:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qa8IdmKapYk

Assignments

Opinion Paper: What is more important: your family or your country?

Morning News Discussion: The presidential election is on Tuesday! Please pay attention to the results, and what predictions are being made about the election and the next presidential term so we can discuss this in class.

Presentations: Thanks to Paige for a great presentation on Continental soldiers (very creative use of Legos)! This week we look forward to hearing interesting presentations from Lucy on life as a prisoner and prisons, and from Dean on Francis Marion "the Swamp Fox."

Reading: Being George Washington by Glenn Beck is the next book we will be discussing, so please have it completed by January 5th. Everyone needs to prepare 2 questions or comments to share during book discussion. A good tip: while you are reading the book, jot down or underline anything you think is comment-worthy or anything you have a question about. It's that easy! Leila is the lucky scholar who gets the honor of leading the discussion for this book!

D.o.I. Memorization: Our goal this week is to have through the Statement of "History" memorized by Thursday. Please work on this for a few minutes several times a day. I know you guys can do this!

**Don't forget about your other award requirements for this semester! All first semester award requirements need to be completed by January 12th. I know your parents would really like to see those keys jam-packed with ribbons on display for parent night! If you need help getting things finished, please come talk to either me or Mrs. Brennan.

See you all Thursday!

-Mrs. Hellyer