Week 10: 11/16/17

Last week we learned a bit about the principles and characteristics of our great and revered leader, George Washington. We learn from his public life that he had many honorable qualities, but did you know he worked hard--even as a boy--to attain those qualities? George Washington knew from a young age that he wanted to be someone special and important, so he set to work early to reach that goal. One of the ways he did this was by practicing good etiquette (something we could all improve on these days). Here is a link to the actual guidebook that George Washington used, called Washington's Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation:

http://lcweb2.loc.gov/service/gdc/scd0001/2010/2010_01/20100519003wa/20100519003wa.pdf

Read through these and we'll talk about which ones were your favorites (or the funniest) in class.

Here's a funny video about the rules of civility that you might enjoy, too...

 

 

 

 

Assignments:

 

Devotional: I believe it's Madeline's turn again!

Opinion Paper: I'm missing a few opinion papers from last week, so if you did not turn yours in, please email it to me this week. I really don't want to have a backlog of papers to read at the end of the semester! The topic this week is What made George Washington a great man? How can you become more like him? Please be specific with your examples!

Parent Night: Please brainstorm 2-3 solid ideas for our class parent night presentation and be ready to discuss and vote on them when we meet again, November 30th.

Reading: Keep working on Being George Washington, due December 14th

Award Requirements:

• I hope you all used the break to work on these! A few tips: practice the Declaration for a few minutes several times a day and you'll have it down in no time! Also, something that helps me to memorize things quickly is to write it down/copy it 2 or 3 times--give it a try...

• Keep working on your Declaration of Independence journal...I really want to be able to take everyone on the field trip to the capitol (and out to lunch afterward!).

I hope you all had a wonderful break and a Happy Thanksgiving! -Mrs. Hellyer

Week 9: 11/09/17



Last week we watched one of my favorite videos about George Washington and his troops crossing the Delaware River. It was such a trying time for our little "ragtag"army, and a seemingly impossible task for our newly appointed General Washington to lead them to victory. The strength and perseverance of these men is so inspiring to me, and I hope you all will draw the same inspiration from them, and know that you, too--with faith and determination--can endure and overcome difficult trials.

 

 

Also, check out this website for Civil War Trust that has a TON of great videos about the American Revolution (and they're only 4 minutes each!):

 

https://www.civilwar.org/learn/videos?field_war_tid%5B%5D=2
 

 

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 it mean to you? PLEASE re-read The American Crisis No. 1 by Thomas Paine, and study the context of this quote. Also, discuss this with your parents and ask them what they think--they're pretty good resources!

 

Presentations: Thank you to Gwen and Corban for your informative presentations! We will be pleased to hear from Corban again this week on weaponry and battle tactics, as well as Madeline on Betsy Ross (feel free to change your presentation a bit, Madeline, if you feel Mr. O'Neal gave us sufficient information).

 

Award Requirements: We have only 6 classes left before the end of the semester, and some of the most time consuming award requirements are left unfinished (ie. the Declaration of Independence). I know you guys can get all the ribbons if you work hard, so let's get some things passed off! We also will be discussing our presentation for parent night this week, which usually includes reciting the Declaration from memory. Let's make our parents proud!

 

Reading: Keep working on Being George Washington by Glenn Beck, which we will be discussing on December 14th. If you finish that, you can start reading Freedom Factor by Gerald Lund (one of my faves!)

 

One last thing: I received only 6 thank you cards for Mr. O'Neal, so if you forgot to turn yours in last week, PLEASE bring it this week so I can mail them to him on Friday. Thank you!

Enjoy the storm! -Mrs. Hellyer

Week 8: 11/02/17

I hope everyone enjoyed the presentation by Mr. Bob O'Neil. I learned a lot (and took a lot of notes), how about you guys? This week, there is no opinion paper, but your writing assignment is to write a thank you card to Mr. O'Neil for doing the presentation, and make you sure you include something you learned from him. Please use your best handwriting, and be very polite and gracious!

Also:

• We will be pleased to hear presentations from Gwen and Corban this Thursday

• I would like to assign Elsa the devotional this week

• PLEASE take time to work on your award requirements, since you don't have to write a paper--I will have candy for anyone who can pass off a section or more of the Declaration of Independence! 

Have a great week, and I'll see everyone Thursday! -Mrs. Hellyer