8th Grade Iowa Biographies

People and their stories make history rich.  The IA GenWeb Project (http://iagenweb.org/linn/bios/index.htm) is a website that collects and catalogs biographies of the men and women who helped establish Iowa.  Use the website and surf through the alphabetized names and skim until you find one that interests you.  Then, read the biography and post a summary that reflects that individual's contribution to history.

7th Grade Virtual Voyager #1 - Current Events

Newspapers are divided into different parts.  There are normally 14 parts of a newspaper that include: International, Politics, Local, Business, Technology, Science, Health, Sports, Entertainment, Weather, Obituaries, a cover page story, and the table of contents.
      
PART I  Using a newspaper, choose 5 of the following 9 topics and make a post on the blog that gives the title of the article.
1. International
2. Politics
3. Local
4. Business
5. Technology
6. Science
7. Health
8. Sports
9. Entertainment

For example:  The Gazette Wednesday, August 28, 2013
1. International - "Envoys: West could hit Syria in days" (Amman/Beirut, Lebanon)
2. Politics - "Some in Congress push for vote ahead of possible strike" (Washington D.C.)
3. Local - "Council unanimously backs casino deal" (Cedar Rapids)
8. Sports - "Hawkeyes open Big Ten on road" (Iowa City)
9. Entertainment -  "Last swim of summer" (Cedar Rapids)

PART II Now use one of the current events sources from the blog to find an article on your assigned country.  Read the article and post a summary paragraph on the blog.

For example:  ABC News - "Brazil Grants Visas to Syrians Fleeing Conflict," September 24, 2013
     The conflict in Syria has led to a deterioration in living conditions for Syrians.  Brazil has responded by offering a refuge for Syrians by granting special visas to those wishing to leave the warring nation.  Brazil's refugee population continues to increase adding to the already existing 3 million Syrian immigrants.

8th Grade "The Cost of War"

The French and Indian War was a financial burden that Great Britain looked to the American Colonies to pay off.  So a war with the American Colonies continued to strain the Crown's pockets as well as stress their military resources.  Although the technology has changed, past and present wars all have human, economic, social, and political costs.

Using the website "Costs of War," http://costsofwar.org/ and working in a small group, read an article from each pull down menu (human, economic, social, and political costs).  Then, TALK ABOUT WHAT YOU READ and READ IT AGAIN IF NECESSARY.  If you have questions - ASK FOR HELP.  If you don't have questions, complete the case study organizer and post your group's findings on the blog.