Mr. Cushing's Class Calendars: 2024-25

Please note that the class calendars build backward, so the most recent dates are at the top of the page.

RED text indicates assignments with due dates, deadlines, or other important assignment thresholds

Please also be aware that our classes are fluid, and plans often change suddenly. I will make every effort to keep the calendar up-to-date, but our lessons do have a tendency to get moved around at the last second.

Copies of the assignments shown on the calendar are linked, or found either in the Assignment Bank section of this website, or (occasionally) on GoogleClassroom​..
DATE
8th Grade American History
​8th Grade Humanities
February 3 - 7
Fri. 31
•  Colorado, or Bust! town name nominations
•  cont. ​Colorado, or Bust!
•  collect mining the West map
focus: X
  • ​ X
​
Thr. 30
•  Lecture 8.2: Mining in Colorado
•  Quiz 7 Self-Reflections
•  cont. mining the West map
focus: X
  • ​ X
​
Wed. 29
•  cont. Mining the West map
•  cont. Colorado, or Bust! photo research
focus: X
  • ​ X
Tue. 28
•  Freshman registration  •  No History Class  
​
focus: X
  • ​ X
Mon. 27
•  start Colorado, or Bust! project
​
focus: X
  • ​ X
January 27 - 31
Fri. 31
•  distribute Unit 8 lecture notes
•  Lecture 8.1: Extending the Frontier
•  Frontier Webquest  /  due: in class
•  start Mining the West​ map
focus: X
  • ​ X
Thr. 30
•  Unit 7 Open-Note Quiz
​
focus: X
  • ​ X
Wed. 29
•  feature film: Glory, pt. 3
​
focus: X
  • ​ X
Tue. 28
•  feature film: Glory, pt. 2
​
focus: X
  • ​ X
Mon. 27
•  feature film: Glory, pt. 1
​
focus: X
  • ​ X
January 20 - 24
Fri. 24
•  UpFront: Six Myths About Slavery  /  due: in class
•  Civil War crosswords puzzle
focus: X
  • ​ X
Thr. 23
•  Lecture 7.4: Free at Last
•  Civil War re-enactment video
•  Union & Confederacy​ map analysis
focus: X
  • ​ X
​
Wed. 22
•  Lecture 7.6: The Order of Battle II
•  Gettysburg Address video
​•  Medal of Honor video
focus: X
  • ​ X
​
Tue. 21
•  Lecture 7.5: The Home Front
•  PSA #13: Charleston Harbor  /  due: in class
focus: X
  • ​ X
Mon. 20
NO SCHOOL  •  Martin Luther King Day​​
NO SCHOOL  •  Martin Luther King Day​
January 13 - 17
Fri. 17
•  Civil War firearms review
•  History on the Road status report
•  CushPoints survey
​•  Current Grades survey
focus: history / writing
  • ​ "Dear America...", letter #3: collection stragglers
  •  cont. Civil War: Beyond the Battles project​
​
Thr. 16
•  Lecture 7.4: Free at Last
•  Glory​ trailer
•  Slavery & Compromise map analysis
•  collect Union & Confederacy map  /  due: TBD
focus: history / writing
  • ​ "Dear America...", letter #3: collection ​ /  due: in class
  •  cont. Civil War: Beyond the Battles project​
Wed. 15
•  UpFront: Teen of the Civil War  /  due: in class
•  PSA #12: August Morning with Farragut  /  due: in class
focus: history / writing
  •  cont. Civil War: Beyond the Battles project​
Tue. 14
•  Lecture 7.3: The Order of Battle I
•  Quiz 6 Self-Reflections  /  due: in class
​•  cont. Union & Confederacy map  /  due: TBD
focus: history
  •  cont. Civil War: Beyond the Battles project​
​
Mon. 13
•  Lecture 7.2: Strengths & Weaknesses
•  PSA #10: The Anaconda Plan  /  due: TBD
•  cont. Union & Confederacy map  /  due: TBD
focus: history
  •  start Civil War: Beyond the Battles project
​
January 6 - 10
Fri. 10
•  distribute Unit 7 lecture notes
•  Lecture 7.1: The Call to Arms
•  start Union & Confederacy map  /  due: TBD
focus: history / writing
  •  cont. Civil War: Beyond the Battles project​
​
Thr. 9
•  Unit 6 Open-Note Quiz​
​
focus: history / writing
  •  "Dear America...", letter #1: writing​  /  due: Thr. 1/18
Wed. 8
•  documentary video: Slavery & America, pt. 3b
focus: history / writing
  •  cont. Civil War: Beyond the Battles project​
  • ​ "Dear America...", letter #3: outline ​ /  due: in class
Tue. 7
•  documentary video: Slavery & America, pt. 3a​​
focus: history
  • ​ "Dear America...", letter #3: outline ​ /  due: in class
  •  cont. 1860 Attack Ads project
Mon. 6
NO SCHOOL  •  Staff Work Day
NO SCHOOL  •  Staff Work Day
December 23 - January 3
NO SCHOOL  •  Winter Break
December 16 - 20
Fri. 20
•  Lecture 6.6: Secession
​​
focus: politics / media / history
  •  cont. 1860 Campaign Attack Ads
Thr. 19
•  Lecture 6.5: Adding Fuel to the Fire
•  Slavery & Compromise map debriefing
•  mini-workshop
focus: politics / media / history
  •  cont. 1860 Campaign Attack Ads
Wed. 18
•  Lecture 6.4: Kansas
•  PSA #10: Tragic Prelude  /  due: in class
DCPA Field Trip: A Christmas Carol 

​​
Tue. 17
•  Unit 5 Open-Note Quiz​
​
focus: politics / media / history
  •  cont. 1860 Campaign Attack Ads
Mon. 16
•  Lecture 6.3: Fugitive Slave Law
•  PSA #9: The Fourth of July  /  due: in class
•  Jeffco Winter MAP Testing
​
December 9 - 13
Fri. 13
•  Lecture 6.2: Compromise of 1850
•  collect Slavery & Compromise map  /  due: in class
•  Slavery & Comp. map analysis  /  due: in class
•  Jeffco Winter MAP Testing
​
Thr. 12
•  distribute Unit 6 lecture notes
•  Lecture 6.1: The Abolition Movement
•  PSA #9: The Fourth of July  /  due: in class
•  Jeffco Winter MAP Testing
Wed. 11
​•  collect Slavery & Compromise map  /  due: in class
•  Jeffco Winter MAP Testing
Tue. 10
•  Lecture 5.6: ... the South
​•  cont. Slavery & Compromise map  /  due: Wed. 12/11
​
Value
Mon. 9
​•  Lecture 5.5: The North. . .​
•  start Slavery & Compromise map  /  due: Wed. 12/11
focus: politics / media / history
  •  cont. 1860 Campaign Attack Ads
​
December 2 - 6
Fri. 6
•  ICAP Training with the school counselors
​
focus: art
  •  landscape painting studio​
Thr. 5
•  Lecture 5.4:
•  PSA #8: Civil Disobedience  /  due: in class
focus: art
  •  landscape painting studio
Wed. 4
•  Lecture 5.3:
•  PSA #6: Seneca Falls  /  due: in class
focus: art
  •  landscape painting studio
Tue. 3
•  Lecture 5.2: Transcendentalism
•  PSA #7: Walden  /  due: in class
focus: art 
  •  guided video: Painting Landscapes
Mon. 2
•  distribute Unit 5 lecture notes
•  Lecture 5.1: The 2nd Great Awakening
focus: art 
​  •  guided video: Albert Bierstadt
November 25 - 29
NO SCHOOL  •  Thanksgiving Break
November 18 - 22
Fri. 22
Value
focus: drama / history 
​​   •  ​​Donner Dinner Party social deduction board game
Thr. 21
Value
focus: drama / history 
​​   •  ​​Donner Dinner Party social deduction board game
Wed. 20
•  Unit 4 Open-Note Quiz   /   due: in class

​
•  distribute Unit 5 lecture notes
•  Lecture 5.1: The 2nd Great Awakening
​​•  Bio Brunch costume & snack report  /  due: in class
Tue. 19
•  Lecture 4.7: For God & Gold
•  cont. War for the West map  /  due: TBA
​focus: literature 
​​   •  BIOGRAPHY BRUNCH / Period 4 and 5​​​
Mon. 18
•  Lecture 4.6: War with Mexico
​•  start War for the West map  /  due:TBA
​​•  
November 11 - 15
Fri. 15
•  documentary video: The Donner Party, pt. 2
​
​focus: reading 
​​   •  ​​cont. Carlota novel​​​
Thr. 14
•  documentary video: The Donner Party, pt. 1​
​
​focus: reading 
​​   •  ​​cont. Carlota novel​​​
Wed. 13
​•  "California, or Bust!" writing task  /  due: in class
​
​focus: reading 
​​   •  ​​Civil War novel search​
Tue. 12
•  Lecture 4.5: Manifest Destiny 
•  "California, or Bust!" writing assignment prep
​focus: reading 
​​   •  ​​cont. Carlota novel​​​
Mon. 11
guest
​teacher
​​• VETERANS' DAY ASSEMBLY
•  Trimester 2 GoogleClasses
•  Quia re-sort mini-quiz
•  binder purge
​focus: reading 
​​   •  ​​cont. Carlota novel​​​

​​
November 4 - 8
Fri. 8
NO SCHOOL  •  SNOW DAY​
NO SCHOOL  •  SNOW DAY
Thr. 7
​•  Lecture 4.4: California, and New Mexico 
•  Texas map analysis
​focus: reading 
​​   •  ​​cont. Carlota novel​
Wed. 6
•  End of Trimester Missing Assignment Workshop
​
​focus: reading 
​​   •  ​​cont. Carlota novel​
Tue. 5
guest
​teacher
​•  Lecture 4.3: Oregon
​•  PSA #5: American Progress  /  due: in class
​•  collect Texas map  /  due: in class
​focus: reading 
​​   •  ​​cont. Carlota novel​
​
Mon. 4
•  Lecture 4.2: The Lone Star Republic
​•  cont. Texas map  /  due: Tue. 11/5
​focus: reading 
​​   •  ​​start Carlota novel​
October 28 - November 1
Fri. 1
NO SCHOOL  •  TEACHER WORK DAY
NO SCHOOL  •  TEACHER WORK DAY
Thr. 31
guest
​teacher
•  CushPoints survey
•  current grade survey
​​focus: reading comprehension / art
​​​   •  landscape art vote​
​​   •  UpFront #7: ​​Let Us Vote!  /  due: in class
Wed. 30
•  Conflict in the Midwest map review debriefing
•  distribute Unit 4 lecture notes​
​•  Lecture 4.1: Texas
•  start Texas map  /  due: Tue. 11/5
​​focus: reading comprehension
​​   •  UpFront #6: ​​Young Voters  /  due: in class
​
​
Tue. 29
​​​•  PSA #3: Yosemite Valley  /  due: in class
​
​​focus: reading comprehension
​​​   •  UpFront #5: ​​What's at Stake  /  due: in class
Mon. 28
•  Unit 3 Open-Note Quiz   /   due: in class
​​   •  
October 21 - 25
Fri. 25
•  Lecture 3.5: Cracks in the Union
​•  missing assignment workshop
​•  collect Timeline cards
​
​​focus: miscellaneous 
​​   •  Romantic painting nomination submission
​​   •  BioSketch printing
​​   •  "Dear America...", #1: collection​​
Thr. 24
​•  Lecture 3.4: The Politics of Slavery
​•  missing assignment workshop
​•  collect Timeline cards  /  due: in class
​
​​focus: miscellaneous 
​​   •  Romantic painting nomination submission
​​   •  BioSketch printing
​​   •  "Dear America...", #1: collection​
Wed. 23
​•  Lecture 3.3: Northern Complicity
​•  collect Midwest Conflict map  /  due: in class
•  "North Star" micro-assessment
​​focus: miscellaneous 
​​   •  Romantic painting nomination submission
​​   •  BioSketch printing
​​   •  "Dear America...", #1: collection​​
Tue. 22
​•  Lecture 3.2: Questioning Slavery
•  Conflict in the Midwest​ map analysis  /  due: in class
​​focus: writing 
​​   •  "Dear America...", #1: collection  /  due: in class
Mon. 21
•  distribute Unit 3 lecture notes​
•  Lecture 3.1: Our Peculiar Institution
​​focus: writing 
​​   •  ​"Dear America...", #1: writing
October 14 - 18
Fri. 18
NO SCHOOL  •  AUTUMN BREAK
NO SCHOOL  •  AUTUMN BREAK
Thr. 17
NO SCHOOL  •  TEACHER WORK DAY
NO SCHOOL  •  TEACHER WORK DAY
Wed. 16
guest
​teacher
• The Historian's Toolbox​
         OR
• "More Than I Ever Wanted to Known About Mr. Cushing.
​  • ​
Tue. 15
•  Unit 2 Open-Note Quiz   /   due: in class
​
​​focus: writing 
​​   •  ​"Dear America...", #1: outline  /  due: in class
Mon. 14
•  distribute film & novels permission slips
​​•  Lecture 2.5: Fur Trapping
​•  Exploring the West map analysis​  /  due: in class
​•  cont. Midwest Conflict map  /  due: Wed. 10/23
​​focus: writing 
​​   •  ​distributeA Christmas Carol​ permission slip
   •  "Dear America...", #1: assignment introduction
   •  "Dear America...", #1: ideas sponge  /  due: in class
October 7 - 11
Fri. 11
guest
​teacher
•  Timeline project   /  due: in class
•  cont. Midwest Conflict map  /  due: Wed. 10/23
​
​
​​focus: history & literature
​​   •  Lewis & Clark board game simulation reflections
​​   •  cont. Biography Project
Thr. 10
•  Lecture 2.4: Conquering the Midwest
•  start Midwest Conflict map  /  due: Wed. 10/23
​​focus: history 
​​   •  Lewis & Clark board game simulation ​​​  ​​
Wed. 9
•  video: ​The War of 1812   /  due: in class
​
​​focus: history 
​​   •  Lewis & Clark board game simulation ​​​  ​​
Tue. 8
•  Lecture 2.3: The War of 1812
•  video: The Battle of New Orleans​, by Johnny Horton
•  collect Exploring the West​ map
​​focus: history 
​​   •  Lewis & Clark board game simulation ​​​  ​​
​
Mon. 7
​​​•  video: Lewis & Clark, pts. 2   /  due: in class
•  "Fort Clatsop" micro-assessment
​​focus: history 
​​   •  Lewis & Clark board game introduction & prep ​​​  ​​
September 30 - October 4
Fri. 4
Day-in-Denver II Field Trip
Day-in-Denver II Field Trip
Thr. 3
​​•  
  • 
Wed. 2
​​​•  video: Lewis & Clark, pts. 1
​  • ​
Tue. 1
•  New Century map analysis debriefing
•  Lecture 2.2: Exploring the West
​focus: literature 
​​​  •  ​cont. Biography Project
Mon. 30
•  distribute Unit 2 lecture notes​
•  Lecture 2.1: The Industrial Revolution
•  Quiz 1 Self-Reflections  /  due: in class
​focus: literature 
​​​  •  ​cont. Biography Project
September 23- 27
Fri. 27
•  Unit 1 Open-Note Quiz   /   due: in class
​
​focus: politics 
​​​  •  ​Exploring Patriotism​, part 2
Thr. 26
•  New Century map analysis  /  due: in class
​
​focus: politics 
​​​  •  ​Exploring Patriotism​, part 1
Wed. 25
Warren Tech Field Trip
Warren Tech Field Trip
Tue. 24
•  Lecture 1.4: America: 1800
•  collect New Century Map
​focus: literature 
​​​  •  ​cont. Biography Project
Mon. 23
•  Lecture 1.3: International Challenges
•  cont. New Century map  /  due: TBA
​focus: literature 
​​​  •  ​cont. Biography Project
September 16 - 20
Fri. 20
NO SCHOOL  •  TEACHER WORK DAY
NO SCHOOL  •  TEACHER WORK DAY
Thr. 19
•  Lecture 1.2: Domestic Challenges
•  cont. New Century map  /  due: Mon. TBA
​focus: literature 
​​​  •  ​cont. Biography Project
Wed. 18
•  distribute Unit 1 lecture notes​
•  Lecture 1.1: Birth of the Republic
•  map expectations
•  start New Century map  /  due: Mon. TBA
​focus: literature 
​​​  •  ​cont. Biography Project

​
Tue. 17
•  class introduction: Remind
•  Constitution open-note quiz
​focus: literature 
​​​  •  ​cont. Biography Project
Mon. 16
•  class introduction: Materials Check #1 
​•  Constitution Sticker Map review & correction
​​•  "Friday" Forum
​focus: literature 
​​​  •  ​cont. Biography Project
​
September 9 - 13
Fri. 13
​•  Turn-It-In account set-up
•  Voices of the Past
•  Day-in-Denver II team status report 2 
​​focus: literature
​​   •​  ​Human-i-T-Shirt sharing
​​   •​  ​Biography Project work time​
Thr. 12
•  class introduction: idleness & yellow cards
​•  video: Slavery & The Making of America, part. 2
​​focus: literature
​​   •​  ​Human-i-T-Shirt sharing
​​   •​  ​Biography Project work time
Wed. 11
•  class introduction: grading time
​•  video: Slavery & The Making of America, part. 1
​
​​focus: literature
​​   •​  ​Human-i-T-Shirt sharing
​​   •​  ​Biography Project work time
Tue. 10
•  class introduction: study hall protocols
​•  Flashback presentation, part. 2
​​focus: literature
​​   •​  ​Human-i-T-Shirt sharing
​​   •​  ​Biography Project work time
Mon. 9
•  class introduction: missing
​•  Flashback presentation, part. 1
​
​​focus: literature
​​   •​  ​Human-i-T-Shirt sharing
​​   •​  ​Biography Project work time
September 2 - 6
Fri. 6
guest
​teacher
​​•  
​​•  
Thr. 5
guest
​teacher
​​•  
​​•  
Wed. 4
​guest
​teacher
​​•  
​​•  
Tue. 3
​​•  
​​•  
Mon. 2
NO SCHOOL  •  LABOR DAY
NO SCHOOL  •  LABOR DAY
August 26 - 30
Fri. 30
​​•  class introduction: "The Honeymoon is Over"
​•  The Past is Present presentation, day 3
​​focus: introduction 
​​   •​  ​Human-i-T-Shirt painting​
Thr. 29
​•  class introduction: Name That Tune
​•  The Past is Present presentation, day 2
​•  distribute Day-in-Denver II field trip information
​​focus: introduction 
​​   •​  ​Human-i-T-Shirt painting​
Wed. 28
•  class introduction: Cush Points / History History
​•  The Past is Present presentation, day 1
​​focus: introduction 
​​   •​  ​Human-i-T-Shirt painting​
Tue. 27
•  class introduction: course outline
​•  assign History on the Road
​​focus: introduction 
​​   •​  ​Human-i-T-Shirt painting​
Mon. 26
​•  U.S. Map Test Map Lab
​​focus: introduction 
​​   •​  ​Human-i-T-Shirt painting​
August 19 - 23
Fri. 23
•  class introduction: mrcushing.net
•  Capitols Team Student Inventory /  due: in class
•
Thr. 22
•  cont. U.S. Mega-Map  /  due: Tue. 9/3
​
​​focus: reading comprehension
​​   •​  ​UpFront #1 - #4   /  due: in class
Wed. 21
•  cont. U.S. Mega-Map  /  due: Tue. 9/3
​•  work on Past is Present posters​
​​focus: introduction 
​​   •​  ​Human-i-T-Shirt planning​
Tue. 20
•  class introduction: class materials
•  return Map Test
•  start U.S. Mega-Map  /  due: Tue. 9/3
​​focus: introduction 
​​   •​  ​Human-i-T-Shirt planning​
​
Mon. 19
•  class introduction: class infographic
•  assign The Past is Present
•  binder prep  / collect felt-tips & colored Pencils
​​focus: introduction 
​​   •​  ​Human-i-T-Shirt planning​
​
August 12 - 16
Fri. 16
•  U.S. Geography Map Test  /  due in class
​
​​focus: introduction 
   •  6th & 7th grade humanities reflections
Thr. 15
•  6th Grade W.E.B. Orientation
​    no school for 7th and 8th grade
•  6th Grade W.E.B. Orientation
​    no school for 7th and 8th grade
Wed. 14
Tue. 13
​Mon. 12
NO SCHOOL  •  Summer Vacation

​​
NO SCHOOL  •  Summer Vacation

​