This Week...

Here you will find a brief overview of each week of class. To see a full list of all the specific assignments and activities that we're doing, please consult the Class Calendar.

Week of May 24

THIS IS IT...!  The final week of this amazing, challenging, and unforgettable school year. We're going to put the cherry on top of the sundae by reviewing everything we studied this year through the lens of BASEBALL. We'll conclude that mini-unit by spending the last day of class outside, playing a game of baseball using the rules from 1876. PLAY BALL!!!

Week of May 17

We will wrap up Unit 11 this week, and explore the connections between Reconstruction and the contemporary Black Lives Matter movement.

Week of May 10

Unit 11 will continue this week. As we draw the final unit to a close, we will connect the promises of Reconstruction to today's drive for racial equality and justice in the United States.

Week of May 3

We'll be starting the final unit of the school year this week... Reconstruction.  We'll explore the what the nation was like immediately following the Civil War, especially in the South. The Unit 9 Open-Note Quiz will be administered on Monday and Tuesday,

Week of April 26

This week represents the conclusion of our long unit on the history of the Indians of the Great Plains, and the wars fought between those nations, and the United States. We will conclude this unit by examining the state of affairs on the modern day Navajo reservation in New Mexico.

Week of April 19

We will continue to make our way through Unit 9 this week. 

Week of April 12

We will continue to make our way through Unit 9 this week. Of particular note this week is the fact that will be starting our second novel of the year, Runs with Horses, by Brian Burks.

Week of April 5

We're back! Hopefully everyone had a relaxing Spring Break.  This week we will embark on Unit 9, which addresses the wars against the American Indians of the Great Plains. 

Week of March 29 ... Spring Break

Week of March 22

It's out last week before Spring Break, AND our final week of hybrid teaching. After Spring Break, we'll be returning to 100% in-person attendance!!! As opportunities over the last two weeks to work on the 'Colorado, or Bust!' project in class have been scarce, this entire week will be dedicated to that project. By the end of the week, all students should have their blueprints approved, as well as balsa wood and Xacto knives in hand!

Week of March 15

This week marked the 4th largest snow storm in Denver's history, AND it marked our completion of Unit 8 and our study of Colorado's path from "Pikes Peak Country" to a territory, and then to state. Students should have made the transition this week from gathering their 'Colorado, or Bust!' photos, to beginning their blueprints. This week will conclude with the Unit 8 Open-Note Quiz​.

Week of March 8

This week will lead students into one of our favorite yearly activities... the "Colorado, or Bust!" 8th Grade U.S. History PBL. This problem-based learning project will see students engaging their engineering and modeling skills in the construction of a Colorado mining frontier scale model building. Unit 7 Quiz​ retakes and make-ups will be conducted on Friday the 12th.

Week of March 1

The week of March 1st will see us wrap up our study of the U.S. Civil War, and move forward into our unit on the settlement of the Rocky Mountain west after the Civil War. The week will culminate with the Unit 7 Open-Note Quiz on Friday the 5th.

Week of February 22nd

This week will see us continue our exploration of the middle years of the Civil War, and complete our Civil War feature film(s).

Week of February 15th

This is the first of two unusual weeks where students will have differentiated tasks each day based upon which attendance model they are using: hybrid, or remote. These differentiated agendas are necessary so all students can view their Civil War feature film. 

Week of February 8th

Secession, Fort Sumpter, 1st Bull Run, the Ironclads, Antietam, the Emancipation Proclamation... thus begins our large unit on the U. Civil War. Key to this week is students getting their permissions slips for Glory turned in.

Week of February 1st

This week we will launch into the Civil War and Unit 7. We will explore how the nation chose sides in the War, and examine the strengths and weaknesses of both the Union and the Confederacy as the outset of the War. Information and permission for our first feature film of the year will also be distributed this week. The week will conclude with retakes and make-ups for Quiz 6​.

Week of January 25th

The Dred Scott case, Harper's Ferry, and the Secession Crisis of 1860 will round out our look at the events leading to the Civil War this week. Unit 6 will wrap-up on Friday with the Unit 6 Open-Note Quiz.

Week of January 18th

No school on Monday in recognition of Martin Luther King Day. On other fours days of the week will see us diving further into the causes of, and events leading up to, the outbreak of the Civil War. This week we'll be exploring the Fugitive Slave Law, and the Kansas-Nebraska Act specifically.

Week of January 11th

Unit 6 will kick off this week, and class will move in to the 1850s, and the intermediate causes of the American Civil War, including the growth of the abolitionist movement, and the Compromise of 1850.

Week of January 8th

Welcome back! This shortened week will see us comparing the North and the South of the 1840s and '50s. This week will conclude on Friday with the Unit 5 Open-Note Quiz​.

Week of December 21st

On this two-day "week" that precedes Winter Break, we will explore the literary and artists dimensions of the Antebellum period, and start the map that accompanies Unit 5.

Week of December 14th

This week kicks off Unit 5, which leads us into an exploration of the many cultural and social reforms that defined the Antebellum period. The religious reforms of the 2nd Great Awakening, the early women's rights movement, and the birth of the abolition movement will all be examined.

Week of December 7th

We will wrap up Unit 4 this week, concluding the week with the Unit 4 Open-Note Quiz. The days preceding that will see us cover the California Gold Rush, the Morman relocation to Utah, and the infamous Donner Party. We will also complete Carlota​ this week.

Week of November 30th

Welcome back! We will continue working our way through Unit 4 this week, and really jump into our novel, Carlota. The week will conclude with a fun roll-playing activity where the students assume the role of a wagon train captain, and have to make a potentially fateful decision about what route to take around the Great Salt Lake.

Week of November 23rd

This is Thanksgiving Break week. Students are encouraged to examine their grades in Infinite Campus, and to address any missing assignments before we resume class on the 30th.

Week of November 16th

Trimester 2 starts this week.  We will continue working through Unit 4 this week, looking specifically at Oregon, California, and New Mexico. We will also start the novel that supports this unit, Carlota​, by Scott. O'Dell.

Week of November 9th

This week we will start Unit 4, which cover westward expansion, manifest destiny, Texas, Oregon, California, and the U.S.-Mexican War. NOTE: Friday is the last day of Trimester 1, and that day will be fully asynchronous. Classes will not meet at their regular times, but all students are expected to check in with their classes via GoogleClassroom.

Week of November 2nd

This week we will continue our way through Unit 3, ending the week with the Unit 3 Open-Note Quiz. The U.S. Map Test will resume this week.

Week of October 26th

A Monday snow day threw things into a bit of chaos, but with a bit of a modification to the schedule, we still managed to start Unit 3 on slavery in the 1820s and '30s. The Map test was once again placed on the back burner for a week, as we repurposed that time toward review for, and conducting the 2020 West Jeff Mock-Election.

Week of October 19th

We'll wrap-up Unit 2 this week with a look at the wars against the Indians of the Midwest, and the fur trapping industry in the West. Our second open-note unit quiz will take place on Friday, and retakes of the US Map Test will also resume this week.

Week of October 12th

On this shortened week, we will continue moving through Unit 2, focussing specifically on the War of 1812. Once again, there will be no Map Test retakes this week.

Week of October 5th

We will move into Unit 2 this week, which covers America's "new frontiers" in the first few decades of the 1800s. These frontiers include the literal frontier of the far West, the frontier of expansion in the Midwest, and the scientific frontiers of the Industrial Revolution. There will be no Map Test retakes this week.

Week of September 28th

We will continue to move through Unit 1 this week, looking at some international challenges to the fledgling U.S. government. We will also review several of the key concepts in the Constitution. The week will wrap up with our first open-note unit assessment on Friday.

Week of September 21st

This week represents our first dive into material new to the students.  Unit 1 will mainly address the challenges — both domestic and foreign — faced by the young United States in during the last decade of the 18th century. Map Test retakes will also take place in class this week.

Week of September 14th

This week will be mostly dedicated to reviewing the American history that the students have learned in preschool through 5th grade. The U.S. Mega-Map is due this week. And the first round of the infamous Map Test will be this week, on the day that the students are physically in class.

Week of September 7th

This week will be dominated mainly by a review of basic American geography. The U.S. Mega-Map, and the U.S. Map Test​ will be the two main components of this review. 

Week of August 31st

This week will be a combination of presenting our Past is Present​ presentations, and setting up a variety of anline account that students will be using throughout the year.

Week of August 24th

Welcome back Colts, and welcome to the Class of 2025! As you would expect, week 1 will be a lot of introductions, review, and norm-setting. We'll look at why the study of history is vital to our role as citizens of our nation, we'll review some basic U.S. geography, and look at the multitude of ways that our history surrounds us today.