Mrs. Gibbons Social Studies 7 Class, 2012 - 2013United States History, 1865 to the Present

The Wildcats TeamMrs. Gibbons- Social Studies

Miss Hayward- English

Mrs. O’Malley- Science

Mrs. Roan - Math

Guess Which One Is False… I won a surf competition when I

was 15.

I used to work at Wintergreen ski resort.

I have run 2 marathons in Hawaii.

Who Is She????Graduate of Radford University

and The College of William and Mary

Taught first and second grade for 20 years

Eleventh year here at PAMS! ( Retirement is around the

corner!)

More about Mrs. GibbonsMy husband and I have FIVE kids

between the ages of 21-27 and two grandkids! (Plenty of experience with kids and discipline)

Hubby is retired from the Air Force

We LOVE to travel and volunteer for Diabetes events!

We LOVE Cape Coral, Florida!

Mrs. Gibbons’ Contact Information

School Phone: (757) 648-4950, *extension 62086

E-mail: tlgibbon@vbschools.com (This is the preferred method of contact! I’ll check my e-mail daily – and frequently.)

If you leave a message for me through the school, I will try to check it. Please do not call directly into the classroom unless it is an emergency!

What does she teach my child?To LOVE history! To be a mature, respectful,

interested learner! Time periods of 1877-presentAnyone have an expertise out

there? We’d love to have you join us for a lesson!

What about SOL scores?This core ROCKS! Our SOL pass

rates are amongst the highest in the state!!!

HOW!!?? High expectations and organization!! (Parents…make sure your kid is studying and doing homework!)

What about this notebook?This helps them to be organized! Each “test” day, it is graded and

counted as a quiz grade…EASY A!We write notes on the left and

glue papers on the right every day.

Your child NEEDS a glue stick!

GRADES I will write your child’s current grade

in the agenda. (They have to have one)

Please sign up for Parent Portal if you haven’t already!!

Study guides are provided- so the tests

should be a breeze if they studied!• A student may request ONE retest if

they scored below 64. I will average the two grades.

They may take the retest during PAMS or before school.

What Can Parents Do to Help?

Check your child’s homework via My School Mail and School Net!

My wikispace is pams-tgibbons.wikispace.com

Daily lessons are posted! Get interested in HISTORY and quiz

them about what we are learning!Make sure they have supplies- ANY

extra supplies that the class can use would be great! (pencils, glue sticks, colored pencils, glue sticks, tissues, glue sticks…)

United States History, 1865 – the Present

The seventh grade History curriculum picks up where the sixth graders left off – with the Civil War and Reconstruction. Our class will span US History from 1865 to the present day, incorporating elements of geography, economics, and political science along the way. Historical methods will be emphasized during the year as well – meaning that students will be engaged in the “stuff” of history – research, discourse, debate, writing, and peer review!

Unit One: Reuniting the Nation

In the late 1800s, a diverse group of Americans settled in the West. Both conflict and cooperation characterized the Frontier.

Unit Two: Getting Down to Business

While the great industrialist of the late 1800s gained wealth and influence, labor unions formed to demand and end to child labor, higher wages, safer working conditions, and the 8-hour day.

Unit Three: A Nation Transformed

Immigration, urbanization, and the origins of progressive reform in the USA.

Unit Four: Competition and Conflict

The Spanish-American War, imperialism in the Pacific, policies toward Latin America, and the emergence of the United States as a world power are chronicled in the unit.

Yellow Journalism

Unit Five: Progressive Reforms

Prohibition may not have lasted, but the woman’s suffrage movement did. The expansion of democracy – through both local and national movements (17th Amendment, 19th Amendment) is featured in this unit, as are social and economic reforms (child labor laws, consumer safety, income tax reform, and the “trustbusting” efforts of Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft.)

Unit Six: World War I The United States’ involvement in the “Great War” was brief, but decisive. President Woodrow Wilson’s failed effort to craft a lasting peace in the aftermath of the war is as much a theme to this unit as the participation of the “doughboy” Americans. The failure to resolve Europe’s underlying economic and political problems, unfortunately, played a large part in engendering conflict 20 years later.

Unit Seven: America Goes from Boom …

Liberated women of the 1920s (flappers!), Henry Ford, the “Tin Lizzy,” and prosperity characterized the “Jazz Age.” Literary figures such as F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, and the Harlem Renaissance-inspired Langston Hughes all found their uniquely American voices during this period as well.

Unit Seven: …to Bust!

The Great Depression and FDR’s efforts to end the economic catastrophe continue to shape political discourse in the United States.

Unit Eight: World War II

Victory in Europe and the Pacific

Unit Nine: Transitions in Pursuit of Peace

The Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union generated a nuclear arms race which brought the world to the brink of nuclear war. Anxiety and concern were constant. But the war never came; and the USSR collapse of old age in the early 1990s.

Unit Ten: Turmoil at Home and Abroad

The Civil Rights Movement, the woman’s movement, and the social protest generated on college camps across America during the 1960s (and throughout the Vietnam War Era) energized and revolutionized society during the late 20th Century. But they caused turmoil and conflict as well.

Unit Eleven: Globalization and Interdependence

Where are we, now? How will our children reinvent America in the 21st Century?

Mrs. Gibbon’s WikispaceFind me at : pams-tgibbons.wikispaces.com

During the course of the school year, you can expect to find classwork activities, homework, make-up assignments, review guides, and materials to review in preparation for the Virginia SOL Test.