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The Ukraine Crisis – Resources

3 Mar
Photo by Rob Martin (March 3, 2022)
Photo by Rob Martin (March 3, 2022)
Photo by Rob Martin (March 1, 2022)

I paused my lessons on trade in my 9th grade/Year 4 MYP Individuals and Societies (Social Studies) class this week to focus on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. My colleague, Matt, and I felt it was important to talk about this crisis which has not become a war. Students have been very engaged in the lessons and discussions. We first started with a discussion about why this should matter to us. Being so far from this region often makes students (and adults) think, “Why does this matter to me?” My colleague, Matt, shared some excellent resources from The Choices Program at Brown University that focused on building a historical understanding of the relationship between Russia and Ukraine (text and videos), along with an excellent lesson on analyzing political cartoons, something my students enjoyed doing last year. Students are curating their own resources and creating their own political cartoons. There is no shortage of news stories and video footage on the current events which change every day. There are a lot of real-world events that provide teachable moments and this is one of them.

Revolutions: MYP Year 3 I & S

6 May

Students in my MYP Year 3 Individuals and Societies (Grade 8 History/Social Studies) are learning about revolutions, revolts, protests, rebellions and resistance. This is a new unit for our class and we are focusing on key terms. The statement of inquiry (SOI) is:

At different times and locations, societies can experience revolutionary change, due to a variety of causes and often with long-lasting consequences.

Key Questions we will address:

Factual: What is a revolution? What are the causes of a revolution? Review case studies from history.

Conceptual: What are the different types of revolution? What factors determine the significance of an event?

Debatable: Do revolutions always lead to progress?

Last week, students had to do the following task:


Demonstrate your understanding of the term revolution by drawing a sketch or cartoon to represent it, using the information you have learned in our lessons and your own ideas. Think about how you could bring the key concept of change into the drawing.

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The Impact of Ideas and Innovations on Me

13 Apr

Our current unit in MYP 3 (Grade 8) Individuals and Societies is coming to an end. In an effort to make connections from our case study – The Renaissance – to our world, I asked students to make a collage and to consider this statement: The Renaissance impacted our personal and cultural expression. What is my culture, and what ideas and innovations have impacted my life?

1. Mind-Map: Create a picture/text collage of your own culture and what influences you. Consider what artists and any other significant people and things influence your own expression or who you are. Use PicCollage, Google Slides, Google Documents or another app/website to create your collage.

2. Rank – Review your finished collages and pick out your top 3 most significant influences on your own culture. For each one, explain why it influences you, and what they tell you about the time and place of your own culture.

3. Write – Write a paragraph describing what your own culture is, using examples.