Eighth Grade Revolutions Block

The eighth grade recently finished their Main Lesson block: Revolutions. The exploration focused on the French, American, and Industrial Revolutions—the students will encounter the Russian Revolution in the context of the World Wars later in the year. These three "revolutions" were chosen because they show different types of change happening in varied ways: the overturning of the traditional order in France, a "war for independence" from colonies who are themselves colonizers, and the slower economic and class transformations underlying it all.

As part of their study, the students designed and created artistic projects over three weeks, presenting pieces relevant to the particular time period or the theme of change, including: paintings, models, creative writing, clothing, and multi-media sculpture. They also took in field experiences, visiting the Lexington Green and sites along the Freedom and the Black Heritage Trails. On their excursions the students were each assigned a task as either an Archivist, collector of materials; Artist, creator of sketches and drawings; Journalist, photographer and interviewer; or Trip Tracker, mapper and log keeper. They learned about the socioeconomic and political climate that can spark revolutionary change, the politics and strife, and the role of violence and destruction of property that sometimes occurs in making change. All focused on the central question – How does change happen?

View more photos of their projects and field trips.