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 Welcome
to my virtual home on the World Wide Web at Mansfield Middle School!
 Our social
studies classes encompass the world community as we focus on "The Global
Village." Our text emphasizes geography skills, and our units
incorporate the Five Themes of Geography, as well as several essential
questions. “How does geography affect the way people live?” and “How are the
lives of people in this country similar to and different from ours?” are
typical of the queries we pose. When we design a unit of study, we want
students to focus on the geography, government, history, economy, education,
technology and culture of the area.
 Two field
studies integrate skills learned in the classroom with a hands-on experience.
In October we visit Overlook Farm in Rutland, MA; in April we cap our Asian units with a trip to the
Peabody-Essex museum in Salem, MA, which highlights the China Trade and an
actual 18th Century Chinese merchant’s home, Yin Yu Tang, which
was reconstructed at the museum in
2003.
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Social studies comes alive when students can compare
their own way of life to that of others…and come to the conclusion, that, no
matter how many ways we are different, we all share more in common than
not.
 Reading for
pleasure is one of the greatest gifts we give ourselves, and one I nurture
and encourage in my students. A library card is one of those priceless
assets, and best of all, the card is free! I hope you and your children use
yours often.
 We also have
a terrific MMS library, and I encourage my students to use it frequently. Our
work in class incorporates a wide variety of literature, encourages higher
level thinking skills, and provides ample opportunity for class discussion
and sharing of good books…just ask your child!
 Weekly reading tickets, noting the minutes read for
the past week and showing a parent signature, are due every Friday.
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