Update Regarding the 2022 -2023 School Year

I will be taking a medical leave of absence from teaching for the 2022 - 2023 school year.

I am eagerly anticipating returning to Gemini for the 2023 - 2024 school year.

8th Grade Social Studies with Mrs. Petrella 

Our past two school years in many ways have been like nothing we could have ever imagined, but here we are back together in person with our entire community of learners eager and ready to take on the 2021 - 2022 school year. 

So much has happened in this time, not only in the world, but also in our country. All of these changes have led each of our students and their families to a diverse array of new experiences that have allowed them to form new perspectives. And it is our experiences in many ways shape our understanding of not only the present, but the past and future as well. 

This year in 8th grade social studies the core of our curriculum will include investigating the history of the United States beginning in the 1920's to present day. To successfully examine the past century, it will require us to look within ourselves and to reflect on what our understandings of the world are, and how they developed. 

Throughout the school year, we will continue to work toward mastering the following Illinois Learning Standards for Social Science. As the standards suggest, we will dive into the four major disciplines of Social Studies: civics, economics, geography, and of course history. We will engage with our content through the practice and application of the Inquiry Process Model to further enhance students' abilities to  question, evaluate, and communicate social studies content.

I'm looking forward to our journey together as we seek to understand how our individual identity and biases play a role in how we interpret historical events, relate them to how our society functions today, and how we can relate their impact on what is to come in the future.