Samuel Smith

I absolutely love to work with my students. It gives me great joy to see the growth within my students both academically and as individuals. I am a proud graduate of Florida A&M University where I earned my Bachelors Degree in Business Administration in 2010. I am currently due to receive my Masters Degree in Special Education later this fall from Grand Canyon University. In my spare time I love to coach basketball and cook for family and friends.  

Greetings parents and staff. Due to the Covid-19 Coronavirus  situation my office hours are M-F 
10am-4pm. If you have any questions or concerns please send me an email at [email protected].

Emergency Lesson Plans 

6^th Grade Social Studies 14 Day Digital Plan Regular Social Studies

Day 1 – Guided Reading for Australian Geography

Day 2 – Australian History

Write 2 paragraphs (5-7 sentences per paragraph) about the aboriginal people of Australia. Include the following information in your paragraphs: Where did they come from? When did they come to Australia? What customs do they have that are different from other Australians? What does Ayers Rock mean to them? What is a digeridoo?

Day 3 – Animals of Australia

What are the various forms of wild life that is unique to Australia? Tell me about 3 unique animals of Australia (one paragraph per animal).

Day 4 – Australian History

For what reason was Australia originally colonized by the British? Write 2 paragraphs about why the British colonized Australia? When did this occur? Who did they encounter? How did the life of the Aboriginal people change when the British came?

Day 5 – Acrostic Poem

Do an acrostic poem describing the geography of Australia. You may select from the following words for your acrostic: AUSTRALIA, ABORIGINE, OUTBACK, or AYERS ROCK.

Day 6 – Government

Read the information below. Write a paragraph (5-7 sentences) explaining the structure of the Australian government.

Australia is an example of a parliamentary democracy. Australians elect members of parliament (MPs) to represent them both at the provincial/territorial and national levels. Australia’s citizens entrust the selection of the country’s prime minister to the national parliament’s leading political party. Australians aged 18 and older are required to vote, and there are numerous political parties from which to choose.

In Australia, the prime minister is considered the head of government in the executive branch, which is to say he/she is the true executive leader of the nation; however, Australia recognizes the monarch of the United Kingdom as its symbolic/ceremonial head of state. This political arrangement traces back to Australia’s former status as a British colony.  

The interests of the British monarch are represented in Australia by a governor-general, who is chosen based on the recommendation of the Australian prime minister.

Parliament – common name given to the legislature in a parliamentary democracy

Parliamentary democracy - form of representative government in which citizens elect legislators and entrust these legislators to select the nation’s chief executive

Prime minister – title often given to the head of government in a parliamentary democracy

Province/territory – political divisions similar to states

Day 7 – Government activity

Use the government vocabulary to create a $2.00 summary on how the Prime Minister is selected. With each word of your summary worth 10 cents, write a $2 summary of the learning from the lesson.

Day 8 – Comparing Governments

Write 2 paragraphs explaining the difference between a Presidential and Parliamentary democracy

Day 9 – Economic Vocabulary

Use each of the following words in a sentence

Bartering – a system of exchange whereby one good/service is given in return for another; bartering does not require monetary exchange

Command economy – an economic model wherein government planners make all business and financial decisions

Economic system – an economic model used by governments to determine what should be produced/provided in terms of goods and services, how, and for whom

Entrepreneurship – the capacity of private citizens to create new businesses independent of government direction or intervention

Free enterprise – the creation, maintenance, and expansion of businesses outside the control or influence of the government.

Market (or capitalist) economy – an economic model which the laws of supply and demand (not government oversight) determine what is produced/consumed and at what cost

Production quota – the required amount of a specific good that must be produced in a given timeframe

Subsistence – producing only what is necessary for personal use/survival

Traditional economy – an economic model governed by custom, habit, and history

Wage – term for one’s financial earnings

Day 10 – Economic Vocabulary

Use each of the following words in a sentence

Deregulation – reduction of government oversight and/or influence in a given sector of the economy

Recession - a period of economic decline due to lagging trade and/or reduced industrial activity

Specialization – focusing on a narrow range of products/services that can be produced most efficiently and cost-effectively

Voluntary trade– trade in which both partners freely agree to and benefit from the exchange of goods/services

Boycott – refusal to purchase a good/service from a specific company or country

Domestic – term, which refers to the products of services in one’s own country; it is the antonym of foreign

Embargo – a trade barrier, which blocks all trade with another nation

Quota – a trade barrier, which places a limit on imported goods

Sanction – the act of economically punishing another nation

Tariff – a trade barrier, which places a tax on imported goods

Day 11 – Economic Vocabulary activity

You work for the Australian government employment office. Create an advertisement encouraging someone to move to Australia to start a business. Be sure to include some geographic and economic vocabulary.

Day 12 – Aborigine Rap

You are a teenage Aborigine who lives in the Outback. You want to write a rap that lets the world know that you are proud of your culture. Include an original beat to go with your rap.

Day 13 – Aborigine Art

Aboriginal art is art made by indigenous Australian people. It includes work made in many different ways including painting on leaves, wood carving, rock carving, sculpting, ceremonial clothing and sand painting. Aboriginal art is closely linked to religious ceremonies or rituals. Using the samples below for inspiration, create your own piece of Aboriginal art.

Day 14 – Australian Geography

You live in the city of Perth, in Western Australia.  You have friends from America who are visiting the Great Barrier Reef in the city of Cairns, in Queensland, Australia. Your friends have rented a car and would like to travel to visit you. Since they are not familiar with the country, give them directions on how to get to Perth. Include cities, physical features and states/territories that they will have to travel through in order to get to you. Use the maps below or the internet to help you create your directions for your friends.

7th Grade ELA

15 Day Emergency Plans

Mrs. Ruffin