Third graders learned about Cherokee life, The Trail of Tears, and researching primary sources during a recent trip to the Tennessee State Library & Archives.
By Kyleen Shyer, Third Grade Teacher
In third grade social studies, students learn about the earliest Tennesseans through the Native American Tribes. Throughout the year, they travel to various places including the Tennessee State Museum and Mound Bottom State Archaeological Area.
As part of their social studies unit on Native Americans in Tennessee, third graders had the opportunity to travel to the Tennessee State Library & Archives for their new program, The Cherokee in Tennessee, 1500s-1839.
Students learned about primary and secondary documents, studied transcribed letters between John Ross and Andrew Jackson, and wrote on copies of maps to show how the size of the Cherokee Nation physically shrunk over time. Students worked with sources, including maps, letters, quotes, and images.
It was both a meaningful and powerful experience for the third-grade researchers.
During a powerful field trip to the Tennessee State Library & Archives, students in Klyeen Shyer's third grade class learned about the history of Cherokee Nation in Tennessee.
Students in grades 5-8 and their families can take USN Evening Class 702: Mah and Pah Jong and Me to learn to play a board game together while benefiting USN's need-based scholarship endowment.
The Helen Meador Summer International Fellowship funded a summer of professional development in South America for Lower School Naturalist Carrie Riley. Through this profound experience, she said she plans to bring these lessons into her teaching, grounding her voice in wonder, joy, and a commitment to protecting the natural world, which she loves.
The impact of USN’s Art Department is not confined to art studios in the Christine Slayden Tibbott Center. Students often engage with art in ways that transcend traditional classroom learning, such as at the opening reception for artist Yanira Vissepó's “Fantastical Views.”
Tiger golfers have officially qualified for the region tournament, and our other teams are not far behind. Volleyball sits near the top of the district, finishing up regular season play next week with Senior Night. Girls soccer continues to hold first place in the district after another 9-0 win, and our cross country runners are chasing after some school records. To round it all out, our mountain bike team traveled to Oakfield to continue to improve on their times for the season. There’s plenty more where that came from- so be sure to come out to the River Campus, Sperling Gym, or out on the road to cheer on our Tigers before their seasons end.
Middle School volleyball and tennis teams are nearing the final games of their seasons, with the competition heating up while the Tigers play to determine their HVAC rankings. Cross country was finally able to race at the River Campus despite the heat, and our mountain biking team traveled to Oakfield, Tennessee, for a high-temperature race weekend.
The MTB team returned to the the twisty trails of tranquil Oakfield, TN on Sept 13th to take part in the second race of the season, as part of the 5-race series hosted by the NICA/TICL League.
USN Mission: University School of Nashville models the best educational practices. In an environment that represents the cultural and ethnic composition of Metropolitan Nashville, USN fosters each student’s intellectual, artistic, and athletic potential, valuing and inspiring integrity, creative expression, a love of learning, and the pursuit of excellence.