My name is Dan Hlinak and I am the Social Studies teacher for the 6th, 7th and 8th grade at Queen of All Saints. I started at QAS back in the summer of 2014 and this school year will be my 9th year at Queen of All Saints. I attended St. Louis Community College at Florissant Valley immediately after high school taking advantage of the A+ program.
Following the completion of my Associate's degree, I enrolled in the education program at the University of Missouri St. Louis where I graduated with the honors of Summa Cum Laude in the spring of 2014 and with a degree in Middle School education.
I am currently certified to teach grades 5 through 9 in Social Studies, Science, and Language Arts in the state of Missouri. I am very passionate about history and upon completion of my certification process, I qualified for the “Recognition of Excellence” (ROE) award for my score on the Middle School Social Studies certification test. In my free time, I enjoy hiking and camping, playing hockey in leagues competitively and for fun, as well as watching the St. Louis Blues.
If you have questions or concerns throughout the school year, please feel free to reach out to me. The best way to contact me is via email at hlinakd@qasstl.org.
Information About Class With Mr. Hlinak
Social Studies isn't just your typical "History Class" here at QAS. (Look below to learn about the topics learned in class throughout the year)
Some of my primary goals for my Social Studies students is to further develop skills to find success in middle school and further prepare students for the rigor and challenges they will face in high school and as lifelong learners.
Ways students will be challenged in my class:
1) We will focus on reading and text comprehension and note taking strategies. To help both struggling and successful readers to develop "cheat sheets" to help them further improve these skills and reduce stress to prepare for high school.
2) Studying Skills and Habits: Throughout the school year we will work and discuss various studying skills and habit to help students find success. Assessments will range from Vocabulary Quizzes To Essays (DBQ Below) and Chapter Tests. Throughout the year students will receive Study Guides for chapter tests and be taught how to use Quizlet as a great vocabulary study aid but also as another source that they can use to create their own study guides to help them study.
3) We also have regular current events questions that we answer and discuss to help students become aware of both the country and the world around them.
4) We use mapping activities and skills to improve on our map reading and interpretation skills to be applied to understanding primary and secondary resources.
5) We also complete DBQ (Document Based Question) essays which give students an opportunity to learn and analyze various arguments and problems through history. These essays pose a question to students and contain all of the research and information needed to write an essay. We practice the skills of reading primary and secondary resources in these DBQ assignments for better preparation for future high school history courses. This also helps students to learn how to analyze and think critically.
6th grade begins to look at the Ancient World history from the beginning of civilization, General topics we will explore in 6th Grade are:
Mesopotamia
Hebrew Kingdoms
Ancient China
India
Greece
Rome
Islam
African Kingdoms
Asian History
The Crusades
Dark Ages/Middle Ages
Renaissance/Age of Exploration leading us into U.S. history in 7th grade.
Example 7th Grade DBQ Topics:
Hammurabi's Codes: Were they Just?
How Great Was Alexander?
The Great Wall of China: Did the Benefits Outweigh the Costs?
Samurai and Knights: Were the Similarities Greater Than the Difference?
7th grade will focus on learning about the U.S. History Starting with the first people of the Americas:
First Civilizations of the Americas
The First Explorers of the New World
13 Colonies
American Revolution
Forming of U.S. Government
Citizenship and the Constitution
The First Presidents and the War of 1812
Jefferson Era and Louisiana Purchase
Age of Jackson/Westward Expansion/Manifest Destiny
The Divide of the Nation and The Civil War
This all leads to 8th grade where they will begin with the Reconstruction following the Civil War.
Example 7th Grade DBQ Topics:
Early Jamestown: Why Did So Many Colonists Die?
Valley Forge: Would You Have Quit?
How Free Were Free Blacks in the North?
The Battle of Gettysburg: Why Was it a Turning Point?
8th Grade starts the year reviewing the U.S. Civil War and then moving into:
Reconstruction
Westward Expansion/War in the West
The 2nd Industrial Revolution
Immigration and Urbanization (In the late 1800s)
Progressive Era
U.S. Imperialism
World War 1
The Roaring 20s
The Great Depression
World War 2
Cold War/Civil Rights
Potential DBQ Topics this year:
North or South: Who Killed Reconstruction?
The Philanthropy of Andrew Carnegie: Did It Make Him a Hero?
How Did the Treaty of Versailles Help Cause World War II?
What Caused the Dust Bowl?
Why Did Japan Bomb Pearl Harbor?