Monday 8/27

US-We looked at the differences between the loyalist point of view and the patriot point of view. We read part of Common Sense by Thomas Paine in which he uses arguments to show how it was common sense. At the end of class we started looking at the Declaration of Independence. 
we watched a quick clip and had a quick write.
Quickwrite 3:  Why do you think there wasn’t a lot of energy or excitement? What do you think were going through the men's heads? How did the people react differently and why? 

Common Sense and Dec of Independence

8/25

We finished the work from yesterday on the Boston Tea Party. The questions are in the slide from yesterday. We also read another short reading on the intolerable acts. We finished class discussing the fight at Lexington and Concord and how the first shots were fired.
I will try to post the reading part.

8/24

We finished up looking at the first taxes that came after the French and Indian War. We also looked at how the Stamp Act had people talking about "no taxation without representation".
Students then had a quickwrite on the Boston Massacre. 5 people died in the riot but it was made out to be worse than it was.
We finished class by looking at the Boston Tea Party. Each class got to a different spot but were reading two accounts of people who were there.

Notes and Quickwrite from last two days
Boston Tea Party Reading

8/23

We reviewed some of yesterday's work together. I then showed a clip from disney. The video starts around 4:30 It shows the snowball effect, or snowballing. How something that seemed innocent enough over time can build. It is similar to that we see America grow towards a Revolution. It didn't happen overnight. We finished class by looking at the French and Indian War and how the aftermath of it, with Proclamation Lines and Taxes leads to frustration by the colonists. I will post the complete notes from today on tomorrow's post.

8/22 Tuesday

Sorry I was out today. Students were to finish their Puritan questions. In class they were looking at Chapter 1 section 4 and reviewing the North and South and how they differed, as well as causes for the Revolution. 

Classwork

8/21

We finished our American Dream assignments from Friday. After that we began looking at the Puritans coming to America. They had a different mindset than those that came before them. In a sense they had the first American Dream. We looked at their views. We also had a quickwrite

Quickwrite 1-What do you think the risk was leaving Europe and heading to the America's for the Puritans ? Would you ever leave the earth and head to mars to start a new colony? Why or Why Not?

Puritans notes and questions
Puritans Reading

Friday 8/17

We finished the words you should be familiar with. Thesis, corroboration, sourcing, evidence and contextualization are the words I gave definitions for. After that

We began discussing what the term "The American Dream" means. It is a term that can be used to describe many different things. Some people view making it to America and it's freedom as the dream. To others it is rising out of poverty to achieve greatness. For some it is simply a two story home, a family of 4 and a white picket fence. The American Dream is all things to all people, which makes it unique. No other countries have this sort of calling. In the class each student had to focus on what the American Dream means to them. Each class has a google classroom. Ask me for your class Code

Thursday 8/16

Today in class we finished Saving Private Ryan Scene. There was a writing assignment about the prompt below. 
We finished class by discussing some key historical words we will be using this year. 

The Character Tom Hanks is playing, says as he dies to Matt Damon’s character(Private Ryan), “earn it.” In the final scene Damon recalls this line at the cemetery and how he feels he earned it during his life. How can this one phrase by a soldier in WWII(a fictional story) describe in your own life why history is important?

Please write me a paragraph on what you think this line means and how it reflects why we look at history and how it is an opportunity for you “earn this” in life, school ect… How does it also reflect the value history can have? 

8/15

Remember to bring in syllabus by friday

Today we finished the citizenship test and went over it. After I gave a few examples of how the citizenship test is a series of facts. It is great to know facts for history. Without facts you can't understand anything. The goal is to understand things deeper than the facts though. An example from class is that experiencing history and why we learn history isn't so you can rattle off when FDR was president and what programs he did. But to form opinions on the type of President he was. What does a president like him look like, and would it be good or bad for our country. History has different viewpoints and different answers, it is more than a list of facts.

Tuesday 8/14

Why we study History was the theme for the day. We looked at a piece by Historian David McCullough. Several ideas about why history is valuable is it shows us how to live. Gives us choices, inspires us. Helps us appreciate things more, enjoy life more, and learn from the past. At the end of class we began taking a US citizenship test.

Why History Reading

2018-2019 DAY 1

Welcome to the new school year. Updates of what we are doing in class, did in class, or will be doing in class can typically be found here. Bookmark it in case you are absent or will be gone.

While it usually won't have everything on here, it will have a recap of what we did, and on occasion more. You can use this so you know the basis for what you have missed. 

US History-Here is your SYLLABUS!!!! (Push the word), print the LAST page and get it signed by you and parent by Friday!