Plan for the Week - 12/16-12/20

Monday - Study Guide for Ch 6 Test in class (Click HERE for the study guide)
Tuesday - Review Game - Ch 6
Wednesday - Ch 6 Test!
Thursday - Pre-Break movie day
Friday - Idle Hands in the Auditorium

Have a safe and happy holiday break!  Relax - we will start Ch 7 when you come back from break, and mid-term exams are right around the corner.

See you next year! ;)

Homework 12/12

Work on your chapter 7 timeline for about 20 minutes.  You don't have to come to class tomorrow with it finished, but get some of it done at home!

Atlas Map 2 and Homework for 12/10

Title your map 'Louisiana Purchase - 1803'

On your map, include the following: 

• the Mississippi River
• the Appalachian Mountains 
• the Rocky Mountains 
• label the land gained in the Louisiana Purchase (color it one color)
• label and color land held by Great Britain in North America
• label and color land held by Spain in North America
• label and color each state in the US as of 1803 
• label the journey of Lewis and Clark (from St. Louis to the west coast)

Homework:  On your Lewis and Clark primary source sheet, answer questions #1-3 on your blog.  Also, post your completed, Atlas 2 map on your blog (make sure you check your actual blog website to make sure the picture posted!) 

Atlas Project 1

Label and color the following (each territory should be a different color - all the states can be the same color) 

• Territory held by the United States 
• Territory held by Spain
• Territory held by Great Britain
• Mississippi River 
• Appalachian Mountains 
• Northwest Territory
• Label the following states: Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire (color Maine - its not a state, but part of the US)

-Use pgs A26-A27 in your book (all the way in the back)

- Using your camera on your iPad, take a picture of your completed map.  Upload it to your blog using the Blogger App.  Create a tag called 'Atlas Project'.

Your finished map is due on Friday posted to your blog.  

Dear Georgie Letter

In the spirit of Dear Abby (click the name for the wiki link to learn more about 'Dear Abby' and click HERE for a silly Thanksgiving example of the kinds of letters Dear Abby answers) the United States has turned to America's favorite founding father George Washington for advice on how to deal with other countries.

Here is the letter America wrote to George:

"Dear Georgie,
I recently went through a very violent (some might call it 'revolutionary') break up with my former partner.  We had been together for a looong time but I just couldn't take it anymore.  Should I stay friends with my former partner or break ties?  What should I doooo?

Sincerely,
Confused in US of A"


Your task:  Prove that you understand George Washington's Farewell Address by pretending to be George Washington and writing a letter back to 'Confused in the US of A'.  Use your annotated Farewell Address (what we worked on in class) to help you.  Your letter should be in modern, conversational English (not GW's fancy old talk from 1796) and explain Georgie's opinion on what the relationship between the US and other countries (particularly in Europe) should be.

Your letter should have: a greeting to 'Confused in US of A', an explanation of the issue and what the USA should do, and why it is important for them to take his advice (what could happen if the US doesn't?)

DUE DATE: Monday, December 2 - Letter should be posted on your blog!

Political Parties Homework

Tonight for homework, do some research on the main political parties of the United States (as of 2012), which exist because Hamilton and Jefferson disagreed about so many topics and created the idea of a two party government system.

There are six main political parties in the US (click the links to bring you to each party's website):

• Democrats 
• Republicans
• Libertarians 
• Green Party 
• Reform Party 
• Socialist Party 

For each of the parties, you should know: a major leader, big/key issues, a symbol used to represent the party 

Study for Test!

You will have a test on Articles 1, 2, and 3 on the Constitution on Tuesday, November 19th.

You should study all three Articles and the Bill of Rights/Amendments we talked about in class.  If you have a completed study guide, you can pass it in for an extra credit point on your test.

**Note - on the study guide, it asks for Amendment #20 - that is a typo!  You should make sure you know Amendment #19 (Women's suffrage)

Work for 11/13

While I'm out, work on the Constitution study guide, posted HERE

We will review on Thursday and Friday - aiming for a test on the Constitution on Monday!

Class 10/25

Sorry I'm not there today!  For the substitute, you should be on your BEST behavior and stay on task and get your work done.

During long block, you have two tasks..

1)  Watch a short video clip on the recent conflict in Syria.  To access the video, go to upfront.scholastic.com/videos and select the third one down titled 'Syria's Civil War'.  If you have headphones, use them.  If you don't..listen quietly.

2)  Once you have an understanding of the conflict in Syria, read an article on pgs 8 and 9 in the Early October Upfront Magazine called 'War: Who Decides?' This has to be done in class because you cannot take the Upfront home.

3)  Answer the following questions on your blog (good answers - not fluffy, three word, no thought, straight from the article answers)

• According to the Constitution, who has the power to declare war?  What does 'the power of the purse' mean?  
• How did the Vietnam War change the way many lawmakers felt about presidential war powers? 
• How has war changed in the last century? 
• Do you think the President 'appears indecisive' and he should have acted independently and sent troops to Syria or was he right in asking Congress? Explain your answer. 
• Why do you think the Framers of the Constitution split the nation's war powers between the executive branch and legislative branches?  Do you think the system is working the way they envisioned?  

When you're done, use the red text book to draw the 'checks and balances' system (I'm not sure what page it is on, but it is in the same Constitution section we've been using between Ch 5 and Ch 6.) 

This is your homework for the weekend!

Update from Class 10/24

Term One Extra Credit  -> Due Wednesday, October 30

Term Two Project - How a Bill Becomes a Law  - Due November 8th (term two)

Also, Founding Fathers presentations grades have been posted!

Homework 10/18

Constitutional Convention Review Questions - can be done via ipad (Post document picture or link to pdf on your blog) or you can write out the answer and post them to your blog.

Constitutional Convention Powerpoint

Founding Fathers Project

Founding Father Project Assignment

Homework 10/10

Create a visual representation of the Articles of Confederation.  The idea is to break the Articles of Confederation into pieces that you can connect / contrast.  You can use a word web, a tree design, words, symbols, pictures..anything that will help you visualize the first government of the US.  

Things you need to have on your web - goals of AOC, state vs federal government issues, and the weaknesses of the AOC.  

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/graphicorganizers/ -  Can help you with some ideas.  

Homework 10/8

After discussing the Articles of Confederation in class today, read the two viewpoints in Document A and B.  Answer the questions that follow - Worth 5pts.

Comparing Primary Sources Worksheet  (also passed out in class)

Homework 10/7

Read Section 5.1 (in your shiny, new books - whoo!)  We're done the revolution, and now we have to figure out what we're going to do with all this freedom we have.

Once you have read, define each of the vocabulary words for the section (in bold throughout the reading and in the heading on the first page of the section).  You will define the word using a 'dictionary' or textbook definition and then define it again in your own words.

So..one vocabulary word -> two definitions.  These definitions should be posted to your blog!

In Class 10/3

Unfortunately I will be absent today (boo, I know..) We were supposed to play Bazinga today, but we will do that tomorrow and we will take the test on Monday, October 7 (I can hear the cheers from here).

Today in class, I would like you to go through your notes and create 6 review questions (4 multiple choice and 2 short answers) that we can use when we're reviewing tomorrow.  Your short answer questions should be more than just a 'yes' or 'no' answer-able.  Post these questions on to your blog.  

If you finish early, you can use this time to study quietly.  If you have headphones, give these CrashCourse youtube videos a watch:

Prelude to Revolution 
Who won the American Revolution? 

Review for the Test

Why colonies?

The French and Indian War

Taxes from the British

Battles of the American Revolution

Study Guide 

Wednesday: Study Guide in class 

Thursday: in class review game (Bazinga!)

Friday: Test Day 

In Class

Taking Sides

Homework 9/26

Tonight for homework you will be writing two blog posts.  To successfully complete these blog posts, you must take on the perspective of a loyalist and a patriot.  For each letter, you will be telling a friend/parent/imaginary figure about the signing of the Declaration of Independence and what it means for the British colonies in North America.

Questions to think about:
How would a loyalist feel about this event?  Why/why wouldn't they think it is a good idea to declare independence from England.  

How would a Patriot feel about this event?  Why/Why wouldn't they think it is a good idea to declare independence from England.  

Each of your blog posts should be about one paragraph (5 sentences minimum) but should also get your point of view on the issue across to the reader.  You can post each 'letter' on the same blog post if you'd like.

Due: Friday, September 27

Homework 9/24

For tonight's homework you'll need your Dec. of Independence packet and the post from my blog that discusses the Enlightenment thinkers (from the day we watched the Simpsons).  Go through your packet with the blog post and highlight/annotate any enlightened ideas from Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau etc. that have made their way into the document.  We will talk about them in class tomorrow!

Simpson's Enlightenment Episode Questions

What do you think would have happened without laws on the deserted island?  Did Enlightenment thinkers have similar fears?

Why would Beccaria and other Enlightenment thinkers disagree with Nelson’s trial?



Nelson wanted to deprive Milhouse of which natural right?

What do you think Hobbes would say about the behavior of the Simpson’s characters on the island?

How does Lisa’s behavior on the deserted island reflect the beliefs of John Locke?  Explain.  

List of Enlightenment Thinkers

The Enlightenment

Enlightenment -- A movement where philosophes used nature, science and reason and applied them to ideas about how government should work.

People would meet in salons (basically women would host parties where people would discuss intellectual ideas).

Why is it important – These ideas helped to inspire the colonists to revolt and shaped our political system, which is still in place today.

Major Enlightenment Thinkers/Ideas about Human Nature and Government

Thomas Hobbes

Grew up during the English Civil War when there was chaos, saw lots of violence

Believed Humans were selfish and wicked

Needed government to keep order

People enter into a social contract, where they give up rights to a strong ruler in exchange for law and order

The best government was an absolute monarchy where one person could impose order and demand obedience.

John Locke

Humans were reasonable

People could learn from experience, improve themselves

People were capable of looking after the welfare of society

Every person is free and equal and born with natural rights to life, liberty and property.

The purpose of government is to protect natural rights – if a government does not protect these rights to life, liberty and property the people could overthrow that government.

Rousseau

People are born good but civilization corrupts people’s goodness

Humans exist best in a “state of nature”

No government is the best government

Women’s education is secondary to men, should concentrate on being good wives and mothers

Montesquieu

Power needs to be checked by power

There needs to be a separation of powers in government and a system of checks and balances

Voltaire

Promoted the ideas of tolerance, freedom, and freedom of speech through plays, histories, and fiction.

Beccaria

The purpose of law is to preserve social order NOT to avenge crimes

Against the practice of torture

Believed people had the right to a speedy trial

The degree of punishment should be based on the seriousness of the crime

Homework 9/20

For homework over the weekend, please read pgs 52 and 53 in this PDF version of the textbook (I promise you should have your book soon!)

Click this link for the Book Section 

We will talk about the Declaration of Independence next week, so be ready!

Homework 9/18

Tonight's homework is connected to the homework assignment we did in class on Wednesday, September 18.  If you were absent, all the documents and links you'll need are on this post.

Battle of Lexington Textbook Version 

Document B and Document C Handouts 

Images from the Battle of Lexington and Concord

Your Homework:  Your task is to rewrite a more historically accurate textbook excerpt using the documents provided to you and the basic information provided for you in the version from your textbook.  

Your textbook excerpt should be no more than three paragraphs long and it should be posted to your blog, not handed in in class.  

Homework 9/13

Congrats on making it another week at BHS.  You guys are doing great so far!

Homework for the weekend: 

1) Read Chester the Crab - The French and Indian War .  It's a historical comic about the events we discussed in class today.

2)  Answer the following questions ON YOUR BLOG, as a new post (title the post 'F&I Review') 

- How did the French and Indian War begin? 

- How did George Washington learn warfare? 

- When did the French and Indians split? 

- How did Britain win the war? 

- Who paid for the French and Indian war?  

**if you didn't notice, each of those questions are the title of a page of the comic - it's a good hint to where you'll find the answers :)**  

Baseline Test

Geographic Baseline Test

Homework 9/9 (and 9/11)

Assignment sheet can be found HERE
and the grading rubric HERE

We will work on this assignment in class on Tuesday and it will be due on Thursday, September 12.

Make sure your project is saved to the 'cloud' (upload a powerpoint to Google Drive and you can access it at school) or on your iPad.  It might be a good idea to store your project in more than one place in case a tragic iPad accident happens and you lose your work.

Homework 9/9

Today in class we learned about why countries get colonies and a little about the British colonies in North America. 

Homework:  Complete the colonial map.  You can find the directions here
Blank outline map
pg67 in the textbook 

If we don't get to in class please watch this video clip about mercantilism and the American colonies. 
VIDEO CLIP

Set Up Your Blog

For anyone needing help with their blogs, click HERE to see a tutorial on setting up a Blogger blog.

Homework 9/3

Welcome back!  You're first homework assignment will be to make sure you have the following applications downloaded on to your iPad.

Blogger
Constitution for iPad
Google Drive app
a notetaking app: Notability, Sundrynote, Evernote, etc.
Haikudeck
Socrative Student
Educreations