This week was SHORT. Thank you to any and all parents who came to parent-teacher conferences. I enjoyed meeting with you!
Some highlights from this week:
Monday
- We completed an activity where we looked at problems in the cities and how we (as city planners) would fix them. It was really interesting to see what you came up with. Many of your ideas were kept to the time period (which was good- 1898 wouldn't see plumbing and electricity in houses as a norm!), although some groups did go a little futuristic on ideas. But that's okay. Progressive (forward) thinking IS good and it's what drives our country forward!
Tuesday
- We discussed political machines and how they were "good, bad, and ugly." We looked at the structure of political machines in major cities during the late 1800s/early 1900s and how they really DID have a focus to help the citizens of cities (even if it meant "getting a vote" come the next election). We looked at how the political machines were bad- CORRUPT, CORRUPT, CORRUPT!!! with graft and patronage happening in politics. And then we looked at the ugly- the situation with Boss Tweed in NYC and how he stole over $200 million from the taxpayers in the city, to line his own pockets. Overall story: political machines while good and necessary don't always have the best ways to get things done.
Wednesday
- This was a short day. If you were in 2nd/5th blocks (co-teaching blocks), you worked on some statistics information from the Gilded Age. Anything to get those skills in! If you were in 6th block, we finished up the political machines lesson with work on skills- political cartoon interpretation.
ENJOY YOUR 4 DAY WEEKEND! And be ready to hit things hard next week. We have a benchmark coming up!
Oh- and DCN 9.1 is due on Monday. DON'T FORGET!! :)
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Saturday, October 23, 2010
October 22
It's been awhile since I last posted... so here is an update from the past couple of weeks:
1) We have been talking about the growth of industry and how railroads helped those industries.
2) We spent a week talking about Big Business and monopolies, tycoons, entrepreneurs, trusts, anti-trusts, etc.
3) We spent half a week on labor unions: looking at the different unions out there, the types (craft and industrial), and how labor affected outcomes in the workplaces, through strikes.
4) We also have been talking about immigration- old v. new; why people came to America to begin with; Angel Island (CA) v. Ellis Island (NY); Asian immigraton v. European immigration; and laws that were put in place to slow down immigration into the US (during the late 1800s and early 1900s). You had a RAFT assignment with these, which won't be graded until late next week, BUT look good from what I've seen. :)
5) This week is SHORT, but we'll be talking about life in the cities and try to fix urban problems. We'll be talking about political corruption in the cities and how political machines were a big factor for that. And we'll end the week with an activity on statistics practice, by looking at statistics from the Gilded Age.
6) A REMINDER THAT DCN 7.3 is DUE on Wednesday. 9.1 is DUE on Monday, November 1.
1) We have been talking about the growth of industry and how railroads helped those industries.
2) We spent a week talking about Big Business and monopolies, tycoons, entrepreneurs, trusts, anti-trusts, etc.
3) We spent half a week on labor unions: looking at the different unions out there, the types (craft and industrial), and how labor affected outcomes in the workplaces, through strikes.
4) We also have been talking about immigration- old v. new; why people came to America to begin with; Angel Island (CA) v. Ellis Island (NY); Asian immigraton v. European immigration; and laws that were put in place to slow down immigration into the US (during the late 1800s and early 1900s). You had a RAFT assignment with these, which won't be graded until late next week, BUT look good from what I've seen. :)
5) This week is SHORT, but we'll be talking about life in the cities and try to fix urban problems. We'll be talking about political corruption in the cities and how political machines were a big factor for that. And we'll end the week with an activity on statistics practice, by looking at statistics from the Gilded Age.
6) A REMINDER THAT DCN 7.3 is DUE on Wednesday. 9.1 is DUE on Monday, November 1.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Tuesday, 10/5
Today, our topic was the Farmer's Problems. We went over the solutions that the farmer's came up with to stop the abuses they felt they were getting from large industries, Wall Street, and the government.
THOSE SOLUTIONS ARE (in case you forget):
1) INFLATION!!!!!!!
2) The Grange Movement
3) The Farmers' Alliance
We then started talking about POPULISM- the "people's party." You need to know that. Imprint it in your brain (Poplism = the people's party). Repeat it over and over again as necessary. And don't forget it! You received a "Populism Cheat Sheet" that gave you the basic structure of how we go from complaints in the labor and farming communities into the Populist Party (3rd party politics). Keep that handout. It gives you the platform information and helps keep everything organized for you on what Populism is all about.
THOSE SOLUTIONS ARE (in case you forget):
1) INFLATION!!!!!!!
2) The Grange Movement
3) The Farmers' Alliance
We then started talking about POPULISM- the "people's party." You need to know that. Imprint it in your brain (Poplism = the people's party). Repeat it over and over again as necessary. And don't forget it! You received a "Populism Cheat Sheet" that gave you the basic structure of how we go from complaints in the labor and farming communities into the Populist Party (3rd party politics). Keep that handout. It gives you the platform information and helps keep everything organized for you on what Populism is all about.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Monday, October 4
I'm trying to get ahead of myself this week, since it's going to be a crazy one for me... so here is the run-down for Monday.
We will wrap up the Homestead Act discussion, and then start on the issue of Populism. We will look at the problems that the farmers in America had and how they wanted to solve those problems. We will also be doing a short simulation on how inflation works.
REMINDER: 5.3 DCN (over Populism) is due.
We will wrap up the Homestead Act discussion, and then start on the issue of Populism. We will look at the problems that the farmers in America had and how they wanted to solve those problems. We will also be doing a short simulation on how inflation works.
REMINDER: 5.3 DCN (over Populism) is due.
Friday, October 1, 2010
Block Day and Friday
BLOCK DAY
On Wed/Thurs (depending on when you saw me), we finished up the Native American Culture class assignment. We watched a short video on the Battle of the Little Bighorn, we unpacked that flashpoint battle, we analyzed the assimilation policy of the US government (which culminated in the passing of the Dawes Act), and we listened to the (very cool) Dave Matthews Band song "Don't Drink the Water." I don't know if you liked the song or not. It SHOULD have bothered you. A lot (or at the very least- a little bit). Or at the very least, the pictures should have clued you in as to what was going on. But, it was very powerful in spreading the message it was supposed to send: that American History can sometimes be HARSH! That is one of my favorite things about teaching this class- not everything is going to be "pretty" and "nice" and fit into our little box that we label "American History." Sometimes things are MESSY and AWFUL and HORRIBLE. But that's okay. Because history is the story of people and how we move from one period of time to another. And people sometimes make mistakes. I'll get off of my soapbox now... but I hope you liked the Native American lesson. It's near and dear to my heart.
FRIDAY
Today we kind of toned it down a little, and did some map reading/Cattle Trail discussing/Homestead Act reading. The map reading and interpretation is a necessary skill, not only for your EOC, but for life, as well. Which is why you were asked to write questions. Interacting with data (maps, charts, graphs- the stuff you all love to hate) is extremely important. So we'll do things like that from time to time.
We talked Cattle Trails and why they were important to the settlement of the West.
We started to talk Homestead Act. We'll finish it on Monday.
In the meantime, HAVE A GOOD, SAFE, AND FUN WEEKEND! And remember- your 5.3 DCN are due on Monday!
On Wed/Thurs (depending on when you saw me), we finished up the Native American Culture class assignment. We watched a short video on the Battle of the Little Bighorn, we unpacked that flashpoint battle, we analyzed the assimilation policy of the US government (which culminated in the passing of the Dawes Act), and we listened to the (very cool) Dave Matthews Band song "Don't Drink the Water." I don't know if you liked the song or not. It SHOULD have bothered you. A lot (or at the very least- a little bit). Or at the very least, the pictures should have clued you in as to what was going on. But, it was very powerful in spreading the message it was supposed to send: that American History can sometimes be HARSH! That is one of my favorite things about teaching this class- not everything is going to be "pretty" and "nice" and fit into our little box that we label "American History." Sometimes things are MESSY and AWFUL and HORRIBLE. But that's okay. Because history is the story of people and how we move from one period of time to another. And people sometimes make mistakes. I'll get off of my soapbox now... but I hope you liked the Native American lesson. It's near and dear to my heart.
FRIDAY
Today we kind of toned it down a little, and did some map reading/Cattle Trail discussing/Homestead Act reading. The map reading and interpretation is a necessary skill, not only for your EOC, but for life, as well. Which is why you were asked to write questions. Interacting with data (maps, charts, graphs- the stuff you all love to hate) is extremely important. So we'll do things like that from time to time.
We talked Cattle Trails and why they were important to the settlement of the West.
We started to talk Homestead Act. We'll finish it on Monday.
In the meantime, HAVE A GOOD, SAFE, AND FUN WEEKEND! And remember- your 5.3 DCN are due on Monday!
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Tuesday, September 28
So today we worked some more on our topic of "Native Americans v. the US" (Culture Clash). We read and did a case study-type activity on the Sand Creek Massacre. We didn't get much more done than that, BUT you need to make sure you have completed #1-11 and #14 BY THE TIME YOU GET TO CLASS on the block day. This assignment will be collected at the end of class on that day.
Also, some reminders:
1) Check PowerSchool tomorrow (Wednesday) for your test grade.
2) 5.2 DCN is due on Friday. You could have a quiz. So please be ready with those notes!
3) You don't have another test until November 5. That is a long time away, so please make sure you are studying your notes and class stuff every night to keep the information fresh in your mind. You'll be getting a study guide (sometime in the next couple of weeks). I don't want to give it to you too far in advance that you lose it, but I want you to have enough time to work on it.
See you on the Block Day- get excited. We are going to be rocking out to Dave Matthew's Band and their song "Don't Drink the Water" which they wrote in regards to Native American policy. It's a pretty powerful song. I think you'll like it. And we'll also be watching a video. So LOTS of stuff to do on Wednesday/Thursday. COME TO CLASS READY TO GO! See you then!
Also, some reminders:
1) Check PowerSchool tomorrow (Wednesday) for your test grade.
2) 5.2 DCN is due on Friday. You could have a quiz. So please be ready with those notes!
3) You don't have another test until November 5. That is a long time away, so please make sure you are studying your notes and class stuff every night to keep the information fresh in your mind. You'll be getting a study guide (sometime in the next couple of weeks). I don't want to give it to you too far in advance that you lose it, but I want you to have enough time to work on it.
See you on the Block Day- get excited. We are going to be rocking out to Dave Matthew's Band and their song "Don't Drink the Water" which they wrote in regards to Native American policy. It's a pretty powerful song. I think you'll like it. And we'll also be watching a video. So LOTS of stuff to do on Wednesday/Thursday. COME TO CLASS READY TO GO! See you then!
Monday, September 27, 2010
Monday, September 27
Today we started Unit 3. You will be receiving a calendar tomorrow with due dates for DCN and test dates (which is the November 5, by the way). You should have done 5.1 DCN for today. IF you didn't get it done, then please finish it for tomorrow.
We started by discussing Native Americans and the Culture Clash the US had with them. We looked at the concentration policies of the United States in regards to Native Americans. You all did a great job on the map analysis part of the assignment. IF YOU DID NOT GET FINISHED with #1-7 in your packet, YOU NEED TO HAVE IT DONE BY TUESDAY. This is very important. We will not have any more time in class to work through the map analysis, but this packet will be due later in the week.
Have a great night!
We started by discussing Native Americans and the Culture Clash the US had with them. We looked at the concentration policies of the United States in regards to Native Americans. You all did a great job on the map analysis part of the assignment. IF YOU DID NOT GET FINISHED with #1-7 in your packet, YOU NEED TO HAVE IT DONE BY TUESDAY. This is very important. We will not have any more time in class to work through the map analysis, but this packet will be due later in the week.
Have a great night!
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