Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Native Americans, Day 9 - Class Recap


The Oregon Coast at the Ecola State Park.

Hi everyone,

Today is Part 1 of 2 of the end of our Native American unit, as students are finishing writing the DBQ essay in class. Here's what we did today in class:

Learning Targets Addressed: 
Behavior LT 2: I can manage my responsibilities as a student.
Critical Thinking LT 5: I can justify and support arguments or interpretation with appropriate evidence.
Communication LT 1: I can communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing.
Knowledge LT 16: I can explain the process of change and continuity in a society, place, or region.

Soundtrack: "The Raiders March (a.k.a. "Indiana Jones Theme")" by John Williams. Selected for today because it was intended as a pump up song for writing the essay!

AGENDA 10/30/19:
Review DBQ Expectations
Part 2 Essay Work Time

Homework: Read the blog. All late/missing work to be graded for this quarter grade report is due by tomorrow/Thursday.

Review DBQ Expectations Last week, we made a list of major issues related to Native American reservations and assimilation.

Here are the notes that we took down together:


Since the two options for essays were about the impact of power and assimilation, we hoped this helped!

Here's the PowerPoint we went through again at the start of class, explaining a bit more about the questions and how to write a thesis statement in response:


Part 2 Essay Work Time: The rest of the combined class was spent on working on the essay response (Part 2) of the DBQ. We will continue to do this tomorrow/Thursday - if you are not in my class tomorrow/Thursday, then we have made alternate plans for when you are coming (perhaps in Study Hall) to complete it.

Monday, October 28, 2019

Native Americans, Day 8 - Class Recap


Looking out over modern day Astoria, which is where the Columbia River meets the Pacific Ocean.

Hi everyone,

Today was a day of combining Lit and Comp 10 (most students in my Period 8 have Mr. Puterbaugh Period 6) and starting to work on the DBQ. Here's what we did today in class:

Learning Targets Addressed: 
Behavior LT 2: I can manage my responsibilities as a student.
Critical Thinking LT 5: I can justify and support arguments or interpretation with appropriate evidence.
Communication LT 1: I can communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing.
Knowledge LT 16: I can explain the process of change and continuity in a society, place, or region.

Soundtrack: "Coyotes" by Don Edwards. Selected for today because the song is about the loss of culture, people, and a way of life as connected to the West. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 10/28/19:
News Brief - Emily
Prep for DBQ
Assimilation and Power
DBQ Part I

Homework: Read the blog. Turn in all missing work ASAP. Bring your Chromebook fully charged next class! The next news brief is assigned to: Josue.

News Brief: Today's news brief was brought in by Emily, who selected an article about this story: CNN.com - Wildfire burns in Los Angeles. We discussed this story for a bit and then moved on.

We also checked in briefly to see if anyone was up to anything interesting or fun outside of class.

Josue was selected to do the next news brief.

As part of the news brief, we also watched the one minute BBC World News update. Here's the link to see the latest one minute update, at any time of day (it will probably be different from what we watched in class):


Prep for DBQ: Next (this was mostly in Lit and Comp 10), we spent time looking at the list of possible sources to use for the DBQ from our unit on Native American issues in both American Studies and Lit/Comp 10. Here are the resources that you should come prepared with and ready to potentially use:


American Studies
Lit/Comp 10
Cultural Appropriation Notes
Sherman Alexie’s “Indian Education”
“30 Days on an Indian Reservation” Episode
Issues/Evidence
Montana 1948, Larry Watson
Early Expansion Notes

Native American and US Government Events

Broken Treaties Notes

Native American Forced Assimilation
notes and sources (Grand Ronde letter)

Chief Joseph Notes


To start, we had students get out all of their notes and work from the Native American units in both Lit and Comp and American Studies (listed above).

Assimilation and Power: The next part of class was spent looking at the two major topics/questions that will come up in the DBQ: the impact and context regarding Native American assimilation and power.

To begin with this, we brainstormed (this was mostly done by Periods 1 and 2) issues that came up in our study in regards to Power. We chose four to look at in depth as the "most important" in terms of understanding the topic, then had the other side of the room brainstorm issues that came up in our study of Native American assimilation. The top four issues from that conversation were selected, then we assigned students to look into the issues in depth and to try and add any details and notes that they could about a particular issue.

Here are the notes that we took down together (it is important that students have these notes ready to use on the DBQ next class):


Once the groups broke down the issues into smaller parts, we asked students to write down on butcher paper for the class as to what they decided on were the key points to take away. These are the pictures of the different posters around the room, to help (yellow posters are for issues related to power, white posters are for issues related to assimilation):










DBQ Response Time (Part I):
 The rest of class was spent on the DBQ document analysis questions, as assigned on Google Classroom (a paper copy was available in class). These were due at the end of class today - students will be using them to write the in class essay next class. See you then!

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Native Americans, Day 7 - Class Recap

Note: students looking for the posters up in Mr. Puterbaugh's room for the different topics of assimilation and power can find them at the bottom of this blog post.


A river near Balanced Rock in Idaho. Western Idaho and Northeastern Oregon was the territory of the Nez Perce, which we learned about today in class.

Dear class,

Welcome back! We are winding down our unit on Native Americans, as this will be the last full week of it. Here's what we did today in class:

Learning Targets Addressed: 
Behavior LT 3: I can communicate and work effectively within a team or group.
Critical Thinking LT 5: I can justify and support arguments or interpretation with appropriate evidence.

Soundtrack: "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" by Ennio Morricone. Selected for today because of the showdown between the Nez Perce and the United States Army in the excerpts of the documentary we watched.

AGENDA 10/24/19:
News Brief - Sarai
Letter Answers
War and Nonviolence
Chief Joseph

Homework: Read the blog. Turn in all missing work ASAP. The next news brief is assigned to: Emily.

News Brief: Today's news brief was brought in by Sarai (filling in for Dani), who selected an article about this story: NBCNews.com - Georgia foster mom charged with murder in death of twins found in hot car. We discussed this article for a bit, and then moved on.

We also checked in to see if anyone was up to anything interesting or fun outside of class this weekend.

Emily was selected to do the next news brief.

As part of the news brief, we also watched the one minute BBC World News update. Here's the link to see the latest one minute update, at any time of day (it will probably be different from what we watched in class):


Letter Answers: Last class, we investigated what assimilation meant for Native Americans. To begin this, I passed out this set of definitions and questions for the PowerPoint:


Before going through the PowerPoint, we looked at the defined terms together as a class. The bottom of the first page was space for any additional notes students wanted to take on the presentation:


The last slide of the PowerPoint is a reference to this letter, which was sent to the Grand Ronde School in 1902:


Students were asked to answer questions about the 1902 letter on the second page/back side of their vocabulary sheet with notes. We went through these answers together in class today, as we did not last class.

War and Nonviolence: To begin this section, I asked students to say which of the following quotes they most agreed with:

"Whensoever hostile aggressions..require a resort to war, we must meet our duty and convince the world that we are just friends and brave enemies.
— Thomas Jefferson, 1806 in a letter to Andrew Jackson

"Nonviolence is the answer to the crucial political and moral questions of our time; the need for man to overcome oppression and violence without resorting to oppression and violence."
— Martin Luther King, Jr. in a speech accepting the Nobel Peace Prize, 1964

The main question here is: is war sometimes necessary, or can problems always be solved nonviolently? I had the class think about this and then we debated it together.

Chief Joseph: We then watched clips from the Ken Burns documentary "The West: Episode 6 - Fight No More Forever" (available on YouTube here - queued to start at the main segment we watched). The lesson we followed (roughly) is available on the supplemental materials to the documentary, here (just Activity I). As we watched the film, we paused to have discussions based on the questions posed. I also had students answer these questions as we watched:


After the film, I showed this map, which will be related to a question on the DBQ (Documents Based Question) that students will be completing, starting next class:


After this, it was work time to complete any notes or activities missed so far in the Native American unit, as we will start preparing for the DBQ next class. See you then!

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Native Americans, Day 6 - Class Recap


A rock formation in Arches National Park in Utah, which is part of Ancestral Puebloan territory. Photo taken in 2007.

Dear class,

It is always great to see you all in the afternoon! We finished discussing Broken Treaties and did some work on historical events involving Native Americans and the United States. Here's what we did today in class:

Learning Targets Addressed: 
Behavior LT 3: I can communicate and work effectively within a team or group.
Critical Thinking LT 5: I can justify and support arguments or interpretation with appropriate evidence.

Soundtrack: "No Woman, No Cry" by Bob Marley. Selected for today because of the relationship to the "trail of tears" that we discussed today in class. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 10/22/19:
News Brief - Deniz
Discussion
NA Events
Forced Assimilation

Homework: Read the blog. Turn in all missing work ASAP (grades have been updated on StudentVUE). The next news brief is assigned to: Dani.

News Brief: Today's news brief was brought in by Deniz, who selected an article about this story: NYTimes.com - Trump Calls Impeachment Inquiry a ‘Lynching’. We discussed this article for a bit, and then moved on.

We also checked in to see if anyone was up to anything interesting or fun outside of class this weekend.

Dani was selected to do the next news brief.

As part of the news brief, we also watched the one minute BBC World News update. Here's the link to see the latest one minute update, at any time of day (it will probably be different from what we watched in class):


Discussion: Next, we finished talking about this fantastic OPB documentary called Broken Treaties, which came out in 2017. This documentary does a really good job at providing historical context for the displacement of native Oregonians, as well as some current issues of the day. Here is the link to watch the documentary, if you missed class or wanted to see it again:


Here is the link to the worksheet of questions that students were responding to in class (which is mostly in chronological order):


After the documentary we had a discussion on the questions. Thanks for your participation, everyone.

NA Events: To continue our work on this unit, I wanted students to know (or in some cases, review) some major events in terms of Native American and United States government interactions throughout the year. Here's the worksheet we went through together:


I assigned students to groups to learn about one of the events together (using the textbooks in class and/or online research), then we had a conversation together about what we found.

Forced Assimilation: Next, we investigated what assimilation meant for Native Americans. To begin this, I passed out this set of definitions and questions for the PowerPoint:


Before going through the PowerPoint, we looked at the defined terms together as a class. The bottom of the first page was space for any additional notes students wanted to take on the presentation:


The last slide of the PowerPoint is a reference to this letter, which was sent to the Grand Ronde School in 1902:


Students will be asked next class to answer questions about the 1902 letter on the second page/back side of their vocabulary sheet with notes. Again, these will be able to be used for the DBQ response next week. See you next class!

Friday, October 18, 2019

Native Americans, Day 5 - Class Recap


This photo is from Brenda Renning, who is our Westview tech support person. She wrote to me saying: "I have deep Clatsop Indian roots. The girl standing is my great grandmother and her grandmother is seated on the bottom right. We figure my great grandmother's great grandmother was 2 when Lewis and Clark were there."

Hello everyone,

Welcome to your weekend! We continued our investigation of Native American issues and history as we focused more on native Oregonians. Here's what we did today in class:

Learning Targets Addressed: 
Behavior LT 3: I can communicate and work effectively within a team or group.
Critical Thinking LT 5: I can justify and support arguments or interpretation with appropriate evidence.

Soundtrack: "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" by Green Day. Selected for today because of the connection to the documentary "Broken Treaties" that we watched today.

AGENDA 10/18/19:
News Brief - Jasmine N.
Broken Treaties
Discussion
Map Activity

Homework: Read the blog. Map Activity due today on Google Classroom! Turn in all missing work ASAP (grades have been updated on StudentVUE). The next news brief is assigned to: Deniz.

News Brief: Today's news brief was brought in by Jasmine N., who selected an article about this story: NPR.org - Massive Gun Battle Erupts In Mexico Over Son Of Drug Kingpin 'El Chapo'. We discussed this story for a bit and then moved on.

We also checked in to see if anyone was up to anything interesting or fun outside of class this weekend.

Deniz was selected to do the next news brief.

As part of the news brief, we also watched the one minute BBC World News update. Here's the link to see the latest one minute update, at any time of day (it will probably be different from what we watched in class):


Broken Treaties: Next, we watched a fantastic OPB documentary called Broken Treaties, which came out in 2017. This documentary does a really good job at providing historical context for the displacement of native Oregonians, as well as some current issues of the day. Here is the link to watch the documentary, if you missed class or wanted to see it again:


Here is the link to the worksheet of questions that students were responding to in class (which is mostly in chronological order):


We did not finish going through all of the questions in class today, so we will pick back up and discuss this next class, as we continue our Native American unit. Have a great weekend, everyone!

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Native Americans, Day 4 - Class Recap


We talked a bit in class about the role that native Hawaiians had in shaping the settlements of the Pacific Northwest. This is a photo I took on Kauai, Hawaii in 2014.

Dear class,

We continued our unit on Native Americans today in class and learned about forced displacement alongside the expansion of the United States. Here's what we did today in class:

Learning Targets Addressed: 
Behavior LT 3: I can communicate and work effectively within a team or group.
Critical Thinking LT 5: I can justify and support arguments or interpretation with appropriate evidence.

Soundtrack: "Youth of the Nation" by P.O.D. Selected for today because of the importance of passing culture down to the youth in each nation and because of our continued look at the "young" nation of the United States. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 10/16/19:
News Brief - Kohl
Grades
Finish Early Expansion
Map Activity

Homework: Read the blog. Complete your map activity by next class. The next news brief is assigned to: Jasmine N.

News Brief: Today's news brief was brought in by Kohl, who selected an article about this story: CNN.com - Trump trashes Graham over criticism of Syria policy. We discussed this story for a bit and then moved on.

We also checked in to see if anyone was up to anything interesting or fun outside of class.

Jasmine N. was selected to do the next news brief.

As part of the news brief, we also watched the one minute BBC World News update. Here's the link to see the latest one minute update, at any time of day (it will probably be different from what we watched in class):


Grades: After the news brief, we talked about grades that have been posted so far for this class, most notably the Comparative Biography, and how students could revise and improve if they wanted. Common issues were MLA formatting and needing to explain more about the similarities and differences found in the biographies of the student selected "Great American."

Early Expansion: Last class, we started to go through a PowerPoint explaining some of the necessary background information for understanding how the United States expanded and took over Native American territory. Here's the presentation:


And here is the note taking guide that I gave to students in class:


This hopefully was review for many students who should have had this information in middle school, but I know that not everyone did. Please use the note guide and add to the notes with what was discussed in class (which was much more in depth than just the text on the slides).

Map Activity: As the last slide of the presentation above indicates, the next step in class was to complete this graded map activity, which seeks to provide some more historical context for what happened to create the United States and to forcibly displace native inhabitants of the land. Here is the activity (this should be completed and turned in on Google Classroom - I also have a few paper copies in class):


To earn a good score on this assignment, I want to see students thinking critically about each of the maps and connecting them to the notes that we took on the slideshow above. If you did not complete this in class today, please finish it and turn it in as homework.

Monday, October 14, 2019

Native Americans, Day 3 - Class Recap


Today is Indigenous People's Day in Oregon - this is a marker in the concrete in Tom McCall Waterfront Park, in downtown Portland.

Hi everyone,

With Indigenous People's Day today, I really wanted to focus on our current unit on Native American issues. Here's what we did today in class:

Learning Targets Addressed: 
Behavior LT 3: I can communicate and work effectively within a team or group.
Critical Thinking LT 5: I can justify and support arguments or interpretation with appropriate evidence.

Soundtrack: "Say My Name" by Destiny's Child. Selected for today because of the names quiz with everyone in class! Lyrics here.

AGENDA 10/14/19:
News Brief - Nick
Names and States Quiz
Indigenous People's Day
Early Expansion

Homework: Read the blog. Please check your grade and turn in any missing work ASAP! The next news brief is assigned to: Kohl.

News Brief: Today's news brief was brought in by Nick, who selected an article about this story: CNN.com - Fortnite leaves players staring at a black hole for hours ahead of Season 11 launch. We discussed this story for a bit and then moved on.

We also checked in about the weekend to see if anyone was up to anything interesting or fun outside of class.

Kohl was selected to do the next news brief.

As part of the news brief, we also watched the one minute BBC World News update. Here's the link to see the latest one minute update, at any time of day (it will probably be different from what we watched in class):


Names/States Quiz: After the news brief, we took the quiz on the first names of everyone in class, using the picture slideshow that I put together of everyone (this will not be available online due to student confidentiality). Then, the back side was a quiz on the 50 states in the United States and how to spell them accurately. We corrected this in class and then I collected them - this will go into the grade book as a behavior target.

Indigenous People's Day: Considering that today is Indigenous People's Day in Oregon, I wanted to make sure we spent some time recognizing the holiday and why it exists. To do that, I passed out a copy of the resolution that the City of Beaverton passed in 2016, honoring the day:


I asked students to read through it and research at least one point from the resolution that they were interested in learning more about. We then talked as a class about the resolution and the significance of the day, as students used Native-Land.ca to research the native nations locally and in the United States.

I also showed this link of an event in the Portland area for Indigenous People's Day, if you are interested: PDX.edu - Indigenous People's Day Celebration.

Finally, I showed this recent (like, a few days ago!) news story about a Native American baseball player saying that the Atlanta Braves "tomahawk" chant is disrespectful and a disappointment: STLToday.com - No foam tomahawks on seats at Braves ballpark after comments by Cards' Helsley; other changes expected.

Early Expansion: We did not get to this today in class, but next time, we will go through a PowerPoint explaining some of the necessary background information for understanding how the United States expanded and took over Native American territory. Here's the presentation:


And here is the note taking guide that I gave to students in class:


This hopefully was review for many students who should have had this information in middle school, but I know that not everyone did. Please use the note guide and add to the notes with what was discussed in class (which was much more in depth than just the text on the slides).

That was it for the day! Thank you, everyone!

Wednesday, October 9, 2019

Native Americans, Day 2 - Class Recap


The Painted Hills in central Oregon. This is part of land that was Northern Paiute territory. Photo taken in 2017.

Dear class,

We continued our work with analyzing Native American issues today, as well as understanding current context. Here's what we did today in class:

Learning Targets Addressed: 
Behavior LT 3: I can communicate and work effectively within a team or group.
Critical Thinking LT 5: I can justify and support arguments or interpretation with appropriate evidence.

Soundtrack: "All Along the Watchtower" by Jimi Hendrix. Selected for today because of Hendrix's Native American ancestry and the song represents a variety of different perspectives. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 10/9/19:
News Brief - Kamil
Finish Appropriation
30 Days
Early Expansion

Homework: Read the blog. Please check your grade and turn in any missing work ASAP! The Names and States quiz is next class! The next news brief is assigned to: Nick.

News Brief: Today's news brief was brought in by Kamil, who selected an article about this story: CNN.com - Montgomery, Alabama, elects its first black mayor, unofficial results show. We discussed this story for a bit and then moved on.

We also checked in about the weekend to see if anyone was up to anything interesting or fun outside of class.

Nick was selected to do the next news brief.

As part of the news brief, we also watched the one minute BBC World News update. Here's the link to see the latest one minute update, at any time of day (it will probably be different from what we watched in class):


Finish Appropriation: Last class, we learned about the terms cultural appropriation, exploitation, and assimilation, and tried to identify examples within the Native American context. I wanted to be sure students remembered this as we go further with these issues.

30 Days: Next, we watched the episode of the TV documentary series "30 Days" that was titled "30 Days on an Indian Reservation" and noted current issues that were brought up that Native Americans are facing in the episode, as well as evidence. This was done on the second page of this handout (which was passed out last class):

After the documentary, we debriefed together and tried to consider what issues were coming up in current Native American society. Please hold on to this, as well as any other handout or assignment from this unit, as you will be using it for a final unit assessment for both me and Mr. Puterbaugh (if you have him as your Lit and Comp 10 teacher).

That was it for the day, due to the shortened Community schedule for Wednesday! Thank you, everyone - see you on Monday!

Monday, October 7, 2019

Native Americans, Day 1 - Class Recap


We talked about Native American experience today in class. This is a photo of Monument Valley, which is a part of the Navajo Nation on the border between Arizona and Utah. Photo taken in 2007.

Hi everyone,

I always love the start of a new unit, and especially one that I am so excited to teach. Today, we began our look at Native Americans in the United States - present issues as well as historical context. Here's what we did today in class:

Learning Targets Addressed: 
Behavior LT 3: I can communicate and work effectively within a team or group.
Critical Thinking LT 5: I can justify and support arguments or interpretation with appropriate evidence.

Soundtrack: "Into the Ocean" by Blue October. Selected for today because it is the start of our October together! Lyrics here.

AGENDA 10/7/19:
News Brief - T.J.
Native Oregonians
Cultural Appropriation
Current Issues

Homework: Read the blog. The Comparative Biography assignment is due today! The states/names quiz is next week, on Monday! The next news brief is assigned to: Kamil.

News Brief: Today's news brief was brought in by T.J., who selected an article about this story: CNN.com -Lawyer for Ukraine whistleblower says he represents second whistleblower on Trump's actions. We discussed this story for a bit (especially as it relates to the United States) and then moved on.

We also checked in about the weekend to see if anyone was up to anything interesting or fun outside of class.

Kamil was selected to do the next news brief.

As part of the news brief, we also watched the one minute BBC World News update. Here's the link to see the latest one minute update, at any time of day (it will probably be different from what we watched in class):


Native Oregonians: To start our work with understanding contemporary Native American issues, I asked students to think of all the casinos they could name in Oregon. Then, I asked students to name all the Native American nations and/or tribes that are from Oregon. The reason I wanted to do this was to try and see what students knew already, and to have students pause to think about this. Next, we went through this PowerPoint together as a class:


Part of this was showing this map of the general areas of native inhabitants of Oregon:

There are dozens of Native American tribes (60+) in Oregon - this is just a look at some of the major linguistic families.

Cultural Appropriation: As the PowerPoint link indicates, we then talked about the impact of race on Native Americans, as well what the term "cultural appropriation" is and watched a segment that The Daily Show did on the Washington Redskins football team. After this, I had students group up and try to find examples of cultural appropriation of Native Americans in various different categories. This was a lesson that we did last year in the Diversity and Social Justice class that I co-taught, so I was interested in seeing it with this class, too.

This is the worksheet I passed out in class:


Current Issues: Finally, to end class, we watched the first part of the episode of the TV documentary series "30 Days" that was titled "30 Days on an Indian Reservation" and noted (as linked to above) current issues that were brought up that Native Americans are facing in the episode, as well as evidence. We will finish this and talk more about this next class!

Please remember that your states and names quiz is next class, on Thursday! Here is a map to practice with, if you want:

To practice with this, I introduced the class to this online game (which we played last year a lot with countries of the world): Sporcle.com - States Quiz. Please remember that you will need to know where the state is, as well as how to spell the name of the state, for the quiz on Thursday!

To help with this, I passed out a copy of the class roster with names, nicknames, and pictures in a random order. On the quiz on Monday, I will use pictures of students that I took in class - these pictures (and the class roster itself) will not be posted online to protect student confidentiality. If you missed class, you need to pick up a copy of the class roster in person to begin studying. See you next class!

Thursday, October 3, 2019

Historiography, Day 6 - Class Recap


The Apollo program was researched by some students as a part of the textbook examination. A few students chose Neil Armstrong or other astronauts as their "Great American" for the comparative biography assignment, as well. This is one of the lunar models build for the Apollo program, now on display at the Smithsonian in Washington, DC.

Hi everyone,

Today was mostly a work day in class on the Comparative Biography assignment, which is due on Friday at the start of the day. Here's what we did today in class:

Learning Targets Addressed: 
Behavior LT 1: I can self direct my learning.
Research LT 1: I can effectively conduct and apply research.
Critical Thinking LT 5: I can justify and support arguments or interpretation with appropriate evidence.

Soundtrack: "American Woman" by Lenny Kravitz. Selected for today because many students selected American women for their Comparative Biography assignment, due next class! Lyrics here.

AGENDA 10/3/19:
News Brief - Abi
Comparative Biography
Work Time
Names and States

Homework: Read the blog. The Comparative Biography assignment is due Monday at start of class!  The next news brief is assigned to: TJ.

News Brief: Today's news brief was brought in by Abi (filling in for Sarai, who was absent), who selected an article about this story to share with the class: NYTimes.com - Trump Publicly Urges China to Investigate the Bidens. We talked about this story for a bit, and then moved on.

TJ was selected to do the next news brief.

We also watched the BBC World News update in class. Here's the link to see the latest one minute update, at any time of day (it will probably be different from what we watched in class):


Comparative Biography: The last part of the "notable Americans" worksheet asked for the name of someone you consider to be a "Great American" - students were allowed to define that however they wanted, however, the person had to be someone that was 1) real, and 2) multiple biographies existed of. With this person in mind, this is the assignment that I introduced last class (also posted in Google Classroom):


We talked about the importance of finding good sources for this (Wikipedia is allowed for this assignment!) as well as how to cite your sources using EasyBib.com or another generator.

This assignment should end up being about 2-3 pages in length, as you look in depth at the biographies you find on your Great American.

Work Time: The rest of class was devoted to work time on the comparative biography assignment,. Please email me or comment with any questions, as this assignment will be due at the start of class on Monday!

Thanks, everyone - see you next class!

Tuesday, October 1, 2019

Historiography, Day 5 - Class Recap


Many students in class selected Martin Luther King, Jr. as someone who they considered to be a "Great American" to research.

Dear class,

This week, we will be wrapping up our unit on the study of how history is told, by doing a little research of our own. Here's what we did today in class:

Learning Targets Addressed: 
Behavior LT 1: I can self direct my learning.
Research LT 1: I can effectively conduct and apply research.
Critical Thinking LT 5: I can justify and support arguments or interpretation with appropriate evidence.

Soundtrack: "Circle of Life" from The Lion King. Selected for today because biographies are a portrait of someone's life. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 10/1/19:
News Brief - Luis
Debrief Notable Americans
Comparative Biography
Work Time

Homework: Read the blog. Continue to work on the Comparative Biography – due next Monday at start of class! The next news brief is assigned to: Sarai.

News Brief: Today's news brief was brought in by Luis, who selected an article about this story: CNN.com - Man severely burned after fall into thermal water at Old Faithful. We discussed this story for a bit and then moved on.

We also checked in about the weekend to see if anyone was up to anything interesting or fun outside of class.

Sarai was selected to do the next news brief.

As part of the news brief, we also watched the one minute BBC World News update. Here's the link to see the latest one minute update, at any time of day (it will probably be different from what we watched in class):

Debrief Notable Americans: The assignment for last class (this was also posted in Google Classroom) was to look at a few short biographies of notable Americans through history and to try and assess any biased words in them, whether or not they achieved the "American Dream," and whether or not this person is a "Great American" - students were able to define this however they wanted. Here are the biographies (try to select a range, not just the first three) and the assignment:



In class today, we talked about the notable Americans and had a conversation about the answers to the questions for each one. This activity transitioned us to...

Comparative Biography: The last part of the "notable Americans" worksheet asked for the name of someone you consider to be a "Great American" - students were allowed to define that however they wanted, however, the person had to be someone that was 1) real, and 2) multiple biographies existed of. With this person in mind, this is the assignment that I introduced today in class (also posted in Google Classroom):


We talked about the importance of finding good sources for this (Wikipedia is allowed for this assignment!) as well as how to cite your sources using EasyBib.com or another generator.

This assignment should end up being about 2-3 pages in length, as you look in depth at the biographies you find on your Great American.

Work Time/Names and States: The rest of class was devoted to work time on the comparative biography assignment, as next class will be as well. Please email me or comment with any questions, as this assignment will be due at the start of class next Monday!

Thanks, everyone - see you later this week! Here's the States quiz on Sporcle to help with studying states. I passed out a class roster with pictures for the names - there will be a quiz next week on these, so study up!