Today we took the Benchmark Exam. Please note that the quarter ends tomorrow, so any absent work must be turned in by tomorrow. Next week, we have an in-class project and then we're off for spring break!
RVI
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Sunday, March 18, 2007
March 16, 2007 - On the Edge of War, Part II
Today's agenda:
1. On the Edge of Civil War (pg 45)
2. Benchmark Review (pg 48-49)
HW: Benchmark Review and Prepare INB
REMINDER: INB Check on Tuesday, 3/20; Benchmark Exam on Thursday, 3/22
Today we finished our discussion as America is "On the Edge of Civil War." Our discussion focused on four different events that led us up to the Civil War: the Lincoln-Douglas Debates, John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry, the Election of 1860, and the firing on Fort Sumter.
Two of these events, the John Brown raid and Lincoln's victory in 1860, were the two events that just sent the South over the edge. The Harpers Ferry incident created a fear within white Southerners that one day a slave revolt might come to their own hometown. Lincoln's Presidential victory demonstrated that a Northerner no longer needed the electoral votes of the South to get elected to the most powerful position in the United States. By December 1860, Southerners felt both fearful and politically powerless. South Carolina had had enough, and voted for secession on December 20.
By the time Lincoln was inaugurated on March 4, 1861, seven slave states had left the Union. Lincoln faced the first challenge to his Constitutional authority at Fort Sumter. With less than 100 troops at the fort facing starvation, he knew he had to resupply his men. He also saw his opportunity to draw the South into a conflict without looking like the aggressor. The rest is Civil War history.
RVI
1. On the Edge of Civil War (pg 45)
2. Benchmark Review (pg 48-49)
HW: Benchmark Review and Prepare INB
REMINDER: INB Check on Tuesday, 3/20; Benchmark Exam on Thursday, 3/22
Today we finished our discussion as America is "On the Edge of Civil War." Our discussion focused on four different events that led us up to the Civil War: the Lincoln-Douglas Debates, John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry, the Election of 1860, and the firing on Fort Sumter.
Two of these events, the John Brown raid and Lincoln's victory in 1860, were the two events that just sent the South over the edge. The Harpers Ferry incident created a fear within white Southerners that one day a slave revolt might come to their own hometown. Lincoln's Presidential victory demonstrated that a Northerner no longer needed the electoral votes of the South to get elected to the most powerful position in the United States. By December 1860, Southerners felt both fearful and politically powerless. South Carolina had had enough, and voted for secession on December 20.
By the time Lincoln was inaugurated on March 4, 1861, seven slave states had left the Union. Lincoln faced the first challenge to his Constitutional authority at Fort Sumter. With less than 100 troops at the fort facing starvation, he knew he had to resupply his men. He also saw his opportunity to draw the South into a conflict without looking like the aggressor. The rest is Civil War history.
RVI
Thursday, March 15, 2007
March 14, 2007 - On the Edge of Civil War
Today's agenda:
1. Assemble puzzle pieces
2. Go over puzzle pieces
3. Ken Burns' Civil War (pg 46-47)
4. On the Edge of Civil War (pg 45)
Today we move closer to war between North and South. We reviewed five events that led the nation closer to war: the Missouri Compromise, the Compromise of 1850, the Fugitive Slave Law (1850), the Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854), and the Dred Scott decision (1857).
We then viewed 20 minutes of Ken Burns' ten-hour documentary, The Civil War. This was an opportunity for us to review the origins of slavery, the Underground Railroad, and prominent abolitionists. Of these abolitionists, the focus of the last part of the video was John Brown. This radical abolitionist was involved in the violence of Bleeding Kansas, and then decided to take it a step further. In 1859, Brown and his followers planned a massive slave revolt, beginning in Harpers Ferry, Virginia, and sweeping all through the Cotton Kingdom.
Brown's revolt failed, and he was tried and convicted of treason against the state of Virginia. This is ONE of the TWO events in the final years leading up to the Civil War that would convince the South that it was time to leave the Union.
Next time, we learn about the OTHER event that will be the final straw for the South . . . find out next time!
RVI
1. Assemble puzzle pieces
2. Go over puzzle pieces
3. Ken Burns' Civil War (pg 46-47)
4. On the Edge of Civil War (pg 45)
Today we move closer to war between North and South. We reviewed five events that led the nation closer to war: the Missouri Compromise, the Compromise of 1850, the Fugitive Slave Law (1850), the Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854), and the Dred Scott decision (1857).
We then viewed 20 minutes of Ken Burns' ten-hour documentary, The Civil War. This was an opportunity for us to review the origins of slavery, the Underground Railroad, and prominent abolitionists. Of these abolitionists, the focus of the last part of the video was John Brown. This radical abolitionist was involved in the violence of Bleeding Kansas, and then decided to take it a step further. In 1859, Brown and his followers planned a massive slave revolt, beginning in Harpers Ferry, Virginia, and sweeping all through the Cotton Kingdom.
Brown's revolt failed, and he was tried and convicted of treason against the state of Virginia. This is ONE of the TWO events in the final years leading up to the Civil War that would convince the South that it was time to leave the Union.
Next time, we learn about the OTHER event that will be the final straw for the South . . . find out next time!
RVI
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Homework instructions - "Putting It Together"
Some students were a bit confused about the "Putting It Together" puzzle piece homework. Here are the instructions you will need for tonight:
On your puzzle piece you need to:
a. Draw a Title
b. Describe the law or Supreme Court case
c. Analyze the result and/or the impact on the Civil War
d. Draw and color a picture that represents your law
Good luck!
RVI
Monday, March 12, 2007
March 12, 2007 - The Crisis Turns Violent
Today's agenda:
1. Review homework
2. Putting It Together (pg 44)
HW: Putting It Together puzzle piece (this does NOT go in the INB)
Today in history, we began "putting it all together." Specifically, we began putting together all the factors, both North and South, that will lead to the outbreak of the Civil War. We took a lot of time today to carefully review last night's homework, titled "The Crisis Turns Violent." After the Compromise of 1850, the war of words between North and South turned hot, and certain events led to violent behavior.
The publishing of Uncle Tom's Cabin in 1852 sparked outrage among Southerners and Northerners alike. Readers in the North were deeply moved, and the issue of slavery became not merely a political issue, but a moral issue for the first time. Critics in the South charged that Harriet Beecher Stowe never spent any time in the South, and used sweeping generalizations to paint the White South as a cruel and amoral society.
The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 sent shockwaves through the North as the promises of the Missouri Compromise were broken. John Brown was so enraged that he and his followers hacked five pro-slavery men to death with broadswords at Pottawatomie Creek in Kansas. After a highly irregular vote for the Kansas legislature, the territory exploded in violence. Pro-slavery and anti-slavery forces each created their own legislatures in two separate capitals. Chaos ensued.
The caning and Senator Charles Sumner by Representative Preston Brooks and the Dred Scott decision also pushed sectional conflict further to the brink of war. By 1858, the North had several reasons to be up in arms. It will ultimately be two events, one in 1859 and one in 1860, that will drive the South to secede from the Union.
What two events could lead a people to want to break away from their own nation? Find out in our next class!
RVI
1. Review homework
2. Putting It Together (pg 44)
HW: Putting It Together puzzle piece (this does NOT go in the INB)
Today in history, we began "putting it all together." Specifically, we began putting together all the factors, both North and South, that will lead to the outbreak of the Civil War. We took a lot of time today to carefully review last night's homework, titled "The Crisis Turns Violent." After the Compromise of 1850, the war of words between North and South turned hot, and certain events led to violent behavior.
The publishing of Uncle Tom's Cabin in 1852 sparked outrage among Southerners and Northerners alike. Readers in the North were deeply moved, and the issue of slavery became not merely a political issue, but a moral issue for the first time. Critics in the South charged that Harriet Beecher Stowe never spent any time in the South, and used sweeping generalizations to paint the White South as a cruel and amoral society.
The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 sent shockwaves through the North as the promises of the Missouri Compromise were broken. John Brown was so enraged that he and his followers hacked five pro-slavery men to death with broadswords at Pottawatomie Creek in Kansas. After a highly irregular vote for the Kansas legislature, the territory exploded in violence. Pro-slavery and anti-slavery forces each created their own legislatures in two separate capitals. Chaos ensued.
The caning and Senator Charles Sumner by Representative Preston Brooks and the Dred Scott decision also pushed sectional conflict further to the brink of war. By 1858, the North had several reasons to be up in arms. It will ultimately be two events, one in 1859 and one in 1860, that will drive the South to secede from the Union.
What two events could lead a people to want to break away from their own nation? Find out in our next class!
RVI
Thursday, March 8, 2007
March 8, 2007 - Slavery compromises
Today's agenda:
1. Check homework
2. ENSLAVEMENT Acrostic (pg 39)
3. Slavery Compromises (pg 41)
4. Slavery Compromises Map (pg 42)
HW: The Crisis Turns Violent (pg 43)
1. Check homework
2. ENSLAVEMENT Acrostic (pg 39)
3. Slavery Compromises (pg 41)
4. Slavery Compromises Map (pg 42)
HW: The Crisis Turns Violent (pg 43)
Today in history we finished up our study of slavery by working on an acrostic using the word "Enslavement," and then shared a couple of our Brer Rabbit stories from last night's homework. We then went back to the beginning of our unit, reviewed some of the differences between North and South between 1800 and 1850, then focused specifically on how slavery affected African-Americans as individuals and as a community.
>From the effect on African-Americans, we shift today to how slavery as an institution affected the politics of the 1800s. Since the creation of the Constitution, American lawmakers from North and South have argued and compromised over the issue of slavery. Beginning with the gradual termination of the international slave trade and the 3/5 Compromise, and continuing with the balance of Northern and Southern states being admitted to the Union, American politicians have been able to maintain the equilibrium between North and South.
The two biggest political compromises were the Missouri Compromise of 1820 and the Compromise of 1850. In both these compromises, neither side got exactly what they wanted, but both sides were satisfied long enough to at least make the other side feel like his opponents didn't get too much.
The peace created by the Compromise of 1850 wouldn't last long though. In your homework tonight, you will explore how the sectional crisis in the United States turned violent, even resulting in bloodshed on the floor of the Senate!
RVI
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
February 6, 2007 - African-Americans Resist and Adapt to Slavery
Today's agenda:
1. Resist and Adapt to Slavery (pg 38)
2. Enslavement Acrostic (pg 39--did not get to in class)
3. Brer Rabbit (pg 40)
1. Resist and Adapt to Slavery (pg 38)
2. Enslavement Acrostic (pg 39--did not get to in class)
3. Brer Rabbit (pg 40)
Today in history we learned about the amazing ways in which African-Americans were able to cope with the harsh conditions they faced while enslaved in the American South during the 17- and 1800s. We learned about family life, passive resistance, the field slaves, the house slaves, religion, and culture.
We ended with storytime as students listened to a story about Brer Rabbit, Brer Fox, and Brer Bear. We discussed how the oral tradition of slave families passed these stories down from one generation to the next, and what they were designed to teach the younger generation. You can read the story we heard in class today by clicking the link below:
http://www.americanfolklore.net/folktales/ga7.html
Your homework is to reflect on this Brer Rabbit story, and then come up with one of your own. Decide what lessons you'd like to teach in your own Brer Rabbit story, and you'll have a chance to share your story when we meet in our next class.
RVI
Monday, March 5, 2007
Daylight Saving Time changed by Congress
To all Team Yukon families, you may not know that Congress recently changed Daylight Saving Time. We now "spring ahead" three weeks earlier than before, and "fall back" one week later. Please make sure to move your clock ahead one hour this Sunday, March 11.
I wonder who will be an hour late to school on Monday? It happens every year . . . but hopefully not to you! For more information on the history of Daylight Saving Time, check out the feature sponsored by the California Department of Energy.
RVI
Friday, March 2, 2007 - The Abolitionists
Today's agenda:
1. Warm-Up: The Origins of Slavery in America (pg 36)
2. Talkers, Writers, and Do-ers of Abolitionism (pg 34-35)
3. The Abolitionist Scrapbook Page (pg 37)
1. Warm-Up: The Origins of Slavery in America (pg 36)
2. Talkers, Writers, and Do-ers of Abolitionism (pg 34-35)
3. The Abolitionist Scrapbook Page (pg 37)
Today in history we continued our study of slavery. We began by reading an excerpt from Howard Zinn's People's History of the United States. This sparked a discussion about how slavery began in the United States, why Native Americans were not used as slaves, and why the colonists felt as though they "needed" slavery in order to survive in the New World.
We then fast-forwarded to the 1800s, and the people in the United States working to end slavery in America. These reformers were called "abolitionists," since they fought to abolish slavery. There were "talkers," those who gave stirring speeches against slavery; there were "writers," those who used the printed word; and finally there were "do-ers," those who felt the best way to end slavery was through action.
Who was most effective at working to end slavery? The talkers? The writers? The do-ers? That is the topic of your homework tonight. Create an Abolitionist Scrapbook Page to demonstrate whom you believe to be the most influential in the fight against slavery.
RVI
Saturday, March 3, 2007
February 28, 2007 - Imagining the Horrors of Slavery
Today's agenda:
1. 6/8 Quiz - "North and South"
2. The Southern Class System (pg 31)
3. Imagining the Horrors of Slavery (pg 32)
HW: Slavery Sensory Figure (pg 33)
Today in history, we began by taking a quiz on the North and South. We continued by learning about the Southern Class System by filling in a pyramid-style graphic organizer. We learned that only 16% of the Southern population owned slaves, that 50% of the population consisted of poor whites, and that 1 out of 3 Americans in the South was owned by another American.
The next half of class was devoted to the simulation called "Imagining the Horrors of Slavery." With the lights of the classroom dimmed, students listened to excerpts from Alex Haley's novel, Roots, the story of Kunta Kinte and his forced journey from Africa to North America. Students listened quietly as they heard about capture in Africa, awaiting departure on the West African coast, the horrible conditions of a slave ship, and the ultimate selling of Kunta and other slaves upon landing in America.
The homework for tonight is a Slavery Sensory Figure, where students are asked to put themselves in the position of a slave being brought across the Middle Passage. What do you feel? What do you see? What do you hear? Reflections are due at our next class.
RVI
1. 6/8 Quiz - "North and South"
2. The Southern Class System (pg 31)
3. Imagining the Horrors of Slavery (pg 32)
HW: Slavery Sensory Figure (pg 33)
Today in history, we began by taking a quiz on the North and South. We continued by learning about the Southern Class System by filling in a pyramid-style graphic organizer. We learned that only 16% of the Southern population owned slaves, that 50% of the population consisted of poor whites, and that 1 out of 3 Americans in the South was owned by another American.
The next half of class was devoted to the simulation called "Imagining the Horrors of Slavery." With the lights of the classroom dimmed, students listened to excerpts from Alex Haley's novel, Roots, the story of Kunta Kinte and his forced journey from Africa to North America. Students listened quietly as they heard about capture in Africa, awaiting departure on the West African coast, the horrible conditions of a slave ship, and the ultimate selling of Kunta and other slaves upon landing in America.
The homework for tonight is a Slavery Sensory Figure, where students are asked to put themselves in the position of a slave being brought across the Middle Passage. What do you feel? What do you see? What do you hear? Reflections are due at our next class.
RVI
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